LOVE, EXES, AND OHS

He may very well be the perfect ex…

Isaac McKnight has had enough loss in his life to know never to take anything for granted. So when the perfectly-imperfect-woman-for-him puts an end to their relationship out of the blue, it’s Isaac that makes sure they remain friends. Now a year later, whether it’s at his gym or her brewpub, or the dog park they visit every weekend–though neither of them own a dog–he and Xoey are steadily getting sucked deeper into buddy-zone galaxy, with its dangerous proximity to watch-me-settle-down-with-someone-else abyss. It’s a reality he’s resigned himself to. That is…until one drunken confession changes everything.

But she’s looking for the perfect oh…

For Xoey Montenegro, history has taught her that sometimes, it’s Prince Charming who vanishes without a trace. And fairytale love? Highly overrated. Heck, give her a real and perfect ‘oh’ over that fantasy any day. So as far as rock-solid tequila-fueled plans for her love life go, coming up with a match-finding formula based on the qualities of the men responsible for her three most epic ohs seems brilliant. Except for the fact that one-third of her genius little man-quation is all about her friend Isaac. Actually, more than a third if Xoey were being honest with herself–which she’s not. Because full honesty would require thinking not just about how perfect Isaac really is, but also about how perfect the fourth epic oh she’s kept buried deep in her past once was.

An easy enough thing to keep ignoring…until her past isn’t past tense anymore.

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EXCERPT

Xoey pulled back and smothered a grimace when she saw it was Sienna’s blind date fix-up for her, aka Mr. Octopus Hands.  Great.

“Griffin, hi.  How are you?” she offered genially.

“Can’t complain,” replied an even louder than she remembered Griffin, who had on a top shelf whiskey slap-happy grin on his face as he swung his glance from her to Isaac.  “So you two are dating now?  Congrats.  Small world.  Though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since you both know Quinn and Luke.”  He slung an arm around Isaac’s shoulder.  “I don’t say this often but in this case, it’s the truth.  I couldn’t have lost out to a better guy.”

Lost out?  Griffin hadn’t even been a contender.

Her thoughts must have been showing through on her expression because Isaac’s mouth twitched up into a tiny grin.

Xoey found herself smiling as well, momentarily giving Mr. Octopus Hands a pass for everything he’d done to earn that moniker.  He had her and Isaac smiling again.  That had to count for something.  So she smiled politely as he continued to disprove the myth that folks don’t actually talk like they do on TV crime shows.

“I’m telling you,” continued Griffin.  “This guy is the greatest.  He saved my ass more than a few times back in business school.  Am I right?”  He triple-patted Isaac’s cheek in that mafia sort of way.

Huh, maybe the guy was just handsy with everyone.  Suddenly, his ass-pats the other week didn’t seem quite so offensive.

“Anyway, I’ll let you two get back to your date.”

Griffin gave her a long lost hug.  “Xoey, it was so great catching up with you.”

Catching up?

She wondered what the atmosphere was like on his happy little planet.  Must be nice.

Another lip twitch came from Isaac.

Man, her poker face clearly needed work.

“And you.”  Griffin did a cheesy double-pointing thing at Isaac.  “You, call me so we can go grab drinks one night with all the guys.  We miss you, man.”

“Yeah, of course.  I’ve been pretty broken up about that, too.”  Isaac mimicked the double-pointing thing, and Xoey just barely held back a burst of laughter

One more triple-pat on Isaac’s cheek and he was off.

“You know, I really have no idea why I chose you over him.”

Isaac chuckled.

“Oh crap,” she sighed.  “He’s coming back this way.  I think the GPS on his space ship might be broken.”

Isaac’s shoulders shook with even more quiet laughter.  “Christ, I’ve missed that quick mind of yours.”

My favorite Violet Duke story to date!  I loved every bit of Love, Exes, and Ohs!  I’ve been waiting for what feels like forever for Xoey’s story.  I couldn’t wait to know more about her.  The titles of the Cactus Creek series have been fun with a perfect fit in each storyline.  I was looking forward to reaching the point in the story where the title would click.

Love, Exes, and Ohs hits just right on everything I want in a friends to lovers romance.  I loved Xoey and Isaac as best friends.  Their attraction is irresistible. I loved the heat between them and Duke delivers some sexy scenes.  There were a couple of twists that pull on the emotions and keep the pages turning.

I will be impatiently waiting to read the next Cactus Creek story.  While I wait I’ll look forward to the next Violet Duke story.

