Sunday, January 31, 2016

FIGHTING SOLITUDE (On The Ropes, #3) by Aly Martinez: Review by Lys (edited)

Fighting Solitude (On the Ropes, #3)Fighting Solitude by Aly Martinez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have so many emotions pulsing through me right now. I couldn't wait to read Quarry's story, and now that I have, I'm sad that I did. I fell in love with these Page boys from the very start in Fighting Silence. Each of them having a unique personality, but all of them consuming my heart in different ways. To know that this is the conclusion to this beloved series, well...it's bittersweet.

Just as I assumed, Quarry's story shattered my heart and mended it in a way that only Aly Martinez can. As Quarry struggled to overcome immense guilt and survive a love lost, I found myself sobbing as if I too could feel his pain. I was nervous as to how he would find love again, especially after my emotional heart was drawn to Mia, but I underestimated the unaltered connection between Quarry and Liv. My mistake, after all...she was a James. I should have known that her spitfire attitude, her heart of gold, and her father's sense of humor would surpass all boundaries Quarry set for himself. Watching these two find their way back to each other warmed my heart and put a silly smile back on my face.

More than anything, I appreciated how Quarry's love for Mia was never diminished or made to seem less important than it really was. I loved how Aly brought everything full circle, gave us peace, and showed us how everything works out just as it is supposed to in the end. Quarry and Liv were meant to be together. They had a love that stood the test of youth, heartache, and time.

Fighting Solitude is definitely a MUST read as ALL Aly Martinez books are. Aside from being an emotional story, it is filled with love, humor, and suspense. Not to mention some super sexy scenes! As much as I loved Quarry and Flint, Till has always owned my heart. His P.O.V....it was EPIC. I LOVED every single word. For me, it was EVERYTHING. I felt his love. His pride. His exhale.♥

The On The Ropes series is my most favorite of all fighter series. Though I'm sad to see it end, I am excited to read what's next from this brilliant author.

♥ Review by Lys

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***NEW COVER!*** ABSOLUTION by L.P. Lovell & Stevie J. Cole




Title: Absolution
Authors: LP Lovell & Stevie J. Cole
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Cover Design: Ikonic Imagery
Photographer: Wander Aguiar
Model: Garrick Murdie  
 Release Date: January 11, 2016



Blurb

Evelyn

I pray to be forgiven for my sins, but the prayers of someone like me won't dare breach the edge of heaven.

Sins. All sins are equal in the eyes of God, but I'm not God. Some sins are far more wretched than others. And those sinners should pay, Evelyn. One sinner made me his sin, and I can't let men like him live. They must face their judgement, Evelyn. I want to kill them. Every. Last. One.

Ezra James is no different, and I wanted to kill him, I needed to kill him, I'm was going to kill him...And then I found myself fascinated by him, obsessed and possessed in the most reverent of ways. I became his sinner, and he became my sin, but the wages of sin is death, so I must kill him.

Ezra

The son of a whore, raised by gangsters, moulded into a key player in a corrupt world ruled by money and completely without morals.

This world can break a person. I’ve seen it time and time again. I never gave a shit, until the night I watched a man drop dead at the feet of a woman so broken she made even me feel whole. My little killer called to my depravity and everything in me demanded that I take her, possess her, own her.

Some monsters hide behind the faces of angels, where others stand in plain sight.

Damned. Broken. Irredeemable.


Through blood, absolution shall be found.





Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU






LP Lovell

Lauren Lovell is an indie author from England. She suffers from a total lack of brain to mouth filter and is the friend you have to explain before you introduce her to anyone, and apologise for afterwards.

She's a self-confessed shameless pervert, who may be suffering from slight peen envy.



Author Links

FACEBOOK
TWITTER
GOODREADS



Stevie J. Cole

Stevie J. Cole is a secret rock star. Sex, drugs and, oh wait, no, just sex. She’s a whore for a British accent and has an unhealthy obsession with Russell Brand. She and LP plan to elope in Vegas and breed the world’s most epic child.



Author Links

TWITTER
GOODREADS





Giveaway

Friday, January 29, 2016

Black by T.L. Smith ~ New Release and Giveaway !!!


black release day
✦✦✦✦ NEW RELEASE + GIVEAWAY ✦✦✦✦
*KINDLE FIRE + AMAZON GIFT CARD*

Blurb 
I am loyal, but I will betray you. 
I am strong, but I have scars. 
I am an angel, but the devil. 
I met her when I was sixteen and she was a breath of fresh air. She swooped in, making me smile. But then she left, taking my next breath with her. 
Her smile could light up a room, making my black heart pitter patter. 
I found her again ten years later, with a syringe in her arm. 
Blood coming from between her legs. 
She was broken and I was glad she was broken. She wouldn't think less of me and my damaged ways. 


black release day



One Click here
Amazon.com ➜ http://amzn.to/1nIpWAl
✦ Amazon.com.auhttp://bit.ly/1IX2CJ1
Amazon.co.ukhttp://amzn.to/1ZUI73E
Applehttp://apple.co/1XAEIZX
 ✦ B&N➜http://bit.ly/1OHUFYs





 Review by Juls


5 Stars!!


“They say I bring nothing but black, darkness. Though, when I’m with you, all I see is color, and fuck, it’s the best thing I’ve ever seen, Rose,”


I loved Black and Rose's story! By the end, I was in tears! Rose was the only one that was able to get through Black's hard exterior. He was a man that brought fear to everyone, but Rose didn't let that get in her way. I liked when Black would tell Rose not to do something but she would still do it. By doing that, she was breaking him down little by little, showing him that he really did have a heart. I know...talking about Black and saying that he had a heart in the same sentence might sound wrong, but I saw his heart just like Rose! One of my favorite parts was when Rose described love to Black...

“How do you love someone? Is it a feeling? Is it knowing?”

“It feels like when you’re not with that person that something is missing. It feels like something inside you is crying. It feels like more than words can describe. You don’t know when you love someone, love is just a word. You feel it, you feel it like something is ripped into you, taken over, and holds something in you that no other can replace.”

I loved how she described love! That's exactly how I would say love is too. As for the ending, like I said, it brought tears to my eyes! A part of the ending upset me, but after it was all said and done, I can see why it ended like that. So for now, I will try to wait as patiently as I can for book 2 because I NEED it NOW!!



GIVEAWAY. HOW TO WIN. 
JUMP ON OVER HERE AND SCROLL DOWN TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY. KINDLE FIRE GIVEAWAY + AMAZON GIFT CARD
 ➜http://tlsmithauthor.com/coming-soon/black-prologue/





Thursday, January 28, 2016

***Cover Reveal!*** RoomHate by Penelope Ward!

RoomHate  
(A standalone)

A Contemporary Romance novel

New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author
Penelope Ward

Cover designer: Letitia Hasser, r.b.a designs

roomhate full.jpg



Add RoomHate to your TBR list on Goodreads!


Pre-order your copy on iBooks HERE:

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RELEASE DATE: February 15, 2016
roomhate cover.jpg
Blurb
From New York Times Bestselling Author, Penelope Ward, comes a new standalone novel.

Sharing a summer house with a hot-as-hell roommate should be a dream come true, right?

Not when it’s Justin…the only person I’d ever loved…who now hates me.

When my grandmother died and left me half of the house on Aquidneck Island, there was a catch: the other half would go to the boy she helped raise.

The same boy who turned into the teenager whose heart I broke years ago.

The same teenager who’s now a man with a hard body and a hardass personality to match.

I hadn’t seen him in years, and now we’re living together because neither one of us is willing to give up the house.

The worst part? He didn’t come alone.

I’d soon realize there’s a thin line between love and hate. I could see through that smug smile. Beneath it all…the boy is still there. So is our connection.

The problem is…now that I can’t have Justin, I’ve never wanted him more.

Author's note – RoomHate is a full-length standalone novel. Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

RoomHate Teaser 2.jpg


Meet Penelope Ward

PENELOPE WARD.jpg
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 11-year-old girl with autism and a 9-year-old boy. Penelope and her family reside in Rhode Island.

          
Other books from Penelope Ward

Sins of Sevin

Cocky Bastard

Stepbrother Dearest

Gemini
Jake Undone (Jake #1)
My Skylar
Jake Understood (Jake #2)






THANK YOU!

** BLOG TOUR ** IF ONLY by Beckie Stevenson











Our story started like the fairytales you grew up reading, but it doesn’t end like them.

I was fifteen when I realised I was in love with Cole. He was the foster kid who wore scruffy clothes and never had any money. He was the bad boy, the fighter. The boy who took all the dares—and won. He was the boy that scared me but excited me at the same time. He was the boy I shouldn’t have wanted, but, of course, he was the one I wanted the most.

In the beginning, he was mine. And I was his.
Cole and Evie. Evie and Cole.

But then a lie was told. Lies break people. And broken people shatter into little pieces of tortured pasts and fractured futures.

And then our fairytale beginning morphed into a story of heartache and sadness, instead of happiness and hope. A story that ended with lost love, friendship, and a never-ending cycle of what ifs and if onlys.

Our ending broke me. Shattered me. Destroyed me.
When a story ends like ours did, is it any wonder I never wanted to start a new one again?






Amazon UK **  Amazon US  

**  Amazon CA **  Smashwords





Prologue

Evie

Eight years ago


Scorching hot tears streak down my freezing cold cheeks and snake into the corner of my mouth as I walk over the sleet-covered field. When my eyes land on our tree, I suck in a big breath and pull it deep into my lungs, hoping it’ll be enough to suffocate the ball of dread that’s swirling around in my chest.
This used to be a place full of happy memories…the place where I played tag with my brother and best friend until long after the sun had set, the place where I grew from a girl into a young woman, and the place that I ran to when I needed to escape. It’s also where I met Cole for our first date. And where I’m standing now is the exact spot where we shared our first kiss.
But the memories I used to love and cherish are now tainted with anger that boils so fiercely within me that I know I’ll never set foot in this place again after today. It’s something else that he’s ruined for me and something else I hate him for.
I look up and watch the branches of the oak tree bend and whine in the wind as if crying out for me to not do this. I touch the trunk where our initials are carved into the middle of a heart and cough out another huge sob. Cole and Evie won’t be forever. Not now.
I tip my head back, letting the ends of my hair tickle the bottom of my spine, and stare at the angry clouds through the bare branches. The icy-cold rain pelts me from every angle, soaking right through my thin coat until it settles deep into my bones. It pours down my face and mingles with my tears as if it’s trying to hide them for me. I want to shout out that it’s useless, that nothing can hide my tears. I should know because I’ve been trying to hide them every single day for the last five weeks.
I turn when I hear footsteps. The sight of him in a suit momentarily stuns me. It’s far too big for him and looks a little cheap, but he’s still incredibly handsome in it. I’ve never seen him in a suit before, and I can’t get over how much it ages him. For just a few seconds, I let myself imagine my hands pushing the jacket over his shoulders and then unbuttoning his shirt.
“You came,” he says in a voice that’s so familiar to me, I cling to it like a child clings to a comfort blanket.
I shake my head to try and dislodge the images that are whirling through my mind. I’m not supposed to be thinking of him like that. “Yes,” I answer.
“I didn’t think you would.” When he steps closer, I notice that he has tears falling down his cheeks too. “How was the funeral? I wish I had been there. I wanted to be there.”
“Don’t,” I say. “I don’t want to talk about it with you.”
He nods, looking sad. “I’ve missed you so much,” he whispers, reaching his hand out for me. “The last five weeks have felt like five years.”
I take a step back and collide with the trunk of the tree. Hurt flashes across his face.
“I’m confused and I’m hurting,” I blurt before he takes another step towards me. I want to tell him the truth, but I’m scared. I’m scared he won’t understand.
“Confused about what, Evie?”
“I love you,” I breathe, wiping away a fresh set of tears with the back of my hand. “But now I hate you, and I don’t think I will ever be able to forgive you for what you’ve done.” The ball of pain that’s lodged itself in the centre of my chest cracks and starts to bleed down into my stomach, filling it was so much hurt that it makes me feel sick. And then my heart breaks all over again as I see his bottom lip tremble.
“No, Evie,” he whispers. “Please don’t say that.”
“I’m so sorry,” I sob. “I’m sorry, Cole.”
He shakes his head, causing the damp strands to flick across his forehead. “No,” he repeats, “I’m sorry. If only—”
“That’s it,” I interrupt. “That’s what we’d be saying for the rest of our lives, and I can’t live like that. I won’t live like that.”
He swears and pushes his fingers through his wet, dark hair. His skin normally looks tanned and clear, but today it’s pale and blotchy. His light brown eyes that usually sparkle and shine at me look dull and lifeless. He looks like crap.
“I don’t ever want to see you again,” I whisper.
Anger flashes across his face as he drops his hands from his head and looks down at me. “So this is it?” he snaps. “The last three years have meant nothing to you?”
“They’ve meant everything to me…everything.”
He takes a deep breath and slams his fist against the trunk, just above my head. “You won’t even visit?”
I flinch as bits of bark tumble over my shoulders. “I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t?” he questions, raising his eyebrows at me.
“It wouldn’t be good for us,” I say. “You must be able to see that.”
He steps forwards, completely eradicating any distance that I’d created between us, and cups my face in his big, warm hands before I have a chance to protest. “What I see is a girl who is so broken she’s shattering into a thousand pieces right in front of me. She’s so fragile that I daren’t even touch her, but I have to. Because this is my last chance, isn’t it, Evie?”
He gently skims his thumb across my cheek. I nod and then look away from those desperately sad eyes of his. “Yes.”
“You know what the worst thing about this is?” he spits.
I peel my eyes from the ground and blink up at him through the rain. He’s always been handsome, with a face that I could stare at every single second of every day. But right now, when I’m on the brink of never seeing him again, I can barely look at him. “What?”
“I want to kill the man that did this to you,” he growls.
I want to kill him too. “You did this,” I whisper.
“I know.”
He can’t mean… “You’re not going to—”
He shakes his head. “No, I’m not. There are people that need to see that someone is punished. I know that, understand it, and even respect it,” he says. “They need to see justice has been done, and right now, I think you’re one of those people.”
I look deep into his eyes, but I don’t answer him. How could I? I’m supposed to love him, no matter what. But he’s right; I need to see him suffer for what he’s done.
I deserve it,” he says. “But nothing they do will compare to how much it’s going to fucking hurt to let you go. I’m going to let you go because you deserve better than me. You deserve a life, and more than anything, you deserve to be happy.”
Before I can say or do anything, Cole buries his hands into my hair and crushes his lips against mine. They’re soft and considerably warmer than my lips, and they’re a mixture of everything I love about him and everything I hate.
He places the palm of his hand against my back and then slides it down to the bottom of my spine. He pulls, forcing me to press against him where I fit like we’re two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and I wonder if anyone else will ever come close to making me feel so whole.
He tears his mouth away and then presses his cheek against mine. I feel him shuddering as the sobs vibrate through his whole body. “I’ll always love you,” he whispers into my ear. “It’ll only ever be you, Evie. Please don’t ever forget that.” And then he pushes away from me, turns around, and walks across the grass until he reaches the waiting car. Without looking back, he opens the rear door and climbs in.
The pain in my chest explodes and my knees buckle as I watch the car disappear around the corner. I crumple to the cold ground, curl into a ball, and let the rain soak me as I scream out his name over and over again.




 
     Review by Juls

5 Stars!


"Our ending broke me. Shattered me. Destroyed me."


OMG!!! I loved it!! It was sooo good!! The minute I started it, I was intrigued! I read it in one day...I couldn't put it down! I loved that when the story was in Cole's POV, we got the past and when it was in Evie's POV, we got the present. It allowed me to be able to see the way their relationship started and how they got to where they are now. I loved the part when Cole told Evie what he thought their first date would be like. I think that's when I fell in love with him. There really isn't anything else to say about Cole other than, how much I loved him! If I were to meet him, I would have to say the exact same thing he said to Evie!

“I’m so in love with you,” I tell her. “Completely and utterly head over heels in love with you."

Yup! That pretty much sums it up! I know I will never meet him, but if I did, that would be me! And then, I would jump on him! LOL!! Ugh... I'm just so sad that the story had to end. I seriously could have kept reading about them forever. Cole and Evie had a really cute relationship. I also liked when they were talking about how often a 16 year old boy wanks it! That was another laugh out loud moment for me! I'm so happy with the way things turned out for them! I really liked all of the characters from this story. Especially Aiden! I laughed so hard when he was explaining his drawing to Evie! Then when Clive shows up and he reminds Evie about his drawing, I couldn't stop laughing. I would love to see a story written about him! There's just something about that boy that tells me his story would be HOT! So...Beckie Stevendon, if you're trying to figure out what to write about next, Aiden's story would be my vote! Either way, I can't wait to see what's next from this author!






Beckie's real name is Rebecca, but she get’s called (and answers to) any of the following…Beckie, Bek, Becca, Rebecca, Pip, Pippy or Stevo.

Beckie is the author of 'Sorrow Woods,' the 'Existing' series and 'Noah and Me.'
She is due to publish more YA and NA novels in 2015/16.

She lives in Staffordshire, England, with her partner and two children.
Beckie likes putting music on in the house and dancing around like a mad woman.

When she isn’t playing with her children, doing housework, dancing around the house like a mad woman, walking, cycling reading or writing, then she can be found working in an investment bank. Or sleeping.




Twitter: @BeckieStevenson
Instagram: BeckieStevo
Blog: