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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