ABOUT VIOLET DUKE:

NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY bestselling author Violet Duke is a former professor of English Education who is ecstatic to now be on the other side of the page writing wickedly fun contemporary romance novels. Her NYT and USA Today bestselling books have been Top 10 bestsellers across the major eretailers both in the US and internationally. When she’s not writing or feeding her book-a-day reading addiction, Violet enjoys tackling reno projects with her power tools, trying pretty much anything without reading the directions first, and cooking ‘special edition’ dishes that laugh in the face of recipes. A born and raised island girl, she spends her days getting into creatively fun trouble in Hawai’i alongside her two cute kids (daughter Violet & son Duke) and similarly adorable husband.

Find the latest on her books and fan giveaways at www.facebook.com/VioletDukeBooks

Thanks so much for having me on your blog!!  I always LOVE chatting with bloggers and fans over on my Facebook page so stop by one of these days!  I make it a point to have my FB page be creatively fun and utterly random most days.  So far, I’ve been highly successful.  🙂

xoxo

V

Risk It
Rule Breakers # 4

By: Jennifer Chance

Releasing June 2^nd, 2015

Loveswept

Jennifer Chance’s Rule Breakers series turns up the heat as a wealthy playboy and a beautiful con artist engage in a high-stakes game of seduction.

As dominating in business as he is in bed, Rand Sterling Winston IV always gets what he wants. And even before he realizes that she’s scammed him into paying triple the cost for her friend’s painting, he wants Dani Michaels. To catch her alone, Rand demands that she personally deliver his purchase. The attraction between them is immediate and electric, and he knows she feels it, too. So when the part-time petty thief rebuffs his advances, he gives her a choice: a night in jail or an evening with him.

Despite her checkered past, Dani has never met someone like Rand: brooding, intense, and oh so tempting. Only a man with a broken soul could make control feel this dangerous. Still, when Rand proposes a no-strings, no-holds-barred affair, Dani’s more than a little intrigued. It’ll be the trickiest con she’s ever run and a chance to indulge her steamiest fantasies—nothing more. But as their encounters grow increasingly intimate, Dani uncovers a vulnerable side to Rand’s steely exterior and opens her heart to the ultimate risk.

Link to Follow Tour:  http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/02/risk-it-rule-breakers-4-by-jennifer.html

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Rand didn’t try to stop her as she exited his office, the door to which was fortunately only locked from the inside. He didn’t say anything at all, in fact, and she felt the familiar rush of satisfaction, also spiced by the familiar taste of danger. This man was bad for her. He made her want to do foolish things.

But if they were foolish things that he couldn’t catch, well . . .

She’d made it all the way to the outer office when she glanced over to the lights on Pearson’s desk. They were flashing red now, but she didn’t think too much about that, given that the woman was gone and there was no one manning the phones. Then she punched the elevator button, and that flashed red as well.

Flashing red elevator buttons were never good.

Shit.

Dani turned to see Rand silhouetted in the doorway of his office, the rain still pounding the glass of the windows behind him. It looked really cold out there, cold and wet. Which wasn’t going to be any fun at all, she had a feeling.

“Miss Michaels, it appears you have removed something from my office.” He held up the letter opener. “I’d thought I’d been quite clever, watching you as closely as I was. But once again, you have proven me wrong.”

Dani shrugged. “Score one for the con.” By his own admission, Rand hadn’t been the one to catch her. The flashing lights on Pearson’s desk console must be some sort of tech, quite a few levels up from the jobs she usually ran. And who microchipped crystal bunnies anyway, for the love of God?

Still, that didn’t mean she had to give in gracefully. He wanted to find the silly thing, that was on him.

Dani lifted her chin as Rand approached, his gaze drifting over her. She felt its scorching heat as he lingered on her neck, her breasts, her legs. “Now where could you have hidden something of mine?” he murmured. “Not your purse, I think. Too simple.”

That did make her smile. “Simple is sometimes smart.”

“And nobody would accuse you of not being smart—usually. And yet, you could have just walked away from my office without any memento at all, and guaranteed that you’d never see me again. Why didn’t you do that, I wonder?” Rand was close enough now to touch her, and he lifted his left hand to Dani’s temple, sliding it down until his fingers rested lightly on her neck, just over the point where her pulse was thumping quickly. Rand’s smile was all the acknowledgement he gave of her reaction, but it was his other hand she focused on as he traced the collar of her zip-fronted dress down, down, until his fingers caressed the small chrome pull between her breasts.

“I seem to recall this was zipped down just slightly further,” he said. “You’ll forgive me if I notice such things.” And with a quick, efficient move, he dipped his fingers into the vee of her neckline and drew out the tiny crystal rabbit, holding it up to the light. His gaze never left hers, however. If he’d tracked the spike in her pulse when his soft fingers had grazed her breasts, he gave no indication.

Dani smiled coolly, also not breaking eye contact. “Well, you got me. Losers walk, so I’m outtie.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not quite so simple as that.”

Rand’s voice was deliberately slow, lazy. As if he knew with each passing word her tension level would ratchet up a notch. “The system is alarmed to notify security automatically in the event of any breach, and given the nature of the work we do here, a uniformed police officer is on duty at all times. Those individuals are even now on their way up to arrest you, as a matter of standard procedure. I can call them off, of course. And I’m more than happy to do so.” His smile grew a little more certain, and Dani felt her back go up. “In exchange for dinner.”

She blinked at him, startled. “You’re going to have me arrested if I don’t go out with you?”

“Not at all.” Rand bent closer, his gaze never leaving hers. “I’m going to have you arrested for attempting to steal an item of extreme sentimental value from me. You will spend the night in jail as I decide what charges I’m willing to press for such a violation of my trust and my personal sense of security.” His lips twisted cynically, but the interest in his eyes was very real. He weighed the small crystal rabbit in his hand as if it were gold bullion. “Or, if you agree to have dinner with me, I’ll call off the police. It’s your choice.”

Dani sighed and shook her head, then leaned up on her toes to caress Rand’s lips with hers, and cup his chin with her hand. He really did have the most unbelievably beautiful mouth, she thought. It fit the rest of his criminally gorgeous face to a tee. She sighed as she eased back down on her platform heels, her fingers dropping to trace his lapel, smoothing his perfect suit against his perfect body. Then she smiled and met his gaze again, noting the hard, intense shot of victory in his eyes.

“I’ll take my chances in jail.”

I’ve enjoyed Jennifer Chance’s Rule Breakers series.  When I had the opportunity to read Risk It, the fourth in the series, I couldn’t wait.

I believe I would have liked both Rand and Dani had I read them as characters in other books.  But I would have been missing out.  They are a great match and make for a ‘could not put down’ read.  The twists and sexy scenes make for a fresh take on what could have been just another of the same.

I’ll be on the lookout for the next Jennifer Chance romance.

Jennifer Chance is the award-winning author of the new adult Rule Breakers series. A lover of books, romance, and happily-ever-afters, she lives and writes in Ohio.

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Jennifer Bernard, the USA Today bestselling author of the Bachelor Firemen series, scores another homerun with a brand-new series about sexy, single baseball players.

Playing for the Kilby Catfish is hotshot pitcher Caleb Hart’s last chance to salvage his career after a major league meltdown. But the day of his opener with the minor league team, Caleb strikes out with the gorgeous woman who is delivering a petition to run the unruly Catfish out of town. Now to stay in the lineup, Caleb will need to score big with the feisty brunette he can’t keep out of his thoughts.

After the nasty lies Sadie Merritt’s rich ex-boyfriend spread about her all over town, she’s lucky to have a job at all. She can’t afford to screw it up by falling for the player who is supposed to be helping her change the image of the fun-loving Catfish. But that’s easier said than done when Caleb’s voice alone is enough to make her pulse race. And when he surprises her with a mind-blowing kiss, she knows there’s no turning back.

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Excerpt 

Caleb made her lose her head, plain and simple.

 Sadie rested her forehead against his chest, amazed all over again by the firmness of his toughened muscles. The heat of his body contrasted with the cool water in the most heavenly way. “Maybe I didn’t think this all the way through.”

“Are you telling me a dumb baseball player got the better of a brilliant future law student? Nah.” He bent his head so he could nuzzle her hair. “You smell nice. Like water lilies.”

She smelled hot man, mixed with lake water and sun-baked mesquite. Somehow they’d drifted away from the gravelly edge, so the stench of mud wasn’t as prominent. She felt so dreamy and secure, held tight in Caleb’s arms as they floated aimlessly in the lake. He grinned down at her, the light reflected off the lake water turning his eyes a soft, clear blue. Sun glinted in his hair, spangled with crystal drops of water. He really was a remarkably beautiful man. Everything seemed to still while she soaked in the details of his powerful physique, his rawboned handsomeness, the flash of vulnerability in his eyes.

She could really lose herself in him. Completely and utterly. Never before had she felt anything close to that.

“Dream on,” she told him, and flipped out of his arms. She dove under the surface, letting the slide of water through her hair and across her body wash away the effects of that alarming moment.

She’d always loved to swim, and it took only a few moments to put distance between herself and Caleb. But he wasn’t a professional athlete for nothing, and within moments he was splashing in her wake.

Shrieking with breathless laughter, she flung herself backward, as if onto a watery couch. He grabbed an ankle, and she flipped to her stomach, kicking hard. But it was no use; she felt herself being inexorably pulled toward him, his wonderfully big hands reeling her in.

And then there she was, snuggled against his chest again. It rose and fell with his rapid breaths. “There, that’s better,” he said with satisfaction, the words rumbling against her ear. “I kinda like this whole fishing thing.”

“No fair, I got distracted,” she protested, turning her body in the circle of his arms so she could see his face. Water streamed from his hair, down his neck to his wide shoulders. His eyelashes clung together, so his eyes looked bluer than ever. “I’d forgotten how much I love swimming in this lake.”

“It’s starting to grow on me too. Or at least something is.”

She giggled, and then, as a grin split his face, started laughing. As he watched her something shifted in his expression. His goofy smile vanished, replaced by an intent, hungry look. His head lowered, eyes glittering. The rest of the world receded, so only his face remained, coming closer and closer to hers, his mouth reaching for her …

Oh wow. He was going to kiss her.

And then he was kissing her. His lips burned against hers, sending pure shock throughout her body. Kisses didn’t feel like that. They didn’t turn your lips to fire, they didn’t liquefy your lungs so you could barely breathe. They didn’t make you dizzy.

She pulled away with a gasp, still in his embrace, their faces close enough so she felt his quickened breathing. Caleb looked just as stunned as she felt, his eyes gone dark and gray as a hurricane. For a long moment the two of them just stared at each other, poised on the edge of the unknown. Water lapped against her hips, and a breath of air kissed her shoulder. Everywhere her body touched Caleb’s, heat seared.

And then they were on each other again. He seemed to consume her, exploring her mouth with long sweeps of his tongue that left sparkling trails of heat in their wake. He tasted so wonderful, like summer days, like fireflies and bicycling down dusty back roads, like every time she’d laid on her back in a meadow and dreamed about the future.

Little whimpers rose from her throat. She pulled her mouth from his, her cheek brushing across his stubbly chin, its roughness sending more shocks through her. His grip loosened and she slid down his body until she stood on the lake bottom, pressed against him from head to toe. The huge bulge in his briefs made her feel a little faint.

“Sweet Jesus,” he whispered as she nibbled on his jaw. She couldn’t help it; she wanted to eat him up. “You’re making me crazy. We can’t do this here.”

“Shh.” She didn’t want to talk. She wanted this all-consuming, crazy conflagration that she’d never even imagined before. Tugging at his shoulders, she rose on tiptoe, brushing her lips against his again. With a heartfelt groan, he gave in.

All of Me is the first in Jennifer Bernard’s Love Between the Bases series.  She hits a homerun with this baseball romance.  I loved the chemistry between Caleb and Sadie.  Bernard weaves enough drama and angst with steamy, sexy times while giving readers likable characters that will keep them turning pages.

This was my first Jennifer Bernard but won’t be the last.  I’m looking forward to more in her Love Between the Bases series.  In the meantime, I’ll have to catch up with her firefighters.

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Jennifer Bernard is the USA Today bestselling author of the Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriels series. She is a graduate of Harvard and a former news promo producer. The child of academics, she confounded her family by preferring romance novels to … well, any other books. She left big city life for true love in Alaska, where she now lives with her husband and stepdaughters. She’s no stranger to book success, as she also writes erotic novellas under a naughty secret name not to be mentioned at family gatherings.

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Last of the Red-Hot Riders
Hell’s Outlaws # 2

By: Tina Leonard

Releasing May 26, 2015

Loveswept

The toughest rodeo rider in Hell, Texas, discovers his tender side with a feisty cowgirl in this sexy new novel from USA Today bestselling author Tina Leonard.                                                                                                                                                       

Cameron Dix knows that becoming an elite rider is the first step to realizing her dream: owning a special-needs equestrian academy. Only one thing stands in her way—and he’s big, tall, and sizzles like a Texas steak. Superhunk Saint Markham claims that he isn’t happy about all the women galloping into town, but the heat in his eyes tells Cameron a different story. What else can a fiery redhead do but let her hair down and give in to desire hot enough to melt her saddle?

Saint has seen what happens when women come marching into the Hell’s Outlaws Training Center: Strong men crumble. Problem is, he’s got rivals willing to train a talented lady rider like Cameron. But after one night of passion, he’s branded. And from the moment he kisses her ruby lips, Cameron is his—even if he’s too stubborn to admit it. Now Saint must stake his claim on a life of delicious sin with the woman he loves.

Link to Follow Tour:  http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/02/last-of-red-hot-riders-hells-outlaws-2.html

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“What the hell was that?” Declan asked, making his way into the booth not a full minute after Cameron had departed it.

“What was what?” Saint was still trying to figure out what had just happened. His brain couldn’t stop wondering how a man who refused to give a woman what she wanted suddenly got the daylights smooched out of him.

It had been awesome.

Maybe saying no was the key to a woman’s heart.

“Cameron kissed you. I saw her as I came in.” Declan gazed closely at him. “You look shell-shocked, buddy.”

He was torn all to hell. “It was just a friendly peck.”

“It was not a friendly peck. Pecks last no more than two seconds, and usually only one. That little lady stayed on your face for a good five seconds, not that I was counting.” Declan laughed. “It’s just that when you’ve been a bullrider, your brain automatically counts. Definitely five seconds, brother. Three seconds more than friendly.”

“She wants me to train her out at Rory’s.”

“Oh.” Declan ordered a beer from Stephen, and the dinner of the night. You could order whatever you wanted from Stephen, but you’d get served what he wanted to give you. That was another one of Stephen’s quirks. Though the food could be good on a rare occasion, most times it could be barely digestible. But no one complained—everyone was just here for the companionship, anyway. “That redhead’s a firecracker, isn’t she?”

“Something like that.”

Saint could tell Declan was trying not to laugh, didn’t want to rub it in too much, though he obviously found the situation pretty funny.

“You know you’re going to give in eventually.”

“Don’t think so.” Saint lifted his beer to his mouth, barely tasted it going down. All he could taste were soft, sweet, raspberry-colored lips.

“Oh, you will. It just depends upon how hard you plan to fight it.”

“Pretty damn hard. All of us agreed, when Judy first came to us with her dumb idea for a team of Hell’s Belles, that we, the Outlaws, do not train women.”

“Rules are made to be broken. At least from Cameron’s perspective.”

He shrugged. “She’ll have to break them elsewhere.”

“This is exactly what got us in trouble last time with the Horsemen,” Declan said,

referring to their rivals across town. “The Hell’s Belles can train at Wild Jack’s with the Horsemen, probably for just about nothing.”

“The girls will never go out there again. We’re the only game in town, if Judy’s team is serious about training.”

“They’re serious. But if we won’t, they’ll find a way to make it happen.”

He heard the worry in Declan’s voice. “Look, just because Ava managed to make her way into the arena as a bullfighter doesn’t mean that’s going to become our business model. Judy needs to find something else to do with her team. That’s her problem, not ours.”

“I like it.” Declan nodded, considering Saint’s words. “You’re right. Judy’s issue can’t become ours.”

“Exactly.” Saint felt better, relaxed against the booth. They were a team, and this time they were sticking to the plan, the one they should have stuck to originally—which was no training women to bullfight at the Hell’s Outlaws Training Center.

No matter how sweet the kisses.

Tina Leonard delivers a well-written, character driven romance.  Saint and Cameron share a chemistry that is hot and not to be missed.  I loved that Last of the Red-Hot Riders is filled with characters that have you wanting to more about them and Hell, Texas.  This second book in the Hell’s Outlaws series is a fun, sexy read that I didn’t want to end.

USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author Tina Leonard has sold over 3 million books, making the USA Today, Waldenbooks, Bookscan, and Ingrambook bestseller lists, and publishing over seventy titles. Her work has been contracted by Random House Loveswept, Samhain Publishing, Harlequin, London Bridge, and most recently Diversion Books. Leonard is known for her sparkling sense of humor, endearing communities, snappy dialogue, and memorable characters that include sexy hunks with attitude and heroines with plenty of sass. Join her at www.tinaleonard.com

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