The Elizas by Sara Shepard ~ Sarah A’s Review

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When debut novelist Eliza Fontaine is found at the bottom of a hotel pool, her family at first assumes that it’s just another failed suicide attempt. But Eliza swears she was pushed, and her rescuer is the only witness.

Desperate to find out who attacked her, Eliza takes it upon herself to investigate. But as the publication date for her novel draws closer, Eliza finds more questions than answers. Like why are her editor, agent, and family mixing up events from her novel with events from her life? Her novel is completely fictional—isn’t it?

The deeper Eliza goes into her investigation while struggling with memory loss, the closer her life starts to resemble her novel, until the line between reality and fiction starts to blur and she can no longer tell where her protagonist’s life ends and hers begins…

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I often get caught in such a loop of romance novels I forget how much enjoy a true psychological thriller.  The Elizas was quite the mindfuck, and I’m still not sure what was real, what was fiction (within fiction), and what was completely imagined.  I’m certain this is one book I will be thinking about for some time.

The Elizas is a standalone novel.  This is a psychological thriller with minimal romance, for those of you who are used to me reviewing romances.  The Elizas is written in two different styles, Eliza’a narration is in first-person perspective, and her novel, The Dots, is written in third-person limited perspective.

I loved how this novel was delivered, the book within a book format, and reading the book Eliza is about to have published as we are getting her story.  The play back and forth between Eliza and Dot was fascinating.  Sarah Shepard did a sublime job of building up two different plots in order to tell the incredibly riveting story of a fickle girl.

The story within a story aspect of this book was ingenious.  I found myself completely caught up in both stories so much; it eventually became difficult – for Eliza and me – to delineate where she stopped, and Dot started.  Between the fluidity between Dot and Eliza, Dot’s aunt Dorothy and Stella, and the shadowy figure Eliza continually glimpses, the security of self and the identity of those we think we know was constantly changing and in question.  It was enthralling.

By the time I finished the novel, there wasn’t a single person I hadn’t questioned the intentions of.  The characters, no matter the time they spent on the page, were highly developed and unique.  It seemed as if each and every one of them was hiding things.  From Eliza, from each other, from the reader.  Such is the intention of an unreliable narrator, and Ms. Shepard gave us a great one in Eliza.

Sara Shepard’s Pretty Little Liars series fascinated me, and I was ecstatic to get the chance to check out her foray into adult fiction.  She delivered a multi-faceted and engaging story, full of fascinating characters with dubious intentions.  I was wholly invested in figuring out the intricacies of Eliza’s world and was left reeling by the time the novel finished.  Ms. Shepard is truly a fantastic author with an incredible knack for weaving a quirky, intense, psychological thriller.

Sara Shepard is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Pretty Little Liars series. She has also written other Young Adult series and novels, including The Lying Game, The Heiresses, and The Perfectionists. Sara now lives in Pittsburgh with her family.

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Lie to Me by Natasha Preston ~ EXCERPT REVEAL

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At nineteen, Savannah Dean escaped her family, leaving behind a note and the people who caused her so much pain.

Now, she lives on her own and keeps to herself.

At nineteen, Kent Lawson’s girlfriend betrayed him, leaving him behind with a broken heart and a whole lot of mistrust in women.

Now, he lives on his own and shares himself with nearly every pretty thing that walks by but only for one night.

When Savannah and Kent meet, they can’t stand each other.

Kent knows she’s hiding something, and he despises liars.

And Savannah has nothing but secrets.

***  PREORDER NOW ~ RELEASES APRIL 23, 2018  ***
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Wednesday rolls around way too fast. I have a whole evening with Savannah. It’s been really nice these past four days that she’s been out of my life. Yet, the whole time, I’ve been craving the way we snip at each other.

I need help.

I cut my engine outside her building and look up. Apparently, she lives up on the first floor and faces out toward the road.

Is she looking at me right now?

Why I feel the need to get out and buzz her apartment, I don’t know, but somehow, I find myself getting out of the car and walking toward the building. I stop at the front door, realising that Heidi told me what floor Savannah is on but not the number. Or she might have told me, and I just didn’t listen.

This is a great start.

I’m about to call my sister when I see Savannah through the glass, walking down the stairs to ground level.

Fuck me.

Has she always looked like that?

She’s wearing a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a grey off-the-shoulder shirt, but she looks sexier than any other woman I’ve ever seen in a little dress.

Why don’t I like her again?

Her steely eyes, looking even more prominent with the colour of her top, warily eye me. Our last encounter wasn’t exactly pleasant.

She opens the door and smiles. “Hi, Kent.”

My back stiffens. “Savannah.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind taking me tonight? I can Uber.”

And there it is. This is why she fucking bothers me so much. I feel like telling her to call a fucking Uber then. She always sounds so unsure of herself, like every tiny thing a person does for her is some massive inconvenience. Why?

“It’s fine,” I spit.

She folds her arms, carefully because her fractured arm hasn’t healed. It does take away a little of the dramatic flair she was going for. “Do you need to take a nap before we go?”

“What?”

“You’re cranky.”

“You’re too polite.”

“Being polite is a bad thing?”

I flex my jaw. “Yes.”

“Fine. Get in the car, and take me.”

The intent behind her words is clear; however, I hear it completely different and laugh.

She rolls her eyes. “Don’t be a knobhead, Kent. Take me to your parents’ house, I mean.”

“Knobhead. I’ve not heard that one in a while.”

Savannah takes another long breath. “I really don’t know why I thought accepting a lift from you would be a good idea. In fact, I didn’t. I still think it’s a bad idea.”

“You always follow through with bad ideas?”

“Tonight, I am.”

Fuck yeah. I love this fighting side of her. It’s like, when I rile her up enough, the cover slips, revealing the real Savannah. I’m not sure if she’s hiding something the way Freya was.

“You should work on that. I don’t do anything I don’t want to.”

She tilts her head to the side, fire and determination in her eyes. “Oh, you wanted me to come tonight? And you wanted to be the one to pick me up?”

“You’re hot when you’re angry, Savannah.”

Actually, she’s hot all the time. It’s just, right now, she’s the whole package.

“You always use bullshit like that to deflect from someone calling you out?”

“You’re the first woman to call me out.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” she mutters.

“Do you want to argue on your doorstep all night or get to my parents’ for dinner? I’m cool with either, just checking to see which way you’re leaning.”

She drops her arms, one still bound tightly in a splint. “I’m hungry.”

“Excellent, let’s go then.”

UK native Natasha Preston grew up in small villages and towns. She discovered her love of writing when she stumbled across an amateur writing site and uploaded her first story and hasn’t looked back since.

She enjoys writing contemporary romance, gritty Young Adult thrillers and, of course, the occasional serial killer.

