Royal Rogue (Flings With Kings #3) by Jessica Peterson

* * * *

Dear Jane,

You’re a princess. I’m a thief. This isn’t a Disney movie. We never had a chance in hell of a happy ending. But I still wish I could have given you one.

When we met, I had you pegged as a snob. All polo and private jets. But you turned out to be the exact opposite. I fell for you the first day we met.

I lied to you about a lot of things. I don’t expect or deserve your forgiveness. You’re too good for me. But I was always honest about my feelings for you.

I hope you’ll find true happiness one day. That’s the only way I’ll ever be happy—knowing you’re okay.

I’m sorry—

Charlie

PS—don’t let your blackjack game go to crap. Practice it every day, all right?

A STANDALONE Royal Romance!



Source: advance e-galley provided in exchange for an honest review



All right. If you're looking for prim and proper royalty, that's not what you'll find here because Jessica Peterson is all about infusing the romance with a whole lot of sexy.The Flings With Kings series has been fun so far but yowza, Royal Rogue is the hottest by far and I'll say it's my favourite so far, too!

Princess Jane has been divorced for a bit and is tired of the same types of the guys who keep parading in front of her. It's hard to be in the royal fishbowl where everyone sees you and judges you when all she wants to do is be herself. Be real. After her failed marriage, she knows that's what she wants: a guy who is genuine, not one of these cookie cutter types that will say what they think she wants to hear just to get in with her and her family. Along comes Charlie who seems to dispense with some of the typical niceties and for the first time she feels like she's having a honest to god regular conversation. Not to mention the fact that his rugged good looks and cheeky banter are also delightful. Charlie sees the loneliness behind Jane's eyes and can tell that she's tired of the same old gimmicks. In trying a different approach by lacing what he says with some grain of truth, he's breaking every rule he has about interacting with his mark. A mark who happens to have a valuable item in her possession that will fetch a high price and bring him the freedom he desperately wants. For a guy who's streetsmart and experienced, he wasn't banking on falling for his prey.

I totally loved this story! With two characters from such opposite backgrounds and many incorrect assumptions about each other, there's plenty of fire and lust between them. Jane isn't as delicate as she seems and Charlie isn't as heartless as his line of work implies. In fact, Charlie's struggle with his duplicity is what makes their relationship fascinating, not to mention risky, which is not something that we've seen with this series yet. Holy cow, I gobbled this up and to make things even better, Prince John aka Jack has a significant role in this as her loving, protective and suspicious brother. I was so excited to see him since he was a no-show in the last book. But his appearance here provides laughs and a sexy glimpse into his storyline that I cannot wait to read. There are also appearances by characters from the previous books so we get plenty of their craziness as well. 

Jane and Charlie's unlikely coupling and the subsequent issues that arise had me guessing all sorts of scenarios but the eventual ending was not something I saw coming. In Royal Rogue, Peterson increases the fervor to bring a scorching hot romance to make your summer even hotter!

~ Bel

The Accidentals by Sarina Bowen

* * * 1/2

Never ask a question unless you’re sure you want the truth.

I’ve been listening to my father sing for my whole life. I carry him in my pocket on my mp3 player. It’s just that we’ve never met face to face.

My mother would never tell me how I came to be, or why my rock star father and I have never met. I thought it was her only secret. I was wrong. 

When she dies, he finally appears. Suddenly I have a first class ticket into my father’s exclusive world. A world I don’t want any part of – not at this cost. 

Only three things keep me going: my a cappella singing group, a swoony blue-eyed boy named Jake, and the burning questions in my soul. There’s a secret shame that comes from being an unwanted child. It drags me down, and puts distance between me and the boy I love. 

My father is the only one alive who knows my history. I need the truth, even if it scares me.

Source: advance e-galley provided in exchange for an honest review


Bowen makes her first foray into the YA genre with a semi-heartwrencher. Rachel loses one parent that she's known all her life and the following week gains one that she's always known existed but had never met. The new changes in her life stemming from her mother's death brings so much confusion and anger to an already devastated child. Rachel does her best to tamp down her angst but underneath all that is a young girl who simply wants to feel wanted and safe despite what her history tells her. 

As I read The Accidentals I thought that everything would culminate in some sort of Hallmark Channel-like ending. It didn't. Rachel and Fredrick's relationship is shaky though congenial. Rachel keeps her thoughts to herself and Fredrick knowing that he has arrived too late to pull the dad card on her, tries not to be too intrusive. There's much she has longed to share with her father but she can't bring herself to open up. A one-sided connection to him through his lyrics is far less risky than to actually speak words to him and let him in. She's worried that the fantasy won't live up to the reality. I thought her conflicted emotions and awkward reactions were natural though even if they kept stalling any kind of progress in bonding with her dad. That's the only thing I wish was different but I gradually came to appreciate that this isn't simply a story about Rachel and her father. It's about how she's adapting to all the abrupt changes in her life, learning to trust people, and find that space where she belongs. 

It sounds so crass to say that something good did come out of her loss but it is true, even if it arrived in an undesirable way. I guess that's one of my biggest takeaways from The Accidentals. Rachel has to overcome her long-held skepticism that something she's wanted all along will be snatched away from her. Also how does she let her guard down when she's lost too much already? I think Rachel handled things the best way she could and in the end allowed herself to be open to possibilities. The Accidentals is a different offering from Bowen that delicately showcases this vulnerable stage in life and I was touched by it. I'd secretly love to see a follow up, even if it was just a quick novella, to see where everyone is and how far they've come in becoming a family.

~ Bel

The Accidentals is available now!

Amazon Global Link I Audio I Paperback I iBooks I Kobo   I   Nook

EXCERPT

After the last course—chocolate mousse—the three of us go tripping back across the cold lawn in the dark, Aurora in the lead. I’m the tiniest bit tipsy and wearing heels. So naturally I stumble on a frozen clod of snow and nearly fall. But Jake catches my hand to steady me. “Thanks,” I breathe.Curiously, his warm fingers remain curled around mine until we reached the door of Habernacker.I try not to feel ridiculously excited about it.He lets go when we all reach the third floor. When Aurora opens the door, he follows us inside until we all collapse on the S.L.O., with me in the center.“Oh! I forgot to steal my plate,” I realize.“Me too.” Aurora sighs.Jake reaches into his jacket and pulls out a plate.
“Well done, Mr. Jake!” Aurora laughs. “The party in the annex starts in fifteen minutes.” She heaves herself off the squishy couch. “I have time to redo my makeup.”
I watch her walk over to the stereo, where my phone is already ensconced, and turn on our Christmas playlist. Then she grabs her makeup bag off her desk and leaves the room.When the door clicks shut, neither Jake nor I speak for a moment. The low chords of a Straight No Chaser song play through our little speakers.Suddenly, it’s awkward. We’ve been circling each other for a while now—since the night he was trying to be nice and I wrecked it.“You’re probably sick of a cappella by now,” I say, just to find something to talk about.But Jake turns slowly toward me and says something unexpected. “Rachel, I need to ask you a question.”My stomach does a little flip flop, and I turn to face those blue eyes I love so much. “What?” I whisper.“Well…” He clears his throat. There is a very long pause, during which I hold my breath. “Will you come skiing some time?”I exhale. “I guess so?” Another beat of silence passes. “That was your big question?” I ask, feeling like I’ve missed something.His color deepens. “Well, no. I just…” His brow furrows, as if he’s trying to explain some point of astronomy. I love his look of concentration. I’ve missed it.Jake’s blue eyes lock on mine, and I see how our own orbits might finally collide. This time, I will not send the moment winging back into space. Instead, I lean an almost imperceptible degree in his direction.
And that’s all it takes.Reaching up, Jake cups his hand to the side of my face. I’m still processing the sweet touch of his fingers when he leans in farther, his lips brushing the sensitive corner of my mouth. His eyes are tentative, seeking permission. My heart thuds with expectation.And then—finally—Jake kisses me for real. We come together the way a well-timed drummer kicks into the chorus of a song—swiftly, and without hesitation. We broke apart a moment later, eyeing each other while I try not to smile. “Can I do that again?” he asks, his voice rough. “That was my real question.”“Well, since you asked so nicely…”Jake makes a low noise of approval, then draws me closer. I reach up for the back of his neck, my fingers grazing that golden patch of skin I’ve always wanted to touch. He kisses me again, his arm finding the velvet waist of my dress and encircling me.
My heart flutters, but not from fear. Warm lips tease mine gently apart. And when his tongue tangles with mine, I lose myself.He tastes like champagne. Everything is wild and sweet, until the moment Aurora’s voice rings out. “Ay, caramba!”I feel an unwelcome rush of cool air between us as Jake retreats.
“I did say I was going into the bathroom, right? And not on a trip to Fiji?”Neither of us says a word; we only look sheepishly at Aurora.“Just to be clear, now I’m ducking into the bedroom for my coat, which only takes a second.” She steps into the bedroom, and I hear the rustling of fabric. Then she peers dramatically around the door frame. “Good listening! Now I’m going to the party. Will I see you both there? Don’t answer that. We’ll speak later.”Jake laughs. “Sorry, Aurora.”“I’ve seen worse.” She departs, the door closing behind her.And now I’m self-conscious. Rising, I decide to fiddle with the music playlist. “Do you want to go to the party?”“I’ll go. But I’m not great at parties. It’s all shouting over the music, drinking warm beer out of a plastic cup.”“Then let’s not.” My fingers shake as I adjust the volume. I go back over to the sofa and sit down.“So.” He clears his throat. “Where are you going for break?” As he asks, he takes one of my hands in his, massaging my palm with his thumb.
His light touch is so distracting that I almost forget to answer. “Kansas City,” I manage. “To meet my grandfather for the very first time.”“Um, what?” He squeezes my hand.So I tell Jake the embarrassing highlights of my weird story—that I hadn’t met Frederick until this past summer.
“Wow. I’m sorry,” he says.“Don’t be.”“I guess I’m not that offended now that you wouldn’t introduce me. If the normal waiting period is seventeen years.”My laugh begins with an unladylike snort. Ah, well. “With me it’s just all soap opera, all the time. Believe it or not, a year ago I was really a boring person.”“I don’t see how.” He regards me with darting eyes. “You look beautiful tonight.”“It’s Aurora’s dress,” I whisper.But Jake doesn’t seem to care. He slips his arms around my waist. Scooting closer, he slides his lips from my forehead, down my nose and onto my mouth. And we begin again.

                      

CONNECT WITH SARINA

Website I Goodreads I Facebook I Twitter I Pinterest I Instagram

Surrender/Dominate Double Cover Reveal

Title: Surrender
The Final Harris Brother Duet #1

Series: The Harris Brothers #4
Author: Amy Daws

Genre: Sports Romance
Cover Design: Amy Daws
Photo: Dan Thorson Photography

Model: Adam Spahn
Release Date: July 19, 2018

Blurb

One night of complete surrender is all it takes.

Gareth Harris is Manchester United’s reclusive star defender. He has control over all aspects of his life. But a lifetime of supporting his siblings and filling in for an emotionally absent father has taken its toll.

Sloan Montgomery is a clothing stylist whose world was turned upside down when she found herself pregnant and moving to Manchester with a man who was never supposed to be her forever. Now recently divorced and struggling with shared custody of her daughter, control is a fleeting concept for this American living in England.

Both Gareth and Sloan are in need of a release.

A moment in time where they can forget about their pasts and family pressures...and just...

…surrender.

No one could predict what happens when both of their defences are down.

Surrender is part one of The Final Harris Brother Duet and concludes with Dominate. The Final Harris Brother Duet reads great as a duo, but to maximize enjoyment, check out the first three brothers’ books in Challenge, Endurance, and Keeper. 

ADD TO GOODREADS

Title: Dominate
The Final Harris Brother Duet #2

Series: The Harris Brothers #5
Author: Amy Daws

Genre: Sports Romance

Cover Design: Amy Daws
Photo: Dan Thorson Photography
Model: Adam Spahn
Release Date: August 2, 2018

Blurb

To dominate one’s heart is to truly be free.

The anticipated conclusion to The Final Harris Brother Duet.

After the harrowing attack against Gareth and Sloan, there are more than just physical wounds that must be healed.

Recovering and moving on from their dark pasts is the only way they can truly find their bright futures.

Who will surrender? And who will dominate?

ADD TO GOODREADS

Also Available

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

ALSO AVAILABLE IN AUDIO

Author Bio

Amy Daws is an Amazon Top 25 bestselling author of sexy, contemporary romance novels. She enjoys writing love stories that take place in America, as well as across the pond in England; especially about those footy-playing Harris Brothers of hers. When Amy is not writing in a tire shop waiting room, she’s watching Gilmore Girls, or singing karaoke in the living room with her daughter while Daddy smiles awkwardly from a distance. For more of Amy's work, visit: http://www.amydawsauthor.com

Author Links

WEBSITE / NEWSLETTER 
FACEBOOK / FACEBOOK GROUP
TWITTER / INSTAGRAM / BOOK + MAIN
BOOKBUB / PINTEREST / AMAZON / GOODREADS

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Boy Toy Cover Reveal

Did you read MAN HANDS? How much do you laugh throughout that book? We're so excited to have the laughs continue with BOY TOY and here's the new cover!

(What's with the rubber ducky?)

Summary

A new romantic comedy from your favorite snort-laughing duo!

Liam

The moment Sadie Matthews walks through the daycare center door, I feel my world tilt in her direction. Again. I fell for her when I was fourteen, and I’m still not over her. Problem: she still thinks of me as a teen she used to babysit. But I’ve learned a few things about pleasing a woman in the last fifteen years. I can’t wait to show her how good it could be. I need to move quickly before I lose her again. This is more than a game to me, but I still plan to win.

Sadie

I’ve just survived the worst year of my life. As a single mom of twin toddlers, I don’t have time for a man. I barely have time to finish a thought. Who knew that Liam McAllister would grow up to be so devastating? He’s everything my husband was not: tall, built, and willing to have a tea party with my girls. 

I can’t possibly get involved with him. He’s too young for me. Too handsome. But he’s so persuasive...

Links

♥ Amazon I ♥ iBooks I ♥ Nook I ♥ Kobo

Sarina Bowen

Website I Twitter I Facebook I Pinterest I

Instagram I Goodreads

Tanya Eby

Website I Twitter I Facebook I Instagram

Cry Baby Blog Tour & Review

We're celebrating the release of CRY BABY by Ginger Scott! One-Click today!

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2rjlag4

Purchase here-->

Amazon     I   Google Play     I   Kobo     I   Nook     I   iBooks  

“Cry Baby is brilliantly written. It's hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking and will leave you thinking about it for days afterward. Bravo, Ms. Scott. This boy-man stole my heart and I don't want it back.”- L.J. Shen, Bestselling Author

Blurb

Tristan Lopez is loyal to his brothers. He doesn’t really have a choice, born into a gang that has a chokehold on every kid that roams its streets. He gave his life to them willingly, knowing if he did then one day this kingdom, led by boys drunk with power and ruled by fear, would all be his.

He was loyal through it all. Loyal when prison took his dad away. Loyal when his face was touched by the cold metal of the rival gang’s gun. Loyal even though his mom begged him to run the moment she returned home from rehab.

He thought about becoming someone else. It was hard not to crave the life of a regular 17-year-old. It’s the only reason he stayed in school—to pretend. But he always fell back in line.

Loyal.

Riley Rojas didn’t belong in Tristan’s real world. She should have only been part of the fantasy, one of the many faces he got to pretend with amidst rows of metal chairs and desks and whiteboards with assignments. But there she was, moving boxes from the back of an old pick-up into a house Tristan had shot up on a dare with his friends only a few months before.

Tall enough to look him in the eyes and strong enough to fill his shadow, Riley took up space on his streets, her loud mouth fearless in the face of the gang leaders who terrified everyone else. She pushed Tristan around on the hard court, and she balled better than his friends—better than him

sometimes. She challenged him. She needed him. He liked it. And when her pale blue eyes stared into his, he quit wanting to pretend.

He couldn’t ask her to leave because she’d only dig her heels in deeper. He couldn’t ask because he didn’t want her to go. She was blurring his lines. She was testing his loyalty.

He was falling in love.

And it was going to tear him apart.

Review

* * * *

When it comes to writing raw, gritty stories, Ginger Scott does it so well. I barely have to read the blurb to know that I'll read her latest no matter what. With Cry Baby, she moves me out of my comfort zone - my quiet, suburban neighbourhood - and transplants me in one that frankly scares the hell out of me. A world where violence is commonplace and lives are automatically tainted by it. Where a smart, sweet kid like Tristan grows up connected to a gang and does just enough to stay under the radar to survive. School, as much as he tries to be indifferent about it, is his saving grace by giving him a sense of normalcy. But he doesn't know what to do with an adult's kindness or belief that he is smart enough to have a future beyond the life he knows. Then a ballsy, beautiful girl moves in down the street and things start to change. Riley's not fearful of her rough new neighbourhood or of the people who live there. That outspoken makes her stand out and maybe that's not such a good thing for her if she wants to stay safe and out of trouble in this area. She wants to be his friend, play ball and be included but he'll have none of that for her sake. He can't drag her into his world even by casual association. But Riley is tough as nails and won't give up on him so how can he resist the pull of someone who believes in him wholeheartedly?

This is a bleak story for the most part simply because of the world it's set in. But Riley who's like a freak storm coming in with ideas, challenges the status quo whether it's at school or on the basketball courts, and makes things happen. Her storyline gives the plot a forward momentum. When she and Tristan face off it's like there's a split screen in front of you; that if he just takes her hand and steps to the other side he could be a happier person able to dream for himself. Obviously it's not as easy as that but I needed to cling to that hope for him. And if there's one thing I love about Ginger Scott is that she writes about strong females who face their fair share of adversity in some form or another. Riley is her own playmaker, a master of her own life and doesn't succumb to self pity. I felt like I could she her demolishing every wall Tristan put up and it's fun to have these two polar opposite personalities have such friction between them. The suckerpuch comes when you realize how far reaching the destruction at the hands of the gang can be.

Ginger Scott is a an autobuy and autoread for me. Unafraid of tackling issues, Cry Baby is proof that she knows how to write about kids facing impossible odds, who are ultimately fighters and creators of their own destiny.

~ Bel

Source: advance e-galley provided in exchange for an honest review

About the Author

Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling and Goodreads Choice Award-nominated author of several young and new adult romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, The Girl I Was Before, Wild Reckless, Wicked Restless, In Your Dreams, The Hard Count, Hold My Breath, A Boy Like You and A Girl Like Me.

A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.

When she's not writing, the odds are high that she's somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork 'em, Devils).

Social Media Links

Facebook Page     I     Twitter     I     Pinterest     I     YouTube

Google     I     Goodreads     I     Website 

Cry Baby Release Day Blast

We're celebrating the release of CRY BABY by Ginger Scott! One-Click today!

Cry Baby by Ginger Scott

A Contemporary Young Adult Romance
Release day: June 22, 2018
Goodreads 

Purchase here-->

Amazon     I   Google Play     I   Kobo     I   Nook     I   iBooks  

“Cry Baby is brilliantly written. It's hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking and will leave you thinking about it for days afterward. Bravo, Ms. Scott. This boy-man stole my heart and I don't want it back.”- L.J. Shen, Bestselling Author

Blurb

Tristan Lopez is loyal to his brothers. He doesn’t really have a choice, born into a gang that has a chokehold on every kid that roams its streets. He gave his life to them willingly, knowing if he did then one day this kingdom, led by boys drunk with power and ruled by fear, would all be his.

He was loyal through it all. Loyal when prison took his dad away. Loyal when his face was touched by the cold metal of the rival gang’s gun. Loyal even though his mom begged him to run the moment she returned home from rehab.


He thought about becoming someone else. It was hard not to crave the life of a regular 17-year-old. It’s the only reason he stayed in school—to pretend. But he always fell back in line.


Loyal.


Riley Rojas didn’t belong in Tristan’s real world. She should have only been part of the fantasy, one of the many faces he got to pretend with amidst rows of metal chairs and desks and whiteboards with assignments. But there she was, moving boxes from the back of an old pick-up into a house Tristan had shot up on a dare with his friends only a few months before.


Tall enough to look him in the eyes and strong enough to fill his shadow, Riley took up space on his streets, her loud mouth fearless in the face of the gang leaders who terrified everyone else. She pushed Tristan around on the hard court, and she balled better than his friends—better than him

sometimes. She challenged him. She needed him. He liked it. And when her pale blue eyes stared into his, he quit wanting to pretend.

He couldn’t ask her to leave because she’d only dig her heels in deeper. He couldn’t ask because he didn’t want her to go. She was blurring his lines. She was testing his loyalty.

He was falling in love.


And it was going to tear him apart.

About the Author

Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling and Goodreads Choice Award-nominated author of several young and new adult romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, The Girl I Was Before, Wild Reckless, Wicked Restless, In Your Dreams, The Hard Count, Hold My Breath, A Boy Like You and A Girl Like Me.

A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.

When she's not writing, the odds are high that she's somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork 'em, Devils).

Social Media Links

Facebook Page     I     Twitter     I     Pinterest     I     YouTube

Google     I     Goodreads     I     Website