Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Book Review and Giveaway for Something in the Way by Jessica Hawkins

SOMETHING IN THE WAY
by JESSICA HAWKINS

It was a hot summer day when I met him on the construction site next to my parents’ house. Under the sweat and dirt, Manning Sutter was as handsome as the sun was bright. He was older, darker, experienced. I wore a smiley-face t-shirt and had never even been kissed. Yet we saw something in each other that would link us in ways that couldn’t be broken...no matter how hard we tried.

I loved Manning before I knew the meaning of the word. I was too young, he said. I would wait. Through all the carefully-chosen words hiding what we knew to be true, through his struggle to keep me innocent, and through infinitely-starry nights—I would wait. But I’d learn that life isn’t always fair. That no matter how much you achieve, none of it matters if you suffer the heartbreak that comes with falling for someone you can never have. Because even though I saw Manning first, that didn’t matter. My older sister saw him next.


REVIEW: 5 'Remember When' STARS
Some invisible tether existed between us. Nobody could see it, not even us, but I felt it. 

I just want to SCREAM!!!! I am overly excited about the possibilities with this new series!! I am smiling like a loon after reading this first book and what it all means, but I seriously shook my head and said "WHAT" at the end of it. Walk on the wild side....slouch your socks, crimp your hair into a side pony, turn up your boombox and take a trip back to the 90's. This first book in this brand new forbidden series is a must read!! I don't want to chat so much about this book in my review and give anything away, but I want you to understand how amazing this book was. SO. FREAKING. GOOD. So many quotable lines and so many highlighted passages that I cannot wait to discuss with you. Seriously....SO GOOD. I am giddy with the possibilities, I tell ya! GIDDY!

"Through all the carefully-chosen words hiding what we knew to be true, through his struggle to keep me innocent, and through infinitely-starry nights-I would wait."

Based on the synopsis, we get a good idea about the forbidden aspect of this book, but I want to point out that Jessica did an amazing job making us feel Lake's frustration with everyone thinking she was too young, and actually making her actions prove she was very definitely too young. Lake was so determined and so innocent, her naïveté showed. It was so refreshing and angering, all wrapped in one. I loved being able to remember those feelings I had when I was her age back in the 90's. The memories alone of being in love with someone older than you, this was definitely a trip down memory lane. I loved feeeeeling this one and remembering those emotions that I had when I was falling in love for the first time. YOU GUYS!! You have to read this one!!! YOU HAVE TO! Suffer the cliffie with me, pleeeease, and remember we will all be scrambling after the ending, but the place she left off leaves us with breathing room. It allows for reflection and discussion galore!

"I'll promise you something better. Wherever I go, I won't abandon you."

I wonder how long it will take Manning to realize that all he is doing is lying to himself to avoid the inevitable. The theories and possibilities on this book are abundant. I cannot wait until May!!!! Make sure to add Someone Else's Sky to your TBR!!! And when you finish this first book, come join us in the Something in the Way Discussion Room.....theories and questions are running rampant!

"I was better than her at hiding it, but my reaction to her was the same. Physical. Powerful. Painful."
~BEE

PURCHASE: 

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2lTofTw




~MEET JESSICA HAWKINS~
Jessica Hawkins grew up between the purple mountains and under the endless sun of Palm Springs, California.

She studied international business at Arizona State University and has also lived in Costa Rica and New York City. To her, the most intriguing fiction is forbidden, and that's what you'll find in her stories. Currently, she resides wherever her head lands, which is often the unexpected (but warm) keyboard of her trusty MacBook.

~CONNECT WITH JESSICA~

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Monday, February 27, 2017

Book Review and Giveaway for Don't Speak by Katy Regnery



DON'T SPEAK
by KATY REGNERY

A fisherman’s daughter.

The governor’s son.

Two very different worlds.


In this modern retelling of The Little Mermaid, a fisherman’s daughter from an Outer Banks island untouched by time, meets the son of North Carolina’s governor at a fancy party where she’s working.

Laire, who wants so much more from life than her little island can offer, is swept away by wealthy, sophisticated Erik, who is, in turn, entranced by her naiveté and charm. The two spend a whirlwind summer together that ends on the knife-point of heartbreak and forces them to go their separate ways.

Years later, when fate leads them back to one another, they will discover the terrifying depth of the secrets they kept from each other, and learn that shattered hearts can only be healed by a love that willfully refuses to die.

All novels Katy Regnery’s ~a modern fairytale~ collection are written as fundraisers. 10% of the e-book sales for in March and April 2017 will be donated to P.E.O. International, a non-profit organization that celebrates the advancement of women, awards scholarships and grants, and provides motivation for women to make their dreams come true.



REVIEW: 4.5 STARS
"He could feel his feelings for her taking root in his heart - protectiveness and tenderness developing within him in tandem, made only more potent by his almost-blinding lust for her."

There are times when you can't put a book down and you know without an ounce of doubt that you are going to have to slow down and absorb the words you are reading. Katy Regnery writes these types of words that you should most definitely slow down for. I realize she may seem long winded to some, but the flow of her words is absolute perfection and I think it is a gentle reminder to slow down and savor their purity. I can read her writing any day...it's so beautiful. 

Laire and Erik had the ideal love story that mirrored The Little Mermaid really well. I know all her fairytales have been based on popular fairytales, but I think this one was the closest and I really loved it. Laire was a verrry sheltered young lady and had an archaic upbringing on an island off the coast of North Carolina. I honestly cannot imagine being that sheltered. It was definitely a step into the past, and it caused me to read with wide eyes and a curious mind. Erik was a well to do, very current young man that seemingly had everything going for him. He had a persona that gave off an easy and comfortable vibe that allowed you to effortlessly fall for him...I know I did and hard! The way this was written illustrated how two drastically different worlds could mesh so well. This story told the tale of how true love from 'the one' will make you say and do anything, regardless of how far out of your comfort zone you are willing to go. The reality of unrecognized feelings and emotions that are so foreign to you, but you just *know* that they are true and deep....Katy captures that so very well. I seriously had drunk butterflies while watching them learn and navigate this powerful first love. 

Katy Regnery has this amazing ability to capture innocence so completely. It is truly genuine. The innocence of discovery. The innocence of first kisses. The innocence of new emotions. Katy wraps you up in her words and delivers this beautiful story of a love that surpasses every single obstacle put in it's way. This was an amazing book about finding the real meaning behind true love; knowing and finding out what it really means. 

"We're just two tiny specks of dust in a big, wide world."
~BEE

PURCHASE:

~ABOUT KATY REGNERY~
Katy Regnery, award-winning and Amazon bestselling author, started her writing career by enrolling in a short story class in January 2012. One year later, she signed her first contract for a winter romance entitled By Proxy. 

Now exclusively self-published, Katy claims authorship of the multi-titled Blueberry Lane Series which follows the English, Winslow, Rousseau, Story and Ambler families of Philadelphia, the four-book, bestselling a modern fairytale series, the standalone novel, Playing for Love at Deep Haven and a standalone novella, Frosted. 

Katy’s first modern fairytale romance, The Vixen and the Vet, was nominated for a RITA® in 2015, and four of her books: The Vixen and the Vet (a modern fairytale), Never Let You Go (a modern fairytale), Falling for Fitz(The English Brothers #2) and By Proxy (Heart of Montana #1) have been #1 genre bestsellers on Amazon. 

Katy lives in the relative wilds of northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, where her writing room looks out at the woods, and her husband, two young children, and two dogs create just enough cheerful chaos to remind her that the very best love stories begin at home.

~CONNECT WITH KATY~

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Sunday, February 26, 2017

Book Review and Giveaway for Lost in Between by KL Kreig


LOST IN BETWEEN
by KL KREIG

We all have one.

A price.

That magic number that will get us to agree to do anything, be anything.

Don’t sit on your gold-plated high horse and say you don’t because you do. Everyone does. Each of us has something we covet enough that we’d sell ourselves to have it.

What’s my tipping point, you ask? Apparently a cool quarter mil will do the trick.

What does one do for 250 large, you wonder? Anything the infamous, gorgeous playboy of Seattle wants. For the next four months I’ll be Shaw Mercer’s arm candy, his beck and call girl, his faux girlfriend. I’ll be his to command, mold, push and pull in any direction he sees fit.

I’ll fight falling into bed with him. I’ll fight falling in love with him even harder. I’ll fail at both. And when my past and present collide in the most unexpected of ways, I’ll learn that while one man’s love for me has never died, the only man’s love I really want will never be mine.


REVIEW: 4.5 STEAMY STARS
"He is temptation and I am a sinner."

Yes....yes, yes, YES!!! I have to say that I am SO glad I picked up Black Swan Affair by KL Kreig, because that led to my LOVE AFFAIR WITH HER WORDS. After reading that book, I knew I needed to read Lost In Between. Well, I have now read it and I couldn't be happier. And now anxious. I am addicted. Ready for more. Hook me up and let me veg.


I. Love. Her. Words.

HERE'S WHY I loved it: the chemistry between Willow and Shaw was insanely intense, off the charts HOT. From the beginning, I felt it. I loved that they had an immediate attraction to one another, and yet they fought it for obvious reasons. I mean, hello....he was a jerk at first!! But there's nothing like a player who realizes there really is "the one" out there and then having to fight for her. I love that!! Enemies to lovers is an amazing trope and KL did it some justice in this book. She has this ability to weave a story with great depth, you can't help but be sucked in. Each individual character adds a little more insight to her story - SO good.

So, Shaw was a dirrrrrty man!!! Dirty mouth. Dirty thinker. Sexy man. Tempting bad boy; this story was all about the irresistible Shaw. It really was. He had a super sexy sidekick in Noah and I really want to explore more of him, but Shaw definitely stole the show. I loved that Willow was the one that kept him on his toes, even though he thought he was going to have one over on her. But little did he know that she was the one to bring him to his knees. I honestly think the pull between them shocked them both. The very evident magnetism between these two characters added an angsty element and I was giddy at every turn. Shaw may own a small piece of my heart now. And, holy shite, this book was HOT!!! Whew!!

With Willow's background and her 'reasons' for doing everything she does, it leads us to a very touchy person, one that is quick to shut down and hide. It added a level of complexity to her that Shaw wanted to break down, but I don't think he realized the magnitude of everything going on. My head felt like it was spinning. Between their back story and the burgeoning love between these two, it was agonizing seeing them fight the inevitable at every turn. I wanted to shake them both and tell them there is NO other way. They truly are meant for each other.

When Shaw's world mixes with Willow's inadvertently, it is a twisted web, one that I cannot wait to see play out!!! What a situation to be in with her background, his family and their little secret. Another element was added when her past showed up, and I gasped!! I slack-jaw gasped and wanted more! Make sure to add the second book to your TBR: FOUND UNDERNEATH. Found Underneath will release on May 30th.

And now we wait....

"My lips only a hair away from hers, we trade oxygen infected with lust."
~BEE

PURCHASE LINKS:
Amazon UK: goo.gl/mbEQTt
Amazon CA: goo.gl/2NwFgK
Amazon AU: goo.gl/naMzS8



~MEET KL KRIEG~
I’m just a regular ol’ Midwest girl who likes Game of Thrones and am obsessed with Modern Family and The Goldbergs. I run, I eat, I run, I eat. It’s a vicous cycle. I love carbs, but there’s love-hate relationship with my ass and thighs. Mostly hate. I like a good cocktail (oh hell…who am I kidding? I love any cocktail). I’m a huge creature of habit, but I’ll tell you I’m flexible. I read every single day and if I don’t get a chance…watch the hell out, I’m a raving bitch. My iPad and me: BFFs. I’m direct and I make no apologies for it. I swear too much. I love alternative music and in my next life I want to be a bad-ass female rocker. I hate, hate, hate spiders, telemarketers, liver, acne, winter and loose hairs that fall down my shirt (don’t ask, it’s a thing). 

~CONNECT WITH KL~

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Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Book Review and Giveaway for Royally Matched by Emma Chase


ROYALLY MATCHED
by EMMA CHASE

Some men are born responsible, some men have responsibility thrust upon them. Henry John Edgar Thomas Pembrook, Prince of Wessco, just got the motherlode of all responsibility dumped in his regal lap.

He’s not handling it well.

Hoping to help her grandson to rise to the occasion, Queen Lenora agrees to give him "space"—but while the Queen’s away, the Prince will play. After a chance meeting with an American television producer, Henry finally makes a decision all on his own:

Welcome to Matched: Royal Edition.

A reality TV dating game show featuring twenty of the world's most beautiful blue bloods gathered in the same castle. Only one will win the diamond tiara, only one will capture the handsome prince’s heart.

While Henry revels in the sexy, raunchy antics of the contestants as they fight, literally, for his affection, it’s the quiet, bespectacled girl in the corner—with the voice of an angel and a body that would tempt a saint—who catches his eye.

The more Henry gets to know Sarah Mirabelle Zinnia Von Titebottum, the more enamored he becomes of her simple beauty, her strength, her kind spirit... and her naughty sense of humor.

But Rome wasn’t built in a day—and irresponsible royals aren’t reformed overnight.

As he endeavors to right his wrongs, old words take on whole new meanings for the dashing Prince. Words like, Duty, Honor and most of all—Love.


REVIEW: 4 FAIRYTALE STARS
"I'm going to die. He's going to kill me with words and excitement and need."

What a naughty little fairytale full of intrigue and delight!!! Royally Matched is the second book in The Royally Series, and is a complete standalone, but I would recommend treating yourself to the first book as well. Royally Screwed was a fun read and one that I can easily recommend as it was the best introduction to the royal family and Nicholas and Olivia's story. That is also the book we fall in love with Henry's wit and Logan's sexiness, but I digress.

I want to say that I laughed entirely too hard at this book and the antics of Prince Henry. His mouth and wit was a perfect match to his sexiness and confidence. Absolutely perfect! He was such a smart ass, but he did it with ease and conviction, and that is something seriously sexy in a man....crowned prince or not! His dirty mouth is one that will make you squirm, and he was so crass and so freaking funny!! His carefree attitude is what pushed this story to it's limits and allowed for all the crazy hijinks to happen, but it was also Sarah's love and understanding that brought him to his knees with a caress he had never known. The way Sarah and Henry began was so innocent and safe from the prying eyes of the world that it allowed a slow and sincere burn to develop. I seriously couldn't put this book down and it ended entirely too quickly for me. I was enjoying the sweet and sexy times between these two.