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Such Dark Things by Courtney Evan Tate ~ Excerpt & Blog Tour

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From New York Times bestseller Courtney Cole, writing as Courtney Evan Tate, comes the psychological thriller that will keep readers up turning pages long into the night, SUCH DARK THINGS! “Written in breathless style, this page-turner relies on quick thrills, surprise twists…[for] readers seeking a fast entertaining tale…”(Publishers Weekly).Grab your copy of SUCH DARK THINGS today!

I thought I knew him. He thought he knew me. We were both wrong…

Dr. Corinne Cabot is living the American dream. She’s a successful ER physician in Chicago who’s married to a handsome husband. Together they live in a charming house in the suburbs. But appearances can be deceiving—and what no one can see is Corinne’s dark past. Troubling gaps in her memory mean she recalls little about a haunting event in her life years ago that changed everything.

She remembers only being in the house the night two people were found murdered. Her father was there, too. Now her father is in prison; she hasn’t been in contact in years. Repressing that terrifying memory has caused Corinne moments of paranoia and panic. Sometimes she thinks she sees things that aren’t there, hears words that haven’t been spoken. Or have they? She fears she may be losing her mind, unable to determine what’s real and what’s not.

So when she senses her husband’s growing distance, she thinks she’s imagining things. She writes her suspicions off to fatigue, overwork, anything to explain what she can’t accept—that her life really isn’t what it seems.

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I scan through my texts.

None from Corinne. I’m oddly disappointed, even though she never texts me during the day. The ER keeps her too busy. But still. I thought she might text after this morning’s sex.

One from Michel.

How are you doing?

And several from a number I don’t recognize.

Hi there. It’s Zoe from Vilma’s.

Damn it.

I swallow, and I read her other texts.

You left your credit card at the café this morning.

Do you want to meet me so you can have it back ASAP?

I feel a jolt. First, fuck. I left my card someplace? I can’t even remember the last time I did that. How irresponsible. I practically don’t have a credit limit, so a thief could have a field day with it.

Second, how weird that she’s texting me. So weird.

I can just pick it up from Vilma in the morning, I answer. Thanks for letting me know.

I see the three bubbles on my text screen signifying that she is answering. So I wait without putting my phone down. The idea of who is on the other end of the phone gives me a jolt, a thrill, even though my initial thoughts about the girl weren’t flattering. She might have clear daddy issues, but she has an ass you could bounce a quarter off of. It strokes my ego that she’s texting me.

I actually have the card with me. I didn’t want anything to happen to it. I’m in town running errands. I could meet you for lunch?

Another jolt.

She wants to meet for lunch? Is this for real?

What a kind offer, I answer and my heart literally pounds. But I would never impose on you like that. If you’re working tomorrow, I’ll pick it up then.

There are three bubbles. She’s typing.

But nothing comes through.

I wait.

The three bubbles are still there, then they disappear.

Still nothing.

I can’t help but picture her in her overly-tight waitress uniform. The bright blue complemented her skin tone, and her tits were busting out of the top. The skirt was short, and it’s quite possible that she made it that way on purpose.

For a minute, being a red-blooded man, I picture that ass bent over a chair, her uniform skirt hitched up to her hips. Her lacy panties would be shoved to the side…and I think she’d be shaved.

I indulge for just a second, then I push the images out of my head. It’s a fantasy. That’s all.

I’m normal.

I love my wife.

I miss my wife.

Corinne is my world.

I jam my phone into my pocket as my door opens with my next patient.

“Mr. Ford,” I greet the elderly man in front of me, the one with OCD who is at this very moment wiping his feet on the carpet as he walks to wipe away all germs from his shoes. He does it a thousand times a day. “I’m so glad to see you. How have you been?”

He takes a seat in the chair across from me, careful to keep his right foot crossed over the left, and for the next hour, I’m immersed in the world of an obsessive man. This week, his new habit is stepping on a particular stair-step on his porch precisely four times every time he goes home.

We discuss coping mechanisms, and the chemical reasons that OCD could be at play in his brain, and when we’re nearly done, I find him staring at the portrait of Corinne and me sitting on my desk.

“You’re a lucky man,” he tells me, and his cloudy eyes are pensive. “I lost my Helen a decade ago. I haven’t been the same since.”

No, he hasn’t. His OCD emerged that year, when he was lost in grief.

“I am lucky,” I agree. “My wife is a brilliant woman.”

“She’s a looker, too,” Mr. Ford observes, and I try to see the picture through the fresh eyes of a stranger.

Corinne’s eyes are bright and blue, her hair long and blond. She’s thin, she’s trim, she’s tall. Her legs are long, her smile bright.

She is a looker. Sometimes I forget that.

Probably because I haven’t seen her in days and days.

I hide my stress. My patients don’t get to hear my very real and very human problems.

We finish our session and Mr. Ford leaves, and I wrap up my notes. When I’m finished, I’m surprised to realize that it’s lunchtime.

Ginny pokes her head in. “Hey, boss. I’m going out for lunch. Should I bring you something back?”

I could meet you for lunch?

Unbidden, the texted words flash through my mind, and guiltily, I push them away. Fuck, man. Not cool.

“I’m good,” I tell Ginny, and I think my words have a double meaning. I’m good. I don’t have straying thoughts about a woman who isn’t my wife. Not real straying thoughts.

Ginny leaves, and I grab my jacket, and as I do, my phone buzzes, and I think my wife might’ve texted me back.

I’m startled when I see that I’m wrong.

It’s not Corinne.

It’s a picture.

Of Zoe.

I was right. She’s shaved.

My heart thuds as I stare at the nude picture.

Her tits are big and full and her thumb is brushing her nipple, her other hand caressing her shaved vagina. Her eyes are big and turned to the camera in a sultry gaze, and she’s completely and absolutely naked.

Are you freaking kidding me?

I swallow hard, and it’s not like I haven’t been hit on before. I have. But this is different. It’s so blatant, so outrageous, and frankly, in some hidden and shameful spot, it turns me on.

Fuck, man.

I’m sorry, I’m married, I reply, typing with shocked wooden fingers.

Because I’m good. The stiffness in my crotch doesn’t count.

Three bubbles.

That’s fine, she answers. Do you want a girlfriend?

Sweet Jesus.

She can’t be serious. Is her generation so blatant and direct?

No, I answer. Sorry.

Three bubbles.

Hmm. We’ll see.

 

Courtney Cole is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could.

She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds.

Courtney was born and raised in rural Kansas, but has since migrated south. She now lives in Florida and writes beneath palm trees.

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Rebel Heart by Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland ~ COVER REVEAL

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A Contemporary Romance Duet

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Authors
Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland

Rush and Gia’s story continues in the gripping conclusion to Rebel Heir…

How to screw up a great summer in the Hamptons:

Sleep with your boss. Check.

Blow all your money on a rental you can’t afford. Check.

How to walk away from a man you fall in love with at the end of a summer:

…I’ll let you know when I figure it out.

Rebel Heir is the second book in the Rush Series Duet.  Book One, Rebel Heir, is available for sale now.

Model:  Micah Truitt
Photographer:  Leonardo Corredor
Cover designer:  Sommer Stein, Perfect Pear Creative

***  PREORDER NOW ~ RELEASE MAY 22, 2018  ***
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How to kick off a great summer in the Hamptons:

Snag a gorgeous rental on the beach. Check.

Get a job at a trendy summer haunt. Check.

How to screw up a great summer in the Hamptons:

Fall for the one guy with a dark leather jacket, scruff on his face, and intense eyes that doesn’t fit in with the rest of the tony looking crowd.  A guy you can’t have when you’ll be leaving at the end of the season.

Check. Check. Check.

I should add—especially when the guy is your sexy, tattooed God of a boss.

Especially when he not only owns your place of employment but inherited half of the town.

Especially when he’s mean to you.

Or so I thought.

Until one night when he demanded I get in his car so he could drive me home because he didn’t want me walking in the dark.

That was sort of how it all started with Rush.

And then little by little, some of the walls of this hardass man started to come down.

I never expected that the two of us, seemingly opposites from the outside, would grow so close.

I wasn’t supposed to fall for the rebel heir, especially when he made it clear he didn’t want to cross the line with me.

As the temperature turned cooler, the nights became hotter.  My summer became a lot more interesting—and complicated.

All good things must come to an end, right?

Except our ending was one I didn’t see coming.

Rebel Heir is the first book in the Rush Series Duet.  Book Two, Rebel Heart, will release six weeks later on May, 22, 2018.

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Penelope Ward

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling author of thirteen novels. With over a million books sold, her titles have placed on the New York Times Bestseller list seventeen times. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 12-year-old girl with autism (the inspiration for the character Callie in Gemini) and a 10-year-old boy. Penelope, her husband, and kids reside in Rhode Island.

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 Vi Keeland

Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. With more than a million books sold, her titles have appeared in over fifty Bestseller lists and are currently translated in fourteen languages. She lives in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.

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NEW RELEASE!! One Wild Night by AL Jackson & Rebecca Shea

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A flirty, sexy contemporary romance from bestselling authors, A.L. Jackson and Rebecca Shea . . .

Kaylee Rose Burton, kindergarten teacher, has never been a believer in fantasies.

Living in L.A. her entire life, she knows the glitz and glam of Hollywood is just an illusion.

That is until she stumbles head first into the arms of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor.

It was just another day for Paxton Myles on the red carpet until the blue-eyed beauty literally stumbles at his feet.  

A single glimpse in her innocent eyes and he knows he has to have her.  

After one night of unbridled passion, Kaylee slips away to live her quite life, but the paparazzi has other ideas.

When Kaylee’s world comes crashing down, can Paxton convince her that their one wild night could turn into forever?

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One Wild Night is a fun, light, quick read. In a huge step away from their usual fare, this book is light – but not completely devoid – of the heavy angst and deeply emotional themes we usually see from both of these authors. It was obvious as I was reading they had fun writing this book, the joy of the process shown through in the writing.

One Wild Night is the first book in a series of crossovers expected from AL Jackson and Rebecca Shea called the Hollywood Chronicles. They are purported to be a series of interconnected standalones, and I am so excited to see what is to come. One Wild Night is written in dual first-person perspective, narrated by Kaylee and Paxton.

This couple, Kaylee and Paxton had great chemistry. I’m a sucker for a celebrity falling for a ‘normal’ person, so this was right in my wheelhouse. Paxton was the highlight of the story, his persistence and the way he cared for Kaylee when she was so hesitant to pursue more than a single night with her celebrity crush endeared him to my heart.

The plot was fun and moved quickly. It wasn’t hugely revolutionary, but that is what makes these kinds of books, so fun to spend a few hours with on a lazy weekend. While this was a short read, it didn’t feel lacking in any way, sure it was insta-love, but it totally worked for this book. I appreciated that Ms. Jackson and Ms. Shea still added a sprinkling of angst and emotion into this book, it kept One Wild Night from feeling too light to have come from such heavy hitters.

I love that two of my favorite authors, AL Jackson and Rebecca Shea, came together to collaborate on this novel and series. I always love both of their books and getting a little of each of them in one place is a dream come true. I do hope that eventually, they write something heavier because I can only imagine how deeply they could destroy me if they minds to it.

A.L. Jackson is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. She writes emotional, sexy, heart-filled stories about boys who usually like to be a little bit bad.

Her bestselling series include THE REGRET SERIES, CLOSER TO YOU, and BLEEDING STARS novels. Watch for A.L. Jackson’s upcoming novel, SHOW ME THE WAY, the first stand-alone novel in her brand-new FIGHT FOR ME SERIES.

If she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the pool with her family, sipping cocktails with her friends, or of course with her nose buried in a book.

Be sure not to miss new releases and sales from A.L. Jackson – Sign up to receive her newsletter http://smarturl.it/NewsFromALJackson or text “aljackson” to 24587 to receive short but sweet updates on all the important news.

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Rebecca Shea is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Unbreakable series (Unbreakable, Undone, and Unforgiven) and theBound and Broken series (Broken by Lies and Bound by Lies). She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her family. From the time Rebecca could read she has had a passion for books. Rebecca spends her days working and her nights writing, bringing stories to life. Born and raised in Minnesota, Rebecca moved to Arizona in 1999 to escape the bitter winters. When not working or writing, she can be found on the sidelines of her sons’ football games, or watching her daughter at ballet class. Rebecca is fueled by insane amounts of coffee, margaritas, Laffy Taffy (except the banana ones), and happily ever afters.

 

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ENTER HERE!!

Sever by Mary Elizabeth ~ Sarah A’s Review

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Misery overstayed its welcome.

But fate will not be so easily swayed.

Gabriella Mason and Teller Reddy have walked a thin line between affection and hostility for years. The intensity that once set them on fire has ended their engagement and separated them by more than just miles.

Forced together by circumstances they never saw coming, Gabriella and Teller have no choice but to face the past that brought them together and ultimately severed them apart.

Wrecked and Damaged have collided.

This is what happens when they try to pick up the pieces.

***  AVAILABLE IN KINDLE UNLIMITED  ***
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FREAKING FINALLY!  I have been waiting for this book for FOREVER!  Or it seems like that, at least.  It was really not quite 18 months, but I’m impatient.  Totally worth the wait.  I will tell you, if you have any doubts about your retention of the events of Closer, you should definitely do a reread, I started this book thinking it would come back to me and I was completely wrong.

Sever is the second book in Mary Elizabeth’s Closer duet.  It is NOT a standalone; it is imperative that Closer is read beforehand.  Sever jumps right in where Closer left off, with no rehashing of the events of the previous novel.  Sever is written in dual first-person perspective, narrated by Teller and Ella.

I still hate Ella and Teller, but I think I understand them better after reading Sever.  They are both deeply broken and volatile, each because of the neglect of a parent who was far more concerned with themselves than they were their children.  When they were together, it was a powder keg waiting for the tiniest of sparks.  They were explosive, in all ways, their love was intense, their hatred all-consuming, their destructive behaviors could devastate a small country

Teller redeemed himself a little in this book; he showed himself to have the ability to be level-headed and considerate.  Ella, however, was far more erratic and mean.  I did appreciate how Teller attempted to soothe her mind, body, and soul throughout the story.  Their relationship may have been highly unhealthy, but there was never any question about how passionately they felt toward one another.

Sever was, much like its predecessor, highly compelling.  It kept me glued to the pages; I felt uncomfortable each time I had to set it down.  It never fell into a comfortable place where I was okay with not knowing what was going to happen next.  Sever was angst-filled and didn’t give any satisfaction for a good portion of the novel.  Even in the final few chapters, there was some question as to the fate of the characters.  Those chapters made the story feel real because real-life is never filled with magical healing and happily ever afters.  Life is work, relationships are hard, and if you don’t feed them and care for them, they will disintegrate.  I’m glad every character involved was willing to put in the effort to keep their relationships whole and healthy.

Mary Elizabeth is proving herself to be a powerful wordsmith.  Both of these books made me feel EVERYTHING and feel it everywhere.  Nothing was on the surface in this series; both books were raw and real and difficult.  I love a book that makes me work for it, and these did that.  After the wild ride that was the Closer series, I can’t wait to see what Mary Elizabeth has in store for her readers.

“So,” Mili starts not-so-subtly. “Teller tells me you’re selling your dad’s house up north.”

“My realtor called me yesterday and said we received an offer. I accepted this morning.” There’s no point in hiding the disappointment that burns my eyes.

“That was fast,” she replies. Her caring, motherly tone leaves me uncomfortable. Mili Reddy has never treated me like anything less than a member of the family, but even after all this time, I can’t fully accept maternal affection. Dysfunction forced on me by my absentee mother fills the empty spaces with awkwardness and strain. “Did you think it was going to sell that quickly?”

“No,” I answer.

She nods her head. “Did you want to sell the house, Ella?”

“No,” I say. It’s the first time I’ve admitted the truth to anyone, let alone myself. My decision to return to St. Helena and sell the house was rash, and one I made without thinking. “But it’s probably for the best.”

“I heard you saw your mom,” she says thoughtfully.

A gunshot of disappointment and grief blasts through me, leaving me full of holes that expose my every fear. I’m taken back to the moment I saw the woman who brought me into the world for the first time since she abandoned her family. She looked the same but rougher around the edges. My mother, Karen Mason, has more gray hair than brown, which used to match my own. There are lines around her eyes and a filter on her face that all former drug addicts wear.

For years, I thought about what I would say if I ever saw her again, but when the moment came, I was wordless. Time stood still, and the only thought that crossed my mind as I stopped face-to-face with the past was that I wanted Teller.

“That won’t happen again now that the house sold. I won’t go back there,” I say.

Mili takes my hand, amplifying my level of freaking out. I could open the car door, jump, and run for the sake of my state of mind.

I’m messed up.

How broken does a person need to be to risk road rash than face emotional honesty?

“I can’t begin to imagine how painful that was for you, sweet girl. But do you think a conversation with her might give you closure?”

“Can I ask you a question?” I ask.

She squeezes my hand. “Yes.”

“How does a mother leave her kids?” That’s what it comes down to. I don’t have kids, and I don’t know if I can bring myself to have them after what I’ve been through, but from what I know, it’s a crime against nature to abandon the lives a person forces into the world. I didn’t ask to be born, and I didn’t ask for abandonment. I’m a victim of circumstance, and it royally screwed me up.

“Well,” she starts, letting go of my hand and returning hers to the steering wheel. “As a mother, I don’t know if I can give you the answer you’re looking for. My children are complicated beings, and I don’t always like them, but I will always love them. They could never do anything to change my mind about being their mom despite their complications.”

We come to a slow stop at a red light, and I chuckle because said complications are the understatement of the century. Maby is mad, and Teller is layered.

“I am not a perfect parent,” she continues. “I’ve contributed to the people they’ve grown to be, and I have a lot of guilt every time Maby locks herself in her room for a week at a time, or when my son chases the girl of his dreams across the state when all she wants is to be left alone.”

I scoff, and she smiles.

“There have been plenty of times when I wonder if they’d be better off without me. I understand your mother’s thought process.” Mili parks the car in front of Maby’s place. “All parents think about running away from their families during the hard times. What I don’t understand is how she decided to do it. I can’t even begin to imagine how she felt about herself to truly believe you would be better without her influence.”

“She was on drugs,” I say. “She wanted her habit more than she wanted Em and me.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Mili takes my face in her hands. “But don’t ever question her love for you, Ella. Love for a child is not something a mother can turn off. You’re loved by so many, and I, for one, am thankful to have you in my life. I’ve watched you grow into a caring, intelligent woman who loves so hard and completely you don’t know what to do with it. That’s not a bad thing, Ella.”

“I don’t know how you can say that.” My tears run through her fingers. “With everything Teller and I have been through—”

Mili tilts her head back and laughs in the same exact way her son did earlier tonight. “Honey, my kid means the world to me, but that boy will drive the sanest person insane. I don’t think anyone blames you for slapping him around sometimes.”

“You can’t be serious.” I roll my tear-filled eyes.

She unbuckles her seat belt and opens the car door, letting in the cold night’s air. With one foot on the pavement, she looks over her shoulder and says, “I’m only half-serious. You guys drive me wild. Get it together.”

We spend the rest of the night in a blur of exfoliations and girl talk. I cringe when Nic gossips about her sex life with Emerson and swoon with Mili when she reminisces romantic moments with Theodore, who’s normally a hard ass. As they talk about how much they adore the men in their lives, substantial longing lodges my heart into my throat. It drowns out our conversation to a low hum, and I am restless.

Mili pats my thigh and whispers, “Are you okay?”

Nodding slightly, I’m claustrophobic under my charcoal face mask and blocked between Maby and her mom.

“I’ll be right back.” I grab my cell phone from the coffee table in front of me, knocking over my champagne flute, and escape to the backyard.

I can breathe under the stars, but I can’t escape the reality of what I’ve done: overreacted. Teller should’ve been honest with me, but I shouldn’t have destroyed the life we were only beginning to create together. If there’s one thing Teller has given me since the first moment we met, it’s unconditional devotion. In return, I accepted him no matter what.

Until I didn’t.

My hands tremble as I pull up his number, and my heart doubles, triples in size as it rings.

And it completely stops when he doesn’t answer.

Gabriella Mason is damaged.

Teller Reddy is wrecked.

Misery loves company, and that’s exactly what Ella gets the afternoon her path crosses with Teller’s: the misunderstood premed student who instantly becomes her lifeline when she moves to Los Angeles, an attempt at escaping her heartbreaking past.

In the beginning, Lonely and Defensive complete each other. But in the end, their relationship is like broken glass—cutthroat and jagged.

Calling it off before they kill each other, Ella and Teller decide to “just be friends” despite the intensity that binds them together. It’s a delicate foundation rocked by tragedy, effectively destroying the illusion they’ve so carefully built.

Unable to deny what’s between them any longer, this is what happens when wrecked and damaged collide and close is still not close enough.

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Mary Elizabeth is an up and coming author who finds words in chaos, writing stories about the skeletons hanging in your closets.

Mary was born and raised in Southern California. She is a wife, mother of four beautiful children, and dog tamer to one enthusiastic Pit Bull and a prissy Chihuahua. She’s a hairstylist by day but contemporary fiction, new adult author by night. Mary can often be found finger twirling her hair and chewing on a stick of licorice while writing and rewriting a sentence over and over until it’s perfect. She discovered her talent for tale-telling accidentally, but literature is in her chokehold. And she’s not letting go until every story is told.

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Close Cover by Lexi Blake ~ Sarah A’s Review

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Remy Guidry doesn’t do relationships. He tried the marriage thing once, back in Louisiana, and learned the hard way that all he really needs in life is a cold beer, some good friends, and the occasional hookup. His job as a bodyguard with McKay-Taggart gives him purpose and lovely perks, like access to Sanctum. The last thing he needs in his life is a woman with stars in her eyes and babies in her future.

Lisa Daley’s life is finally going in the right direction. She has finally graduated from college after years of putting herself through school. She’s got a new job at an accounting firm and she’s finished her Sanctum training. Finally on her own and having fun, her life seems pretty perfect. Except she’s lonely and the one man she wants won’t give her a second look.

There is one other little glitch. Apparently, her new firm is really a front for the mob and now they want her dead. Assassins can really ruin a fun girls’ night out. Suddenly strapped to the very same six-foot-five-inch hunk of a bodyguard who makes her heart pound, Lisa can’t decide if this situation is a blessing or a curse.

As the mob closes in, Remy takes his tempting new charge back to the safest place he knows—his home in the bayou. Surrounded by his past, he can’t help wondering if Lisa is his future. To answer that question, he just has to keep her alive.

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It’s no secret I love Lexi Blake. I’d been looking forward to this crossover event and her book, in particular, for some time. By any other standard this book would be excellent, by the standard set by Lexi in this and other series, however, it just didn’t quite live up to what I’ve come to expect from her.

Close Cover is the sixteenth book in Lexi Blake’s Masters and Mercenaries series. This book can be read as a standalone, there are characters from previous books in that series, and it does touch on the other couples from the Masters and Mercenaries crossover event, but nothing that takes away from the understanding of this novel. Close Cover is the only full-length novel in the Masters and Mercenaries crossover. This book is written in third-person semi-omniscient perspective, alternatively following Lisa and Remy’s thoughts.

Secret keeping, misinformation, lying by omission. One of the more frustrating tropes in romance and this book was rife with it. From Remy and Lisa’s first meaningful interaction to the greatest conflict of their relationship. While I did understand Remy’s motivations in both situations, you could feel they were headed for disaster because he wasn’t forthright with Lisa about his feelings about her and the reason for his reentry to her life.

I was rooting for Lisa and Remy, I continually had mixed feelings about them – for myriad reasons – but they were pretty adorable together. I especially loved how reverently he spoke of, and to, her. The suspension scene was sublime; his poetry transcended the beauty of the rest of the scene. Lisa sometimes felt beyond awkward when they were together, the crux of their connection definitely rested on Remy’s massive shoulders.

Close Cover was well-paced. I never felt like there was a lull in the forward momentum of the book. It did have a little less action than I’ve come to expect from the Masters and Mercenaries series, and most of the tension was developed with speculation and revelations of coincidental past events. Lexi Blake did a great job of feeding her readers enough crumbs of information to feel invested in the plot without giving so much that the entirety of the plot was predictable.

I wish I would have felt more connected to the characters in this book. I’m not sure what was lacking, but I didn’t feel the deep emotional tie to these characters that I usually do when reading Ms. Blake’s stories. They fell a little flat for me, Lisa more so than Remy; he felt more well-developed than she did.

Lexi Blake is one of my favorite authors. She always develops interesting and suspenseful plots, with sympathetic characters. She writes strong heroines, who’s best qualities are complemented by their life partners. This book, while not my favorite of hers, carried those traits and was a great way to conclude the Masters and Mercenaries crossover series.

The light in his face blocked out the view of the man interrogating him. Remy blinked in the glare and sighed. He should have known this wouldn’t go the way he’d hoped it would. He’d come back to Dallas as a courtesy and now he had to worry that maybe he wouldn’t make it out of this office again.

He should have filed his report and run the other way, but the truth was this had been his team and it was in ruins now. Well, what some would call ruins. They had been a fully cohesive unit and then the last few weeks had played out the way they had and their ranks had been decimated.

One by one they’d fallen…

The team he’d known so well these last few years was gone and it wouldn’t be the same again.

“I want to know what happened,” a deep voice said.

Remy sat back. He wasn’t about to let that bastard know for a second that he was mildly intimidated. Besides, after everything that had happened in the past few weeks, the asshole probably had a right to take a chunk out of his hide. “It’s all in my report.”

There was the sound of shuffling and then his report slid across the desk and bounced into his lap.

“You mean this? This tells me nothing.”

“It tells you everything you need to know about what happened in Papillon. I’ve documented everything thoroughly, including all the bloody parts and where I buried the bodies in case you need them for anything. Of course, given where I was at the time, those bodies might not last long. The bayou tends to take everything it can from a man if he’s not moving. Sometimes even when he is.”

As his brother had learned. God, he hoped his brother forgave him one day. Of everything that had happened in Louisiana, his brother’s pain was the one thing he truly regretted.

Remy picked up the report he’d submitted only last week when he’d done all his exit paperwork. He thought he’d been extremely thorough in his mission report. His final report.

“Tell me what else you need from me, Tag.”

It was his last report because he wouldn’t be back here again. Not to work. After what had happened that wasn’t possible. He was needed somewhere else.

After a difficult childhood and a turbulent stint in the military, Declan Burke finally got his act together. Now he’s a battle-hardened professional bodyguard who takes his job at McKay-Taggart seriously and his playtime – and his playmates – just as seriously. One thing he never does, however, is mix business with pleasure. But when the mysterious, gorgeous Suzanne D’Angelo needs his protection from a stalker, his desire for her burns out of control, tempting him to break all the rules…even as he’s drawn into a dark, dangerous world he didn’t know existed. 

Suzanne is an earthbound angel on her critical first mission: protecting Declan from an emerging supernatural threat at all costs. To keep him close, she hires him as her bodyguard. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that she’s in over her head, defenseless against this devastatingly sexy human who makes her crave his forbidden touch. 

Together they’ll have to draw on every ounce of their collective training to resist each other as the enemy closes in, but soon it becomes apparent that nothing could have prepared them for the menace to their lives…or their hearts.

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McKay-Taggart operative Riley Blade has no intention of returning to Los Angeles after his brief stint as a consultant on mega-star Lyle Tarpin’s latest action flick. Not even for Natasha Black, Tarpin’s sexy personal assistant who’d gotten under his skin. Why would he, when Tasha made it absolutely clear that—attraction or not—she wasn’t interested in a fling, much less a relationship. 

But when Riley learns that someone is stalking her, he races to her side. Determined to not only protect her, but to convince her that—no matter what has hurt her in the past—he’s not only going to fight for her, he’s going to win her heart. Forever.

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I’ve had two goals my entire life: 

  1. Make it big in country music.
  2. Get the hell out of Bell Buckle.

I was doing it. I was on my way, until Cooper Townsend landed backstage at my show in Dallas. 

This gorgeous, rugged, man of few words was one cowboy I couldn’t afford to let distract me. But with his slow smile and rough hands, I just couldn’t keep away. 

Now, there are outside forces conspiring against us. Maybe we should’ve known better? Maybe not. Even with the protection from Wade Rycroft, bodyguard for McKay-Taggart, I still don’t feel safe. I won’t let him get hurt because of me. All I know is that I want to hold on, but know the right thing to do is to let go…

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Talia Shaw has spent her adult life working as a scientist for a big pharmaceutical company. She’s focused on saving lives, not living life. When her lab is broken into and it’s clear someone is after the top-secret formula she’s working on, she turns to the one man she can trust. The same irresistible man she turned away years earlier because she was too young and naive to believe a sexy guy like Shane Landon could want her.

Shane Landon’s bodyguard work for McKay-Taggart is the one thing that brings him satisfaction in his life. Relationships come in second to the job. Always. Then little brainiac Talia Shaw shows up in his backyard, frightened and on the run, and his world is turned upside down. And not just because she’s found him naked in his outdoor shower, either.

With Talia’s life in danger, Shane has to get her out of town and to her eccentric, hermit mentor who has the final piece of the formula she’s been working on, while keeping her safe from the men who are after her. Guarding Talia’s body certainly isn’t any hardship, but he never expects to fall hard and fast for his best friend’s little sister and the only woman who’s ever really gotten under his skin.

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Sadie Jennings was used to being protected. As the niece of Sean Taggart, and the receptionist at McKay-Taggart Group, she was constantly surrounded by Alpha men more than capable, and willing, to lay down their life for her. But when she visits her friend in San Antonio, and acts on suspicious activity at Milena’s workplace, Sadie puts both of them in the crosshairs of a madman. After several harrowing weeks, her friend is now safe, but for Sadie, the repercussions of her rash act linger on.

Chase Jackson, no stranger to dangerous situations as a captain in the US Army, has volunteered himself as Sadie’s bodyguard. He fell head over heels for the beautiful woman the first time he laid eyes on her. With a Delta Force team at his back, he reassures the Taggart’s that Sadie will be safe. But when the situation in San Antonio catches up with her, Chase has to use everything he’s learned over his career to keep his promise…and to keep Sadie alive long enough to officially make her his.

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NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog int eh 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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His to Protect by Carly Phillips ~ Sarah A’s Review

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Talia Shaw has spent her adult life working as a scientist for a big pharmaceutical company. She’s focused on saving lives, not living life. When her lab is broken into and it’s clear someone is after the top-secret formula she’s working on, she turns to the one man she can trust. The same irresistible man she turned away years earlier because she was too young and naive to believe a sexy guy like Shane Landon could want her.

Shane Landon’s bodyguard work for McKay-Taggart is the one thing that brings him satisfaction in his life. Relationships come in second to the job. Always. Then little brainiac Talia Shaw shows up in his backyard, frightened and on the run, and his world is turned upside down. And not just because she’s found him naked in his outdoor shower, either.

With Talia’s life in danger, Shane has to get her out of town and to her eccentric, hermit mentor who has the final piece of the formula she’s been working on, while keeping her safe from the men who are after her. Guarding Talia’s body certainly isn’t any hardship, but he never expects to fall hard and fast for his best friend’s little sister and the only woman who’s ever really gotten under his skin.

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THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I HOPED FOR FROM THIS CROSSOVER EVENT! (Yes, shouty capitals!) This is my favorite of the novellas in this series. It felt like a complete story, I didn’t feel like I was missing a ton of information about the series I wasn’t familiar with, and it included the McKay-Taggart world in a meaningful way.

His to Protect is listed as book 2.5 in Carly Phillips’ Bodyguard Bad Boys series and falls in the same timeline as the sixteenth book in Lexi Blake’s Masters and Mercenaries series. This book can be read as a complete standalone. His to Protect is written in third-person semi-omniscient perspective, alternatively following Talia and Shane’s thoughts.

I freaking loved Talia and Shane. They were both so strong, so independent, so confident in who they were. Having two characters who are completely comfortable in their own skin and lot in life seems rare in the world of romance and having two characters like that find one another made me giddy. I loved that they wanted the same things in life and were both completely honest with the fact they weren’t in a place where they thought a relationship was important or feasible.

Though this book was a novella, it didn’t feel rushed or lacking in any way. The plot moved quickly and, while the action was intense, I felt like plenty of time was spent on building the connection between Talia and Shane. In a novella that can be a hard balance to find and Ms. Phillips did an amazing job of striking it.

This is my first time reading Carly Phillips, and if this is indicative of her normal writing, I’m a huge fan. Her prose was engaging and exact. I loved that she didn’t include a bunch of superfluous information for the sake of filling pages. I was wholly impressed with every part of this book, from characterization to plot to style, and look forward to reading more of Ms. Phillips’ work.

Remy Guidry doesn’t do relationships. He tried the marriage thing once, back in Louisiana, and learned the hard way that all he really needs in life is a cold beer, some good friends, and the occasional hookup. His job as a bodyguard with McKay-Taggart gives him purpose and lovely perks, like access to Sanctum. The last thing he needs in his life is a woman with stars in her eyes and babies in her future.

Lisa Daley’s life is finally going in the right direction. She has finally graduated from college after years of putting herself through school. She’s got a new job at an accounting firm and she’s finished her Sanctum training. Finally on her own and having fun, her life seems pretty perfect. Except she’s lonely and the one man she wants won’t give her a second look.

There is one other little glitch. Apparently, her new firm is really a front for the mob and now they want her dead. Assassins can really ruin a fun girls’ night out. Suddenly strapped to the very same six-foot-five-inch hunk of a bodyguard who makes her heart pound, Lisa can’t decide if this situation is a blessing or a curse.

As the mob closes in, Remy takes his tempting new charge back to the safest place he knows—his home in the bayou. Surrounded by his past, he can’t help wondering if Lisa is his future. To answer that question, he just has to keep her alive.

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | GooglePlay

After a difficult childhood and a turbulent stint in the military, Declan Burke finally got his act together. Now he’s a battle-hardened professional bodyguard who takes his job at McKay-Taggart seriously and his playtime – and his playmates – just as seriously. One thing he never does, however, is mix business with pleasure. But when the mysterious, gorgeous Suzanne D’Angelo needs his protection from a stalker, his desire for her burns out of control, tempting him to break all the rules…even as he’s drawn into a dark, dangerous world he didn’t know existed. 

Suzanne is an earthbound angel on her critical first mission: protecting Declan from an emerging supernatural threat at all costs. To keep him close, she hires him as her bodyguard. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that she’s in over her head, defenseless against this devastatingly sexy human who makes her crave his forbidden touch. 

Together they’ll have to draw on every ounce of their collective training to resist each other as the enemy closes in, but soon it becomes apparent that nothing could have prepared them for the menace to their lives…or their hearts.

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | GooglePlay

McKay-Taggart operative Riley Blade has no intention of returning to Los Angeles after his brief stint as a consultant on mega-star Lyle Tarpin’s latest action flick. Not even for Natasha Black, Tarpin’s sexy personal assistant who’d gotten under his skin. Why would he, when Tasha made it absolutely clear that—attraction or not—she wasn’t interested in a fling, much less a relationship. 

But when Riley learns that someone is stalking her, he races to her side. Determined to not only protect her, but to convince her that—no matter what has hurt her in the past—he’s not only going to fight for her, he’s going to win her heart. Forever.

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | GooglePlay

I’ve had two goals my entire life: 

  1. Make it big in country music.
  2. Get the hell out of Bell Buckle.

I was doing it. I was on my way, until Cooper Townsend landed backstage at my show in Dallas. 

This gorgeous, rugged, man of few words was one cowboy I couldn’t afford to let distract me. But with his slow smile and rough hands, I just couldn’t keep away. 

Now, there are outside forces conspiring against us. Maybe we should’ve known better? Maybe not. Even with the protection from Wade Rycroft, bodyguard for McKay-Taggart, I still don’t feel safe. I won’t let him get hurt because of me. All I know is that I want to hold on, but know the right thing to do is to let go…

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | GooglePlay

Sadie Jennings was used to being protected. As the niece of Sean Taggart, and the receptionist at McKay-Taggart Group, she was constantly surrounded by Alpha men more than capable, and willing, to lay down their life for her. But when she visits her friend in San Antonio, and acts on suspicious activity at Milena’s workplace, Sadie puts both of them in the crosshairs of a madman. After several harrowing weeks, her friend is now safe, but for Sadie, the repercussions of her rash act linger on.

Chase Jackson, no stranger to dangerous situations as a captain in the US Army, has volunteered himself as Sadie’s bodyguard. He fell head over heels for the beautiful woman the first time he laid eyes on her. With a Delta Force team at his back, he reassures the Taggart’s that Sadie will be safe. But when the situation in San Antonio catches up with her, Chase has to use everything he’s learned over his career to keep his promise…and to keep Sadie alive long enough to officially make her his.

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Carly Phillips is the NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of over 50 sexy contemporary romance novels, including the Indie published, Dare to Love Series. She is happily married to her college sweetheart, the mother of two nearly adult daughters and three crazy dogs. Carly loves social media and is always around to interact with her readers.

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Say You Won’t Let Go by Corinne Michaels ~ Sarah A’s Review

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I’ve had two goals my entire life: 

  1. Make it big in country music.
  2. Get the hell out of Bell Buckle.

I was doing it. I was on my way, until Cooper Townsend landed backstage at my show in Dallas. 

This gorgeous, rugged, man of few words was one cowboy I couldn’t afford to let distract me. But with his slow smile and rough hands, I just couldn’t keep away. 

Now, there are outside forces conspiring against us. Maybe we should’ve known better? Maybe not. Even with the protection from Wade Rycroft, bodyguard for McKay-Taggart, I still don’t feel safe. I won’t let him get hurt because of me. All I know is that I want to hold on, but know the right thing to do is to let go…

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | GooglePlay

 

Say You Won’t Let Go is the reason I found Lexi Blake.  I heard about this crossover last year and wanted to have an understanding of the Masters and Mercenaries world, so I picked up my first Lexi Blake book, and my obsession began.  I’ve loved Corinne Michaels’ writing for a while, and I knew Cooped needed his story told and I’m happy to have finally experienced his happy ending.

Say You Won’t Let Go is book 3.5 in Corinne Michaels’ Return to Me series and falls along the same timeline as Lexi Blakes sixteenth book in her Masters and Mercenaries series.  This novella can be read as a standalone.  Say You Won’t Let Go is written in dual first-person perspective, narrated by Emily and Cooper.

I’m so happy that Cooper finally found happiness of his own.  For so long he’d been living with whatever situation he’d been forced into and, because he is such a stand-up guy, he shouldered the responsibility and made sure everyone else was taken care of as best he could.  Him finally taking the reins, shirking an iota of duty, and going after what he wanted was sublime.

I loved Cooper and Emily together.  Having seen them throughout the other books in Ms. Michaels’ series gave me added insight into who they were and what their chemistry was like, and I’m thankful for that.  I appreciated their quick jump into love more because I knew them better than I had the other characters in this crossover.

The plot of Say You Won’t Let Go was intense and compelling; both in terms of building Emily and Cooper’s relationship and the situation for which Emily required a bodyguard.  I needed to know how far her stalker would go, why he was so obsessed, and who he was.  At one point I was sure I’d figured it out but was completely off base.

