Once Upon A Dream ...

April 16, 2015

Oldies but Goldies! Mackenzie Family Series by Linda Howard

Mackenzie Family is one of the best series written by Linda Howard and I cannot help but admire her for her unique style.

Each book follows the story of a family member and the situations they're put in will catch your attention immediately and keep you glued to your chairs.

Her characters are stubborn, strong, determined and have a great capacity to love. All these qualities blended with Linda Howard’s talent will make you fall in love with her novels.

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A small Wyoming town is about to learn a few lessons from a new schoolteacher with the courage to win the heart of a man who swore he had nothing to give....

Mary Elizabeth Potter is a self-appointed spinster with no illusions about love. But she is a good teacher and she wants Wolf Mackenzie s son back in school. And after one heated confrontation with the boy s father, she knows father and son have changed her life forever.

Still paying for a crime he didn t commit, Wolf Mackenzie has a chip on his shoulder the size of Wyoming. But prim-and-proper Mary Elizabeth Potter doesn't see Wolf as the dangerous half-breed the town has branded him. Somehow she sees him as a good, decent, honest man. A man who could love...

Wolf s not sure he or the town of Ruth, Wyoming is ready for the taming of Wolf Mackenzie.

HIS MISSION...

Night Wing--the revolutionary test plane with a top secret weapons system--was Colonel Joe "Breed" Mackenzie's number-one priority. And weapons expert Caroline Evans was his number-one distraction. True, the stubborn blonde was giving him the cold shoulder, but Joe hadn't become the best of the best by giving up. Then he discovered someone on the inside was sabotaging Night Wing, and with her late hours and specialized expertise, Caroline seemed the obvious choice. Now Joe had to choose between allegiance to his country and love for his prime suspect...

Barrie needed a saviour. The terrorists holding her hostage surely wouldn''t tolerate her silence much longer. Instead they would silence her. Then out of the darkness he arrived. Rugged and dangerous, he led her straight into his sheltering arms.'

Book 4 of 5 in Linda Howard's beloved Mackenzie's Family saga! Meet Maris Mackenzie and the sexy stranger she woke up to find in her bed. Unfortunately, she had no memory of Alex MacNeil, the previous day...or the prize Thoroughbred she'd apparently stolen...but she will find her "Sole Pleasure" in more ways than one.

Romantic suspense, originally published by Silhouette Intimate Moments. The last book in the Mackenzie Family series focuses on Chance Mackenzie, a feral, homeless adolescent until rescued and adopted by Wolf and Mary Mackenzie. The stunning and aloof half-breed has built a career in undercover ops, first as a Naval Intelligence Officer, then as a private consultant. However, one particularly vile terrorist has always eluded the law. Chance and brother Zane find a way to lure Crispin Hauer in: They'll use his daughter Sonia as bait. First step: Make Sunny fall in love with Chance. What could be simpler?

Content: Explicit sex, violence, swearing

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Linda Howard is an award-winning author whose novels include the recent New York Times bestsellers Shadow Woman, Up Close and Dangerous, and Drop Dead Gorgeous, as well as the Pocket Books releases Kill and Tell, Now You See Her, All the Queen’s Men, Mr. Perfect, and Open Season. She lives in Alabama with her husband and two golden retrievers.

Happy Release Day! Excerpt, Review & Giveaway! Hard to be Good, Hard Ink #3.5 by Laura Kaye

Hard Ink Tattoo owner Jeremy Rixey has taken on his brother’s stateside fight against the forces that nearly killed Nick and his Special Forces team a year before. Now, Jeremy’s whole world has been turned upside down—not the least of which by a brilliant, quiet blond man who tempts Jeremy to settle down for the first time ever. Recent kidnapping victim Charlie Merritt has always been better with computers than people, so when he’s drawn into the SF team’s investigation of his army colonel father’s corruption, he’s surprised to find acceptance and friendship—especially since his father never accepted who Charlie was. Even more surprising is the heated tension Charlie feels with sexy, tattooed Jeremy, Charlie’s opposite in almost every way. With tragedy and chaos all around them, temptation flashes hot, and Jeremy and Charlie can’t help but wonder why they’re trying so hard to be good...

