Release Blitz & Book Review: Midnight Scent by Dori Lavelle

Midnight Scent

by Dori Lavelle

Series: Amour Toxique #1

Genre: New Adult Romantic Thriller/Suspense

Release Date: September 27th, 2016

Blurb:

I find the love letters in my new dorm room, left behind by a previous occupant.

They're meant for someone else, but the words speak to me. They slide off the page and wrap themselves around my body, touching me in places I never knew existed.

I'm falling in love with each word, unable to stop myself.

And I don't even know his name.

Until they tell me.

His name is Judson Devereux. They say he’s toxic. Falling for him will be a mistake.

I want to believe them. I want to walk away. But the words refuse to be erased from the invisible parts of me.

I'm hooked on the scent of his poison. It’s bad for me. It could kill me. But I’m in too deep.

*This series contains sexual content, dark themes, and violence that could trigger emotional distress in readers. *

*Amour Toxique is a serial that unfolds over three volumes.*

Buy now:

US: http://amzn.to/29uy70v

UK: http://amzn.to/29VGz9R

AU: http://amzn.to/2dfUecr

CA: http://amzn.to/2d5mIVN

About the author:

Dori Lavelle, is a mother, wife, and a sucker for happy-ever-afters and mint chocolate.

Growing up, Dori read a lot, and when she wasn't happy with a particular ending, she wrote a different one, just for herself. Before long, she was writing stories when she should have been doing homework. The time has come for her to share the stories she cooks up in her head.

Website / Newsletter / Facebook / Goodreads / Twitter / Email: Dorilavelle@gmail.com

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Review:

I actually expected something totally different regarding the letters which was one of the reasons why I had a hard time getting into the story.

The storyline was interesting but everything moved so fast that it felt too unreal and I couldn't keep up with it. I wasn't really into it but the suspension grew closer to the ending.

Ivy was careless and threw herself without thinking onto the letters and the stranger who wrote them like they were her life and the air she breathes. She acted like a 16 year old rebellious teenager because she did everything she was told not to do.

The Story:

Ivy is a student that finds love letters in her dorm room. Even though she first feels like intruding someone else's privacy she can't stop herself from reading the letters. With each letter she's reading, she gets more and more curious about who wrote them. Though after some digging around and finding out about the secrets behind those letters and the person who wrote them, she wants to know more despite the warnings of people telling her to stay away from it.

Thoughts:

I didn't know that this was just the first book of a series. I hoped for the complete story though it seems like I have to wait to find out how it ends. What do I learn out of this?! I have to get more info on the books before I start reading them. *scolding myself*

The writing wasn't bad but the characters annoyed me and it wasn’t just the main character but all of them. Ivy was reckless and really obsessed with this man she didn’t know at all and he really creeped me out.

I missed the depth and meaning of this story that wasn’t even dark but just touched the thriller genre. Especially because of the warning in the blurb did I expect something a lot more darker and dangerous.

Given the chance I would still like to continue reading this story because I believe that once diving into it, it will get better since now I know in some degree what to expect from it and I am a curious person and really need to know how all of this unfolds.

-- I received an ARC of this book from Give Me Books Promotions in exchange for an honest review. --

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

View review on goodreads

Blog Tour & Book Review: Stroked Long by Meghan Quinn

Stroked Long

by Meghan Quinn

Release Date: September 20, 2016

Genre: Sports Romance

Cover Designed by: Indie Solutions by Murphy Rae

Blurb:

From his dirty-blond hair and breathtaking smile, to the abs from heaven and the irresistible V in his waistline, everything about Bodi Olympic-gold-medalist Banks screams hot piece of @$$.

Yet there’s more.

Dark shadows lurk behind his soulful, serious eyes.

I’m enamored. He’s captured me.

How can running an art foundation with Bodi Banks turns into a slow-burning, epic romance, even though he tries to push me away at every chance? How can I stay away from a broken, routine-driven man whose soul cries to be forgiven for a crime only he believes he committed? Or is that a lie?

**STROKED LONG can be read as a stand alone.

Buy now:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2cAepAM

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2cdpvwA

Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/2bMRByM

iBooks: http://apple.co/2cdfGyN

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2cEIijR

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ALSO AVAILABLE!

STROKED 
by Meghan Quinn

Released: July 19, 2016

Genre: NA Romantic Comedy

Cover Designer: Murphy Rae

Buy now:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/29TFEHS

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2a34Tow

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2a0cGU6

Nook: http://bit.ly/29W377i

iBooks: http://apple.co/2accSSI

Blurb:

Reese King: Olympic medalist, underwear model, Greek god.

His body is chiseled from rock, sculpted by the weight room, and refined by water.

On a daily basis his skin is completely bare for everyone to see, tan and defined, only covered up by a minuscule piece of spandex. There is no denying his sex Appeal.

I hate to admit it, but I’m head over heels infatuated with him.

There is one HUGE problem though. His achingly gorgeous abs, inked up arm, and cocky swagger belong to my boss, the high-profile, reality star bitch from hell and certified heinous human being, Bellini Chambers.

What I think is going to be an easy job assisting a glorified wench turns into a cluster f*ck of epic proportions.

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About the author:

Born in New York and raised in Southern California, Meghan has grown into a sassy, peanut butter eating, blonde haired swearing, animal hoarding lady. She is known to bust out and dance if "It's Raining Men" starts beating through the air and heaven forbid you get a margarita in her, protect your legs because they may be humped.

Once she started commuting for an hour and twenty minutes every day to work for three years, she began to have conversations play in her head, real life, deep male voices and dainty lady coos kind of conversations. Perturbed and confused, she decided to either see a therapist about the hot and steamy voices running through her head or start writing them down. She decided to go with the cheaper option and started writing... enter her first novel, Caught Looking.

Now you can find the spicy, most definitely on the border of lunacy, kind of crazy lady residing in Colorado with the love of her life and her five, furry four legged children, hiking a trail or hiding behind shelves at grocery stores, wondering what kind of lube the nervous stranger will bring home to his wife. Oh and she loves a good boob squeeze!

Facebook / Goodreads / Website

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Review:

This was the first book I’ve read by Meghan Quinn and I was pleasantly surprised.

I would describe this story as entertaining, funny and heartbreaking. I enjoyed it a lot and it even made me laugh so loud that people were looking funny at me on the street though it also made me sad at how heartbroken a man can be.

The Story:

Bodi Banks blames himself for what happened all those years ago in that horrid night when he was still a kid and he doesn't deem himself worth of anything. He needs control and structure in his life which became an obsessive compulsion disorder over the years. He has his routine at night and does things in threes. His swimming career makes it easier for him to live in a strict schedule though when he has to work with Ruby, his sister’s friend, on an art foundation he doesn't know how to act around her because he isn't good at socializing. He has no friends and doesn't do small talk. His sister and her girlfriend are the only two people in his life he's close with. He can't let anybody see how troubled and broken he is and he doesn't want to lose anyone he is close with again and the best way to prevent that is to not let anyone in his life in the first place. They would run away anyway when they see his obsessive compulsion not to mention his panic attacks though he hadn't had one of those in a while.

So when Ruby with all her mixed up colors and glitter all over her face walks into his black and white life, there is no way he will get out of this without any problems. He has to be more careful around her to not let her see the broken man he is because she would be running for the hills.

Though Ruby Heart isn't like anybody else he's ever met before. She wears colors in every way they come and mixes them as crazy as possible - it’s like an explosion of colors. She is exactly someone Bodi doesn’t need in his controlled life. How will this turn out when feelings are involved?

Thoughts:

This was such an entertaining and lovely book. The characters were not like your everyday kind of people and I liked them a lot together because Bodi and Ruby couldn't have been more different from each other which made this story so much more capturing besides the troubled man that made my heart ache for him. Bodi Banks was so hot but also so troubled all at once.

Ruby was hilarious, embarrassed herself all the time and was really awkward sometimes with her attempts of being funny but I actually had to laugh out loud a lot because of her. She was really funny as hell.

I absolutely loved this story because it pulled at my heart but also made me laugh so hard like I've never laughed while reading a book and let me tell you it needs a lot to make me laugh and this book made me laugh numerous of times.

The author brought the characters together in a nice way and I liked a lot that not everything was perfect when they met. They had their ups and downs and his troubled shadow didn't vanish all of a sudden and it was hard work for him to adjust to working with a stranger, though it helped a bit that she was his sister’s friend. I liked that she sensed his troubles and that she bend to it and helped him ease up and relax around her more and more. I noticed the changes in him as small as they were. It was so well written. I can't wait to read the next book by this author.

-- This ARC was kindly provided by WordSmith Publicity in exchange for an honest review. --

   My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars 
View review on goodreads

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Blog Tour: Confessed by Nicola Rendell

Confessed
by Nicola Rendell
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Synopsis:

A brand new dirty, sexy, funny standalone romance...

Lucy Burchett is the heiress to a notoriously disastrous family, and she's left home for good. But when she runs a big, black pickup off the road, totaling it, she finds herself stuck in the middle of nowhere with the driver. He's got a body to die for and a hair-trigger temper. Vince Russo looks like a felon, but he's also pretty funny. He’s on the lam from the cops… and a psychopathic, Russian mob boss who wants to put his balls on a barbeque. Literally.

After a night of ill-advised cocktails and bathroom-wrecking sex, Vince just can't get Lucy off his mind. But he's got plans to rob her. And Lucy’s life is about to get a little bit criminal too.

But can a bad boy and a good girl really escape from their troubles together? Can they trust each other at all?

In the steady march of disasters that follow them west, they fight and they laugh. They tease and they’re tender. They’re either oil and water, or chocolate and peanut butter.

Except, they can’t run from the real world forever. And there’s a hell of a surprise in store for both of them…

Buy now:

Amazon US: http://goo.gl/JnjEzH

Amazon UK: http://goo.gl/6bV9PY

Amazon CA: http://goo.gl/q5dFNX

Amazon AU: http://goo.gl/nXgLVL

iBooks: http://goo.gl/vJps8N

Kobo: http://goo.gl/dS1SMN

Excerpt:

I walk a mile down the road to a dive bar that makes last night’s The Last Resort look respectable. This place doesn’t even seem to have a name. It has a busted window held together by duct tape, and bullet holes in the walls. There’s a sign nailed to the entrance that says NO CONCEALED GUNS.

I shove the door open with my shoulder. Inside, the air is heavy with smoke. There’s a whole shitload of fake wood paneling, and there’s a television on in the corner. It’s tuned to Fox News.

Fucking great.

But whatever. I’m not here to watch TV. That’s for fucking sure.

There are a few people at tables, but only one guy at the bar, in a dirty wife-beater T-shirt. I take a seat way down from him on the corner. Bars like this, they’re like urinals. There’s an etiquette to this shit.

The bartender is a big thick guy with a handlebar mustache and a couple of old, faded tattoos on his arm. Looks like he got pardoned but was in jail too long to be saved.

He puts a coaster in front of me.

“Tequila, straight,” I say, pulling out a cigarette. The bartender doesn’t stop me. Give a shit about smoke-free laws down here, apparently. “Keep them coming.”

No answer as he turns, takes the bottle from the rack, and puts it down in front of me. He puts a glass beside it. “You look like you need it.”
I’m sure I fucking do. I light the cigarette. The sound of her door slamming is still stuck in my head. I called it: No way I deserve someone so beautiful, so sweet and warm. I had her for twenty-four hours, not even. That’s all I deserve. “Women, right?”

He nods and starts wiping a glass. “Best and worst things in the fucking world.”

I raise my glass and down a double.

The tequila burn is good. Takes my mind off her for a second. But then the bartender puts a bowl of peanuts in front of me and boom, I’m thinking about her again. Her and that necklace. It looked like a Planter’s peanut. What is that shit? A peanut? Why the fuck does she have a golden peanut on her neck?

I don’t know. But I really, really fucking wish I did.

About the author:

Nicola Rendell writes dirty, funny, erotic romance. She likes a stiff drink and a well-frosted cake. She is at an unnamed Ivy and prefers to remain mostly anonymous for professional reasons. She has a PhD in English and an MFA in Creative Writing from schools that shall not be named here. She loves to cook, sew, and play the piano. She realizes that her hobbies might make her sound like an old lady and she’s totally okay with that. She lives with her husband and her dogs. She is from Taos, New Mexico.

She is the author of Professed, a #1 Amazon bestseller in erotica.

Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: Fire and Ice (Sticks & Hearts #2) by Rhonda James

Fire and Ice

by Rhonda James

Series: Sticks & Hearts #2

Release Date: November 3rd 2016

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Designer: Sommer Stein @ Perfect Pear Designs; Model: Dustin McNeer; Photographer: Eric McKinney

Synopsis:

"Whoever said money won't solve your problems either has all the money in the world, or they never had the kind of problems I do…"

Delaney Dixon may be young, but she's already been served a double shot of cold, hard reality. After losing both parents, she'll will do whatever it takes to hold on to the last remaining piece of her childhood. Desperate for cash, she slaps on a couple of pasties and a thong, grinds a pole, and the money starts rolling in.

Derek Davis comes from money and lives what most call a privileged life. As graduation approaches, he's ready to take on the world and make his mark. But he wants to do it on HIS terms. Tired of having everything handed to him, he decides if he doesn't have to work for it, it probably isn't worth his time.

Fate brings these two together for a night filled with sex and half-truths. A night he would love to repeat, that is, if she ever decides to pull the pole out of her ass and admit she wants him just as badly.

But if he wants her, she's going to make him work for it.

Jersey Girl (Sticks & Hearts Book 1) available NOW:

http://amzn.to/2d1wHeI

Fire and Ice (Sticks & Hearts Book 2)

Coming 11/03/16

Meet the author:

Rhonda James is an Amazon best-selling author who loves a good HEA, believes nice guys don’t finish last, and strives to create a book boyfriend for all her readers. Rhonda is married and lives in Michigan with her family. When not writing, some of her guilty pleasures include kissing, diving into a good book, and wasting time on Facebook, though she may do one more than the others.

Facebook / Goodreads / Amazon / Website