Excerpt & Giveaway – THE WEDDING GIFT by Cara Connelly

May 7, 2015April 30, 2015 / travelsnreads / 1 Comment

The Wedding Gift
Save The Date #3.5

By: Cara Connelly

Releasing May 5, 2015

Avon

Blurb

What’s the New-Jan-Plan? Discover the answer in Cara Connelly’s newest Save The Date Novella, and see how mousey Jan Marone gives herself the gift of living, laughing, and finally loving … all under the hot Key West sun.

She’d come to Key West for a wedding, only to discover the hotel had messed up her reservation. So although Jan Marone has to share a tiny room with sexy Mick McKenna, it shouldn’t really be a problem. Mick’s her best friend, and he doesn’t think of her “that way” … or does he?

Mick McKenna loves hard and plays hard. His thick black hair, chiseled jaw, and hard, muscled body make him irresistible. But when once-innocent Jan walks into his hotel room, Mick can’t believe his eyes. Now she’s wearing a sexy bikini and telling him it’s time for her to “get lucky,” making him protective and tantalized at the same time.

Worried she might be in over her head, he decides never to leave her side … and suddenly their hotel room seems smaller—and hotter—than ever. Mick’s always been hands-off with Jan—but has the right woman been under his nose the whole time?

Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/04/the-wedding-gift-save-date-5-by-cara.html

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Excerpt

“I’m sorry, ma’am, there’s nothing I can do.”

Jan Marone wrung her hands. “But I have a reservation.”

“I know, I’m looking at it right here.” The pretty blond at the desk tapped her screen sympathetically. “I’ll refund your deposit immediately.”

“I don’t want my deposit. I want a room. My cousin’s getting married tomorrow, and I’m in the wedding.”

The girl spread her hands. “The problem is, when one of the upstairs tubs overflowed this morning, the ceiling collapsed on your room. It’s out of service for the weekend, and we’re booked solid.”

“I understand,” Jan said, struggling to remain polite. Hearing the same excuse three times didn’t make it easier to swallow. “How about a sister hotel?”

“We’re independently owned. Paradise Inn is the oldest hotel on the island—”

Jan held up a hand. She knew the spiel. The large, rambling guesthouse was unique, and very Old Key West. Which was exactly why she’d booked it.

“Can you at least help me find a room somewhere else?”

“It’s spring break. I’ll make some calls, but …” A discouraging shrug and a gesture toward the coffeepot.

The girl didn’t seem very concerned, but Jan smiled at her anyway. “Thanks, I appreciate you trying.”

Parking her suitcase beside the coffee table, she surveyed the lobby wistfully. The windows and doors stood open, the wicker furniture and abundant potted plants blurring the line between indoors and out. The warm, humid breeze drifted through the airy space. Her parched Boston skin soaked it up like a sponge.

To a woman who’d never left New England before, it spelled tropical vacation. And it was slipping through her fingers like sand.

Growing ever gloomier, she wandered out through a side door and into a lush tropical garden—palm trees, hibiscus, a babbling waterfall.

Paradise.

And at its heart, a glittering pool, where six gorgeous feet of lean muscle and tanned skin drifted lazily on a float.

Ignoring everything else, Jan studied the man. Thick black hair, chiseled jaw, half smile curving full lips. And arms, perfect arms, draped over the sides, fingers trailing in the water.

He seemed utterly relaxed, the image of sensual decadence. Put him in an ad for Paradise Inn, and women would flock. Gay men would swarm.

As if sensing her attention, the hunk lifted his head and broke into a smile. “Hey Jan, getcha ass in the water!”

Mick McKenna. Her best and oldest friend.

He rolled off the float and jacked himself out of the pool. Water streamed from gray board shorts as he crossed the flagstones.

Stopping in front of her, he shook his hair like a Labrador.

“Geez! Don’t you ever get tired of that?” She brushed droplets off her white cotton blouse.

He laughed his big happy laugh. “Never have, never will. Get your suit on. The water’s a perfect eighty-six degrees.”

“I can’t. They don’t have a room for me.”

The grin fell off his face. “What the hell?”

“Water damage.” She shrugged like it wasn’t tragic. Like she hadn’t been anticipating this weekend for months.

“They must have another room.” Mick started to go around her, no doubt to raise hell at the desk, McKenna-style.

She stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I tried everything. They’re digging up a room for me somewhere else on the island.”

He tunneled long fingers through his hair. “Take my room,” he said. “You found this place, and it’s great. You should stay here.”

“Forget it. I’m not taking your room.” She wasn’t that pathetic. Mick would give her the shirt off his back, which he’d literally done more than once since they were kids, but she wasn’t taking his room out from under him.

He knew better than to argue with her. Disappointment slumped his shoulders, but he buttoned his lips, looking down at her from troubled eyes bluer than the pool gleaming behind him.

She mustered a smile. “Can I use your bathroom?”

“Sure.”

She followed him inside, down a short hallway, and into a room that was eighty percent bed.

“Yikes. The reviews said the rooms were tiny, but sheesh.”

Mick shrugged. “Who comes to Key West to sit in their room?”

That was Mick. Mr. Brightside.

Author Info

CARA CONNELLY is an award-winning author of contemporary romances. Her smart and sexy stories have won high praise, earning Cara several awards including the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart, the Valley Forge Romance Writers’ Sheila, and the Music City Romance Writers’ Melody of Love. Cara, who lives in rural upstate New York, works as appellate court attorney when she’s not crafting steamy novels of love and romance.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Giveaway

A Save the Date Series Digital Download Ebook Bundle Including:

THE WEDDING DATE, THE WEDDING FAVOR, THE WEDDING VOW and THE WEDDING BAND

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour – DIRTY PAST by Emma Hart

May 7, 2015May 28, 2015 / travelsnreads / Leave a comment

On the heels of Dirty Secret, here is a sizzling hot romance featuring another Burke brother and the girl he can’t resist, from the New York Times bestselling author of the Game series.

Walking out on my wedding wasn’t my best idea.

Neither was throwing my cell in the lake and taking a job as PA for Dirty B, America’s favorite rock band, complete with every teen girl’s dream man, the eldest of the Burke brothers.

Tate Burke is pure sex. Women actually throw their panties at him during shows. And Ella Dawson is the lucky little thing that gets to escort their fangirling butts out when he’s done with them.

Yay.

He’s a cocky son of a bitch, but there’s more to him than meets the eye. Every now and then Ella gets a rare glimpse of the Tate behind the “bad boy” act, and it attracts her in the most annoying way. The most annoying, heart-thumping, panty-wetting way.

When her abusive ex turns up at the hotel room Ella and Tate are sharing, raging mad, she knows she’ll need more than just a little protection. Tate sees red, and Ella can’t help but lean on him, despite his bad-boy ways.

And now? Now, he’s in a whole lot of trouble.

Goodreads

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“I can pay for mine.”

“Sure you can, but I’ve done it now.”

“I’m paying you back.”

“I’m sure you will, Els.”

“Will you stop calling me that?”

“Will you stop lyin’ about why you’re here?”

I inhale slowly when he opens the trunk and puts the shopping in. “I’m not lying.”

“Mhmm.” He pushes the cart to the security guy, who wheels it over the cart shelter. Then he walks to me, slowly, and reaches around my body to the car door. With his fingers curled around the door handle, he leans his face toward mine. “Then why,” he whispers, “don’t you look at me when you tell me?”

I avert my eyes to the side, saying nothing. He’s standing so close to me, and he smells good. Like, really good. Like coffee and cinnamon—warm and comforting. Nothing like the harsh cologne Matthew used to wear, and definitely nothing like the whiskey and cigarette smoke he occasionally smelled like.

“Huh?” he prompts, his voice still a gentle breezing whisper. “That’s what I thought.”

“Leave it alone,” I reply, finally bringing my eyes to meet his. They’re burning into me, thrilling and scary, and it’s all I can do to ignore the shiver that cascades its way down my spine. “Please,” I finish quieter.

“Never.” He steps forward. There’s barely a breath of space between our bodies, and my heart is pounding double-time, but I don’t know why, because this is wrong, he’s wrong. “I will get it out of you, Ella Dawson. I’m dyin’ to know why a pretty little city girl like you is slumming it on a tour bus with a boy band. And, darlin’…” He runs his thumb along my jaw. “I will get it out of you, even if you’re on your back beneath me when I do.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “Still not happening.”

“The telling or the fucking?”

Defiantly, I stare at him, despite the quivering of my hands. “Neither.”

After reading Dirty Secret, I was looking forward to reading about the other Burke brothers. I couldn’t wait to find out which brother was going to be featured in the next story. Dirty Past, the second in the series is Tate Burke’s story.

I enjoyed the match between Tate and Ella. I liked that although the chemistry couldn’t be missed, Ella was a challenge for Tate.

I’m left wondering who will be next, which rocking Burke brother do we get more of in the next book? Looking forward to more and more of the Burke brothers.

DIRTY SECRET

Conner Burke never expected Sofie Callahan to come back.

Where she’s been for the last two and half years is a mystery, and so is the reason she left in the first place. Now, though, she’s back in their hometown of Shelton Bay, South Carolina, at the same time Conner’s band Dirty B is home on a tour break.

Sofie Callahan has spent the months since her father’s death avoiding anything to do with her home town. But with her brother in Afghanistan, she has no choice but to return and sort out her father’s house, even if it means facing the boy she fell in love with and revealing the reason she left.

Conner has questions, and when his broken heart and her guilty one collide, Sofie has to start answering them. Their present is rocky, their future unknown. Only one thing is certain:

Sofie’s daughter will change everything.

Goodreads

AMAZON ** iTunes ** Barnes & Noble ** Blio ** BAM ** Google Play

By day, New York Times and USA Today bestselling New Adult author Emma Hart dons a cape and calls herself Super Mum to two beautiful little monsters. By night, she drops the cape, pours a glass of whatever she fancies – usually wine – and writes books.

Emma is working on Top Secret projects she will share with her followers and fans at every available opportunity. Naturally, all Top Secret projects involve a dashingly hot guy who likes to forget to wear a shirt, a sprinkling (or several) of hold-onto-your-panties hot scenes, and a whole lotta love.

She likes to be busy – unless busy involves doing the dishes, but that seems to be when all the ideas come to life.

Newsletter ** FACEBOOK ** Twitter ** Goodreads ** AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

Cover Reveal – HAPPILY EVER NEVER by Jennifer Foor

May 7, 2015May 7, 2015 / travelsnreads / Leave a comment

I was about to marry the man of my dreams.

We had it all; a life that most could only wish for. I felt like

the luckiest woman in the world.

Then, in the blink of an eye, it was taken from me.

Now I can’t grasp how to move forward.

I don’t even think I want to.

Whether I’m dead or alive, my happily ever after is NEVER going

to happen.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Jennifer Foor is an award winning Contemporary Romance Author. She’s best known for the Mitchell Family Series, which includes ten books.

She is married with two children and spends most of her time behind a keyboard, writing stories that come from her heart.

WEBSITE * FACEBOOK * TWITTER * GOODREADS

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE * TSU * NEWSLETTER

Cover Reveal – ONE TO CHASE by Tia Louise

May 7, 2015May 7, 2015 / travelsnreads / 1 Comment

An ALL-NEW Stand-Alone novel from Bestselling Author Tia Louise!

ONE TO CHASE (One to Hold, #7)

By Tia Louise

Cover Design by Steven Novak, www.novakillustration.com

Photography by Perrywinkle Photography, www.Perrywinklephotography.com

Everywhere June 25!!!

Blurb

Amy Knight, meet Marcus Merritt.

Patrick’s ambitious, over-achieving little sister has just landed an interview with one of the top law firms in Chicago.

The only problem is the sexy, high-powered attorney interviewing her is the same green-eyed player she hooked up with after a certain wedding in Wilmington. He’s also Elaine’s older brother. Is this even legal?!

Complications everywhere, and the more they run, the less it’s clear who’s chasing whom.

A STAND-ALONE, ONE TO HOLD NOVEL. Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18. #SexyLawyer

Pre-order NOW on iTunes

– more links coming soon!

* * *

Exclusive Excerpt

ONE TO CHASE By Tia Louise

*unedited draft; subject to change*

Amy

Everything freezes, including my breath.

I’m pretty sure the shiny brass desk clock on his stupidly large desk even stops ticking.

“What the fuck?” The man, who is most definitely not Edward Merritt, hisses softly.

Years of practice keep me from completely losing it in that moment. I cross my legs and channel all the Gwyneth Paltrow-cool hammered into me from finishing school.

“It’s… You’re…” The Man from Wilmington extends his phone toward me, but he must not’ve had a good grip. It slips like a bar of soap from his hand and arcs through the air straight into my lap.

Thank God for small mercies. I’m snort a laugh, which cuts the tension at once.

“You’re welcome.” With a teasing smile I lift the small black device and place it on the desktop in front of me.

Going forward, I will never forget his response. It’s splendid in its precision. I can’t help but admire his control. Marcus Merritt sits in his leather-studded chair, and his face transforms into a mask of professionalism.

The slightest smile curves the side of his mouth, and a tingle moves across my stomach. “Good catch,” he says.

“It’s not every day I have expensive technology lobbed at me.”

“Sorry. Strenuous call.”

“Opposing counsel?”

“Dry cleaners. They keep breaking my buttons.”

My lips tighten against another laugh, and I fight every urge humming under my skin. Damn him for being as witty as he is attractive.

“You are not Edward Merritt.” It’s a nice, orienting statement.

“Edward is my father.” His brows knit over green-hazel eyes as he looks down at his desk. “Who the fuck is Amalie Knight?”

“My mother was going through a French phase.” I give him a teasing wink, and his eyes flick away from mine fast. If he weren’t so composed, I might take that to mean something.

“So Amy is short for Amalie?”

“Patrick couldn’t say Amalie when he was a little boy.”

His eyebrows rise and he leans back nodding. “Right. Patrick… and Stuart’s little sister.”

His playfulness shuts down, and I refuse to let disappointment rise in my chest. So we have a nice, teasing banter to go with our blazing-hot hook-up sex. I will not be hopping out of any frying pans into any fires. My moment with this “Man in Wilmington” will remain precisely that. A moment. In Wilmington.

Lightening my tone, I force a bright smile and lay it all out there. “My mother and your sister think you can introduce me to all the right people in Chicago.”

“I doubt you need my help with that.” His eyes don’t meet mine. In fact it seems he’s avoiding my eyes now.

“I don’t, but it means a lot to them.”

That makes him look up, but only to my neck. “You’re looking for something in marketing?”

“Yes.” I swipe the screen on my phone. “Give me your number, and I’ll send you my resume. I have a finance degree from Cornell, but I minored in marketing. One of my graduate projects was a rollout for a software design company located in Ithaca. My team won an ADDY for it.”

He leans forward and reaches across the desk. “It’s probably easier if I enter my number.”

His white cuff ends just above his large hand. Neatly trimmed nails… My lip involuntarily catches in my teeth at the memory of those fingers clutching my bare ass, those large hands pulling me against his rock-hard cock, driving deep between my thighs. My back slammed against the wall, his groan in my ear as he came. Shit.

“Sure.” I blink fast, dismissing that red-hot memory as I pass my brushed-gold phone to him. “I’ve opened Messenger. Just enter your number, and I’ll send it to you.”

“We don’t have a full-time PR function in our office.” His voice is apologetic.

“Most smaller firms don’t. It’s a contract service.”

He passes the device back, watching our hands. Our fingers brush lightly, and I swear to god it sparks. Get it together, Amy.

Looking down, I see the digits and debate whether to save them. It’s a recipe for trouble, but I do it. Then I attach my resume and hit send.

“You’ve got it now.” I lift my chin, and… eye contact.

Shit on a stick. He was right in avoiding it. Looking into his smoky hazel gaze, I see all my naughty thoughts reflected right back at me.

“It’s probably best we don’t work together anyway.” Why did I say that?

An eyebrow arches, and that damn sexy grin is back. “Really? How come.” He thinks he’s got me.

“Nepotism.” He can’t honestly think I would grow up in the house of alphas I did and be weak.

“I think we’d have to be related to be accused of nepotism.”

“We practically are. I mean, with Elaine and Patrick and all.”

“My sister, your brother. There’s no relation between us.”

“I suppose that’s a good thing.” Damn my mouth. Standing, I decide it’s time for me to get out of here before I say anything else. “I know you’re busy. Thanks for taking the time to meet with me.”

“I’ll give you a call if I hear anything.” He stands just as fast. “And maybe I’ll see you around.”

My eyes sweep his too-large office as I think. “It seems likely our paths will cross.”

* * *

Meet Marcus & Amy for FREE Today!

RUNAWAY

A One to Chase short prequel.

Just in from Paris…

Just in from Chicago…

Neither Marcus Merritt nor Amy Knight are up for a wedding, especially when it drags one of them back home to old memories and the other to a life left far behind.

A random hook-up seems like a good distraction—it is a wedding after all. Isn’t everyone supposed to hook up?

The latest Merritt-Knight pairing starts off with a bang, but neither party knows where this random is going to lead.

Due to strong language and sexual content, “Runaway” is intended for readers 18 and older only.

Paperbacks on:

Amazon | CreateSpace

* * *

About the Author

Tia Louise is the Amazon and International Bestselling author of the ONE TO HOLD series.

From “Readers’ Choice” nominations, to picking up USA Today “Happily Ever After” nods, to winning a 2014 “Lady Boner Award” (LOL!), nothing makes her happier than communicating with fans and weaving new tales into the Alexander-Knight world of stories.

A former journalist, Louise lives in the center of the USA with her lovely family and one grumpy cat. There, she dreams up stories she hopes are engaging, hot, and sexy, and that cause readers rethink common public locations…

SIGNED COPIES: http://smarturl.it/SignedPBs

Connect with Tia

Get a FREE Bonus Scene from One to Love, and never miss a New Release! Sign up for Tia’s Book News: http://eepurl.com/Lcmv1

Get Exclusive Text Alerts and never miss a Sale or New Release: Text “TiaLouise” to 77948*

*Max 6 messages per month; HELP for help; STOP to cancel; Text and Data rates may apply. Privacy policy available, allnightreads@gmail.com.

* * *

Books by Tia Louise

One to Hold (Derek & Melissa), 2013 – FREE as an eBook!

Amazon | B&N

One to Keep (Patrick & Elaine), 2014

Amazon | B&N

One to Protect (Derek & Melissa), 2014