Shirtless muscular attractive young man model wearing sweatpants

“You should be inside celebrating,” Jeremy said, his voice a raw scrape. “You and Marz did an amazing thing this morning.” An hour ago, Marz and Charlie had cracked open a heavily encrypted microchip that contained a wealth of information that not only seemed likely to help the team clear its name, but proved that Charlie’s father hadn’t been dirty, like they’d all thought. “And I’m so happy for you about your dad.”

A wounded darkness passed through Charlie’s gaze, but he finally nodded. “Didn’t feel right without you there.” Pink filtered into his cheeks, and damn if that wasn’t as cute as it was sexy. Jeremy wasn’t sure anything had ever made him blush.

“I’m just not—” Jeremy shrugged and looked down at Charlie’s chest again. Having seen the guy dress more than once, he knew that shirt covered lean muscle that ran from strong shoulders down to his narrow hips. Jeremy fisted his hands against the urge to burrow them under the hem of the tee. After weeks of looking, and wanting, he was dying to touch. Jeremy found Charlie hard to read though, and hadn’t wanted to do anything to scare him off. “—very good company right now. I’m sorry if that—”

Charlie nudged Jeremy’s chin up with his hand, his fingers just barely touching Jer’s stubble-covered skin. But then his thumb landed softly against his lips.

Jeremy’s heartbeat kicked up and his lips fell open. Slowly, oh so tentatively, Charlie stroked the soft pad of his thumb back and forth across them.

“Charlie,” Jeremy whispered as arousal surged through his body, spiking his pulse, tensing his muscles, hardening his dick.

Uncertainty poured off Charlie as the man’s hand trembled where it touched him, but those blue eyes absolutely blazed desire. No way was Jeremy imagining that.

“You’re always good company, to me,” Charlie said in a low voice, his gaze dropping to Jeremy’s lips. Charlie leaned in closer, and closer still, and Jeremy could hardly believe the other man was the one to initiate this. But he was fucking thrilled.

Jeremy swallowed, his lips anticipating that first soft brush. Charlie was so close his shaky breath caressed Jeremy’s lips. His pace was maddening but so damn sexy Jer could barely breathe. And then Charlie’s eyelids fluttered closed and he was right there…

I fell in love with this series from the first book.

Hard Ink it’s the story of a group of ex-soldiers who have been falsely accused of something they didn’t do and who are now trying to find out the truth behind the events of the day that ruined all their lives.

Jeremy Rixey is Nick’s brother and a tattoo artist. But he is also a computer whiz and he puts his knowledge to good use trying to help his brother and his friends.

He has never denied nor hidden who he is and has no intention of ever doing so but, what he wants this time. he may never get.

Charlie Merritt has been through hell and back at the hands of the same organization who has killed his father and had ruined Nick and his friend’s reputations.

After being rescued, he is now putting his computer knowledge to good use with his sister by his side.

He wasn’t expecting to meet Jeremy and he wasn’t expecting to feel the way he does.

What can he offer to someone like him? They are so different and he’s not ready for the kind of commitment the other man deserves.

Jer and Charlie’s story will melt your heart. There’s so much going on between them and their connection is so strong so intense. You won’t be able to stop reading.

Then, there is an incredible amount of funny scenes that blend perfectly even in the most serious situations.

Laura’s writing style is really good and you’ll be hooked from the beginning. Keep in mind that the book cannot be read as a standalone. I suggest you start from Hard as It Gets otherwise it won’t make much sense.

What else can I say? This has become one of my favorite series and I highly recommend it. In these books you’ll find a little bit of everything. Action, romance, drama, mystery, suspense, humor (lots of that) and hot, sexy, tattooed men. What more could you ask? Go for it!

Happy Reading!!

Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over twenty books in contemporary and paranormal romance and romantic suspense. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

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Pre-Release Blitz: Excerpt & Giveaway! Mastered 2, Ten Tales Of Sensual Surrender Box Set

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On the heels of the wildly popular New York Times and USA Today bestseller, MASTERED, we bring you MASTERED 2, ten more tales of sensual surrender!

Played by the Master by Opal Carew

Jacqueline adjusted the straps on her snug black dress, ensuring they hiked up her ample bosom, then stared at herself critically in the large mirror in the elegant hotel lobby ladies’ room.

She was here on a mission and she’d pulled out all the stops. Low cut black dress that hugged every curve of her body. Shockingly high stilettos that made her legs look even longer than they were, and accentuated her rounded butt. She turned in the mirror and glanced at her backside. Her cheeks flushed at the sight of herself in the short, tight black dress, all her assets blatantly on display, but it was important she succeed and she needed to use everything she had going for her. She had even pulled her long, chestnut hair up and clipped it neatly behind her head to stop it from obscuring her cleavage.

She turned back to face the mirror, her gaze dropping to the sparkly diamond star pendant grazing the tops of her pushed-up-thrust-forward breasts. (Her brother had given it to her and it was a constant reminder of how he’d always taken care of her, and believed in her. He’d told her she’d be a star in whatever she did.)

Three women entered the washroom, chatting. Jacqueline reapplied her deep red lipstick, then dropped the tube in her evening bag and walked back into the lobby.

The hotel was lavishly elegant. Crystal chandeliers glittered from the ceiling as she walked along the marble floor, her heels clacking on the surface. She walked to the concierge desk and opened her small, sequined bag and pulled out a black and red poker chip with the Danner insignia on it.

He glanced at it and nodded.

“Go to room 2403.”

She smiled as she turned and walked to the elevator. Room 2403 was where she would find Mr. Danner. Billionaire owner of Danner Industries. She had to see him and convince him to help her sister.

She’d tried calling his secretary to arrange to see him in his office so she could plead her case, but he was harder to get an appointment with than the president of the United States. So she’d talked to a friend of hers, who knew that Danner ran a high-stakes poker game once a month. No one knew where it was until the day, and it was extremely exclusive. Danner didn’t worry about the details of deciding who could play. He had staff to check out potentials, but Jacqueline’s friend had an in and had obtained one of the poker chips that would allow her in the door.

Every player had to go with at least two hundred thousand dollars they were prepared to lose, which she didn’t have. But she didn’t intend to lose. She smiled as she walked onto the elevator and pushed the button.

Because she intended to cheat.

* * *

Race Danner stared out the window of the luxury hotel room over the lights of the city reflected in the lake below as he poured himself a drink. The other players were continuing the game behind him, but he’d stopped to take a break. He sipped the seventy-five year old scotch and sighed.

Even these poker games, that he’d arranged to break up the boredom he’d been suffering from over the past year, had stopped giving him the excitement he was seeking.

Travel, women, extreme sports. None of it gave him exactly what he was looking for.

He turned back to the game, watching the intensity in the eyes of the card players at the table.

The problem was, he didn’t know exactly what he was looking for.

But he had a feeling he’d know when he saw it.

A knock sounded at the door and Renaldo, one of the hotel serving staff overseeing the game, answered it. Race heard a young woman’s voice, then the Renaldo opened the door and she walked inside.

His breath held as he stared at her.

The little black dress—and he did mean little—and the fuck-me shoes she wore showcased her stunning body, but he could tell she wasn’t used to wearing such a revealing outfit. She carried herself with confidence, but he could read people and could sense a hesitation in her. She glanced around, as if wondering if anyone was gazing at her, but not in a look-at-me way.

Her hair was swept up and held in place by a glittery butterfly clip, which meant it was long. He liked long hair. He smiled to himself, deciding that before the night was over, he’d see her hair hanging loose and free. And he’d ensure he soon get the chance to coil her tresses around his hand and hold tight.

Renaldo was talking to her, and Race knew the man would hustle her out, since she was not one of the people on the invitation list for tonight.

Race would not let her slip through his fingers, however. He walked toward them.

“Problem, Renaldo?” Race asked.

New York Times bestselling author Avery Aster pens The Manhattanites, a contemporary erotic romance series of full-length, stand-alone novels, and the naughty new adult prequel companion series The Undergrad Years.

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