Friday, June 10, 2016

Blitz & Giveaway: #Swag by Cambria Herbert


#Swag
Cambria Hebert
(GearShark, #3)
Publication date: June 10th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance, Sports
These drivers got #swag…
Racing is in her DNA.
Right alongside money and power.
When you’re the daughter of one of the most powerful men in the country,
you have to work harder for success.
Joey Gamble’s a girl on a male-dominated track.
With a daddy who can buy whatever she wants.
But she doesn’t want anything… except to EARN her reputation.
Racing is his passion.
Trouble follows him everywhere. Some even say he invites it.
When you’re nipping at the taillights of the best driver in the new NRR,
you have to fight and claw for each and every success.
It’s never been easy for Lorhaven.
That’s why he doesn’t play by the rules.
He’s a man with a serious chip on his shoulder against the pro racing circuit.
We at GearShark want to know what’s up with that.
We’ve also been hearing rumblings…
of a pro who wants to go indie.
We’ve invited racing royalty and the driver from the wrong side of the tracks to sit down and talk to us about a possible crossover.
We expected sparks to fly when Joey and Lorhaven crossed paths.
Will those sparks ignite into a full-on inferno?
Read an excerpt of #SWAG here!
swagteaser10 swagteaser4


Author Bio:
Cambria Hebert is an award winning, bestselling novelist of more than twenty books. She went to college for a bachelor’s degree, couldn’t pick a major, and ended up with a degree in cosmetology. So rest assured her characters will always have good hair.
Besides writing, Cambria loves a caramel latte, staying up late, sleeping in, and watching movies. She considers math human torture and has an irrational fear of chickens (yes, chickens). You can often find her running on the treadmill (she’d rather be eating a donut), painting her toenails (because she bites her fingernails), or walking her chorkie (the real boss of the house).
Cambria has written within the young adult and new adult genres, penning many paranormal and contemporary titles. Her favorite genre to read and write is romantic suspense. A few of her most recognized titles are: The Hashtag Series, Text, Torch, and Tattoo.
Cambria Hebert owns and operates Cambria Hebert Books, LLC.

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Review & Giveaway: Come What May by A.M. Arthur


Come What May (All Saints, #1)

Title: Come What May
Author: A.M. Arthur
Series: All Saints #1
Version Reviewed: ARC, eBook
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
Jonas needs Tate. He just doesn't know it yet.
Or at least, he doesn't want to admit it. Because there is no way Jonas Ashcroft is gay. He's a straight, carefree frat boy player, just like any good son of a conservative state senator. If only his struggle to convince everyone—especially himself—didn't leave him so miserable. No matter how many girls or bottles he drowns himself in, Jonas can neither escape nor accept who he is.
Enter Tate. He's smart, confident, and instantly sees right through Jonas's surly exterior. Sure, he's done things in life he's not proud of, but he knows who he is and what he wants. And what he wants is Jonas. As their easy friendship intensifies into something more, Tate introduces Jonas to a life he's never known. One filled with acceptance and sex and a love that terrifies and excites them both.
But some inner demons refuse to be shaken off so easily. When Jonas's old life barges in, he faces a shattering choice, one that could destroy everything he and Tate have fought so hard for. Sometimes love just isn't enough—and sometimes it's exactly what you need.


Review:
I haven't been accepting review requests or taking on review copies for tours and stuff unless they're written by authors that I know and love, simply because I already have a huge TBR pile of review books and ARCs that I need to get through. Seriously, it's bad. But when I saw the cover of this book come through my email from Kismet and read the synopsis, I knew I had to give it a try. I love LGBTQIA books but I don't read many. It's just my opinion, but quite often the ones that do come through are poorly written and the characters jump straight to bed, do the dirty, maybe one conflict and they're done. I'm not really a fan of that. When I read books with couples of the same sex (or any type of characters, really) I want the delicious bedrooms scenes to be heightened by the build up. I want to feel something other than just turned on.

I'm happy to say that Come What May did not disappoint. I admit that I did think the story, relation-ship wise, went a little fast. At times it felt like Jonas moved a little too quickly into the lifestyle he'd apparently always fought against. At the beginning of the story, we really got no hint that Jonas was gay and I assumed that he was unaware of it at well. The way he internalized with himself as well as the way he interacted with Tate. Very quickly however, he was admitting to Tate that he had always known, to some degree, that he was gay and that he had pretty much spent his life repressing it. I do feel like that was a little odd at times. He kind of went from end of the spectrum to the other in a super short amount of time.

I also love that this story dealt with some serious issues. I know quite a few people that either question their sexuality or identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, etc. and I fucking HATE that a teenager, child, or even adult has to fear being thrown away by the people that should love them and support them the most because of who they are. I hate it so much. That is a kind of pain and suffering that someone is not able to understand fully unless they experience for themselves. Some of us end up never letting the people closest to us know who we fully are because we're afraid. And that sucks. No one should have to feel this way.  I love that the Jonas and Tates story tackled that fully, from the shelter that Tate runs for homeless teens to the battle Jonas has to fight with his own father and mother. It was real and definitely important to the story.

Overall, I think this was a beautiful love story. The character were absolutely amazing and I fell in love with them. I'm curious as to what the author has in store for them in the rest of the All Saints series.

Rating: 4 Stars.

Excerpt
[Tate] bypassed the washer and dryer and sorting table, then knocked of Jonas’s door. Gave it to the count of five before turning the knob. Jonas was stretched out on a messy sofa bed, earbuds in and eyes shut. The same thing he did most nights, only this time he was hiding in his room instead of lingering on the back porch.
Tate closed the door, then leaned against it. Crossed his arms. Being alone in a room with the object of his interest maybe wasn’t the best plan, but it wasn’t as if Tate was going to pounce on the guy. He’d probably get punched in the face. Jonas wasn’t ripped but he wasn’t a slouch, either.
Not that Tate couldn’t defend himself. He’d learned how fast when he’d made the choice to hustle so his sisters and Mom could eat.
He gave Jonas a few minutes to notice him, until boredom set in. Done with the subtle approach, Tate marched over and bounced down onto the foot of the bed.
Jonas yelped as he jack-knifed into a sitting position, eyes flying open. His surprise shifted into a dark glare. “Jesus Christ, Tate, really?”
“Why are you avoiding me?”
“I didn’t feel like sitting outside. Doesn’t mean I’m avoiding you.”
“Nice deflection. We’re adults, Jonas. We can talk about what happened in the apartment.”
“Nothing happened in the apartment.”
“No?”
“No.”
Jonas’s glare was on full-force, but behind it was the hunger that Tate had glimpsed upstairs. It gave Tate hope that he hadn’t read Jonas wrong.
“Doris and Raymond know I’m gay,” Tate said.
“And?”
“And it wouldn’t be a big deal to them that you are too, and don’t tell me you’re not.”
Jonas crossed his arms. “What’s the point? You don’t listen to me anyway.”
“Talk to me,” Tate said. “People say I’m a good listener. Especially Addyson. When she gets going, I can’t get a word in edge-wise.”
Jonas’s lips twitched, then flattened. “I can’t be gay.”
“Why not? Dude, it’s not exactly a choice. It’s who you are.”
“Maybe, maybe not. But even if I was, it doesn’t mean I have to act on the impulse. Plenty of gay men stay in the closet, marry women, and have families.”
And are completely miserable their entire lives.
“Plenty of gay men leave the closet, marry men, and have families. Marriage is for all of us now, or didn’t you get the memo?”
Jonas drew his knees to his chest, as if needing his legs to shield himself.
Tate shifted a little closer. “Are you scared of what your parents will think?”
Bingo. Jonas dropped his forehead onto his knees, but not before Tate caught the flash of pain in his eyes.
“They won’t accept it, will they?” Tate asked.

Jonas shook his head. Tate’s heart broke for him.


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Thursday, June 9, 2016

Blitz & Giveaway: Three, Two, One (321) by JA Huss


Three, Two, One (321)
J.A. Huss
Publication date: January 27th 2015
Genres: Dark Romantic Suspense
ONE GIRL
Battered, barefoot, and huddled under a bookstore awning in the pouring rain, Blue only knows one thing. After fifteen months of captivity, finally… she is free.
TWO FRIENDS
Self-made millionaires JD and Ark are not out to save anyone when they stumble upon a wet and shivering girl one early Sunday morning. But when you sell sex for a living and salvation rings your bell… you answer the call.
THREE SOULMATES
After years of searching, love lifts the veil of darkness, and three people—with three very big secrets—find themselves bound together in a relationship that defies the odds.
Or does it?
Love. Lust. Sex.
This trinity might be perfection… but not everything should come in threes.
WARNING: This is a STANDALONE non-traditional M/F/M ROMANCE with a non-traditional ending.
One week only – 99¢ for first time ever!
Buy the eBook for 99¢ and get the full audiobook version for only $3.47.
If you already own the eBook, you still get the discount audiobook price with Whispersync!
321_AUDIO_PROMO
CAUTION: If you thought this book was stop-your-heart-sexy in print, just wait until you hear Sebastian York narrate the sexy scenes between JD, Ark, and Blue.! DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS BOOK IN PUBLIC, IN FRONT OF CHILDREN, OR YOUR HUSBAND (unless you listen together and want to get lucky!)
—
EXCERPT:
I walk quietly over to the door and press my ear against it to listen. I can hear the clicking of a computer keyboard, then the rolling wheels of a chair. Finally soft footsteps as he pads towards the doors. I back away, afraid of being caught. But he doesn’t slide them open. Instead, the lights flick off and then his footsteps retreat. I hear the crack of a beer bottle being opened, and then a sigh.
I slide the doors apart, just enough to peek inside.
There’s a large monitor on the desk sitting on front of a wall of windows. And on the screen are the images he took of me this morning. Of JD and me. And of the three of us out on the terrace. They flip by, hundreds of them, at least. Maybe thousands. I look over at the couch where he’s sitting with a beer propped up on his leg, staring at me.
“You can look at them if you come in here to do it.”
I don’t know how he wants me to respond, so I’m unsure if I want to look at them or run back to JD’s room and hide.
“I’m sorry about that,” Ark says, clearing his throat. “It’s just… JD stopped thinking about her, ya know? It took him so fucking long to stop thinking about her. And now here you are with a clue. And…”
I step into the room.
“And he’s gonna go looking for shit again, I just know it.”
I take another step towards him and Ark pats the space on the couch next to him. “I love these pictures. Come look at them with me.”
I take two more steps, and then I’m within arm’s reach and he slips his hand in mine.
My body shivers from his touch, but I let him pull me the rest of the way, and take a seat as he lets go. My butt is barely perched on the cushion, my hands in my lap, my body on high alert in case he wants to hurt me.
But he doesn’t. He surprises me by scooting away, propping his back against the armrest, and stretching out his legs behind me. They are long and in the way, so now I can’t lean back.
He takes a swig from his beer. “I saw you this morning. God, has it only been one day?” I know what he means. It feels like I’ve been in their house forever. “And answers were the last thing on my mind, Blue. I mean, fuck. I’d given up, just like JD. I gave up a while back, actually. Just accepted that this was the way things were. The way my life was gonna go. But fuck.”
I don’t know what any of that means, but I take that it’s not good by the way he finishes the beer and then throws it across the room, where it lands cleanly in an open-top trash can near the desk. “Get me another one, will you?”
I look down at him and squint.
He stares back. His eyes are bleary, and red, and now that I look closely, tired. Not tired like he needs sleep. But tired in a way I can relate to. The kind of tired where your body feels heavy and your mind feels empty. “Never mind,” he says in a soft voice that I’ve never heard before. He says it, but he doesn’t stop staring.
“What?” I ask, getting uncomfortable.
“Why’d you come in here?”
“I was…” I was looking for my money so I could leave. But this guy. These guys… they are pulling me towards them somehow. JD and his charm. Ark and his distance. And despite the fact that they take advantage of girls for a living, they feel very… vulnerable. It feels precarious. Like the whole thing might come crashing down at any moment. Like they are held together by some invisible thread. And not some mental connection or shared experience, either. Although I have no doubt they have all that too.
Held together by a thread that’s invisible because it’s nearly gone.
We are alike, then. Aren’t we?
Three people brought together by the early-morning rain.
Two of us clinging together, trying to stick it out. Ride the wave until it crashes, and then help each other up to start all over again.
One of us already dead. Still walking, but not living. Waiting to be saved. Or maybe wanting to be the one who does the saving.
650di review


Author Bio:
JA Huss is the USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty romances. She likes stories about family, loyalty, and extraordinary characters who struggle with basic human emotions while dealing with bigger than life problems. JA loves writing heroes who make you swoon, heroines who makes you jealous, and the perfect Happily Ever After ending.
You can chat with her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AuthorJAHuss), Twitter (@jahuss), and her blog, New Adult Addiction (www.jahuss.com).
If you’re interested in getting your hands on an advanced release copy of her upcoming books, sneak peek teasers, or information on her upcoming personal appearances, you can join her newsletter list (http://eepurl.com/JVhAr) and get those details delivered right to your inbox.

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