In the beginning, we were subjected to a naughty mouth with a sinful smirk, but in the end, Henry made me catch my breath. We got to see another side to him that Sarah cultured and brought out. The comfort between Sarah and Henry was evident from the very beginning and it allowed the very smooth transition from confidant to lover....unknowingly. It was very telling as to how important their relationship truly was. I loved seeing how they interacted and found out what made each other tick, but also how it drew out the other person's strengths. Her shyness to his brashness, her insecurity to his overconfidence. This book was the perfect balance between these two characters' worlds. Emma Chase did a great job with these characters. It's not really an opposites attract story. It's more the very definition of true love bringing out the best in one another.

"Because sometimes, life is very much like a book -- we don't get to write our own ending; we have to accept the one that's already on the page."

I want to mention, NEVER has a cover been more perfect than this one for Henry's book. It seriously fit perfectly and bears mention. I have loved both covers so far, and am eagerly awaiting Logan's cover, and his story. Make sure to add Royally Endowed to your TBR because that one is going to be an amazing story. I just know it.

"You are woven into my soul and you are wrapped around my heart. "
~BEE




THE ROYALLY SERIES:

ROYALLY SCREWED: http://amzn.to/2m6ft4X

ROYALLY MATCHED: http://amzn.to/2m6iL8m
ROYALLY ENDOWED: http://amzn.to/2lEnDAI


~MEET EMMA CHASE~
Emma Chase is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the hot and hilarious Tangled series and The Legal Briefs series. Emma lives in New Jersey with her husband, two children and two naughty (but really cute) dogs. She has a long-standing love/hate relationship with caffeine.

~CONNECT WITH EMMA~

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Saturday, February 18, 2017

Book Review and Giveaway for A Thousand Letters by Staci Hart

A THOUSAND LETTERS
by STACI HART

Sometimes your life is split by a single decision.

I’ve spent every day of the last seven years regretting mine: he left, and I didn’t follow. A thousand letters went unanswered, my words like petals in the wind, spinning away into nothing, taking me with them.

But now he’s back.

I barely recognize the man he’s become, but I can still see a glimmer of the boy who asked me to be his forever, the boy I walked away from when I was young and afraid.

Maybe if he’d come home under better circumstances, he could speak to me without anger in his voice. Maybe if I’d said yes all those years ago, he’d look at me without the weight of rejection in his eyes. Maybe if things were different, we would have had a chance.

One regretted decision sent him away. One painful journey brought him back to me. I only wish I could keep him.

*A contemporary romance inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion*


REVIEW: 4.5 STARS
"His name filled my mind, my soul recognizing the lines of his body."

Since this was my first book by Staci Hart after hearing so many wonderful things, it was a little scary jumping in. I always fear a hyped book doesn't live up to the excitement, or that it won't work for me because we don't always read the same book, right? I can happily say that I look forward to many more books by her. I *really* enjoyed this story, and the writing was easy to follow once I sat down and got into it. It was long-winded in a good way, not bad at all, and the words were very poetic.

But, this book.....this book had me in tears for 80% of it, and if you know me, you know I don't cry. EVER. Not sure if I was crying, but I had tears the majority of the time. I had to put my kindle down, step away and read another book before coming back to finish this one. It was emotional. It was heartbreaking. It was moving. It was real. It was super emotional for me, and maybe for personal reasons, but the underlying story between Elliot and Wade was very hard to read through. I felt their pain and their fear, and I understood their anguish about the unknown. This was the catalyst for the emotions as their story built up and climaxed.

Not every relationship is perfect. Not every one person will know how to fix things. When you have an army of people behind you that know what needs to be done? That's a great support system. We saw a barrage of supporting characters in this book and they all played an intricate part in making sure Wade and Elliot knew the ramifications of their stubbornness and I really liked that aspect of this story. It was a very character driven story and it was well written. Emotionally written.

I am shaking my head while I am trying to write this, because trying to explain how a book moved you and made you think and feel as much as this one did, it just feels like my words just wont be able to live up to it. I don't think I can adequately convey how heartbreakingly good this book was. It was beautiful. This is a definite must read and I can't recommend it enough. If you want to 'feel' your book, this one is a necessary read.

"He'd finally consumed all of me, fueling his fire with my soul's tinder."
~BEE
PURCHASE:

Also available on Kindle Unlimited


~MEET STACI HART~
Staci has been a lot of things up to this point in her life -- a graphic designer, an entrepreneur, a seamstress, a clothing and handbag designer, a waitress. Can't forget that. She's also been a mom, with three little girls who are sure to grow up to break a number of hearts. She's been a wife, though she's certainly not the cleanest, or the best cook. She's also super, duper fun at a party, especially if she's been drinking whiskey. 

From roots in Houston to a seven year stint in Southern California, Staci and her family ended up settling somewhere in between and equally north, in Denver. They are new enough that snow is still magical. When she's not writing, she's reading, sleeping, gaming, or designing graphics.

~CONNECT WITH STACI~

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Friday, February 17, 2017

Chapter Reveal for Mister Wrong by Nicole Williams


CHAPTER ONE
Matt

He was wrong for her.
That was the only thought running through my head as I rechecked every inch of the church. So completely wrong for her. This latest disappearing act, the most recent proof. He’d skipped out on her before, but today was different.

Today, they were supposed to get married. Today, Cora Matthews would become Cora Adams. She’d have my last name. But not in the way I’d hoped for—not that I hadn’t accepted that years ago.
She’d chosen him. My brother. My twin brother. She’d chosen him forever ago, and that was that. She’d been as good as Mrs. Jacob Adams since the day Cora Matthews first showed up in our lives eighteen years ago.

At least until today, when Cora was going to be marching toward an empty altar in fifteen minutes if I didn’t find the supposed Mister Right. Jacob wasn’t the right one—for a dozen reasons I could list—but he was who she wanted and he’d done his best to convince her she was all he wanted too. But I knew better.

My brother had always been indulged; being the “firstborn” son—by a whole three minutes—to a wealthy family has a way of doing that. The problem arose when the boy grew into a man who wanted to be equally indulged in all sorts of ways that a wife would likely frown upon. Jacob wasn’t the right one for her. I knew that. Hell, I think even he knew that when he surfaced from his self-adoring stupor every so often.

Not that I was the right one for Cora either. I was just as wrong for her as Jacob was, but in a different way. See, where he’d always loved her too little, I’d loved her too much. So I’d kept my secret for years and watched the girl I loved fall in love with the brother I’d shared a womb with for thirty-eight weeks. The brother I loved and looked after, despite his faults.

God knew I had a shit ton of my own.

That was why I was about to start tearing this church apart in order to find him. I was looking after his interests as well as Cora’s, because even though he had a piss-poor way of showing it, he loved her. In his own way. If you could call what Jacob felt for anyone love. In a way, it was love, but in another way, it was the opposite.

“Where the hell’s Jacob?” The senior Adams, also known as Dad, asked when I circled into the lobby again, hoping my missing brother had magically appeared. He was holding my brother’s tux zipped up in an expensive bag and looking at me like I was failing the task of keeping track of my brother as I’d failed all the rest presented to me in life.

Where the hell’s Jacob? How many times had I asked myself that question? How many times had I probably known or had a good idea where he was?

“He’s back in one of the church offices waiting. Just got here.” I had to slow myself down when I heard the words wobble. It had been years since I’d stuttered over a word, and now was not the time to resurrect that old habit. “I’ll take it down to him.”

I grabbed the tux from Dad and backed down the hall, trying to ignore the stuffed sanctuary and the orchestra playing some song that sounded more fitting for a funeral than a wedding.
That was what this was about to become if I didn’t do something. Whether it would be my dad murdering me for flunking my best man responsibilities of keeping track of the groom, or me murdering Jacob when I finally found his pathetic ass after doing this to Cora on today of all days, someone was going to die.

“That tux isn’t going to put itself on a groom, Matt. Get after it.” Dad motioned me down the hall before he marched toward the sanctuary like he was ready to get this over with.

He wasn’t thrilled about the wedding. Didn’t exactly approve of the match. It wasn’t that he didn’t love Cora, because he did, like a daughter. He just didn’t find her fitting as a daughter-in-law, especially to his prized firstborn who was incapable of doing wrong. He probably wouldn’t have cared so much if she was marrying me, which was disconcerting to say the least. The only person who’d approve of Cora and me ending up together was my dad.

As I jogged down the hall, carrying a found tux to a missing groom, Dad’s last words replayed through my mind. That tux isn’t going to put itself on a groom.

A groom.
A groom.

My plan was already forming as I ducked into a dark church office, my fingers working my tie loose. Jacob wasn’t just my twin brother—he was my identical twin brother.

I was maybe a little bit taller and he was maybe a little bit fuller, but not enough that anyone would notice. Not enough, I hoped, that Cora would notice. She used to confuse us all the time when we were growing up together and still, on occasion, she’d mistake me for Jacob and Jacob for me. Like the last time I’d been at her and Jacob’s condo when she’d thrown a surprise party for him. I’d been talking with a group of old friends, she slid by me, found my hand, and gave it the briefest of squeezes. She’d thought I was Jacob. I knew that because she never touched me anymore. At least not on purpose. We used to be comfortable enough with each other that she’d hug me without thinking, but that changed when she and Jacob became a thing. An official thing.

She didn’t touch me anymore, not even to nudge me for saying something stupid, which I said all too often in her presence. But that night, she’d touched me. And a year later, I could still remember the way her small hand felt falling into mine.

Cora would be distracted today—nervous. I knew because she’d told me how panicked she was about standing in front of five hundred people. She’d be so distracted by trying to keep herself from passing out or hyperventilating, so would she really notice if the man standing across from her in front of that altar was me?

I was banking on the chance that she wouldn’t, as I changed from my suit into Jacob’s tux as fast as humanly possible. The clock on the wall was fast, hopefully, or else I had two and a half minutes to get my ass up front so that when Cora started down the aisle, she’d have someone waiting for her.
Someone who loved her.

As I tied the shiny dress shoes, I tried to put aside all of the inner voices telling me how wrong this was. How utterly and unforgivably wrong this was. I knew it was wrong. I knew that. But it was just as wrong to do nothing. It was wrong to let Jacob ruin another moment for her. By doing something that I knew was wrong, I hoped I was ultimately doing the right thing.

Maybe he wasn’t where I thought he was, hungover and waking up in some girl’s bed. Maybe he’d gotten into an accident or been kidnapped or . . . damn, then I’d feel like a real piece of shit for thinking the worst about my own brother. Maybe something legitimate had come up and he’d have some great explanation and I’d pull him aside to let him know I’d stepped in and no one besides us would know what had gone down.

And maybe Jacob had decided to turn over a new leaf and not be such a selfish prick, I thought with a sigh.

Pausing in front of the picture hanging beside the door, I adjusted the bowtie as best I could before tearing the door open and jogging down the hall. Jacob’s tux was a little big for me, and his shoes a little small, but those were minor discomforts compared to what my psyche was putting me through.

The ring.
Fuck.

After sprinting back to the office, I wrestled the ring box out of the pocket of my jacket, along with my wallet and phone—just in case I didn’t make it back here anytime soon—then I kicked my suit behind a bookcase in the event that someone stumbled into the room to find an abandoned suit and started asking questions.

My dad’s face was red by the time I made it inside the sanctuary, but when he saw me, his face relaxed and he smiled. It took me a moment to realize he wasn’t smiling at me—he was smiling at Jacob.

Dad never really smiled at me too much. Smirks were more the way of it.

“Where the hell’s Matt?” one of the groomsmen, Hunter, whispered when I passed.

God, this church was stuffed to capacity. And hot. And lacking in oxygen.

“Barfing up his guts,” I answered quietly, reminding myself that I was Jacob and needed to talk and sound like him.

The groomsmen rocked with silent laughter. They were all Jacob’s friends; none were mine.
“Go figure. We’re the ones drinking places dry, and it’s your brother, the DD, yacking his insides out today.”

My shoulder lifted in the dismissive way Jacob’s did. “Some guys have all the luck.”
“And some guys named Matt Adams have none,” Aaron, another groomsman, whispered up the line.
Didn’t I know it?

They didn’t make any more jokes or jeers at my expense because they knew better. Jacob and I might have seen things differently and been as unalike as two people could be, but we were twins. He stood up for me and vice versa. He had my back, I had his.

As my current predicament proved.

The orchestra broke into a new song—the "Wedding March". The collar of Jacob’s dress shirt felt like it was strangling me at the same time it felt like someone had just dialed up the temperature in the room by twenty degrees.

What am I doing? Why am I doing it? Is it right? Or wrong?

The answers to those questions didn’t have a chance to form because that was when I saw her. Like the thousands of times before, the world faded away when Cora Matthews walked into the room. When she started down the aisle, I swayed a little and had to step out of line to keep myself from toppling into the minister.

“Easy there, big guy,” Hunter said under his breath, elbowing me. “Too late for cold feet. Bride is en route.”

I wanted to tell him it wasn’t cold feet I had, but something else. It was the feeling of being so sure of something that the rest of the world seemed off-kilter. So sure of something that the rest of the world just didn’t make sense. I’d never been as certain of anything as I was about the woman walking toward me, about to marry me.

Under false pretenses.

I had to remind myself of that when Cora’s eyes found mine and her plastered-on smile crumbled behind a real one. She was smiling at me the way she smiled at him—like I was her world.
Matthew Adams had never been her whole world, but unknown to her, she’d been mine. That was why I was standing here now, posing as my twin brother, as his fiancée took the final steps toward me. I was doing this for her because I knew she loved him, and I didn’t want to see her hurt again at my brother’s hand.

Marry the woman you love, Matt, then let her spend the rest of her life with the man she loves.
The orchestra was just playing its final chords when Cora stopped beside me, her eyes matching the real smile still on her face. God, she was beautiful.

Too beautiful, I thought again, as I noticed the line of groomsmen appraising her with more than just casual regard. Cora had always been more than another one of the pretty girls; she was the standout. Every guy knew the type. The girl who shouldn’t be real, but there she was, passing you in the hallway every morning. The girl who’s noticed by every person she passes, male or female. She was so beautiful on the outside, few people took the time to get to know the beauty hiding underneath, but I had. I knew she was beautiful everywhere.

Jacob. Channel Jacob, I reminded myself as everyone took a collective seat behind us.

“Hey,” I whispered to her, winking.

Hey? What a moron. Who says hey to the woman he’s about to marry when she stopped beside him looking so damn perfect. I couldn’t feel my lungs.

“Hey,” she whispered back, like she didn’t think anything of it.

Because, yeah, Jacob totally would have said hey to his bride like a moron.

Cora had been versed in moron for practically two decades.

As the minister started droning on about something I probably should have been paying attention to, I tuned out. This wasn’t my wedding. This was hers. This was his. So instead I watched Cora, memorizing every detail of her face as she stared at the man across from her, who loved her like she was both a poison and an antidote.

When the pastor asked if I promised to love and cherish her, in sickness and in health, until death do us part, that was the easiest question I’d ever had to answer. It was the simplest part of this mess of a day.

“I will.”


MISTER WRONG
by NICOLE WILLIAMS

Cora Matthews grew up with the Adams’ boys, twin brothers and best friends who wouldn’t let anything come between them—except for her. One of them became her best friend; the other, her fiancé.

She always knew she’d wind up marrying one of them, and Jacob Adams is the epitome of Mister Right. At least until he fails to show up for their wedding.

As Jacob’s best man, and identical twin, Matt makes a split-second decision that will affect the three of their lives forever—he steps in to take his brother’s place. In front of the altar, exchanging vows with the woman he’s secretly been in love with for years.

But Cora finds out about the groom swap. The morning after the wedding. As if realizing she just slept with her fiancé’s brother isn’t disturbing enough, she’s forced to confront the feelings for Matt Adams she thought she’d buried years ago.

Through the course of her real honeymoon with her fake husband, she uncovers truths both Adams brothers were hoping to keep hidden, for opposite reasons. One to protect himself, the other to protect her.

She married the wrong brother, but what if he’s been the right one all along?

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~MEET NICOLE WILLIAMS~
Nicole Williams is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary and young adult romance, including the Crash and Lost & Found series. Her books have been published by HarperTeen and Simon & Schuster in both domestic and foreign markets, while she continues to self-publish additional titles. She is working on a new YA series with Crown Books (a division of Random House) as well. She loves romance, from the sweet to the steamy, and writes stories about characters in search of their happily even after. She grew up surrounded by books and plans on writing until the day she dies, even if it’s just for her own personal enjoyment. She still buys paperbacks because she’s all nostalgic like that, but her kindle never goes neglected for too long. When not writing, she spends her time with her husband and daughter, and whatever time’s left over she’s forced to fit too many hobbies into too little time.

Nicole is represented by Jane Dystel, of Dystel and Goderich Literary Agency.

~CONNECT WITH NICOLE~

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Thursday, February 16, 2017

Excerpt for Royally Matched by Emma Chase

EXCERPT

“Are you a virgin?” I ask.

“Well . . . yes.”

“Then why are you complaining? You qualify.”

Sarah’s eyes flash with annoyance. “Because I’m more than my hymen, Henry! To base the value of an accomplished, intelligent woman on a flimsy piece of skin is degrading. How would you feel if your worth rested on your foreskin?”

I think it over. And then I grin. “I’d be all right with that, actually. I’ve heard it was an impressive foreskin—all the nurses were fawning over it. It’s probably being showcased in a museum right now.”

She stares at me for a beat, then she laughs out loud—a rich, throaty, sensual sound.

“You’re a terrible human being.”

“I know.” I shake my head at the calamity of it all.

“And you’re an even worse feminist.”

“Agreed. That’s something I need to work on. You’ll help me, won’t you? We should spend as much time together as possible—every minute of the day and night. I’m hoping you’ll rub off on me.”

Sarah pushes my shoulder. “You’re just hoping I’ll rub you off.”

Now it’s my turn to laugh. Because she’s not even a little bit wrong.

“But there’s never been anyone? Really?”

Sarah shrugs. “Penny and I were tutored at home when we were young . . . but in year ten, there was this one boy.”

I rub my hands together. “Here we go—tell me everything. I want all the sick, lurid details. Was he a footballer? Captain of the team, the most popular boy in school?”

“He was captain of the chess team.”

I cover my eyes with my hand.

“His name was Davey. He wore these adorable tweed jackets and bow ties, he had blond hair and was a bit pale because of the asthma. He had the same glasses as me and he had a different pair of argyle socks for every day of the year.”

“I am so disappointed in you right now.”

“He was nice,” she chides. “You leave my Davey alone.”

I shake my head. “So what happened to old Davey boy?”

“I was alone in the library one day and he came up and started to ask me to the spring social. And I was so excited and nervous I could barely breathe. And then before he could finish the question, I . . . I don’t realize I’m leaning toward her until she stops talking and I almost fall over.

“You . . . what?”

Sarah hides behind her hands.

“I threw up on him.”

And I try not to laugh. I swear I try . . . but I’m only human. So I end up laughing so hard the car shakes and I can’t speak for several minutes.

“Christ almighty.”

“And I’d had fish and chips for lunch.” Sarah’s laughing too. “It was awful.”

“Oh you poor thing.” I shake my head, still chuckling. “And poor Davey.”

“Yes.” She wipes under her eyes with her finger. “Poor Davey. He never came near me again after that.”

“Coward—he didn’t deserve you. I would’ve swam through a whole lake of puke to take a girl like you to the social.”

She smiles so brightly at me, her cheeks maroon and round like two shiny apples.

“I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

I wiggle my eyebrows. “I’m all about the compliments.”




Some men are born responsible, some men have responsibility thrust upon them. Henry John Edgar Thomas Pembrook, Prince of Wessco, just got the motherlode of all responsibility dumped in his regal lap.

He’s not handling it well.

Hoping to help her grandson to rise to the occasion, Queen Lenora agrees to give him "space"—but while the Queen’s away, the Prince will play. After a chance meeting with an American television producer, Henry finally makes a decision all on his own:

Welcome to Matched: Royal Edition.

A reality TV dating game show featuring twenty of the world's most beautiful blue bloods gathered in the same castle. Only one will win the diamond tiara, only one will capture the handsome prince’s heart.

While Henry revels in the sexy, raunchy antics of the contestants as they fight, literally, for his affection, it’s the quiet, bespectacled girl in the corner—with the voice of an angel and a body that would tempt a saint—who catches his eye.

The more Henry gets to know Sarah Mirabelle Zinnia Von Titebottum, the more enamored he becomes of her simple beauty, her strength, her kind spirit... and her naughty sense of humor.

But Rome wasn’t built in a day—and irresponsible royals aren’t reformed overnight.

As he endeavors to right his wrongs, old words take on whole new meanings for the dashing Prince. Words like, Duty, Honor and most of all—Love.

I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK!!!! Stay tuned for my review. 



~MEET EMMA CHASE~
Emma Chase is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the hot and hilarious Tangled series and The Legal Briefs series. Emma lives in New Jersey with her husband, two children and two naughty (but really cute) dogs. She has a long-standing love/hate relationship with caffeine.

~CONNECT WITH EMMA~

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Book Review and Giveaway for Mack Daddy by Penelope Ward




They called him Mack Daddy. No, seriously, his name was Mack. Short for Mackenzie. 

Thus, the nickname. Perfect, right? 

So was he: perfect. The perfect physical male specimen.

At the private school where I taught, Mack Morrison was the only man around in a sea of women.

Everyone wanted a piece of the hot single father of the sweet little boy. I was riddled with jealousy, because they didn’t know that—to me—he was much more. 

They didn’t know about our past. 

He’d chosen my school for his son on purpose, because Mack and I, we had unfinished business. 

As my friend Lorelai so eloquently put it: “Unfinished business between two people who are clearly attracted to each other is like an eternal case of blue balls.” And I was suffering in pain from my case.

I was still intensely attracted to Mack. I tried to resist him, immersing myself further into a relationship with another man just to protect my heart. 

Not to mention, getting involved with a parent was strictly against school rules. But seeing Mack day in and day out was breaking me down.

And soon I might be breaking all the rules.


REVIEW: 3.5 STARS
"My body shivered from the contact. Whenever he touched me, it felt like the world stopped."

What a journey through one man's quest to get that second chance he needed to continue on the path to forever. This was another book that tested the boundaries of being forbidden. We all know by now that I love and crave triangles and angst. I love forbidden. I love the truth and honesty behind the pain that comes with those types of books. While this one ramped up a few times, and was a sort of forbidden love, it wasn't an angsty book. Not by any means. I got a few anxiety pangs as I was reading when things would start to get heavy and their feelings would start to show, but overall, it wasn't very angsty. I will say that when Frankie and Mack finally came together, it was combustible. These two had a draw that was intense and it was a long time coming. 

Frankie and Mack were most definitely flirting with disaster....old feelings mixing in with new lives, they were bound to trip up eventually. As innocent as they wanted it to be, it was not something they could avoid. The feelings were too deep and were very definitely mutual. It was all about being in the wrong place at the right time. In their case, twice. But this was the ultimate second chance romance. He was not willing to give up and was going to fight for what he wanted and who he loved. I loved seeing that fight in him....it was the part that made me smile, as he was very determined. I felt the deeper we got into the story, the more we got to see the real Mack and the fact that he was multifaceted. He was silly, honest, romantic, serious, and determined. His heartfelt profession of love for Frankie sealed the deal for me. That's when I fell in love with him. 

Some passages and comments were rather awkward in some spots, and some made me shake my head. I think it may have been more of an attempt to make the situation seem more down to earth and relieve some of the intensity of everything, but some of it made me gross out too. I felt that Mack was somewhat immature when we first met him and it kind of turned me off of him initially, but once we started to see their past and catch up on it while 'living' the present with them, it all made more sense and I was able to connect with him and eventually fell in love. For me, it wasn't love at first word, per se, but he most definitely grew on me and I ended up falling head over heels in love with Mack. This was a fun read overall, and one that I cannot wait to gift out. I'd love to discuss it with someone!

"Whenever he touched me, it felt like the world stopped."
~BEE

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~MEET PENELOPE WARD~
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 11-year-old girl with autism and a 9-year-old boy. Penelope and her family reside in Rhode Island. 

~CONNECT WITH PENELOPE~

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