Cover Reveal – Fighting to Forget

Every fighter is drawn to the violence, the release that a perfect hit can bring.
But very few are drawn to the pain.
Rex Carter lives behind a wall of indifference. The demons from his childhood act as an anesthetic, keeping him distant from emotional connections. Only the ache from a knock to the jaw, sting of a tattoo needle, or heat from a piercing, can jolt him back from the numbness. The fiery pain is all he can feel, and nothing compares to the burn.
Or so he thought.
Working in a Las Vegas bar isn’t Georgia Maxwell’s dream. But she hopes it’ll be an end to the nightmare.
Over a decade she’s watched him. Followed his career and kept tabs, all in preparation for this moment. To make amends, repair the wrong. But she didn’t count on the feelings that seeing him again would stir up. The vacant look in his stormy-blue eyes, his perfect body now mutilated by ink and metal.
And only she knows why. She’s lived his pain, every single day, since the day he left.
Changed by time, Rex doesn’t remember the girl from his past. If only she could do the same.
Will she get the absolution she’s spent her life seeking?
Or will he continue, Fighting to Forget?

Pre-sale: April 1, 2014
Live: April 15, 2014

Fighting for Flight by J.B. Salsbury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gritty, emotional story of love conquering evil.

In this first book about Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters we met Jonah Slade who’s never had a serious relationship in his life. Its all about winning the fights and getting laid. That is until he meets the mechanic that has been recommended to restore one of his classic cars.

Raven Morretti was bred by her pimp father. Her mother who was one of his prostitutes never showed any love or emotion for Raven while she was growing up. Raven who’s never been into girly things took shop in high school and the teacher ended up taking her under his wing and now at 20 she works for him. Cars and Guy have been her family for years. Then she meets Jonah.

This was not a traditional love story. But it was a beautiful one none the less. Even with all the ugly and evil that bred Raven she was purity and Jonah changed his spots to be her knight.

Even with the dark theme that hung over for most of the book the secondary character of Blake, Jonas friend and fellow fighter, was pure comic relief and also a good man to have by your side during a fight. Looks like his story is next and he soo needs to eat some of his words 🙂

Fighting to Forgive by J.B. Salsbury
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Magnifico!! I loved this book. Not only was there tons of angst, the author threw in shocking surprises and twists to the story.

Blake and Layla are carrying so much baggage from their past and they get a few more added to their shoulders before this book is done. When they meet Blake is still in his women are for sex only mindset, he only cares about one thing, his career as a fighter. When he comes across this mouse of a woman at the gym who was just hired as the assistant of the boss he doesn’t understand his fascination with her and fights it.

Layla and her daughter just moved to Las Vegas to get away from a bad situation. After years of abuse the last thing she is looking for is a man. But she to find herself attracted to this bad boy she knows is all wrong for her.

With all the twist and surprises through this story, I feel to give too much away would spoil it for the reader. But from the opening line to the last the author takes you on an emotional rollercoaster of heartbreak, betrayal and a beautiful love story of two people who no longer believe in happily ever after.

I loved Jonah and Raven’s book but this one hit much deeper with its subject matter that’s unfortunately all too real. Bravo to the author for a writing a great book..

Welcome and Giveaway of Best of 2013

WINNERS ANNOUNCED……

Avonna – Rachel Grant’s book

Mary Jane Robbins – Debra Webb book

Chris Alexander – Tangled

Mary Holden – Dead Sexy

Elizabeth – Wendy Roberts book

Lavendersbluegreen – Strings

HEY ALL…do you like our new home.  Cindy is a ROCK STAR!!! AND has more patience than you can ever imagine.  So after much shenanigans on my part I was able to get Cindy a screen shot of some of my FAVES at Goodreads that I read this year.  According to them I read 114 books.  As I looked through the list, I started to remember some awesome reads from last year.  I go through spurts…I pick a genre I am in the mood for and then devour many books then I shift.  Some of my favorite genres are sci fi/urban fantasy/pnr, contemporary romance, romantic suspense and darker murder and mayhem as well as cozy mysteries.  As I look at what I read, some of my favorite books this year were all over the genre map.  Virginia Kantra, Susan Donovan, Kristan Higgins, Lisa Kleypas, Mariah Stewart, Jill Shalvis, Robyn Carr, Emily March, Nora Roberts, Toni Blake, Barbara Freethy and Laura Moore were some of my ABSOLUTE FAVES in the Contemporary romance genre.  Debra Webb, Karen Rose, Lisa Gardner, Lena Diaz, Iris Johansen, Linda Castillo, Mary Burton, Cynthia Eden,  Allison Brennan, Laura Griffin and many more are some darker murder mayhem with romance threaded through that I love.  Christy Reece, Pamela Clare, Shannon McKenna and many more grabbed me in the romantic suspense genre and kept me on the edge of my seat.  Larissa Ione, Keri Arthur, Delilah Devlin, Patricia Briggs and so many more emerged me in paranormal greatness and took me to worlds that left me clamoring for more.  There were books off my beaten path like Kendall Grey who completely knocked my socks off with her humor, raunchy sex,  and absolutely awesome storytelling of a rock band.  I read a book published by  great friends  that I loved, Cora Cade and Terri Anne Browning.  I read a gut wrenching, twist your insides out that I loved by Leanne Davis.  I also read some cozy mysteries and I even was the name of a cop in one…thank you Wendy Roberts.  So as you can see I was busy and eclectic.   It is so important to me to spread the word.  This year Cindy has turned me on to so many new authors and genres I would not have found.

So I hope you take a moment to peruse and give us some feed back.  We will be doing a giveaway, four e-books will be gifted. Please look at both pictures below that have both mine and Cindy’s top 40 books of 2013.  YES…that 80 books to for you to pick from. We are both giving away two books from our list.  So let us take a look back to last year and kick off this year with some free books and fun.  Thanks for stopping by and come back soon. HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

~Maureen

Some of Cindy’s favorite books of 2013. (If you click on the picture it will enlarge it) If you’d like a chance to win one of these put your choice in the comments.

Some of Maureen’s favorite books of 2013. (If you click on the picture it will enlarge it) If you’d like a chance to win one of these put your choice in the comments.

Two Exciting New Releases from New York Times Bestselling Authors and a Kindle Raffle!‏

Romance readers are in for an early holiday treat with the release of SECRET IDENTITY by Jill Sanders and DEATHBLOW by Dana Marton, two New York Times Bestselling authors who know how to write sexy love stories! To celebrate the releases, Jill and Dana are raffling off amazing prize packages! One lucky winner will receive a Kindle Wi-Fi donated by Jill Sanders and others will win awesome romance book bundles.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Releasing 12/15/2013

Eve is at the top of her game. She’s finally going to make partner at the ad agency run by two of her best friends. But when she takes a business trip to wine and dine a potential customer, her boss decides to tag along at the last minute. Now, everything she’s worked hard for might just disappear in a flash.

Carter has had a thing for his best friend Eve ever since he can remember. He hired her a few years ago to help boost his business and it has never run more smoothly. But when a once in a lifetime opportunity presents itself, he takes a chance at happiness that could end up destroying their friendship.

Releasing 12/16/2013

Former small-town football hero turned cop, Joe Kessler never met a linebacker, perp, or a woman he couldn’t handle. Then a troubled single mom walks into his life, and the only place this hot jock will ever see ‘easy’ again is in the dictionary. 

Hiding out in Broslin, PA was working pretty well for Wendy Belle until Cop Casanova took her under his protection. Now she’ll either lose her life to one man, or her heart to another. 

I had the honor of reading an advanced copy of Deathblow. 

Deathblow by Dana Marton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From the splash of the opening scene you’re taken on a ride of multiple plots in this latest in the Broslin Creek series. I think the author must love the challenge of not just writing two suspenseful plots in one book but adds a third to keep you on your reading toes throughout the book. She does such a fabulous job of making these things all look like they have nothing in common and leaves you wondering where on earth she is going with things but never fear by the end she pulls all those plot points together.

Joe Kessler is a police officer with Broslin PD but lately has been doing undercover work in the next county trying to bring down rival gangs. When he’s nearly killed and injured he’s given some time off. But a couple of things interfere with that. One is an old friend is found murdered.

Wendy Belle is in an abusive relationship with the father of her young son. When her friend Sophie Curtis (from Deathrap) shows up right as things are escalating again she agrees to go with Sophie back to Broslin. Wendy and Joe had a one night stand three months ago and haven’t seen each other since so when Joe is assigned to watch her these two have a lot to work out all while trying to keep Wendy safe from her ex, figure out who murdered Joe’s friend and try and stop a gang war from happening.

I appreciated that the author chose to write Wendy in all the stages of an abused woman. First in denial but clearly having the classic self image issues and thinking she deserved or must have done something to provoke the abuse to realizing she needed to make big changes in her life and figure out who she was and what she wanted to be.

And join Dana for the DEATHBLOW Launch Party on December 16, 2013 from 8-9pm EST.  An hour of prizes, chat, and fun!  Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1439516209600536/

VICIOUS by Debra Webb

GOOD MORNING & Happy Happy RELEASE DAY Debra Webb!!!

I was very lucky to receive an early copy of VICIOUS. I devoured it in one sitting. Debra Webb has done an amazing job of continuing the story of Jess and Dan while keeping the threat of Spears, resident serial killer fresh and relentless (those that read the whole series will like that, lol). One of my favorite things of The Faces of Evil series is watching Jess and Dan grow and each book has a great mystery to solve. VICIOUS has a collision of both her current case and the escalation of Spears. Please help me welcome Deb here today. I am a huge fan girl.

Book 7 in the Faces of Evil series.

Serial killer Eric Spears is far from done. He has chosen his next victim and Deputy Chief Jess Harris knows it’s only a matter of time until he comes for her.

The murders are vicious, the killer relentless. Has Birmingham’s major crimes team run into its most baffling and deadly case yet?

Don’t miss the next thrilling installment of the Faces of Evil!

The Faces of Evil Series: 
Book 0: Silence: The Faces of Evil Christmas Prequel
Book 1: Obsession
Book 2: Impulse
Book 3: Power
Book 4: Rage
Book 5: Revenge
Book 6: Ruthless (Faces of Evil)
Book 7: Vicious

Available in digital version or paperback

                 
Leave a comment here today and tomorrow a winner will be chosen, you may chose book or kindle. Please leave your email so we may contact you. Also remember the Kindle Matchbook deal…If you buy a new print edition of this book (or purchased one in the past), you can buy the Kindle edition for only $2.99 (Save 50%). Print edition purchase must be sold by Amazon. Debra’s books are only available through amazon.

HAVE A FABULOUS MONDAY!!!

XO
Maureen

DARE TO LOVE BLOG TOUR and HUGE GIVEAWAY!

Since finding out his father had another family on the side, Ian Dare swore to be the upstanding, responsible man his cheating parent had never been. When it comes to his relatives, he gives his all but in relationships he offers the bare minimum. But one glimpse of sensual Riley Taylor arouses his dominant and protective instincts and Ian is entranced. He will do anything to possess her … and does. But any future with Riley must include him extending an olive branch to the half-brother who is a constant reminder of the pain he’d rather forget.

 Independent and always in control, Riley Taylor makes no apologies for choosing men carefully. Relationships have never been a priority and she believes herself hardened to domineering men – until she meets charismatic Ian Dare. He manages to turn a simple kiss into an all out assault on her senses and when he takes control in the bedroom, she’s stunned to discover she likes it. As their affair heats up, they soon realize they complete each other in ways neither imagined. But Riley’s past is closer than she cares to remember, and her struggles with Ian’s dominance might just cost her everything.

Out Now!
Available November 18, 2013

Print & Ebook

ISBN-13: 978-0989311281

• amazon
• nook
• kindle
• ibooks

Just let me say I AM A HUGE CARLY PHILLIPS FAN!!! LOVE her books, she was a FAVE at the bookstore too. I was lucky enough to meet her in Ohio a couple years ago at Lori Fosters event via the awesome Jill Shalvis. What a huge thrill for me and she was absolutely a sweetheart. Check out this new read AND YOU will not be disappointed. Carly always keeps me glued to my seat from start to finish. She is contemporary romance at its finest. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be involved in the bloghop. Go on over and give her a shout out and tell her we sent you!!!! ~Maureen

**GIVEAWAY**

Carly is having a HUGE giveaway open across the board to all tour site participates! 

First Place:

iPad Mini 16g – $299
Customized CP iPad Mini Case

Signed copies of:

Dare to Love
Serendipity
Destiny
Karma
Perfect Fit
Perfect Fling
Perfect Together – no I don’t have it yet
Cross My Heart
Sealed with a Kiss
Seduce Me

Carly Phillips Canvas Tote Bag
Dare to Love Mug
Carly Phillips T-shirt

2nd place:
Carly Phillips Canvas Tote Bag
Dare to Love Mug

Signed Copies:
Dare to Love
Perfect Partners
Solitary Man
The Right Choice
Midnight Angel

3rd place:
Carly Phillips Canvas Tote Bag

Signed copies:
Dare to Love
Lucky Charm
Lucky Streak
Lucky Break
Brazen

4th place:

Signed copies:
Dare to Love
The Bachelor
The Playboy
The Heartbreaker

Click here to go to Rafflecopter to enter: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/bc4d7a14/

Meet Carly Phillips

New York Times bestselling author Carly Phillips tossed away her legal briefs and a career as an attorney to become a stay at home mom. Within the year, she turned her love of reading into an obsession with writing. Over 30 published novels later, Carly writes sexy contemporary small town romances, striking a balance between entertainment, humor and the emotion her readers have come to expect and enjoy.

Carly is a New York Times bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, Publisher’s Weekly bestseller and as of 2012, a Romance Writer’s of America RITA Nominee. In 2002, Carly’s novel, The Bachelor, became Kelly Ripa’s “Reading with Ripa” pick on Live with Regis and Kelly, making it the first romance ever chosen on a nationally televised book club.

Carly received her undergraduate degree from Brandeis University and is a graduate of Boston University School of Law (J.D.). To date, Carly has over thirty novels to her credit, all available wherever books are sold.

When not writing or playing online, Carly loves to read, occasionally to knit, and to spend time with her family. She lives in Purchase, New York with her husband, two daughters and her dogs, a soft coated wheaten terrier and a Havanese. Her dogs are prominently featured on her website and Facebook page.

The Nursery Rhyme Series by Lena Diaz

Well Helllllooooooo…

Long time no see…First I want to give a BIG OLE SHOUT OUT to my friend Cindy. She has not only kept the blog and page kickin’, she has been keeping me fortified with some FANTASTIC reads. Most…brand new authors to me. For a while I was unable to focus and read since my surgery but in the last week I have been devouring every suggestion Cindy sends my way. So we decided to blog about this series I just literally finished this morning. I have to say I really am impressed with Lena Diaz. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series. AND I highly recommend her. I am in a murder mayhem faze right now. She kept me turning the pages in eager anticipation of what was to come. I like how the books introduce us to characters and how we anticipate who’s book will be next. Each book is vastly different, but equally as good. Her characters are realistic, fun and her murderers creepy with twists that keep you guessing till the end. If you are looking for a new to you author that blends darker mystery suspense with romance…THEN THESE ARE A MUST READ. Please check out Cindy’s review and blurbs about the series. ~Maureen 🙂

The Nursery Rhyme Series
            Book 1: He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not (Out now) 
            Book 2: Simon Says Die (Out now)
            Book 3: Ashes, Ashes, They All Fall Dead (Out now) 
            Book 4: Take the Key and Lock Her Up (2014)
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Indie Bound

He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not by Lena Diaz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book opens with the killer posing his latest victim in the park. She is covered with stab wounds on her abdomen and extremities and deep cut on her face from temple to jaw. He puts a single red rose in her hand with just one thorn left on the rose.

Police Chief Logan Richards grew up in Shadow Falls and was a beat cop who made a rookie mistake that let a killer go free. To punish himself he moved to New York City and became a detective in one of the roughest precincts. Many years later after his marriage failed he came back to Shadow Falls and took the Police Chief position. He still feels an enormous amount of guilt for that rookie mistake. After realizing that this latest murder is the same as the ones that happened 4 years ago he calls in the FBI. He also realizes that the one survivor from those killings years ago could now be in danger.

Four years ago, Amanda Stockton along with her best friend was abducted and forced to play a sick version of he love me, he love me not – the killers version is the pluck the thorns from a rose saying he kills me, he kills me not. She got away from the killer but not before he carved her body and face and killed her friend. Since then she retreated from the world to scared to be around people and also embarrassed for other to see the scar on her face. But when she hears on the news that another woman has been found dead, and a long-stemmed red rose was in her hands, she knows the killer is back.
The author pretty much gives us a big clue as to who the killer is right off the bat but that didn’t make the story any less suspenseful.

Amanda has the usual hang ups you would expect from a woman who had been abducted and tortured and having to watch as her friend is killed. She is very leery of Logan and FBI Special Agent Pierce Buchanan (who is the hero in the next book along with Logan’s sister who we also meet in this book). At first she wants nothing to do with helping them but decides it time face her fears and leave her self imposed prison. Logan has his fare share of hang ups too. He feels an extreme need to protect Amanda but misinterprets a lot of her signals pretty much from the beginning to the end due to not being able to let go of guilt from things in the past. Thank goodness Pierce was there to slap him upside his head a few times.

Simon Says Die by Lena Diaz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was so different than the first one I had to keep checking to see if I was reading the right book. I really liked the first book but it was a much more serious romantic suspense book. Not much humor in it. This one I was cracking up in the first chapter.

Pierce Buchanan, the FBI Special Agent we met in the first book, has been asked by his best friend Logan to check up on his sister Madison. Madison and Pierce had a little romance (which was between the two books) and she had broken things off with him and left FL. Turns out they both ended up in Georgia and didn’t know it. Madison is quite the fire cracker and keeps everyone around her on her toes.

Here is an example of the humor – Pierce is about to knock on Madison’s door

“As he raised his hand to knock on Madison’s door again, a man darted around the corner of the house from the backyard and ran to the road out front. A woman with shoulder-length dark hair ran after him. Pierce clenched his jaw. No point in knocking again. Madison wasn’t home. She was chasing a man down the street.”

This results in Pierce getting shot. It turns out Madison has had a stalker and she’d had enough. But the police in Savannah, GA think she is a quack. Every time she has called them out to her house he is gone and there is no trace of him. They even think she has typed the letters she has received to.

Pierce is torn with his feelings toward Madison. On the one hand she ripped his heart in two when she walked away from him and on the other he promised her brother he would keep her out of trouble. That turns out to be a very difficult task as trouble seems to follow Madison where ever she goes.

Ashes, Ashes, They All Fall Dead by Lena Diaz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The author does a fabulous job of taking us on a journey to figuring out who a serial killer is throughout this book that is both shocking and disturbing.

FBI Special Agent Tessa James has become obsessed with letters the FBI office has received over a 3 year period. Not much is in the letters but a name, part of a nursery rhyme and a symbol. When the FBI can find nothing tangible about the names they decide it’s a hoax and to put it to rest. But Tessa cannot let go of the feeling there is something about these names. When her boss catches her looking over the letters again after he forbade her to he gives her a warning saying you have 7 days to figure out if these letters are of any significance and after that you let it go or else. He also said she had to work with a PI during those 7 days, one she isn’t so happy to work with.

Matt Buchanan is the 24 year old brother of Pierce who we met in the previous two books. He’s a genius that has created the coolest inventions, most not yet patented. He has a lot of businesses and one of them is a Private Investigation firm. He’s always liked Tessa who was his brother’s partner for years but she looked at and always treated him like a child since she was 6 years older than him.

When the first murder happens that they can tie to the letters and a second right after the story really takes off. The author creates this maze with so many twist and turns and at each turn there is a revealing that as the book goes along gets more shocking and at time revolting. Once I was engrained in the investigation and each clue it revealed I couldn’t put the book down for wondering what sick and twisted thing the author was going to throw at Tessa and Matt next.

I really liked the previous two books in this series but I have to say this is now my favorite almost for the shock factor alone of the subject matter.

The Other Sister by Leanne Davis

I have type of books I call THOSE book. A book that reaches into your soul and touches you so deeply that your left thinking about it days after you’ve finished it. The Other Sister was one of those books for me.

Book description:

General Travis Bains has two daughters, one who is good, and one who is bad. Everyone knows Lindsey is the good one, and Jessie is the bad one. Jessie Bains is the other sister, the bad sister, which she has proven more often than not, until the day she gets kidnapped and brutally raped. Will Hendricks, one of her father’s soldiers, rescues her and brings her home, but fears she may be nearly destroyed by what is done to her. The most important thing, however, is that no one can know, per the general’s orders. Jessie’s life was always far from normal as the daughter of one of the most revered generals in the world. No one sees what the general does to Jessie, except Will. When Will discovers the danger Jessie is living in at her father’s hand, he once again rescues her. Will has survived the horrors of war, but is now engaged in a battle that has become far more personal and far more deadly. Will alone realizes what the general has done and will do to destroy his “other” daughter. **Due to mature subject matter and language this is recommended for readers aged 17+*

My Review: 

The Other Sister by Leanne Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Words cannot describe all the emotions I went through reading this book. It’s very rare for a book to bring me to tears but the story of Jessie Bains is so heartbreaking and shocking in the atrocities that were done to her. She was violated in almost every way imaginable.

I think you get what the books about from the books description and telling more than that would spoil the experience of reading this gut-wrenching emotional rollercoaster. But this book isn’t typical as far as a romance books go. This book is about a 20 year old who has had to suffer more than most do their whole lives. All that pain has turned her into a broken person that abuses her body in so many ways to deal.

The author takes us on the journey of the healing of Jessie but not before taking us with her to her rock bottom which was an extremely hard scene to get through but yet written so realistically.

There is an unconventional love story during the course of this book that takes place over years. I totally respect how the author didn’t make it a quick romance. After what Jessie had been through there is no way that would have been conceivable or even believable.

Its always a pleasant surprise when I come across a book like this, one that touches you so deeply your left thinking about even afterwards.

Seal Team Heartbreakers Series

Want to give a shout to this fabulous series about a group of men who are Seal’s. In the first book a mission goes wrong leaving a man in a coma. The leader knows someone within his team is responsible, but once we get a glimpse into each of the men they all seem to have secrets to hide. Each book is about one of the men on the team and the consequences of that mission. Along with the main characters story in each book there is also a secondary story/romance. From the start of each book until the end you are on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next. I highly recommend this series..

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lieutenant Adam “Hawk” is the commanding officer of a Navy SEAL unit. During their last mission one of his team mates Brett “Cutter” Weaver was badly injured and left to die. Hawk is also hurt rescuing him before the place is blown up.

Zoe Weaver and her mother are in California for Brett who is in a coma. Zoe was in an accident when she was 7 that almost severed her leg and has left her from the waist down severely scared. Hawk out of a sense of duty to protect his men and their family insist Zoe and her mom stay at his place. Right off the bat Zoe and Hawk are attracted to each other but they both have alot of baggage from their past that causes insecurities about getting involved in a relationship.

Though out this whole book Hawk has to deal with the fact that someone on his team hurt Brett and tries to find out who of his men could have done something like this. What he finds out is that more than one of his men has secrets and some are not good.

We as the reader get to find out each of the men’s secrets and wonder which one could have done it. The author does tell us at the end who does it but we are left hanging with many loose threads.

I look forward to the next book and also for the book of the one who left Brett for dead.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book packs a punch. There are so many emotional moments I cried at a few of them.

This book is a continuation from the first book. Brett is now released from the hospital but still isn’t cleared for duty. Zoe and Hawk are still very much in love but not rushing things even though Zoe is keeping a secret from him. Brett and Zoe’s mom comes back and she runs into Brett’s Dr from when he was in a coma, Russell and his son at the airport and sparks fly. All the old team is back except for Derrick who is in jail and Flash who is still missing/AWOL.

Brett and Tess Brett still hasnt been cleared for duty and he is asked to do a speaking engagement in front of 200 women. Not his idea of funny especially with the speech problem his still has from the attempt on his life. Tess is at the event to cover it for the paper she works for. They both are attracted to each other but with everything that is going on it Brett’s life getting involved with a reporter probably isn’t the best thing. But when Brett is accused of the disappearance and possible death of the teen child he and Derrick were to have dropped of at his home in Iraq he knows he is going to need to help to expose what is really going on. It was good to see Brett back on his feet even though it seemed like it was just one bad thing after another as far as his job went. He and Tess made a great team and couple once they really started trusting each other.

Zoe and Hawk (view spoiler)[Zoe finds out at the beginning of the book she is pregnant but with everything that had been going on in Hawk life she doesn’t want to add anymore stress to him so she doesn’t tell him (hide spoiler)] Hawk who is still reeling from the betrayal of Derrick against the team and is now facing charges from the way he and the team went in and saved Zoe, Brett and Derrick’s girl friend from Derrick. Hawk is the leader of these band of men and he still had a strong presence in this book. It was great to see how his and Zoe’s relationship was progressing.

Clara (mom of Zoe and Brett) and Russell Clara who was very prominent in the first book but had left to go help her other daughter toward the end comes back to be with Brett and Zoe. At the airport she runs into Russell who had been Brett’s Dr. He is there to pick up his son who he hasnt seen in a while. Both Clara and Russell realize he is very sick when they see him. Clara who is like the best mother hen around decides she is going to cook for them and bring it over and this starts a beautiful romance between the two. But it also is the most heartbreaking where Russell’s son Evan is concerned. Their story in the book had me crying more than once.

As all of these stories are going on, the father of the missing Iraqi boy makes a grave mistake and goes to a radical terrorist to exact revenge on those who he thinks killed his son. This puts Brett and the whole team including there families in grave danger.

As this is an on going series there are still many loose ends. I know its going to be the last book of the series before we find out what really went wrong with Derrick. I dont know who’s next in the series but I cant wait.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Teresa has done it again. From the moment I read the first book in this series I knew I had found a very talented author that not only writes great military suspense but also compelling stories that just grip your heart and doesn’t let go until the final page.

The author chose to write this book in two parts within the same book. For the first part we get the background on Harold “Flash” Carney and Samantha Cross. We go back to Iraq to those moments before the mission that went wrong that has been the catalyst for this series. We knew from the first book that Flash was approached by the FBI but never knew the reasons why. In the previous books we were lead to believe that he had a gambling problem and that had gotten him in trouble with the wrong people. That was so not the case. Flash ends up having to go on the run from the FBI and NCIS after he is double crossed and who he assumes is the FBI trying to kill him. Running parallel to this is Samantha’s story. We come into her story right after she has been beaten horribly by her husband with their 4 year old daughter in the next room. While in the hospital recovering, Sam has finally reached her breaking point and takes the steps needed to get away from her monster of a husband.

Part two of the story picks up seven months later. Flash is using an alias and opening up a branch security office in Nevada. It’s here when he goes to rent a garage apartment that he meets Sam and her daughter Joy who now own the home since her grandmother passed away. Flash is still trying to gather all the information he can against the ones that framed him so he can clear his name and get back to him team. What he hadn’t counted on was falling for his skittish landlord with the cute kid that still had a crazy ex stalking her.

As Flash and Sam’s two messed up lives start to converge we also have a secondary story of Captain James and his wife Marsha and there very young son who has a genetic defect and heart problems. I hope the author doesn’t mind me saying this but after talking with her she felt that James needed some redeeming after the way he treated Brett (the hero from the second book). James and his wife along with their child were held and tortured for days by a terrorist in the second book. This not only left physical scars but deeply emotional ones for them both that have affected their marriage. James makes a decision when he finds another of his men in trouble and his marriage on the verge of ending that this time he is going to do everything within his power to try and save both.

Every time I read a book in this series I can see all the hard work that the author puts in to bring us such a compelling story. You are engrossed from the first page to the last and I savored every word and didn’t want it to end.

PROLOGUE PEEK of The Rocker That Loves Me by Terri Anne Browning

GOOD MORNING!!!

Running in to give you all a BIG FAT TREAT!!! My good friend and FANTASTIC author Terri Anne Browning is giving a tastey tidbit from her upcoming release, The Rocker That Loves Me, bk 4 of The Rocker Series. I am so lucky to have met this gal. She is an amazing storyteller, from the very first time I opened her book I was engrossed and never moved from the couch. I have been a faithful fan and she has turned into a good friend. So please help me welcome her to our little corner of the book world.

PROLOGUE

It looked like the entire trailer park had shown up to pay their respects.

I kept glancing around, taking them all in; anything to keep my gaze from going to the one place I didn’t want it to go, yet seemed unable to stop myself from drifting to—the casket and the woman lying there looking so peaceful…

My eyes landed on Mr. Thornton. Jesse’s old man was in a pair of faded jeans and a button down shirt that was too tight around his beer gut. His hair was actually combed for once, and it looked like he had taken the time to shave. His eyes were clear, something they rarely were. Mr. Thornton had liked Mom, I guess.

Nik was standing with his mom, really his aunt Sarah who had stepped in when his deadbeat old man died. She looked a little lost. Sarah and Mom had been friends, but we all suspected that there was something wrong with Nik’s mom. She had been having horrible headaches lately and couldn’t seem to remember things at times.

My gaze drifted past my friend and his mother, landing on random people here and there. A few girls from the west side of the trailer park were grouped together. I had screwed each of them once or twice, they were probably wondering which one of them would be lucky enough to comfort me later that night. I didn’t want comfort from any of them.

Our landlady was talking to Drake, quietly reassuring him yet again that she wasn’t going to kick us out of our trailer. She liked Drake, mostly because he didn’t complain when she made him do hard manual labor around the rundown old trailer park that she owned. That old biddy was probably scared out of her mind that we were going to pick up and leave and she’d have to find someone that wouldn’t do half the things that my brother did and for more money.

For now we weren’t worried about money. Mom had had a sizeable life insurance policy that had covered any possible death. Even suicide…

Something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye and I turned to find Ms. Jameson stumbling in the funeral home’s entrance. She had Emmie’s arm in a vice like grip and was dragging the limping little girl behind her. Emmie nearly tripped and tried to hide her grimace of pain.

I wanted so badly to go to Emmie and take her away from that bitch. My brother had nearly gone to jail saving her from one monster, only for her to have to go home and face the one she had to live with every day…

A strong hand landed on my shoulder and squeezed. “How are you?” Jesse’s deep voice asked quietly.

I shrugged his hand away. It wasn’t that I didn’t want the comfort. I just had so much on my mind right now, and a lot of the shit I had tried so hard to forget came flooding back with a vengeance. I shuttered at the very thought of someone touching me…

“I’m fine,” I assured Jesse, but of course it was a lie. I wasn’t sure how I was, or even how I was supposed to be.
My mom was gone, and it was all my fault. I should never have opened my mouth. I should never have told my mom what had happened or why Drake had done what he had done to Rusty. If I hadn’t then she wouldn’t have killed her husband… She wouldn’t have killed herself!

Tiny fingers gripped my hand. “I’m sorry your Momma is gone, Shane,” Emmie murmured in a soft voice.

Some of the tightness around my heart eased as I glanced down at her. For the first time since my world had come crashing down the week before, I felt my eyes burn. I hadn’t cried for my mom, or for anyone else. The shock had set in and I was just now unthawing. Crazy enough, it took Emmie to do the unthawing.

I bent down so we were eye level. She was barely nine, but she had seen so much in her young life that she acted years older. I was beyond relieved that Drake had been able to spare her the added nightmares of sexual abuse on top of what she already had to go through daily.

“Thanks, Em.” I reached out to push her hair back from her face and saw the bruise on her cheek. It was faded and I figured it was about a week old. Her legs and arms were a symphony of bruises at varying stages, ranging from pale yellow to dark blue and purple. I had to fight with myself every time I saw her like that not to call child services, but I knew that if Emmie was taken from her mom and put into foster care she could possibly end up in a place worse than where she was right now.

“Is it my fault?”

Her whispered question stabbed me in the gut, and I hugged her tight for a long moment before answering.
“No, baby doll. This isn’t your fault.” I pulled back enough to meet her wet, green gaze. “Don’t ever think that, okay? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
After a small hesitation she finally nodded. “Okay.”

Jesse bent down and took her hand. “I saw some cookies, Emmie. Let’s go get some.”

Even though I could hear her stomach growling, Emmie shook her head. “No, I can’t leave Shane. He needs me.”
Sadly enough, she was right…

SQUEEEEEEE…I am so excited to read 🙂 (I am saving for the near future when I am going to be stuck not moving) In celebration of this upcoming release on October 1st, I am giving away a copy of the first 3 books to a lucky winner. Leave Terri a comment and I will pick a winner on Monday morning. Thanks as always for visiting us here.

Have a FANFREAKINTASTIC FRIDAY!!!!

XXOO
Maureen 🙂

BEATS (bk 2 HARD ROCK HARLOTS SERIES) by Kendall Grey

GOOD GOOD MORNING!!!!

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY FREAKIN’ RELEASE DAY GIRLIE!!!

WARNING: BEATS is specially formulated for horn dogs, porn oglers, smut peddlers, BDSM junkies, M/M and M/M/F addicts, DP dabblers, body modification connoisseurs, and lovers of A2M backdoor sexy times. If you don’t fall into these categories, can’t stomach hot man-on-man action, or if you have no idea what the above acronyms mean, please back away from BEATS now. This isn’t the book you’re looking for. Failure to heed this warning could inadvertently throw unauthorized users into a persistent vegetative state, or at the very least, require administration of a defibrillator to the chest and/or groin area. Nobody wants that.
For months, shy drummer Jinx Hardwick has been silently crushing on her tall, dark, and scary bandmate, Toombs Badcock. Drawn to his frightening ink and scars, she yearns to uncover the shadowy secrets lurking behind his silver eyes, but Jinx is too intimidated to even look at him, let alone talk to him. When she stumbles upon Toombs and their manipulative lead guitarist Rax in a compromising position, Jinx realizes her chances of winning Toombs’s heart aren’t just a long shot—they’re nonexistent. To make matters worse, Jinx’s family needs her at home. She’s about to back away from it all—Toombs, the band, her dreams of fame and fortune—when Rax makes her an offer she can’t refuse: a no-holds-barred night alone with Toombs. There’s one small catch. She has to go through Rax to get it.

WELL WELL WELL…today is the day. Can I say that I was lucky enough to receive this on Sunday night, when it came through I was squeeeeeeeeeeeeing 🙂 I thought mmmm, just a peek because my daughter had to be up super early for oral surgery the next morning. BAH!!! My ass was glued to the damn couch until I was done…and I periodically sent the wicked wicked author messages. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

As I stated when I read and gave a shout out to book 1 Strings, this is not my normal reading material. Shockingly I can be a bit of a….shhhhhh *whispers* prude with my reading. Some mock me, *shrugs* but that is a ok. I am who I am. We all know I am a severe book-aholic. I was lucky to have met Kendall in Chicago, even so lucky to sit across from her in a bar and kibitz and imbibe in a beverage. I met her and my new publisher that night. She was a complete hoot and I laughed most of the night. Leaving I lost touch with her for a bit and when I hooked up with my publisher, I reconnected with her. When Strings came out there was so much chit chat about it, finally I had to take the plunge. Even though it was out of my realm, or so I thought. Shoot the book my partner and I wrote is also not my normal reading and I helped write it. GO FIGURE…I AM GROWING AT 46…LOL

I was riveted while reading Strings. I laughed my arse off. I gasped, hell I may have been bugged eyed most of the book. AND…I FREAKIN’ LOVED. As I often said while I was bookselling, a book experience for me… is to be taken somewhere else, to become someone else AND most of all it is about the characters. If they can make you FEEL…laugh, cry, gasp etc. The book did it’s job. So many judge, so many shake there head. AND when some read our book…they may feel I am a perv. Whatever, we ALL have fantasies, we all have that secret thing or crush. READING is an escape, a chance to do and dream outside the box. I am married for a million years, have kids, go to church. I am literally a soccer mom in suburbia bliss… 🙂 BUT COME ON…who does not want to read and fantasize about a HOT TATOOED ROCKER… *jumps up and down* I DO I DO. And I did not even realize it until I took a walk on the wild side with Strings and Beats.

BEATS, bk 2 HARD ROCK HARLOTS SERIES…Kendall kicked it out of the damn park with this. I felt the whole book. Jinx had depth, she was like a two sided coin to me. I LOVED that Toombs got that. There were parts I wanted to slap both him and Rax. SEE…there is that thing again…FEELINGS. I felt the whole time I read, sometime I wanted to yell at the ipad and reach through and shake one of the characters. I don’t do spoilers but I am dying to kibitz about it. Reading this series has been an experience, an all around kick ass wild ass must read ride. I am so damn glad I took the leap, a good friend helped me take that leap. The duality (is that a word, it is now) of Jinx/Gianna hit a chord, we all have different sides. The person we have to be and some the person they yearn to be.

I realize I do the whole blog thing a little differently than most BUT the bottom line is…this series is not for everyone BUT if you want a wild ass adventure? READ THIS DAMN SERIES. It is fun, kinky, raunchy, loud, did I say funny? Sexy, HOT AS SIN AND…it will make you yearn for a walk on the ROCKER TATTOOED NASTY WILD SIDE!!!! I am chomping at the bit to read Rax’s story.

So PLEASE help me celebrate with Kendall on her new release today. Give her a shout out 🙂 If you are interested in meeting these HOT characters, please leave a comment and I will be picking 3 lucky peeps to receive Beats. After reading I want to be the sweet treat between Toombs and Shades!!!! And Rax has some major kissing up to me before I allow him to join my party…BWAHAHAHAHAHA 😉

SO…HAVE A TANTALIZING THURSDAY AND…take a walk on the wild side 🙂

Maureen
xo