Release Day Blitz & Giveaway! Mind Over Matter, Loose Ends #3 by Kaia Bennett

Amazon - Nook - Kobo - iBooks - Smashwords

They said they would try. They said they would give their love a chance. But when the mistakes of Gabriel's past clashed with Nicole's hopes for the future, they realized love wasn't enough. They tied up the loose ends of their broken hearts and walked away. Now, Gabriel's career is on a meteoric rise and he is back to his bachelor ways. He told Nicole he couldn't promise forever and did his best to let her go, but these days he wonders if he spoke too soon. Nicole has a new life, a new man, and she refuses to look back. To everyone around her though, not looking back looks an awful lot like running scared from the past. With Jackie and Ian's wedding approaching, a reunion between the best man and the maid of honor is to be expected. What they don't expect is for the olive branch of friendship to catch fire with a love and need that is stronger than even their best intentions. They called it quits. But is it really over? They still love each other. But does that even matter when they've made up their minds that there's no going back? *NOTE* Mind Over Matter is the third and final book in the Loose Ends series.

 

After a whirlwind week of hot sex and growing affection, Nicole and Gabriel were forced to part ways and to return to real life. For a while they danced around each other, meeting up when they could, the distance between them rivaled only by their desire to be together again. Now these lovers are no longer star-crossed. They’re in the same city at the same time and can finally indulge their insatiable passion. At least until Gabriel’s increasingly popular band goes on tour. But the ticking clock of his budding music career isn’t the only obstacle to contend with. A blast from Gabriel’s wild past, a guy that kept Nicole warm in Gabriel’s absence, and fear of what the future holds all converge just as they’ve begun to realize this might be love… Author's Note: This book contains strong language and sexual content with dark elements, some of which readers may find uncomfortable.

Nicole Langley’s #1 Crush has always been Gabriel Roberts, but settling for being a friendly acquaintance has had to be enough. Gabriel has always seen Nicole as his good friend’s very pretty, but extremely off limits baby sister. Then a hot summer day and an even hotter discovery pushes them over the lines of friendship, over the lines of unrequited desire, and into each other's arms. Will they indulge and move on? Or will this crush turn into something more, something deeper? Something that leaves loose ends begging to be tied…

Kaia Bennett is a native of New Jersey, a college graduate and U.S. Army veteran who loves music, movies, astrology, tattoos, martial arts, animals and, of course, the written word. She heard the siren call of the writer as a teenage girl, but took her sweet time answering it until she had lived and loved enough to share her work with the masses. She is an erotic author who loves to write stories with diversity, depth, realism and viscerally hot encounters that flirt shamelessly with the taboo. A lover of all genres and a voracious reader, she aims to write stories that are transformative for her characters and readers alike.

Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Release Day Blitz & Giveaway! You Loved Me At My Ugliest, You Loved Me #3 by Evie Harper

Amazon B&N Kobo iTunes

She’s no stranger to love and loss…

By age eighteen, Alexa Kingsley had lost everyone. Only Joey, the lonely boy next door, remained. He’d clung to Alexa like a lifeline through years of abuse at the hands of his father, and she vowed to protect him as best she could. Alexa thought Joey was the one person who’d always be there—until the day he left her as well. Finally forced to go it alone, Alexa finds this latest loss may hurt worst of all. 

He’s no stranger to lack of love…

Joseph O’Connor was every bit the villain his father trained him to be, his young heart twisted into something ugly, corrupted. But his father underestimated the girl next door, miscalculated the impact Lexi would have on Joey’s life, the spark she ignited that eventually, despite all odds, grew to an inferno of hope. To reclaim her, Joey must first become a man Lexi can be proud of…the kind of man she deserves.

Amidst a shadowy world of guns and drugs, will Joey’s ultimate sacrifice—a declaration of love from a man who was never shown any at all—be enough to finally set him free?

Evie is an Australian author whose passion for reading lead her into writing. Evie spends her days writing heartbreaking, suspense filled love stories with happily ever afters. Evie's characters are strong alphas with even stronger heroines who bring sexy sass to the relationship.

Facebook Twitter Goodreads Amazon Newsletter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal, Excerpt & Giveaway! Beyond the Surface, The Breakfast Club #1 by Felice Stevens

On 9/11 firefighter Nick Fletcher’s world changed forever. He's unable to rid himself of survivor’s guilt

made worse by the secret he hides from his family and co-workers. Nick's life is centered around helping burn victims until he is reunited with the man he’d once loved but pushed away. Now he has a second chance at a love he thought lost forever.

For fashion designer Julian Cornell appearances mean everything. His love affairs are strictly casual

and the only thing he cares about is making his clothing line a success. A chance encounter with the man he loved long ago has Julian thinking for the first time in years there may be more to life than being seen at the best parties and what designer labels to wear.

When Julian’s world takes an unexpected turn it's Nick who helps him regain perspective on what matters most in life. Julian in turn helps Nick accept who he is and understand he isn’t responsible for tragedies he couldn't prevent. Lost love found can be even sweeter the second time around and after all the years apart both men learn to look beyond the surface to find the men they are inside.

Julian was in the kitchen, sitting on one of the stools by the counter. He had a glass in front of him filled with what Nick presumed was vodka, having spied the Grey Goose bottle.

“Would you like a drink? I have beer, wine…anything you’d like.”

Nick shook his head, regret piercing his heart as he watched the hope drain from Julian’s eyes.

“I don’t think so. I’m going to head home. I want you to know how much I appreciate what you did for Jamal tonight.”

Julian stood abruptly, kicking the stool away from his feet.

“Don’t treat me like I’m some fucking stranger, Nicky. You owe me. It’s been eighteen years; you think I’m going to let you walk out on me again like you did before? After what just happened between us? After you fell apart? No fucking way. I’m not that same person and neither are you, obviously.”

Taken aback by Julian’s anger, Nick remained mute.

“What the hell is going on with you? One minute you’re tongue fucking me into the next century and the next you’re freaking out. I know I’m a damn good kisser, but this isn’t about us, is it? It has nothing to do with our past and everything to do with you and the shit that’s floating around in your head.”

Julian stepped closer to him and Nick, who normally couldn’t stand people near him, was rooted to the floor, unable to move.

“Talk to me, Nicky. Tell me what happened to you.”

He was so tired of holding himself together, feeling like at any moment he’d shatter into a million tiny pieces, leaving nothing behind but a pile of dust.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

The words poured out of him, flowing unchecked this time. “It should’ve been me. We all went to the Towers to save them. It was my day off, but I went anyway. I heard and couldn’t stay home; I had a duty to help, you know? But I lived and they all died. Why, Julian? Why did I live and they didn’t?”

“Oh, Nick.” Julian held him close. “I don’t have the answers for you. No one does. But I’m going to be completely selfish and say I’m so thankful you did make it and we’re here together after all these years.”

Unflinching green eyes gazed back at him. Clever, beautiful eyes that Nick could never stop dreaming of. Eyes that at one time had held the promise of forever, until Nick ruined everything with his cowardice and shame. Unable to maintain Julian’s scrutiny, Nick broke away and ran to the elevator, his chest heaving, eyes stinging with tears.

“Let me out. I need to leave here. NOW.”

I have always been a romantic at heart. I believe that while life is tough, there is always a happy ending just around the corner. I started reading traditional historical romances when I was a teenager, then life and law school got in the way. It wasn’t until I picked up a copy of Bertrice Small and became swept away to Queen Elizabeth’s court that my interest in romance novels became renewed.

But somewhere along the way, my tastes shifted. While I still enjoys a juicy Historical romance, I began experimenting with newer, more cutting edge genres and discovered the world of Male/Male romance. Once I picked up her first, I became so enamored of the authors, the character-driven stories and the overwhelming emotion of the books, I knew I wanted to write my own.

I live in New York City with my husband and two children and hopefully soon a cat of my own. My day begins with a lot of caffeine and ends with a glass or two of red wine. I practice law but daydream of a time when I can sit by a beach somewhere and write beautiful stories of men falling in love. Although there is bound to be angst along the way, a Happily Ever After is always guaranteed.

Website Facebook Twitter Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Release Day Blitz & Giveaway! Racing the Sun, Where Sea Meets Sky #2 by Karina Halle

Amazon | Barnes & Noble| Blio | Books-a-Million | Google ebookstore | iBooks |Kobo

From the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of Where Sea Meets Sky comes a new adult novel about a young woman who becomes a nanny in Capri and falls for her charges’ bad-boy brother.

When I’m traveling, I feel like the secret to my life, to myself, to really becoming, is one step ahead. It’s in the next destination, the next town I get lost in, the next stranger I talk to. It’s always next but never here . . .

After six months of backpacking and soul-searching across the world, Amber MacLean is flat broke. There are worse places for a twentysomething to be stuck than the Amalfi Coast, but the only way she can earn enough money for a plane ticket home to California is to teach English to two of the brattiest children she has ever met.

It doesn’t help that the children are under the care of their brooding older brother, ex-motorcycle racer Desiderio Larosa. Darkly handsome and oh-so-mysterious, the young master of the crumbling villa tests Amber’s patience and will at every turn—not to mention her hormones.

When her position turns into a full-time nanny gig, Amber grows dangerously closer to the enigmatic recluse. But can she give up the certainty of home for someone whose closely guarded heart feels a world apart from her own?

With her USA Today Bestselling The Artists Trilogy published by Grand Central Publishing, numerous foreign publication deals, and self-publishing success with her Experiment in Terror series, Vancouver-born Karina Halle is a true example of the term "Hybrid Author." Though her books showcase her love of all things dark, sexy and edgy, she's a closet romantic at heart and strives to give her characters a HEA...whenever possible.

Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiancé and rescue pup.

FACEBOOK TWITTER GOODREADS AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt & Giveaway! What No One Else Can Hear by Brynn Stein

Amazon Dreamspinner Press

Young Stevie Liston is diagnosed with autism, but is really an overwhelmed empath who mentally called out for help. Jesse McKinnon heard him in a dream from clear across the country, and that dream sent him on a six-year search to find Stevie. Once they meet, they think everything will work out and Jesse will help Stevie cope.

Stevie does improve immensely, but a disgruntled coworker of Jesse's conspires with Stevie's estranged but politically powerful father to keep Stevie and Jesse apart with trumped-up legal charges claiming Jesse sexually abused the boy. Jesse must watch helplessly as Stevie loses all the advances he's made.

If it wasn't for his growing relationship with his coworker Drew Ferguson, Jesse knows he wouldn't have the strength to fight for his rights and Stevie's future. Drew just might be the real thing, but with the very real possibility of serving jail time for a crime he didn't commit, Jesse's hopes for a future with Drew might be doomed.

Prologue

I COULDN’T believe it. I stood in the doorway of a child’s room on the third floor of the Lynneville Center for Children with Autism after having been hastily hired and sent up here. At first I was shocked to see dozens of expertly drawn pictures of me taped up all over the walls. Then I noticed the four worried-looking adults in the room, their attention focused on the bed. In that bed, seemingly catatonic, was the very boy I’d been seeing in my dreams for almost six years.

I had been looking for Stevie all that time, but now that I had found him, I realized that until that moment I’d always had the smallest doubt that he was real—almost a hope that there wasn’t a suffering child who needed me, whom it had taken me so long to find. All my energy for six years had been focused on finding him, yet a niggling doubt had remained … until I stepped through that doorway.

“Stevie,” I whispered. “I finally found you.”

He didn’t move; he only blinked on reflex. He simply lay on the bed, so still, and stared at the ceiling. I knew I could help him. I moved to his side, nudging the doctor out of the way, and touched his hand.

“Come on, man. Come on back now.” I put my hand on his head, and Stevie immediately turned his head toward me. Though his eyes were still a little unfocused, he had no trouble recognizing me.

“Hi, Bear,” he said and reached out to be hugged, as he always had in my dreams.

It was so natural for Stevie to talk to me and hug me that it didn’t occur to me it might be strange for the staff gathered in Stevie’s room. They were suddenly doing the best imitations of goldfish I had ever seen. The doctor and the other man had comically wide eyes, while the two women looked almost ready to cry from shock or maybe just relief.

The older one, a lady in her forties, seemed to recognize my confusion. She came to stand close to me and said in a hushed voice, “That’s the first time we’ve ever heard him speak.”

He always could, of course.

He spoke to me all the time in my dreams.

He finally let go and looked at me. “Bear, you’re here? You’re really here?” His gaze scanned the room. “Not in the forest?”

“No, buddy.” I laid him back down and rubbed his hand as I spoke. “Not in the forest this time. We’re right here, in your room.”

Stevie yawned and looked exhausted.

“Go to sleep, big guy. I’m working at the center now, so I’ll be waiting for you when you wake up.”

He smiled and was asleep almost immediately.

By that time the staff’s shock had worn off and curiosity had set in with a vengeance. We barely stepped out of Stevie’s room before the never-ending string of questions began.

“Bear?” “Forest?” “Stevie can talk?” The questions bombarded me simultaneously.

We all took seats in the living room area and I set about answering their questions. I was hoping what they had just witnessed would keep them from laughing me out of the room. The story I had to tell them was pretty spectacular.

Dottie, the lady in her forties, started things off by introducing me to the others. Dr. Brown was the physician on staff and had been watching Stevie decline over the last several months with no idea how to help him. Hank and Stacy were the other staff members who had been in Stevie’s room. They, along with Dottie, were support staff for the students who lived here, providing whatever assistance they needed, with supervision and compassion. Other people working on the hall that night wanted to hear as much of the story as possible, so they came and went, working when needed, listening when they could, as did Dottie, Hank, and Stacy.

“I don’t even begin to know where to start asking questions,” Dr. Brown finally admitted.

“The beginning is always nice,” Stacy said.

I smiled and thought Stacy had a good idea, so I told them about my first meeting with Stevie.

Brynn has always loved to write about strong male characters and their close friendships. When she found the world of m/m fiction, she fell in love. Finally, a way to bring those strong male characters together and let those emotional connections spill over into deeper relationships. Sometimes her characters go through the emotional wringer, but they always have each other.

