Damaged by A.N. Hennessy




Synopsis 
To Averianna Brooks true love is like a mythical creature, it just doesn’t exist. Needing an escape from what most would consider a living hell, she leaves the place she has always called home to move to Atlanta where she is determined to rebuild her self-worth with her long time best friend.
Home holds too many bad memories along with a certain person she wishes to never see again. All she wants is a fresh start, a new atmosphere, and a new city away from the horrible times her life once held. In an effort to save herself from any unforeseen pain that she desperately wants to steer clear of, Averi vows against anymore relationships.
But will all that change after a chance meeting with Damian Cole, a well known business mogul to a chain of hotels and resorts with a deviant and damaged past of his own? Unable to stop thinking about his wickedly good looks and his crystal blue eyes, she wonders if she will ever meet him again. When fate brings her slamming into a familiar pair of sapphire eyes, things seems to take a turn, developing into a deep desire that neither one of them saw coming. Can Averi and Damian overcome their hurdles together and repair their damaged pasts enough to fall in love? Or will the past come back to haunt them? They say love conquers all or does it?
 

Buy Links
Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Damaged-A-N-Hennessy-ebook/dp/B00HNFCPPI



Excerpt
 
Not looking up so no one can see my drenched face, I walk through the door. Clumsily, I smash straight into someone. Firm hands grip my upper arms preventing me from falling or else I would have collapsed if not for the unseen stranger.
“Averianna?” The voice is warm and welcoming. A voice I have missed since earlier today when he was being so prudent. “Are you okay? Look at me,” he croons.
“I’m fine, Damian, just need some air.” I shrug out of his grip and walk past him into the slightly cool night air. I sit on a bench to the side of the building as I hear him follow. The tears are still unwelcomingly rolling down my cheeks. I don’t want Damian to see me crying, so I turn my head away from him as he tentatively sits beside me. I can feel anxious blue eyes boring into my back.
“Look at me Averianna…please.” He reaches around discreetly to grab my chin, coaxing my face in his direction. “Shit…what’s wrong? Please don’t cry.” He breathes in deeply, tugging me into his arms. “Is it because of me, did I cause you to cry?” His question sends a shock of pain straight to my heart as my sobbing resumes more forcibly. I remember telling him that I never wanted to see him again. That I couldn’t handle him, but at this very moment I don’t want to be near anyone else. I want him. I want to feel his nearness. I want to be smothered in him and I want to tell him. I want to tell him everything so he can tell me it will all be okay. That he will keep me safe like he did last night. It pissed me off at that moment, but now it’s the comfort that I want to hear.
“No Damian, it’s not you. I’m so sorry for what I said to you. I didn’t mean it. I was just mad. Forgive me?”

“Forgive you? Princess, I forgave you the moment you said it. I was the one out of line. I’m sorry. I’m the one who needs to be forgiven. Now, please tell me why you’re crying. Look at me.” He plants his warm hands on my cheeks catching my falling tears of pain. Looking at his beautiful face, I notice that it looks just as pained as my own. His brow is creased with worry, light glimmering off of ebony hair that is flopped messily over his forehead. His narrowed eyes take on a bothered gleam. I can’t hold it back. If there is ever going to be anything between us, no matter what that may be, he has to know everything. Then maybe he will share some of his past with me. But I’m not getting my hopes up.




Author
I live in a small town in southern Tennessee. Before writing I raised Great Danes and I still do to this day. There is nothing more majestic than a beautiful, giant Dane. Reading and writing has become a huge part of my life and helped me get through a really tuff time in my life. My sister was wrongfully ripped away from this world. Reading and soon writing became my escape from the nightmare that plagued my brain. I will forever believe that my sister pushed me in this direction and for that I will always owe my success to her. She is my whisper away and I know she is guiding me where I need to go:)
I am married to my high school sweetheart, Zac and we have two crazy yet beautiful kids together. Between them and the Danes, life in the Hennessy house can be extremely loud and rambunctious at times. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.


Social Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anhennessy

Heroes are my Weakness by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Heroes-are-My-Weakness-Susan-Elizabeth-Phillips-7

Cover| Amazon | BN | Kobo | iTunes |

Blurb

New York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips is back with a delightful novel filled with her sassy wit and dazzling charm

The dead of winter.

An isolated island off the coast of Maine.

A man.

A woman.

A sinister house looming over the sea …

He’s a reclusive writer whose macabre imagination creates chilling horror novels. She’s a down-on-her-luck actress reduced to staging kids’ puppet shows. He knows a dozen ways to kill with his bare hands. She knows a dozen ways to kill with laughs.

But she’s not laughing now. When she was a teenager, he terrified her. Now they’re trapped together on a snowy island off the coast of Maine. Is he the villain she remembers or has he changed? Her head says no. Her heart says yes.

It’s going to be a long, hot winter.

Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2014/06/now-booking-tasty-virtual-tour-for_17.html

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19367048-heroes-are-my-weakness?from_search=true

*~*

Author Info

Susan Elizabeth Phillips soars onto the New York Times bestseller list with every new publication. She’s the only four-time recipient of the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Favorite Book of the Year Award. Susan delights fans by touching hearts as well as funny bones with her wonderfully whimsical and modern fairy tales. A resident of the Chicago suburbs, she is also a wife, and mother of two grown sons.

Author Links

Website:  http://susanelizabethphillips.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SusanElizabethPhillipsNovels

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/sepauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/41313.Susan_Elizabeth_Phillips 

Giveaway 
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*~*

EXCERPT

Annie didn’t usually talk to her suitcase, but she wasn’t exactly herself these days. The high beams of her headlights could barely penetrate the dark, swirling chaos of the winter blizzard, and the windshield wipers on her ancient Kia were no match for the wrath of the storm that had hit the island. “It’s only a little snow,” she told the oversize red suitcase wedged into the passenger seat. “Just because it feels like the end of the world doesn’t mean it is.”

You know I hate the cold, her suitcase replied, in the annoying whine of a child who preferred making a point by stamping her foot. How could you bring me to this awful place?

Because Annie had run out of options.

An icy blast rocked the car, and the branches of the old fir trees hovering over the unpaved road whipped like witches’ hair. Annie decided that anybody who believed in hell as a fiery furnace had it all wrong. Hell was this bleak, hostile winter island.

You’ve never heard of Miami Beach? Crumpet, the spoiled princess in the suitcase retorted. Instead you had to haul us off to a deserted island in the middle of the North Atlantic where we’ll probably get eaten by polar bears!

The gears ground as the Kia struggled up the narrow, slippery island road. Annie’s head ached, her ribs hurt from coughing, and the simple act of craning her neck to peer through a clear spot on the windshield made her dizzy. She was alone in the world with only the imaginary voices of her ventriloquist dummies anchoring her to reality. As sick as she was, she didn’t miss the irony.

She conjured up the more calming voice of Crumpet’s counterpart, the practical Dilly, who was tucked away in the matching red suitcase in the backseat. We’re not the middle of the Atlantic, sensible Dilly said. We’re on an island ten miles off the New England coast, and the last I heard, Maine doesn’t have polar bears. Besides, Peregrine Island isn’t deserted.

It might as well be. If Crumpet had been on Annie’s arm, she would have shot her small nose up in the air. People barely survive here in the middle of the summer let alone winter. I bet they eat their dead for food.

The car fishtailed ever so slightly. Annie corrected the skid, gripping the wheel more tightly through her gloves. The heater barely worked, but she’d begun to perspire under her jacket.

You mustn’t keep complaining, Crumpet, Dilly admonished her peevish counterpart. Peregrine Island is a popular summer resort.

It’s not summer! Crumpet countered. It’s the first week of February, we just drove off a car ferry that made me seasick, and there can’t be more than fifty people left here. Fifty stupid people!

You know Annie had no choice but to come here, Dilly said.

Because she’s a big failure, an unpleasant male voice sneered.

Leo had a bad habit of uttering Annie’s deepest fears, and it was inevitable that he’d intrude into her thoughts. He was her least favorite puppet, but every story needed a villain.

Very unkind, Leo, Dilly said. Even if it is true.

The petulant Crumpet continued to complain. You’re the heroine, Dilly, so everything always turns out fine for you. But not for the rest of us. Not ever. We’re doomed! Doomed, I say! We’re forever¾

Annie’s cough cut off the internal histrionics of her puppet. Sooner or later her body would heal from the lingering aftereffects of pneumonia¾at least she hoped so¾but what about the rest of her? She’d lost faith in herself, lost the sense that, at thirty-three, her best days still lay ahead. She was physically weak, emotionally empty, and more than a little terrified, hardly the best state for someone forced to spend the next two months on an isolated Maine island.

That’s only sixty days, Dilly attempted to point out. Besides, Annie, you don’t have anywhere else to go.

And there it was. The ugly truth. Annie had nowhere else to go. Nothing else to do but search for the legacy her mother might or might not have left her.

The Kia hit a snow-packed rut, and the seat belt seized up. The pressure on Annie’s chest made her cough again. If only she could have stayed in the village for the night, but the Island Inn was closed until May. Not that she could have afforded it anyway.

The car barely crested the hill. She had years of practice transporting her puppets through every kind of weather to perform all over the state, but even a decent snow driver had limited control on a road like this, especially in her Kia. There was a reason the residents of Peregrine Island drove pickups.

Take it slow, another male voice advised from the suitcase in the back. Slow and steady wins the race. Peter, her hero puppet¾her knight in shining armor¾was a voice of encouragement, unlike her former actor-boyfriend-slash-lover, who’d only encouraged himself.

Annie brought the car to a full stop then started her slow descent. Halfway down, it happened.

The apparition came from nowhere.

A man clad in black flew across the bottom of the road on a midnight horse. She’d always had a vivid imagination¾witness her internal conversations with her puppets¾and she thought she was imagining this. But the vision was real. Horse and rider racing through the snow, the man leaning low over the horse’s mane streaming. They were demon creatures, a nightmare horse and lunatic man galloping into the storm’s fury.

They disappeared as quickly as they’d appeared, but her foot automatically hit the brake, and the car began to slide. It skidded across the road and,with a sickening lurch, came to a stop in the snow-filled ditch.

You’re such a loser, Leo the villain sneered.

Tears of exhaustion filled her eyes. Her hands shook. Were the man and horse indeed real or had she conjured them? She needed to focus. She put the car into reverse and attempted to rock it out, but the tires only spun deeper. Her head fell against the back of the seat. If she stayed here long enough, someone would find her. But when? Only the cottage and the main house lay at the end of this road.

She tried to think. Her single contact on the island was the man who took care of the main house and the cottage, but she’d only had an e-mail address to let him know she was arriving and ask him to turn on the cottage’s utilities. Even if she had his phone number¾Will Shaw¾that was his name¾she doubted she could get cell reception out here.

  1.  Leo never spoke in an ordinary voice. He only sneered.

Annie grabbed a tissue from a crumpled pack, but instead of thinking about her dilemma, she thought about the horse and rider. What kind of a crazy took an animal out in this weather? She squeezed her eyes shut and fought a wave of nausea. If only she could curl up and go to sleep. Would it be so terrible to admit that life had gotten the best of her?

Stop it right now, sensible Dilly said.

Annie’s head pounded. She had to find Shaw and get him to pull out the car.

Never mind Shaw, Peter the hero declared. I’ll do it myself.

Buy Peter¾like her ex-boyfriend¾was only good in a fictional crisis.

The cottage was about a mile away, an easy distance for a healthy person in decent weather. But the weather was horrible, and nothing about her was healthy.

Give up, Leo sneered. You know you want to.

Stop being such a douche, Leo. This voice came from Scamp, Dilly’s best friend and Annie’s alter ego. Even though Scamp was responsible for many of the scrapes the puppets got into¾scrapes heroine Dilly and hero Peter had to sort out¾Annie loved her courage and big heart.

Pull yourself together, Scamp ordered. Get out of the car.

Annie wanted to tell her to go to hell, but what was the point? She pushed her flyaway hair inside the collar of her quilted jacket and zipped it. Her knit gloves had a hole in the thumb, and the door handle was icy against her exposed skin. She made herself open it.

The cold slapped her in the face and stole her breath. She had to force her legs out. Her beat-up brown suede city boots sank into the snow, and her jeans were no match for the weather. Ducking her head into the wind, she made her way to the rear of the car to get her heavy coat, only to see that the trunk was wedged so tightly into the hillside that she couldn’t open it. Why should she be surprised? Nothing had gone her way in so long that she’d forgotten what good fortune felt like.

She returned to the driver’s side. Her puppets should be safe in the car overnight, but what if they weren’t? She needed them. They were all she had left, and if she lost them, she might disappear altogether.

Pathetic, Leo sneered.

She wanted to rip him apart.

Babe… You need me more than I need you, he reminded her. Without me, you don’t have a show.

She shut him out. Breathing hard, she pulled the suitcases from the car, retrieved her keys, snapped off the headlights, and closed the door.

She was immediately plunged into thick, swirling darkness. Panic clawed at her chest.

I will rescue you! Peter declared.

Annie gripped the suitcase handles tighter, trying not to let her panic paralyze her.

I can’t see anything! Crumpet squealed. I hate the dark!

Annie had no handy flashlight app on her ancient cell phone, but she did have… She set a suitcase in the snow and dug in her pocket for her car keys and the small LED light attached to the ring. She hadn’t tried to use the light in months, and she didn’t know if it still worked. With her heart in her throat, she turned it on.

A sliver of bright blue light cut a tiny path through the snow, a path so narrow she could easily wander off the road.

Get a grip, Scamp ordered.

Give up, Leo sneered.

Annie took her first steps into the snow. The wind cut through her thin jacket and tore at her hair, whipping the curly strands onto her face. Snow slapped the back of her neck, and she started to cough. Pain compressed her ribs, and the suitcases banged against her legs. Much too soon, she had to set them down to rest her arms.

She hunched into her jacket collar, trying to protect her lungs from the icy air. Her fingers burned from the cold, and as she moved forward again, she called on her puppets’ imaginary voices to keep her company.

Crumpet: If you drop me and ruin my sparkly lavender dress, I’ll sue.

Peter: I’m the bravest! The strongest! I’ll help you.

Leo: (sneering) Do you know how to do anything right?

Dilly: Don’t listen to Leo. Keep moving. We’ll get there.

And Scamp, her useless alter ego: A woman carrying a suitcase walks into a bar…

Icy tears weighed down her eyelashes, blurring what vision she had. Wind caught the suitcases, threatening to snatch them away. They were too big, too heavy. Pulling her arms from their sockets. Stupid to have brought them with her. Stupid, stupid, stupid. But she couldn’t leave her puppets.

Each step felt like a mile, and she’d never been so cold. Here she’d thought her luck had begun to change, all because she’d been able to catch the car ferry over from the mainland. It only ran sporadically, unlike the converted lobster boat that provided the island with weekly service. But the farther the ferry traveled from the Maine coastline, the worse the storm had become.

She trudged on, dragging one foot through the snow after the other, arms screaming, lungs burning as she tried not to succumb to another coughing fit. Why hadn’t she put her warm down coat in the car instead of locking it in the trunk? Why hadn’t she done so many things? Find a stable occupation. Be more circumspect with her money. Date decent men.

So much time had passed since she’d been on the island. The road used to stop at the turnoff that led to the cottage and to Harp House. But what if she missed it? Who knew what might have changed since then?

She stumbled and fell to her knees. The keys slipped from her hand and the light went out. She grabbed one of the suitcases for support. She was frozen. Burning up. She gasped for air and frantically felt around in the snow. If she lost her light…

Her fingers were so numb she nearly missed it. When she finally had the flashlight back in her grasp, she turned it on and saw the stand of trees that had always marked the road’s end. She moved the beam to the right, where it fell on the big granite boulder at the turnoff. She hoisted herself back to her feet, lifted the suitcases, and stumbled through the drifts.

Her temporary relief at having found the turnoff faded. Centuries of harsh Maine weather had stripped this terrain of all but the hardiest of spruce, and without a windbreak, the blasts roaring in from the ocean caught the suitcases like spinnakers. She managed to turn her back to the wind’s force without losing either one. She sank one foot and then another, struggling through the tall snowdrifts, dragging the suitcases, and fighting the urge to lie down and let the cold do what it wanted with her.

She’d bowed so far into the wind that she nearly missed it. Only as the corner of a suitcase bumped against a low snow-shrouded stone wall did she realize that she’d reached Moonraker Cottage.

The small, gray-shingled house was nothing more than an amorphous shape beneath the snow. No shoveled pathway, no welcoming lights. The last time she’d been here, the door had been painted cranberry red, but now it was a cold, periwinkle blue. An unnatural mound of snow under the front window covered a pair of old wooden lobster traps, a nod to the house’s origins as a fisherman’s cottage. She hauled herself through the drifts to the door and set the suitcases down. She fumbled with the key in the lock only to remember that island people seldom locked up.

The door blew open. She dragged the suitcases inside and, with the last of her strength, wrestled it shut again. The air wheezed in her lungs. She collapsed on the closest suitcase, her gasps for breath more like sobs.

Eventually she grew conscious of the musty smell of the icy room. Pressing her nose to her sleeve, she fumbled for the light switch. Nothing happened. Either the caretaker hadn’t gotten her e-mail asking him to have the generator working and the small furnace fired up or he’d ignored it. Every frozen part of her throbbed. She dropped her snow-crusted gloves on the small canvas rug that lay just inside the door but didn’t bother to shake the snow from the wild tangle of her hair. Her jeans were frozen to her legs, but she’d have to pull off her boots to remove them, and she was too cold to do that.

But no matter how miserable she was, she had to get her puppets out of their snow-caked suitcases. She located one of the assorted flashlights her mother always kept near the door. Before school and library budgets were slashed, her puppets had provided a steadier livelihood than her failed acting career or her part-time jobs walking dogs and serving drinks at Coffee, Coffee.

Shaking with cold, she cursed the caretaker, who apparently had no qualms about riding a horse through a storm but couldn’t summon the effort to do his real job. It had to have been Shaw riding the horse. No one else lived at this end of the island during the winter. She unzipped the suitcases and pulled out the five dummies. Leaving them in their protective plastic bags, she stowed them temporarily on the sofa, then, flashlight in hand, stumbled across the frigid wood floor.

The interior of Moonraker Cottage bore no resemblance to anyone’s idea of a traditional New England fishing cottage. Instead her mother’s eccentric stamp was everywhere¾from a creepy bowl of small animal skulls to a silver-gilded Louis XIV chest bearing the words pile driver that Mariah had spray-painted across it in black graffiti. Annie preferred a cozier space, but during Mariah’s glory days, when she’d inspired fashion designers and a generation of young artists, both this cottage and her mother’s Manhattan apartment had been featured in upscale decorating magazines.

Those days had ended years ago when Mariah had fallen out of favor in Manhattan’s increasingly younger artistic circles. Wealthy New Yorkers had begun asking others for help compiling their private art collections, and Mariah had been forced to sell off her valuables to support her lifestyle. By the time she’d gotten sick, everything was gone. Everything except something in this cottage¾something that was supposed to be Annie’s mysterious “legacy.”

“It’s at the cottage. You’ll have… Plenty of money…” Mariah had said those words in the final hours before she’d died, a period in which she’d been barely lucid.

There isn’t any legacy, Leo sneered. Your mother exaggerated everything.

Maybe if Annie had spent more time on the island she’d know whether Mariah had been telling the truth, but she’d hated it here and hadn’t been back since her twenty-second birthday, eleven years ago.

She shone the flashlight around her mother’s bedroom. A life-size mounted photograph of an elaborately carved Italian wooden headboard served as the actual headboard for the double bed. A pair of wall hangings made of boiled wool and what looked like remnants from a hardware store hung next to the closet door. The closet still smelled of her mother’s signature fragrance, a little-known Japanese men’s cologne that had cost a fortune to import. As Annie breathed in the scent, she wished she could feel the grief a daughter should experience following the loss of a parent only five weeks earlier, but she merely felt depleted.

She waited until she’d located Mariah’s old scarlet woolen cloak and a pair of heavy socks before she got rid of her own clothes. After she’d piled every blanket she could find on her mother’s bed, she climbed under the musty sheets, turned out the flashlight, and went to sleep.

Heroes-are-My-Weakness-Susan-Elizabeth-Phillips-7

SHROUDED IN BLACKNESS by Norma Jeanne Karlsson

Nerd Blast
ShroudedinBlankness SmallSynopsis 
 

Only loyalty can truly win his heart…

Gangs, organized crime and underground bare-knuckle fighting make up the world that Kieran Delaney thrives within. His reputation is built on the talent of his fists, as much as his ability to get information about any and everything. Never one to be caught by surprise or bested, Kieran knows what you’re going to do before you do it…until Darcy Quinlan enters his life. She introduces herself with a knife to his throat and a promise of unbridled pain. Darcy’s life has been destroyed by betrayal and false promises of safety. Living on the streets for the last eight years, she’s has been a ghost. Never in one place long enough to be seen because you can’t catch what isn’t there. Now Kieran sees her and can’t erase her image from his mind.

Kieran and Darcy must now battle to keep her alive and by his side. As her past enters her life from every angle, Kieran makes certain her safety is no longer a concern, annihilating her demons at every corner. He’ll fight, he’ll maim, he’ll torture and he’ll murder to keep Darcy protected. If Kieran can win, her life will no longer be shrouded in blackness…loyalty will lift the veil.

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | 

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 

Blackness Takes Over was Norma Jeanne’s debut novel. What began as an homage to the home town of a homesick Midwestern girl, unfolded a story of love, danger, humor, and trust. Blackness Awaits was the highly anticipated continuation of Blackness Takes Over, leading readers through the twists and turns of the unconventional world in The Blackness Series. Her third novel, Shrouded in Blackness, ventures into a criminal world where violence and vengeance reign supreme. She’s currently working on her untitled fourth novel.

Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, Norma Jeanne recently found herself relocating to the United Kingdom. Now living in Belfast, she took hold of the opportunity to kick the 9-5 job for a chance to become an author. The best part: working from her home office, she gets to spend more time with her cast of crazy characters (written and real).

In her free time Norma Jeanne is a voracious reader and consumes books as readily as meals. She is a people watcher by nature and uses her experiences in life, observed or otherwise, to build the worlds and characters that thrive in her books. A believer in the strength of the human spirit, Norma Jeanne writes the stories of people that persevere when all appears to be lost.

“Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” –Dylan Thomas

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Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter
 

1 Winner will receive a Swag Pack (Bookmark, Postcard, Sticky Notes, Pen and a Tote Bag, Plus an E-Book ARC) by Norma Jeanne Karlsson.

Hexed by Michelle Krys – Release Day Blast

HexedBlast
 
Hexed_cover_7_30_13
Hexed
(The Witch Hunter #1)
Author: Michelle Krys
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 384
Release Date: June 10th, 2014
Blurb:

If high school is all about social status, Indigo Blackwood has it made. Sure, her quirky mom owns an occult shop, and a nerd just won’t stop trying to be her friend, but Indie is a popular cheerleader with a football-star boyfriend and a social circle powerful enough to ruin everyone at school. Who wouldn’t want to be her?

Then a guy dies right before her eyes. And the dusty old family Bible her mom is freakishly possessive of is stolen. But it’s when a frustratingly sexy stranger named Bishop enters Indie’s world that she learns her destiny involves a lot more than pom-poms and parties. If she doesn’t get the Bible back, every witch on the planet will die. And that’s seriously bad news for Indie, because according to Bishop, she’s a witch too.

Suddenly forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie’s about to uncover the many dark truths about her life—and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hi there! I’m the author of the YA novel HEXED, slated for publication with Delacorte Press/Random House Children’s Books Spring 2014. I’m repped by Adriann Ranta of Wolf Literary Services. Visit me at michellekrys.com or follow @MichelleKrys on Twitter.
HexedGiveaway1

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Giveaway is open to US only. | Must be 13+ to Enter
 

1 Winner will get: A Signed copy of Hexed
3 Winners will get: Signed Swag

Seduced by the Game – An Anthology for Hockey Fights Cancer

*I was provided a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine*

I’ll be honest, I don’t do many reviews here because I’m flat out lazy. However, when I saw this anthology coming available and the request for reviews? I couldn’t wait to review it!! I signed up quick as the sign-ups were open.
sbtg_review_banner
The anthology was packed with some amazing stories that centered around my absolute favorite sport – Hockey.  With a good mix of romance from sweet to burn your eyeballs spicy!!

Overall I gave the entire anthology 4 stars. As expected some authors just didn’t write in a style I liked, or the story didn’t grab me. I admittedly skimmed one or two, but those that grabbed me were powerful and well-written enough that I gave the whole shebang 4 stars.

So let me go over the standouts:

Hooking Hannah by Cassandra Carr & Cindy Carr – This story knocked it out of the park for me. It is my absolute favorite in the story. The romance was smoking, the hero (Scott) so amazing, and the heroine (Hannah) funny and strong. Their story was sweet and believable and they burned up the sheets – but what took this story over the edge to amazing for me was the scenes on the ice. The way the authors Carr wrote the hockey scenes was detailed and exact and I felt like I was back in my hometown of Buffalo listening to Rick Jeanneret call the play by play! It totally put me in the game and kept me there. Stunning writing.

Crashing the Boards by Jami Davenport – Most of this story takes place at a party on a boat and some naughty, kinky events. I was unfamiliar with Jami going into the story, but some of the sassy lines had me laughing and looking her up for more of her books. The interplay between the party crasher – Izzy, and the hockey player who thinks he’s onto her – Cooper, is excellent. Best part is when the truth is revealed and things blow up, the resolution isn’t perfect and immediate, but the way it’s handled is spot on and I love the potential.

Taking a Shot by Catherine Gayle – A sweet romance that touches on the cause behind the anthology – cancer. I loved the inclusion of a sweeter story and Katie’s crush-turned-romance was perfect.  The best part for me was Jamie’s doubts that had nothing to do with Katie, but his own role in her future. It was superbly realistic and touching.

Heir Apparent by V.L. Locey – Honestly, I don’t usually read much M/M, but I’m glad I did in this case. V.L. has quite a way with telling a story. It was real easy to get inside the character’s heads. Cam, the living legend who was faltering in his game in more ways than one, and Jacobi – Cam’s new back-up goalie and long-time fan. The mix of May/December romance with a bit of the struggle with admitting who you really are was beautifully handled in this short story.

With these great stories, and the good cause, this is an excellent buy!!

*~*

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Blurb ~

It’s time to drop the gloves and fight! Support the Fight against cancer that is.  This anthology of 8 brand new novellas is hot enough to melt the ice these players skate on. Featuring stories from popular New York Times & USA Today, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble bestselling authors, including Toni Aleo, Cassandra Carr, Cindy Carr, Jami Davenport, Catherine Gayle, Jaymee Jacobs, V.L. Locey, Bianca Sommerland, and Nikki Worrell.

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author – Toni Aleo TANGLED IN THE LACES

In Tangled in the Laces, Karson King is on the fast track to the pros and Lacey Martin is coming back from a hard fight against cancer and is terrified of him but their love is too much to ignore. Will Karson prove that he will protect her heart at all costs, or will he leave Lacey to pick up the pieces of her life once again?

Cassandra Carr and Cindy Carr HOOKING HANNAH

When Hannah attends an all-star game, she doesn’t expect a hockey player of all people to turn her world upside down. Her sister is married to a player and Hannah never wanted that life. But Scott could change everything. For Scott’s part, he has to know the woman who stirred his blood with just a look, and once he does, he realizes he wants Hannah to be his forever. Now to convince her…

Jami Davenport CRASHING THE BOARDS (Seattle Sockeyes 1.5)

Professional party crasher, Izzy Maxwell, needs the cooperation of reluctant party guest Cooper Black, the team captain of Seattle’s new hockey team, but Cooper can’t get past his anger over the team’s relocation to Seattle. Can Izzy melt Cooper’s frozen heart or will this party crash along with her fledgling business?

Catherine Gayle TAKING A SHOT (Portland Storm 2.5)

Katie Weber has had a crush on Jamie Babcock for almost two years, since he joined her father’s hockey team, the Portland Storm as an eighteen-year-old rookie. When cancer takes her health, her hair, and even her friends, she can’t bear to go to senior prom…until Jamie intervenes.

Jaymee Jacobs A VALUABLE TRADE 

Bryan’s life gets turned upside down when he gets traded to the Dallas Comets, and things get even messier when he meets Georgiana, the Director of Team Services. He’s got a lot of work to do to prove his worth to his new team, but Georgiana’s sure he’ll prove to be a valuable trade.

V.L. Locey HEIR APPARENT

Superstar Cam Evans is fighting to climb out of a slump that`s growing worse with each day of living in denial. Fresh from the minors, Jacobi Neal is hungry for this chance to play back-up for the legendary goalie. Can two men battle each other, their inner demons, and the sizzling attraction building between them?

Bianca Sommerland BLIND PASS (The Dartmouth Cobras 0.5)

Nothing could stop Tim Rowe, the assistant coach of the Dartmouth Cobras, from falling in love with Madeline, but love alone can’t satisfy every need. Sometimes, to reach the goal, you have to take the chance with a . . . Blind Pass.

Nikki Worrell – CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN (Prequel to Scorpions Series)

Keith Lambert is the captain of the Flyers—until he’s not. To everyone’s shock, he’s traded to the San Diego Scorpions. As if that’s not bad enough, Phoebe, his girlfriend of two years, decides she doesn’t love him enough to follow.

All alone in a new town, Keith is drawn to Kelly, his take out delivery girl. When she shows up at ice girl tryouts, he’s lost. She’s all he can see. Can he convince her to forget her past and take a chance on him or is he destined to be alone in a new town a little bit longer?

**Proud Supporters of Hockey Fights Cancer.

*~* 

Excerpts (see attached document)

 -from Heir Apparent by V.L. Locey

            I padded along beside him with no reply for his comment. He was right. Everyone knew his face in “The Burgh.” The longer we walked, the more I accepted that I would freeze to death. We made two complete laps in total silence. Cam stopped to drop his empty coffee cup into a trash can. We stood under a streetlight, our breath twin clouds of steam hovering in front of us.

“You have to understand that this…I don’t know how to go about…shit.” He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his parka. Again, we started walking.

“Look, man, if I knew for sure what we were dealing with, maybe I could help a little better,” I said. A biracial couple hurried past us. I burrowed into my flimsy coat until all that stuck out of the collar were my eyes.

“I have a daughter. She’s a senior in high school.”

“Awesome,” I mumbled into my coat. My forehead was extremely cold. Like ice cream eaten too fast cold. We kept walking that block.

“She is awesome.” I peeked over at him. I wished he would drop that fucking hood so I could see his face. “And not aware of how things were with her mother and me.”

“How things were, or how you were pretending they were?” I chanced it. What the hell? He would either slug me, call me a motherfucker, or stalk off. Whatever happened it had to be better than roaming around this fucking city block when the temperature was a balmy four degrees. “I mean, that is what you’re dancing around, right? That you’re so far back in the closet you just discovered Narnia? Why not just admit that much to yourself before we both succumb to fucking hypothermia.”

I should have known that Cameron Evans was a man of action. I mean, I followed his career all though my school years. He was fast. My back was against the wall under that old clock before I could register the shove. Cam then got all sorts of in my face. I did not raise my hands. His angry exhalation was flavored with vanilla.

“Are you calling me a queer?” I shrugged one shoulder.

“I call them as I see them. Now, you can either step off or you can kiss me.” I threw the challenge out without a second thought. I stared into the shelter of his hood, finding his dark eyes in the shadows. They flickered down to my blue lips. “Whatever you decide to do, do it fast. I’m cold, tired, and hungry.”

He did. He captured my mouth with a kiss so aggressive my teeth ground into my lips. Yeah. This was it. This was what I had been pushing him to do…hoping he would do.

 *~*

Links

Website:  http://www.seducedbythegame.com

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21399240-seduced-by-the-game?from_search=true

*~*
Giveaway

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Faking It by Lydia Michaels (McCullough Mountain 4)

FakingIt| Amazon | BN | Kobo | iBooks | ARe | SCP |

Blurb:

Sheilagh McCullough has been pretending to be someone else her entire life. When she takes her rebellious act too far, her overbearing brothers decide it’s time for her to grow up and face her future. After six years of procrastination and parties, Sheilagh is finally going to college.

Dr. Alec Devereux is an ethical man, but when Sheilagh McCullough enrolls in his class, his morals as a professor are put to the test. Brilliant, tenacious, and a contradiction to herself in so many ways, Alec is enchanted by his new student and unable to resist temptation. Persistent and logical, Alec unravels the mysterious woman who has captured his heart only to discover the greatest threat to their future might be her past.

A courageous journey of the soul that confronts one woman’s fears of love and embraces the truth in her heart.

Excerpt:

“You have no right!”

“Shut up!” the three of them shouted at once.

Her eyes prickled with unshed tears as they drove. Under the passing shadows she saw each one of them staring away from her, fury stamped into their set jaws. She kicked the seat in front of her and Tristan grunted.

After she discovered Luke and Tristan’s affair, Tristan handled her with kid gloves. Sheilagh didn’t want his pity. She was tougher than that. She was a McCullough, for Christ’s sake. She had five crazy brothers and she could hold her own with every single one of them.

The farther they drove out of town, the more self-doubt crept in. “Where are we going?”

No one answered. The commercial storefronts faded away as Kelly turned the SUV onto the highway leading out of town. As they took the jug handle onto the interstate her concern doubled. Their anger was so thick it seemed to siphon the air right out of the car.

Her concern for herself doubled as her eyes rapidly blinked back tears, forcing those telling little spills to stay put where others couldn’t see. Her entire existence focused on hiding those telltale signs of weakness from the world.

She hated that her stupid, childish heart was permanently damaged and her life derailed. Since the day she’d discovered Luke and Tristan, she’d been going at the world like a runaway train, making one poor choice after another and leaving nothing but self-destruction in her wake. It was the only way she knew to control the pain, control herself. But in truth, over the last few years she felt out of control and with every stupid transgression came another reason to hate herself.

She wasn’t sure she’d ever be normal again. She wasn’t breaking hearts, just breaking herself, battering pieces of her broken heart, little by little, with each poor decision.

Suddenly the car swerved. She slammed into Luke and he pushed her off. Gravel spewed under the tires as Kelly tore onto the shoulder and threw the SUV in park.

It was dark and no one said a word. Fear tickled her spine. Why were they there? It was completely dark and eerie and she wondered if this was their version of some kind of confessional.

The sound of their breathing sawed out of their lungs and she waited. Luke, of course, broke the silence. “Are you out of your god damn mind?”

She turned to unleash the fury inside of her. “Oh, shut up, Luke! You have no right to pass judgment on me!”

Kelly swiveled in his seat, his blue eyes boring into her through the dark. “What did you suspect people would do after you bared your titties for the town? Praise you? Christ, Sheilagh, use your fucking head!”

“Like you have any room to talk, Kelly! There isn’t a woman in Center County who hasn’t seen your wank!”

“And do you think I didn’t pay a price for my actions, Sheilagh?” Kelly stormed.

No, she didn’t. Kelly lived the high life and still managed to find his soul mate. No one in this car had a right to even pretend they understood what it felt like to be invisible.

“It’s like the sheep fucker!” Kelly snarled and turned toward the windshield.

What? “What?”

“Shamus the sheep fucker!” her brother snapped. “The old Irishman in the bar that built the church and sailed the sea, but no one remembers that because he fucked one sheep.”

“No one’s fucking a sheep, you moron!”

“Well, what do you think people would say if you started stripping? You wouldn’t be Sheilagh the beautiful McCullough or Sheilagh the genius. No, you’d only be Sheilagh the stripper. Do you want that kind of reputation?”

She crossed her arms over her breasts and glared out the window.

Tristan turned. “Why would you do this, Shei?”

She blinked repeatedly. Because no one notices me anymore. Forcing an expression of indifference, she shrugged. “Why not?”

“You’re better than that. You know you are,” he said in a soft voice.

She didn’t know what to say back. Maybe she wasn’t better than that. Maybe that’s all she was meant to be, a stripper in some Podunk town.

Luke wouldn’t look at her, but she still heard him growl. “This is bullshit. When are you going to grow up?”

She pivoted and turned her glare on him. “Me? How about you, Luke? When are you going to grow up? You have an awful lot to say about how everyone lives their life, when you don’t have the balls to let the world see who you really are!”

The car grew deathly silent. Kelly said her name in warning and she snapped. “No! I’m sick of it! Just say it! Say it!”

“What do you want me to say?” Luke roared.

Tristan’s stare cut to her and she felt a pinch of regret much like the lament she saw in his eyes. Why couldn’t they just come out and let everyone know they were in love?

“This isn’t about Luke,” Tristan said quietly. “It never was. I’m sorry, Sheilagh. I know this isn’t what you asked for, but sometimes life is unfair.”

She fumed as she glared back at him. “I wanna go home.”

No one said anything for quite some time. “You’re going away,” Kelly finally announced.

“What?”

“You’re going to college. There’s nothing for you here and you know it. It’s time for you to get on with your life and make something of yourself.”

 

Author Bio:

Bestselling author, Lydia Michaels, writes all forms of hot romance. She presses the bounds of love and surprises readers just when they assume they have her stories figured out. From Amish vampyres, to wild Irishmen, to broken heroes, and heroines no man can match, Lydia takes readers on an emotional journey of the heart, mind, and soul with every story she pens. Her books are intellectual, erotic, haunting, always centered on love.

Lydia Michaels loves to hear from readers! She can be contacted by email at Lydia@LydiaMichaels.org

Webpage: www.LydiaMichaels.org

Other Titles by Lydia Michaels:

[amazon_link id=”B00BSY6UAQ” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Falling In[/amazon_link][amazon_link id=”B00BSY6UE2″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Breaking Out[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B00CLFCOVA” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Coming Home[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B00DU10GW8″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Sacred Waters[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B00ESLV1DW” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Skin[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B00ICOXAI0″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Chaste[/amazon_link]
Faking It
Forsaking Truth (Coming Soon)
As Tears Go By (Coming Soon)
[amazon_link id=”B00G9Q09S2″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Simple Man[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B00CRJ0K0M” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Breaking Perfect[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B0092T5OGK” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]White Chocolate[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B009NLIQ6C” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]All 4 You[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B00AY4T8KA” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]To Catch a Wolfe[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B00BSEWZY6″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Chasing Feathers[/amazon_link]
Called to Order
Calling for a Miracle
Destiny Calls
[amazon_link id=”B00HQ5N82O” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Call Her Mine[/amazon_link]

 

McCullough Mountain: Family Tree

McCulloughFamilyTree