My biggest wish for this book is that it had been more inclusive of Lexi Blake’s world.  The character from her series is a great supporting character, where I would have loved to have seen him be a main character.  We barely got to know him at all and, except for being employed by McKay-Taggart, the ties to that world were tenuous at best.  I was also left without much closure on one of the major storylines and wish it had been fully fleshed out.

Corinne Michaels is one of my go-to authors.  I’ve read all of her published work and love her writing style.  She stories are always emotionally charged and include real-life issues.  It’s because of inclusion of those issues I feel like her books are always relatable.  Not everything is always sunshine and roses, and her writing reflects the real world pain people have to deal with.

Remy Guidry doesn’t do relationships. He tried the marriage thing once, back in Louisiana, and learned the hard way that all he really needs in life is a cold beer, some good friends, and the occasional hookup. His job as a bodyguard with McKay-Taggart gives him purpose and lovely perks, like access to Sanctum. The last thing he needs in his life is a woman with stars in her eyes and babies in her future.

Lisa Daley’s life is finally going in the right direction. She has finally graduated from college after years of putting herself through school. She’s got a new job at an accounting firm and she’s finished her Sanctum training. Finally on her own and having fun, her life seems pretty perfect. Except she’s lonely and the one man she wants won’t give her a second look.

There is one other little glitch. Apparently, her new firm is really a front for the mob and now they want her dead. Assassins can really ruin a fun girls’ night out. Suddenly strapped to the very same six-foot-five-inch hunk of a bodyguard who makes her heart pound, Lisa can’t decide if this situation is a blessing or a curse.

As the mob closes in, Remy takes his tempting new charge back to the safest place he knows—his home in the bayou. Surrounded by his past, he can’t help wondering if Lisa is his future. To answer that question, he just has to keep her alive.

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | GooglePlay

After a difficult childhood and a turbulent stint in the military, Declan Burke finally got his act together. Now he’s a battle-hardened professional bodyguard who takes his job at McKay-Taggart seriously and his playtime – and his playmates – just as seriously. One thing he never does, however, is mix business with pleasure. But when the mysterious, gorgeous Suzanne D’Angelo needs his protection from a stalker, his desire for her burns out of control, tempting him to break all the rules…even as he’s drawn into a dark, dangerous world he didn’t know existed. 

Suzanne is an earthbound angel on her critical first mission: protecting Declan from an emerging supernatural threat at all costs. To keep him close, she hires him as her bodyguard. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that she’s in over her head, defenseless against this devastatingly sexy human who makes her crave his forbidden touch. 

Together they’ll have to draw on every ounce of their collective training to resist each other as the enemy closes in, but soon it becomes apparent that nothing could have prepared them for the menace to their lives…or their hearts.

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | GooglePlay

McKay-Taggart operative Riley Blade has no intention of returning to Los Angeles after his brief stint as a consultant on mega-star Lyle Tarpin’s latest action flick. Not even for Natasha Black, Tarpin’s sexy personal assistant who’d gotten under his skin. Why would he, when Tasha made it absolutely clear that—attraction or not—she wasn’t interested in a fling, much less a relationship. 

But when Riley learns that someone is stalking her, he races to her side. Determined to not only protect her, but to convince her that—no matter what has hurt her in the past—he’s not only going to fight for her, he’s going to win her heart. Forever.

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | GooglePlay

Talia Shaw has spent her adult life working as a scientist for a big pharmaceutical company. She’s focused on saving lives, not living life. When her lab is broken into and it’s clear someone is after the top-secret formula she’s working on, she turns to the one man she can trust. The same irresistible man she turned away years earlier because she was too young and naive to believe a sexy guy like Shane Landon could want her.

Shane Landon’s bodyguard work for McKay-Taggart is the one thing that brings him satisfaction in his life. Relationships come in second to the job. Always. Then little brainiac Talia Shaw shows up in his backyard, frightened and on the run, and his world is turned upside down. And not just because she’s found him naked in his outdoor shower, either.

With Talia’s life in danger, Shane has to get her out of town and to her eccentric, hermit mentor who has the final piece of the formula she’s been working on, while keeping her safe from the men who are after her. Guarding Talia’s body certainly isn’t any hardship, but he never expects to fall hard and fast for his best friend’s little sister and the only woman who’s ever really gotten under his skin.

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | GooglePlay

Sadie Jennings was used to being protected. As the niece of Sean Taggart, and the receptionist at McKay-Taggart Group, she was constantly surrounded by Alpha men more than capable, and willing, to lay down their life for her. But when she visits her friend in San Antonio, and acts on suspicious activity at Milena’s workplace, Sadie puts both of them in the crosshairs of a madman. After several harrowing weeks, her friend is now safe, but for Sadie, the repercussions of her rash act linger on.

Chase Jackson, no stranger to dangerous situations as a captain in the US Army, has volunteered himself as Sadie’s bodyguard. He fell head over heels for the beautiful woman the first time he laid eyes on her. With a Delta Force team at his back, he reassures the Taggart’s that Sadie will be safe. But when the situation in San Antonio catches up with her, Chase has to use everything he’s learned over his career to keep his promise…and to keep Sadie alive long enough to officially make her his.

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New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Corinne Michaels is the author of nine romance novels. She’s an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. Corinne is happily married to the man of her dreams and is a former Navy wife.

After spending months away from her husband while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness. She enjoys putting her characters through intense heartbreak and finding a way to heal them through their struggles. Her stories are chock full of emotion, humor, and unrelenting love.

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Mister Tonight by Kendall Ryan ~ COVER REVEAL

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From New York Times bestselling author Kendall Ryan comes a standalone romance about a swoony single dad and the new neighbor he falls for.

Last night was the most embarrassing night of my life.

I was THAT girl.

You know, the highly intoxicated chick celebrating her thirtieth with her two best friends—the ones who are happily married. And the more I drank, the more I wanted to do something reckless to celebrate.

By reckless, I meant the sexy and alluring man dressed in a business suit standing near the bar. You know his type—tall, dark, and handsome. I was sure he was out of my league, but I’d had just enough alcohol that things like that no longer seemed to matter. I’m not fat, mind you, but you can tell I like French fries, so there’s that.

He took me home and I enjoyed the hottest birthday sex of my life, well until it came to a screeching, and rather unwelcome halt.

There’s nothing quite like being interrupted mid-ride with a little voice asking:
“What are you doing to my daddy?”

Just kill me now…… or so I thought.

Come to find out the man I rode like a bull at the rodeo is my new landlord.

***  PREORDER ~ RELEASES JUNE 18  ***
Amazon US | iBooks
Audio coming soon by Andi Arndt & SebYo

 

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She’s a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she’s appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.

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