Website Facebook Twitter Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt & Giveaway! Make Me Believe, Believe #1 by Karen Ferry

Amazon • Nook • iBooks

Sometimes, a chance meeting is just the push you need in order to break free from the darkness within…

My name is Emma, I’m 23, and I’ve never been kissed. I’m no virgin…But kissing is too intimate, too intense, and I don’t want that – not ever. I like sex, though, and most of my hook-ups don’t seem to mind the no-kissing part. But then I meet Daniel, who’s such a geek, and definitely not the kind of guy I’d normally take an interest to. He’s the shy, quiet type, but with such a charming smile, and he makes my heart race – something I’ve never experienced before. Daniel has his own issues to work through, and I know my hardened heart shouldn’t melt when he looks at me. I really shouldn’t be falling for him, either, but somehow, he manages to tear down my walls, and I’m scared…because once he learns my secrets, he’ll want nothing to do with me. All I know is that Daniel makes me feel things that I have never felt before – but do I dare let down my walls and confide in him? Will I let him be my first kiss? This is my story, and I’ll reveal everything in my own sweet time… Just don’t expect all the hearts-and-flowers stuff. Life is messy, and mine is no different… INSPIRED BY TRUE EVENTS ***Due to possible ‘triggers’ and adult situations (yes, there is lots of sex in this book) it is not recommended to persons under the age of 18.

I’m just applying the last coat of mascara when I hear the expected knock on my door. I sigh and turn my neck from side to side, gearing myself up for whatever Daniel could be up to, and I hurry to get the door for him.

“Hi,” I say, and I take a step back, allowing him to come inside.

He remains silent as he walks through and into my living room/bedroom. He takes a look around and I stand in the doorway, unsure of what to do. I look at the time on my phone: it’s only ten am. As the silence continues, I become more and more uncomfortable, and I cross my arms in front of me.

“Do you want a soda or something?” I ask him, trying to break the awkward silence. 

Daniel turns away from my bookshelf and looks closely at me. I’ve only put on a pair of capris and a sleeve-less black top, and I haven’t put any shoes on. My hair hangs wildly around my face, and I curse at not having the time to do something about it. But then it hits me: Why do I even care?

“Just some water, please,” he answers, and I go to the kitchen. I hear him follow me and I groan on the inside.

“Listen, Daniel, I really don’t know why you’re here, so . . . ” I hint as I stand with my back to him, reaching for a glass on the shelf above the sink.

“I know . . . ,” he answers, and I can hear how nervous he is. 

As I fill a glass of water for him, I turn to him. “Come on, out with it, then.” I smile, but I know it doesn’t look genuine.

“You put on make-up,” he blurts out, and I roll my eyes, fed up with his stalling.

“Yes, I know. So what? Don’t get the idea that I did it for you, though. I always wear make-up when I’m around people.” I walk closer to him and hand him the glass of water.

“We can sit outside on the balcony,” I tell him, and I brush past him.

I take a seat and surreptitiously look down to the hidden pack of cigarettes I keep behind the door as Daniel takes the other chair beside me. I only smoke when I drink, or when I can’t fall back to sleep after having a nightmare, but I’m seriously thinking about lighting one up right about now.

Daniel takes a sip of water, and then he sighs. “I need your help,” he mumbles, but he doesn’t meet my eye. In fact, his entire body language seems withdrawn and definitely embarrassed. 

“What do you mean?” I ask him, and I’m more confused than ever.

“Well . . .” He hesitates before finally manning up and meeting my stare. “I’m dyslexic,” he blurts out.

I shrug. “So? Many people are dyslexic, Daniel.” My voice softens. “It’s nothing to be ashamed about, you know.” And it still doesn’t tell me anything about why he’s here.

He looks away, towards the park across from the complex, and a flush starts to spread on his neck again. 

“It is when you are about to study English at the university,” he answers back.

“Oh, I see.” But I really don’t. I mean, I can imagine that it’s bound to cause some trouble, and it’s far from easy being a student at all these days. 

Daniel remains silent, still staring straight ahead. I allow him more time to get to the point, but, finally, I lose patience and ask him, “So why do you need my help?”

Karen Ferry is a thirty-something writer, wife to a quiet, laidback man, and mother to a gorgeous, stubborn, redheaded girl who keeps her parents on their toes. Karen tends to have a short fuse if she does not get a proper caffeine fix first thing in the mornings, but she is, in fact, a gentle person deep down. Karen loves Italian food and wine, travelling, and spending time with her family. When she is not writing, she reads – her favourite genres are New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Erotica and Romantic Suspense. She can never get enough of romance. Or of too many book boyfriends, either. Even though Karen is Danish, she has always felt more at ease writing stories in English, and she has not read a book in her native tongue in over ten years. She can be very outspoken and a complete fan girl of other authors online but will, in fact, be very shy once she meets you in person.

Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway