Thursday, March 31, 2016

RELEASE BLITZ: Kennedy Ryan's DOWN TO MY SOUL


Title: Down to my Soul
Author: Kennedy Ryan
Series: Soul Series
Release Date: March 31, 2016



Down to My Soul concludes the journey Rhyson Gray and Kai Pearson began in Book 1 of the Soul Series, My Soul to Keep! You must read Book 1 first.

Release Week Pricing
Both Books 99¢ This Week


SYNOPSIS

RHYSON

She doesn't wear my ring.
We never stood before a preacher.
The only vows exchanged were between our bodies; between our souls.
But she was mine and I was hers until I ruined it. I have to believe that every day, every step, every breath brings me closer to making things right.
To making her mine again.

KAI

I've seen promises broken.
I know love makes no guarantees.
But things were different for Rhys and me, until he lied, and I walked away. Only there's a chain between our hearts that I can't break. Even if I forgive him, a shadow from my past hangs over us; over this love that reaches all the way down to my soul.



BOOK LINKS

Book 2 - Down to My Soul

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/1530629187/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

Book 1 - My Soul to Keep

 

*Add the Audio Book for only $1.99!

EXCERPT

“Rhys?”

His name rushes from my mouth on a breath, and I’m off the bed, hurling myself at him top speed. Somehow my legs wrap around his waist and my arms tangle behind his neck. I couldn’t hold back and play this cool if I wanted to. Every part of me that’s been fighting to stay focused, to keep working, to be on, collapses against him. Surrenders to the feel of him in my arms and the smell of him. My fingers lace through his hair. I scatter kisses across his face, the sharp angles and taut skin warm beneath my lips.

“So I take it you’re happy to see me?” He chuckles, pressing his forehead to mine, hands squeezing my thighs.

“Happy?” I release something that’s half a sob, half a laugh, pulling back a few centimeters to let him breathe. “What gave you that idea?”

We stop grinning at the same time, laughter dissolving, our bodies exchanging sensual information. My breasts flattened to his chest. His erection growing and hardening against my core. Our breaths mingling and hearts tattooing beats through our clothes and into the other’s skin.

I move first, leaning in to capture his bottom lip between mine, sucking and pulling between my teeth. Licking into his mouth like there’s honey hidden inside. He groans into the kiss, walking backward until we reach the bed and dropping me so I bounce a little, his eyes roving over me head to toe.

“Pep, what the hell are you wearing?” Humor and desire tussle in his eyes.

I look down, laughing when I see the young Jackson brothers emblazoned across my chest, my legs ending in the footed bottoms.

“If I’d known you were coming, I could have made sexier arrangements.”

“Arrangements?” He quirks a dark brow, placing a knee on either side of my legs, hovering over me like a promise. “Lingerie would have been nice. Other rock stars have girlfriends who wear lingerie.”

“Oh, are you referring to yourself as a rock star now?” I grin up at him, feeling whole for the first time since he kissed me goodbye a week ago. “That’s not egomaniacal at all. Is there a club? You guys have rock star meetings? Does one of you take rock star minutes?”

“You are sitting in here listening to my music in the dark.” He leans forward to tug at the zipper beneath my chin. “Maybe you’re actually one of my crazed fans. Or a groupie. I might even find a Mrs. Rhyson Gray t-shirt around here somewhere. My girlfriend doesn’t like those.”

“No, she doesn’t.” I shake my head, eyes never straying from his.

A small frown jerks his brows together. He tugs again at the zipper, but it doesn’t budge.
“Pep, it’s stuck,” he says.

“Sometimes it does that,” I answer easily, enjoying the frustration spreading over his expression as he keeps pulling and it keeps staying.

He places my hand over his cock, hard and poking through his jeans.

“Well, it’s not exactly a good time for it to do that.”

I laugh, grasping my zipper and tugging. Wow, it really is stuck. These are vintage PJs, older than I am and threadbare in places. I’m surprised the zipper hasn’t rusted before now. I sit up, bringing our bodies closer as I jiggle the little hook a few times. Nothing.

“Just how attached are you to this Jackson Five onesie?” His glance burns hot across my subtle curves visible through the thin flannel, telegraphing his intentions.

“Well this is Michael’s original nose.” I release a fake exasperated sigh. “But I do have my sewing kit.”

“All I needed to hear.”

Sorry, boys.

He grabs the two ends of the collar separated by the zip line and pulls until there’s a ripping sound, the panels falling back to reveal my naked breasts and my panties. A wicked grin spreads across lips.

“You naughty girl.” He runs a finger over the writing on the front of my calendar panties, carrying a current that simultaneously hitches my breath and gets me wet. “Wearing Monday panties on a Thursday. My little rebel.”




Release Week Giveaway!

($10 Amazon Gift Card, Rhys + Kai mason jar glass, Reader's Choice Kennedy Signed Paperback)


AUTHOR BIO

I just can't write about myself in third person for one more bio! I'm a wife, a mom, a writer, an advocate for families living with autism. That's me in a nutshell. Crack the nut, and you'll find a Southern girl gone Southern California who loves pizza and Diet Coke, and wishes she got to watch a lot more television. You can usually catch me up too late, on social media too much, or FINALLY putting a dent in my ever-growing To Be Read list! I love to hear from readers at kennedyryanwrites@gmail.com.


AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS

Let's Connect!




Wednesday, March 30, 2016

RELEASE DAY BLITZ- Emery Jacobs' TWISTED FATE



Release Date: March 30, 2016
Cover Design: Pink Ink Designs
Photographer, Front Cover: Eric Battershell Photography
Model, Front Cover: Drew Truckle
Photographer, Back Cover: MH Photography
Model, Back Cover: Rainey Wilson

Synopsis

One life changing choice…

Three lives.
Two love stories.
The past, the present...

When Piper Evans stumbled into Jack Alexander’s life, he knew things were about to change.  Her free spirit and noncommittal attitude left him wanting more. A lot more—he wanted forever. Unfortunately, forever becomes complicated when fate has other plans.

But that was years ago...

Still shattered by guilt, Jack lives his life in agony over the past—never embracing the present. But when Jovie Blake shows up demanding a piece of his heart, the past he thought he'd buried comes crashing down around him, forcing him to confront what he had lost so long ago.

Regret is inevitable, and no one’s heart is safe. Can fate be so twisted and cruel?

Amazon


Review:
[Mandy]
Amazon/Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Stars
In Patti's Imagination Rating: 9/10 Stars
The story of Jack and Jovie is a touching one where the author bravely examines the socially debilitating condition of Anxiety Attacks.
Right from the get go, it is clear that both these characters come with baggage. Unfortunately, due to life as it is, there are only a set amount of circumstances that can be used as “baggage” in a romance novel, so as a result, the outcome of the story is fairly predictable, and thus the reason for my score of 4 stars, my actual rating would be 9/10, therefore a 4.5, because, the despite that, the story is well told, and in my opinion, well researched.
Jack’s occupation of a tattoo artist is well explored and many of the scenes play off in the tattoo parlour, where we also meet Annie and Fish, his colleagues and friends. Jovie’s job as a waitress also plays a role in the background of the story, unfortunately her college life is only mentioned in passing. HOWEVER! The characters, even the supporting characters, are well developed and play off well against each other. They are complete people whom some I really liked, and one or two I wanted to smack. The characters were real enough to me that, after 2 other books, they are still fresh in my mind, and while I was reading the book, I was thinking of it while doing my chores and wanting to get back to it. There is also a thread of lighthearted fun and humour threading through what could potentially have been an angst filled darker read.
This author has relied on good storytelling and solid research to get her point across. The love scenes are well described and bad language is used mostly in the context of guy talk.
All in all this is an enjoyable read that keeps one turning pages and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Congratulations to the author on a job well done.


 




Giveaway

Kindle Paperwhite or One of Five Signed paperbacks of Twisted Fate




 

About the Author

Emery grew up in Southern Arkansas and has lived most of her adult life in Northern Louisiana. She loves real life romance…lots of angst and heartbreak, but always a happy ending. She spends her days working as a Nurse Practitioner in rural health and her nights reading, writing, and occasionally sleeping.

Connect with Emery



Tuesday, March 29, 2016

BLOG TOUR and REVIEW - Melody Dawn's THE LIVING SERIES



The Living Series by Melody Dawn
To Live Again (The Living Series #1)
This is Living (The Living Series #1.5)
New Adult / Contemporary Romance



Chloe: She's broken beyond repair. 
Jayson: He's determined to fix her and make her love him in the process. 
Chloe has the perfect life or so everyone thinks. 
She tried to leave her past behind, but it follows her like a dark shadow. Drowning in guilt, she's dying to live, but sees no way out. So she tries to fool herself and everyone else into believing she is fine. 
But Jayson sees through the act that Chloe puts up for everyone else and he's going to do everything in his power to help her to live again. 
Can Chloe let go, or will that night forever ruin her future?










“A really sweet strong about overcoming tragedy and learning to forgive yourself. I would recommend it for everyone!” - 5 Star Goodreads Review “I will just say: She has the story. Interesting and somewhat heartbreaking story.” - 5 Star from Ani’s Reviews “I loved this book!!! From the very first pages I was pulled in and didn’t put it down.” - 5 Star from Reading the Sheets “This book is well written, so emotional a tear jerker for sure but a must read.” - 5 Star from AJ’s Book ReMarks


REVIEW

[Mandy]

Amazon Rating: 5/5
In Patti's Imagination Rating: 10/10

Imagine a tall gorgeous dream worthy hunk! Now imagine 2! Yep you’re right, TWINS! Jayson The main Male character and his twin Connor have a wonderful relationship,( and later in the book when we meet their parents we see why. ) Chloe is beautiful, intelligent, funny and……broken. A tragedy which no one should experience haunts her and her self loathing affects every aspect of her life.
This is a beautiful story that spans 8 years. The story of true love! I went through the full gamut of emotions while reading this book, from laugh out loud to wiping away tears and snivelling.
The two main characters are wonderfully supported by Jayson’s twin Connor with his wicked sense of humour and Madison (Maddie) who is also Chloe’s best friend and to all intents and purposes her only family. 
The ending is a superb surprise! 
A feel good, must read book.



The first time Jayson Reece saw Chloe Schaeffer, he knew she would be his forever. He promised her then that he would show her how to live rather than just letting life pass her by. Now, 9 years later, they’ve had the storybook romance, a picture perfect wedding, and two twin boys to complete the family they always wanted. 
But something is missing… 
With two rambunctious boys, Chloe decides to be a stay-at-home mom until the boys are old enough to go to school. So, with her dreams of being a social worker put on hold, she throws everything she has into being the perfect mother and wife. 
Jayson has a very demanding career as an Emergency Room physician. He tries to balance out his workload and that of being a family man, but lately his job has come first. Is he beginning to lose focus on the things that are most important to him? 
Will Chloe’s drive for perfection and the challenges of Jayson’s career drive them apart? Or will they realize that love creates the perfection she desires and the balance he needs to keep his family together? 
There’s only one thing left to do. Jayson needs to renew his promise to Chloe and she needs to trust Jayson to get them back to where they belong. 
A place where living and loving is required…those only wanting to exist need not apply.







“I laughed, I cried and laughed again. This is a heartwarming story and you will throuoghly enjoy it.” - 5 Star from Alpha Book Club “Man, I just loved this book. Just have a box of tissues handy, and have your best book friend in your messages so you can vent, you will need someone to listen.” - 5 Star from We’re Jumpin’ Books “A must read of 2016. I can't wait for the rest of this series.” - 5 Star from Tracy’s Book Blog “This is at times an extremely emotional read! But hold on for the ride!” - 5 Star from Goodreads Review

REVIEW

[Mandy]

Amazon Rating: 5/5
In Patti's Imagination Rating: 10/10

The continuing saga of Chloe and Jayson, now married with twin sons. They have their HEA, or do they? While Chloe is a stay at home mom, Jayson is doing his ER Residency, they seem to be living their dream………then life happens!
The same characters that we met in To Live Again are once more brought to life by this talented author. Love laughter and tears, many tears follow this couple through the book to its satisfying conclusion.
The author has managed to bring to life well rounded believable character that draw the reader into their world from the get go and makes you feel as if you are a part of their lives. It is hard to believe that this s only her second book. She has tackled real life issues that befall many of us or our loved ones and treats these issues with respect. In my opinion the stories are well researched. I come from a medical background and found all the medical and hospital scenes to ring true.
A very readable and enjoyable book, the perfect conclusion to To Live Again.

WARNING: Ensure a sufficient supply of tissues before even attempting to read these books. I rate this book as well as it’s predecessor and emotional.



















To Live Again


After getting out of the shower, I finish my morning routine. Taking in a breath, I know it’s time. I have to look in the mirror to check my appearance before I can leave the bathroom. I slowly raise my head and look, hoping that I can do it quickly without really having to notice my eyes. But, as usual, I stare into my reflection for a moment. I see the dark circles and notice that my violet eyes look the way they usually do, like I have no soul, because really I don’t; not anymore.

I know there is nothing I can do to change it, so I turn around and leave the bathroom and go off to start another new semester at Rice University. Pulling into the student parking lot, I find a place to park. I breathe deeply, relax my face muscles, and pull on the smiling mask that everyone expects of me and go looking for my class.

I am double majoring in Sociology and Psychology since I hope to become a social worker. Because of this, I am always looking to take classes that will help me understand what people are going through and how they react to dire situations. My first class on my new schedule will definitely help with that. It’s called Psychology 305: Death and Dying-Understanding the Grieving Process.

As I make my way across the parking lot, it occurs to me that it’s sort of ironic that I’m taking this class. Maybe I will get some insight into myself and finally some closure. Yeah right, and maybe I will sleep until 5:50 in the morning. Shaking my head in disgust, I square my shoulders and open the door, looking for my favorite seat…1st row, 3rd seat, closest to the door.

Immediately, I see it is already taken by a very large, very beautiful boy. Holy hell and hotness. He’s so gorgeous, but he is in my seat, so hot or not, he’s going to have to move it. If he doesn’t, at least I will have had a chance to talk to him and look at him; yeah, I’m so objectifying him right now. I bet feminism just slid back a couple of centuries, but surely women everywhere will understand when they get a load of what I’m seeing.

Even so, I walk up to his desk and as he looks up at me, I see the most gorgeous green eyes and black hair. Green eyes are my weakness and he is certainly no exception. I am standing there just staring at him so I know I have to act like I’m not affected by him at all. It’s kind of written in the girl code handbook that we can’t let hot guys know how they affect us, right?

Keeping this in mind, I look at him and say, “Excuse me, you’re in my seat.”

He laughs and says, “No sweetheart, I’m in my seat.”

I roll my eyes and move to the next seat over. A few seconds later, he taps me on the shoulder and says, “Hey, I’m Jayson or Jase, which ever you would like to call me.”

I glare at him and ask, “So? What makes you think I am going to call you anything?” He just winks at me and smiles a devastating smile. “If you want this seat, the price is introducing yourself.”

Feeling like something big is happening, I reach out my hand and say, “Hi, I’m Chloe Schaeffer.”

As our hands touch, I feel a spark of electricity and we both look at each other in a shocked way. We sit there for a second, staring at each other, with clasped hands. Jerking my hand back, I stand and wait as he gets up to exchange seats with me while feeling a little bad that I made such a big deal about a desk.

When he stands up, I look up at him and it’s a long way up there. He has black hair that looks like he either ran his hands through it a bunch of times or he just naturally has that sexy fall out of bed look. You know the kind people pay stylists a ton of money to get? Not to mention the green eyes, I know I already did, but God can you blame me?

I keep ogling him and the view just gets better and better. He has on a RU t-shirt and faded jeans that fit him just right paired with black Harley boots. But the best thing of all is his mouth. His lips are full and gorgeous and look like they’re made for sinning and I definitely want to be the first to fall from grace. I snap back to myself when I see him just standing there. I think he is secretly laughing at me so now I don’t feel so bad about stealing his seat.

The professor comes into the room and as he begins droning on and on about death, I keep sneaking peeks over at my sexy neighbor and C-R-A-P, crap, he just caught me checking him out. He looks back at me and winks. I immediately blush and look away and it hits me that for a moment, I forgot the hell that is my life.
This is Living

Carrying me over to the small bed, he starts to lay me down; however I refuse to let go of him. 

“Wait, are these sheets clean? Who else has been in this bed?” 

I feel his chest moving against me and I know he is trying not to laugh out loud. Punching him in the arm, I say, “Don’t laugh at me; you know how I am! I just don’t want to be lying in someone else’s stuff.”

“Well, I’m the only one that’s been on shift the last two days, so you don’t have anything to worry about.” 

Are you sure about that? I shut my eyes at the thought that crossed my mind because just the idea of it makes me want to hurl. I open my eyes and he is just staring at me with an odd look on his face.

“Why are you looking at me like that,” I ask in a quiet panic. Surely, he doesn’t know what I was just thinking. 

“You tell me. Why did you shut your eyes with a pained look on your face and hesitate when I said it was only me that’s been using this bed?”

His ability to read me has me at a loss for words. I start to answer, but then shut my mouth. I’m not sure what to say that isn’t going to sound like an accusation. Maybe I should just say what’s been bothering me, then he can reassure me and we’ll move on.

“Uh, I don’t know. You haven’t been home for two days and didn’t call, plus you only texted when I texted first. I just thought…” Good one, Chloe, that didn’t sound accusatory at all.

Pulling away from me, he walks over to where he left his scrubs and starts to get dressed. “Wait, what are you doing?”

With his jaw clenched and eyes flashing, he shakes his head. “Get dressed, Chloe. Go home. I will talk to you later.”

“Go home? For your information, I’m not some child you get to send away. I cannot believe you just said that to me.”

“I don’t know what to say to you. I haven’t looked at another woman since the day I laid eyes on you. You can say a lot of things about me, but cheating isn’t one of them.”

Shit, shit, shit! This is not what I wanted. Why the hell didn’t I listen to Madison? “I didn’t mean anything by what I said. I was just stating that I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“It sure as hell sounds like you were accusing me of cheating on you. Is that really what you think I’ve been doing the past couple of days?”

He looks so angry and I hate it more than anything. I don’t do well with confrontation and this is even worse than usual. 

Instead of reassuring him, I’m standing there frozen, unable to speak. When he sees I’m not going to answer, he slams his hand down on a locker while cursing.

“Jayson, you are putting words in my mouth,” I finally manage to say. 

Feeling exposed, I began yanking my clothes on. It’s obvious nothing is going to happen here and I’m not standing here naked while he yells at me.

“Ok, then tell me what you were thinking and don’t lie to me. I’m really fucking pissed right now so tell me that I’m wrong.”

Without waiting for an answer, he yells, “No, I’m not pissed, I’m fucking hurt that you would think so little of me. All these years and nothing has changed, has it?”

“Stop this now,” I tell him in a shaky voice. 

“We need to both take a step back and take a breath before we say something we can’t take back. You haven’t called or come home, so yes, I was feeling a bit insecure. I also may have let my emotions and my brain run away from me, but don’t you EVER accuse me by saying nothing has changed. You know that’s not true. I think I will go home. This is not the place or time to discuss issues such as these and I’m not going to stand here and scream back and forth like some characters on a reality show just to get my point across.”

I can see my words are hitting home with him and now I’m the angry one. I never came out and accused him of cheating on me. You sure didn’t say that he hadn’t when he asked you, did you? I ruthlessly tamp down on these thoughts because while we are both in the wrong here, one of us has to walk away. If it has to be me, then so be it.

He’s still standing in front of the door and as I near him, I can see the tired lines of his face. I hate that he is so exhausted. I hate that we fought with such hateful words…this is the worst fight we’ve ever had…even more so than when I left him sitting in a restaurant 9 years ago. When I reach him, I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head on his chest. His body is stiff against mine, but finally he wraps his arms around me and squeezes.

“I’m sorry I hurt you. I was freaked out when I didn’t hear from you last night and you didn’t come home this morning. Then, when I got here, the new nurse acted strangely when I asked for you.” 

He doesn’t let go, but neither does he respond, so I look up at him and wink, trying to get him in a better mood. “This is where you apologize on bended knee. And then let me out of the deal that says I might have to give any money back for swearing.”

Bending down, he places his forehead against mine and says, “I’m sorry, too…for everything. I’m exhausted and I have a bitch of a headache.”

I close the distance and kiss him in reply. “I love you.”

He mumbles, “Me, too, I have to go.”

Suddenly he lets go of me and turns to open the door. All I can think of is that he didn’t say I love you back, just “me, too.”

Before walking out, he stops and presses his forehead against the door while I stand awkwardly behind him. I’m not sure what is going on, but something is. Though it’s killing me, it’s still not the time to talk about it or spring any other news on him. I place my hand in his and wait.














Melody Dawn is an aspiring contemporary romance author residing in the southern part of the US. She started reading romance novels when she was a teenager and became addicted to Happily Ever After’s. She got her own HEA when she met her soulmate 20 years ago and they have been together ever since. They have two furbabies who think they are Kings of the Castle and require a ton of attention. When she is not reading or writing, she loves to refurbish old furniture into new pieces, scrapbook, and most of all spend time with her main guy.














HOSTED BY: