New Releases in Romance - Week of May 4, 2014

Ask and you shall receive - there are Erotic titles this week and some of those paranormals are calling my name.

Paranormal
 

Historical


Contemporary


Erotic

Feature "Woohoo scenes in Romance" First up a shower scene with Rukh and Sara in The Djinn's Dilemma by Mina Khan

The term Woohoo in The Sims is sex. Yep, sex and believe me they do it just about everywhere, I know because I’ve played The Sims for years and my Sims gets pretty racy when it comes to where they have sex.

As a romance reader I love to read books where authors’ pushes sex scenes in racier places like hot tubs, showers, under waterfalls etc, anything different other than a bed. So, this feature is going to be about characters that Woohoo’s in different places besides beds. 

Shower scenes are one of my favorites and I am happy to be featuring this particular book because I've read it and loved it. Make sure you check it out The Djinn's Dilemma after your done reading the excerpt. 

If you have never played The Sims you’re missing out on loads of fun. I can spend hours creating stories with my characters. In 2014 The Sims will be coming out with Sims 4 So, those of you who have never played now would be your chance because as Sims 4 gets closer then all of  The Sims 3 being will be going on sale.

If you're an author that would like to featured click here for more information 

Our feature for this month is

Title: The Djinn's Dilemma

Characters: Rukh and Sara

Author: Mina Khan

Scene: Shower

Genre: Paranormal Romance 

Rukh O’Shay, half-djinn and assassin, is used to taking out the bad guys. But his latest assignment, Sarah

White, is nothing like he expected. A glimpse of her bright aura reveals her gentle spirit, while her luscious beauty clouds his mind and makes him long for only one thing—to taste her.

Sarah shares the feeling of raw desire at Rukh’s touch. He can turn her on with a glance, and satisfies desires she didn’t even know she had. But Rukh had been hired to kill her—and the only way to save her is to find out who wants her dead before someone else finishes the job…

Excerpt from The Djinn’s Dilemma (the djinn hero, Rukh, appears while the heroine Sarah is in the shower):

Oh heaven and hell, stop with the tears. Given the day Sarah had just had, the tears were logical. But watching her face crumple, hearing the gut-deep harsh sobs, filled Rukh with an irrational need to pull her into his arms, wrap her in a hug.

As soon as the urge had gelled into conscious thought, his essence hardened into visibility and his arms slid up around her shivering, wet body.

Sarah’s eyes popped open and she staggered back with a yell.

His arms tightened around her, steadying her, keeping her close. Well, shit. At least, she’d stopped crying.

Fear-bright green eyes stared at him instead.

Given he was an assassin, sent to kill her, her response was natural, even intelligent. Yet, bitterness churned in his gut at the thought of her fearing him. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “You’re safe.”

“Am I hallucinating?” Her question came out as a croak.

“Yes, yes you are.” That seemed a much better answer than the truth.

She pinned him with her dark, direct gaze. “You’re just a figment of my imagination. A fantasy?”

“Yes.” He didn’t dare move.

“Then why are you still wearing clothes?”

He made the clothes disappear and stood there as naked as her. Skin against skin, the heat from her body melted into his. Warm water washed over them like rain.

“Much better.” A smile twitched her lips. “I’ll take hot fantasy over crappy reality any day.”

(insert rude authorial end of excerpt here...*blinks innocently*)

Author Links:

Website - Goodreads - Facebook - Twitter

Review: Betting the Billionaire by Avery Flynn

Title: Betting the Billionaire
Author: Avery Flynn
Source: Entangled - Indulgence
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Novella
Release Date: April 28, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 4
Sexual - 3

If that man calls her one more time… So what if Gabe Campos is a model-dating billionaire
who gets Keisha Jacobs hotter than a Ferrari’s engine on the straightaway? He keeps pushing her to sell her family’s furniture business, but she’ll never give in—not unless she wants to give her father a second heart attack.

All Gabe should be thinking about is how he’ll finally get revenge on the man who killed his father. But when he meets the man’s daughter, Keisha, instead of focusing on destroying Jacobs Fine Furnishings, he can’t get her warm-whisky voice out of his mind.

Forced by a snow storm to spend the night together, their passion ignites. The next day, however, it’s back to business. The only way Keisha can save her family is to win a bet with the billionaire. But neither realized their hearts are part of the bargain…

When Gabe Campos tries to take over Jcobs Furniture he gets into a lot more than he can handle.  Keisha is not going to let her father's company go without a fight, and she just doesn't understand why Gabe would want it so much.  Keisha is quite a girl - she builds furniture, is a car fanatic, and love to interior design.  I love it when a character has such a diverse group of interests.

Gabe has a purpose and he isn't the type to deviate once he sets his mind on something.  But Keisha is more of an obstacle than he could have imagined, and he doesn't really mind having her in the way either.  But Gabe will have to face the demons of his past - and he doesn't seem to want to confront them at all.

This was an new twist on things for me.  I really like how the story built on itself.  Every little sentence worked towards the HEA.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

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Review Sci-Fi romance Camille's Capture by Evanne Lorraine

Title: Camille’s Capture

Author:  Evanne Lorraine

Source: Author request

Genre: Sci-Fi Erotic M/M/F and M/F/M Romance

Length: Novella

Rating: 3 1/2

Sexual Rating: 5

Reviewed by: Laurie 

Camille, a plump, sweet-natured breeder, is caught in New Eden’s endless war with Baldor. Her mates, Jaxon and Aegis, need cunning and courage to rescue her. They need a miracle to capture her heart.

Warning: This story contains two searing hot alpha males and a sweet, but very determined and lushly curved woman. There’s also plenty of violence, red-hot sex, alien naked naughty bits, male/male intimacy and multiple partner interludes.  

Camille’s Capture is a hot Erotic Romance that will leave you panting for more.

It’s amazing to me how many readers has this labeled erotica because it not. Camille Capture has a plot and romance with a Happy Ever After, so it’s Erotic Romance. I loved the story behind Camille is a breeder but she fails to get pregnant after several tries on Earth so she is set to a different planet to find warriors. I enjoyed the back story about Aegis and how he deals with the issue of his best friend truing to be his lover.

You’ll find some very hot M/M/F and M/F/M sex. Both males goes both ways so there is something for every erotic story lover. Beware if you don’t like anal sex because there is lots of it. I have to give the author kudos she as has a very good imagination, the way she describes the Aegis as a demon is very vivid. I will say this he is built for sex;)

The downside for me was Camille is a virgin and to be able to take on these guys without more preparation just wasn’t believable. At first she didn’t want to stay with them and this lasted for a while then all all the sudden it wasn’t a problem  for her to be with them and she was even helping them stay together. I don’t mind that the sudden change but I like to know why the character changes suddenly.

I recommend this one to those that loves a good hot sci-fi adventure. 

Review: Can't Help Falling In Love by Bella Andre

Title: Can't Help Falling in Love (The Sullivans #3)

Author: Bella Andre
Source: Amazon Vine
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Novel
Release Date: July 30, 2013
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 4
Sexual - 3

Get ready for another Sullivan bad boy to fall in love in the third book of Bella Andre's
bestselling contemporary romance series!

Gabe Sullivan risks his life every day as a firefighter in San Francisco. But after learning a brutal lesson about professional boundaries, he knows better than to risk his heart to his fire victims ever again. Especially the brave mother and daughter he saved from a deadly apartment fire...and can't stop thinking about.

Megan Harris knows she owes the heroic firefighter everything for running into a burning building to save her and her seven-year-old daughter. Everything except her heart. Because after losing her navy pilot husband five years ago, she has vowed to never suffer through loving - and losing - a man with a dangerous job again.

Only, when Gabe and Megan meet again and uncontrollable flames of desire ignite between them, how can he possibly ignore her courage, determination, and beauty? And how can she deny not only his strong bond with her daughter.but the way his sweetly sensual kisses are challenging her to risk everything she's been guarding for so long?

This winter, if one - or both - of them aren't careful, they just might end up falling in love.

Book One: The Look of Love
Book Two: From This Moment On

The third book in The Sullivans centers around Gabe Sullivan - the heroic firefighter and the mother and daughter that he saves in a horrible apartment blaze. Now Gabe has a rule not to date fire victims, and Megan has a rule not to date guys with risky jobs. But (this is a romance after all) they can't seem to stop thinking about each other. With a little help from Megan's little girl, Summer, they keep running into each other.

This was a much better story than book one (I have book two on the way), the conflict was much more realistic to me. I know I would have a hard time bringing a man into my life that had a job that could easily take his life any day. The characters were easier to relate to and not a perfect. I loved Summer's role in everything. She was the cheerful little girl that wouldn't let anything get in her way to find happiness for her mom.

While we know they are going to end with an HEA there were times it seemed like it was all going to fall apart and I wasn't sure how they were going to get them together in the long run.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

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Blog Tour: Before the Storm by Claire Ashgrove Guest Post

Halle Rhoads has a terrifying gift--she can kill with the fury of the storm.

She should have known that kind of power wouldn't go unnoticed. Thrust into a world full of dark magic with a handsome stranger who claims he can teach her, she struggles to master her abilities and stumbles onto a dangerous truth. She's a windwalker, the chosen vessel of the ancient dragons who once ruled the world. Many will stop at nothing to possess the power in her blood, should they discover her secret. With necromancers hunting her and Halle's closest allies guarding secrets, mastering her magic becomes a matter of necessity.

But accepting her destiny is altogether different. For doing so means she must sacrifice everything

We would like to welcome Claire Ashgove and her new book Before the Storm - recently reviewed on Bitten by Romance HERE.  She's here to share with us just what makes a hero.  To visit more stops on her tour see the tour schedule HERE.

What Makes A Hero?

Hi everybody!  Thanks for letting me stop in today and share my new Urban Fantasy, Before the Storm!   I thought we’d talk heroes for a minute or two.

Three Things That Define A Hero

1.  Noble – This doesn’t mean he hails from royalty.  But at the heart of what he is, the decisions he makes are noble.  Usually this involves some degree of self-sacrifice, and that only makes him more appealing.  Particularly if that sacrifice somehow ties into bettering the heroine.

2.  Courageous – He may not be physically fighting off the bad guys, but he’s unafraid to tackle life head on.  He doesn’t wait for the world to act upon him, rather he acts upon the world.  He’s unafraid, but not foolishly risky.  He believes he can conquer any obstacle, and at the very least, he’s willing to give it a try.  Even better, when he’s defending the heroine, be that from the creepy creature intent on tearing out her heart or killing the spider that’s in her bathtub.

3.  Handsome In His Own Right – He doesn’t need to be model perfect or turn every feminine head.  But there’s something about him – maybe it’s his manner of acting, or the simple light shining in his eyes – that is irresistible.  Even his scars can be attractive when tempered with the right attitude.  

So all that said, here’s a quick list of my Top 5 Favorite Fiction Heroes.  I’d love to know your thoughts (and your five!) if you’d share them in the comments below!

            a.  Dr. Ethan Powell (from Instinct, played by Sir Anthony Hopkins) 

            b.  Kvothe (from The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss)

            c.  Aragorn (from LOTR)

            d.  Hatter (from Alice, miniseries)      

            e.  Ranulf Fitz Hugh (from Defy Not the Heart, by Johanna Lindsey)

Thanks again for having me today!  I can’t wait to hear your responses.  There are so many amazing heroes in romance, and fiction, it’s bound to be entertaining. 

About Claire Ashgrove

Building on a background of fantasy game design, a fascination with history, and a lifetime love of books, award-winning author Claire Ashgrove brings to life action-filled, passionate journeys of the heart. Her paranormal series, The Curse of the Templars, marries the history of the Knights Templar with the chilling aspirations of the most unholy--a must-read for speculative fiction fans. She also writes as the National Bestselling Author Tori St. Claire and historical romance author Sophia Garrett.

In her non-writing time, she’s runs Finish The Story, a full-scale editing house co-founded with Bryan Thomas Schmidt.  She lives in Missouri and enjoys cooking, studying ancient civilizations, and spending downtime with her two sons and too-many horses, cats, and dogs.

Keep in Touch via:

Claire Ashgrove Website

Tori St. Claire Website

Sophia Garrett Website

Untamed Spirit Blog

Twitter

Facebook

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: An Unsuitable Husband by Ros Clarke

Title: An Unsuitable Husband
Author: Ros Clarke
Source: Entangled - Indulgence
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Novella
Release Date: April 28, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 3
Sexual - 3

Theresa Chartley has no time for marriage, and no room for disappointment--especially
with French soccer player Emile Renaud. Sure, he’s gorgeous, but he’s wrong for a career woman like Theresa. If only her mother would stop pressuring her to get married and let her live her own life. Finding a very unsuitable husband to shock her parents into silence and put an end to the marriage campaign is the only answer. Emile will do just fine.

Theresa’s outrageous proposal is the answer to Emile’s problem. They’re complete opposites living in different worlds, but a fake marriage will let him ditch his clingy ex once and for all. Then he’ll be free of commitment and free to live his life the way he wants to.

A contract. Twelve months. And they walk away Scott free. But a year of marriage tests them both in unimaginable ways. Maybe Emile isn’t unsuitable after all, but how can Theresa let herself love him when she signed a contract to let him go?

An Unsuitable Husband was a light hearted and humorous story.  Theresa and Emile get married for the strangest of reasons - and an agreement to divorce in one year, no strings.  The only problem with their arrangement is that they seem to be having too much fun.  Theresa and Emile have a connection - even though they don't seem to have much in common - they make each other laugh and stop to enjoy life for awhile.

Emile was the shining star in this one.  He was everything I imagine a playboy frenchman to be.  He was teasing and had innuendo coming out everywhere.  Theresa was a little more flighty.  She didn't seem to know what she wanted, other than to annoy her mother - which while it may be fun to annoy your mother, it shouldn't be the motivating event in your life.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

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Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway: Lost and Found by Karey White

Tour Schedule

Title: Lost & Found (Ripple Effect Romance #4)
Author: Karey White
Source: I Am a Reader
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Novella
Release Date: April 21, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 3
Sexual - 1

Lydia was supposed to have an adventurous and exciting summer. Instead she's done
nothing more than read and eat takeout. Now it's time to go home, and what does she have to show for it? A big fat nothing. Unless, of course, her trip to the airport somehow turns into something more than just a flight home.

Blake feels like he's been sent on a wild goose chase. While work is piling up back in Denver, he's on the other side of the country, hunting for some mysterious box that his grandfather left him. Well, no more. Nothing inside that box could possibly be more important than the opportunity to make it as the youngest partner at his firm. So he's going home, and that's that. But that's before he discovers his flight has been cancelled.

When these two strangers meet at the airport, they make a split-second decision to search for the box together. Maybe with both of them on the hunt, Lydia can have her adventure and Blake can find the box. And maybe, if they’re lucky, they’ll even find some romance.

Book One: Home Matters - Review
Book Two: Silver Linings - Review 
Book Three: Righting a Wrong - Review

Book Three, Righting a Wrong, ends with Lydia being given an opportunity for a summer vacation (and maybe a fling).  Lost & Found picks up at the end of summer, where Lydia has finished her summer vacation and hasn't had the grand adventure that she had hoped.  When her plane home gets cancelled and she meets Blake the opportunity for some excitement opens up for her again.

Lydia was a great character, she was awkward and shy, not sure how to handle the social scene sometimes.  Blake is an over-worked lawyer that doesn't realize he's been spending so much time at work that he's been missing his life.  When Lydia joins him on his quest to find a box from his grandfather that was left with a long lost friend - everything seems to go right for them.  Lydia comes out of her shell and Blake takes a break from the stress of work and actually enjoys himself.

This was a cute addition to the Ripple Effect series with lots of really great moments.  It was more syrupy than the others and I wish there had been a little less internal worrying from both characters.  I'm still very excited to see what the next book has in store.  This is going to end up being one of my favorite novella series I think.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

Amazon - Kobo - Barnes & Noble

Author Karey White Karey is a USA Today best-selling author. She grew up in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Missouri. She attended Ricks College and Brigham Young University. Her first novel, Gifted, was a Whitney Award Finalist. She loves to travel, read, cook, and spend time with family and friends. She and her husband are the parents of four wonderful children.  

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads

 

The Ripple Effect Romance Novella Series Enjoy this exciting new series of clean novellas by six critically-acclaimed authors. "Like a pebble tossed into calm water, a simple act can ripple outward and have a far-reaching effect on those we meet, perhaps setting a life on a different course—one filled with excitement, adventure, and sometimes even love."

Book 1: Home Matters by Julie N. Ford 

Book 2: Silver Linings by Kaylee Baldwin 

Book 3: Righting A Wrong by Rachael Anderson 

Book 4: Lost and Found by Karey White 

Book 5: Second Chances 101 by Donna K. Weaver 

Book 6: Immersed by Jennifer Griffith

Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 5/12/14 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Calling all romance authors for a new called "Woohoo Scenes in Romance" feature

Woohoo Scenes in Romance

The term Woohoo in The Sims is sex. Yep, sex and believe me they do it just about everywhere, I know because I’ve played The Sims for years and my Sims gets pretty racy when it comes to where they have sex.

As a romance reader I love to read books where authors’ pushes sex scenes in racier places like hot tubs, showers, under waterfalls etc, anything different other than a bed. So, this feature is going to be about characters that Woohoo’s in different places besides beds.

If you’re an author and you have a book on where your characters have sex in other places besides the bed, then please email me at bittenbyromance@gmail.com  to get your book featured.

If you have never played The Sims you’re missing out on loads of fun, I can spend hours creating stories with my characters. In 2014 The Sims will be coming out with Sims 4 So, look for The Sims 3 being on sale soon.

Characters:

Title:

Author:

Scene:

Genre:

Blurb

Cover

Sex scene excerpt of your choice: Full, teaser, or parcel. Basically we want go give readers something to make them drool over. 

Sample"Woohoo scenes in Romance" First up a shower scene with Rukh and Sara in The Djinn's Dilemma by Mina Khan 

Listed below is places The Sims can Woohoo and even if you don't see you sex scene listed please still send your submission.

 Bed

  Tent 

 Sarcophagus 

Time machine 

Hot tub

Elevator

Actor trailer 

Shower 

Treehouse 

Haystack 

Changing room

Photo booth 

Box of Mystery 

Magical wardrobe 

Fairy house 

Gypsy caravan 

Sauna

Igloo

Pile of leaves 

Hot air balloon 

All-in-one bathroom 

Underwater cave 

Resort tower

ZEPHYR

A Day in the Life of ... Dagger by S.E. Smith

A Day in the Life is a feature we just stared here at Bitten by Romance.  It takes a closer look into a day (or night) of a character and maybe gives us readers a glipse into a side of the character we might not have seen otherwise.  If you're an auther that would like to participate in future A Day in the Life posts, check out the post HERE.

S.E. Smith, author of Hunter's Claim - book one in The Alliance series, visits us today with a short story about Dagger, a friend to the main character, Hunter.

Dagger stared at the female lying weakly on a make-shift pallet on the hard, cold concrete floor of the underground garage. The firelight highlighted her delicate bone structure as she gazed at another female. In the dim light, he could see the bruises marring the pale skin of her right cheek. Fury churned inside him, making his eyes glow with a dark, dangerous light.

He watched as she turned to smother her cough. A sick feeling washed over him as he wondered if this was the female Hunter was searching for. He hoped not. The thought of his friend claiming her made him almost double over as another wave of emotion hit him… jealousy. The primitive need to protect and care for the female gripped him tightly in its grasp as she struggled to sit up.

Dagger glanced at Hunter to see his reaction. He almost fell to his knees in relief when his friend glanced at him with a dark frown and shook his head. He nodded in relief when Hunter raised his hand and held up two fingers before raising a third one.

There were three females. Three! Neither one of the two by the fire were the one Hunter was searching for. Dagger turned his attention back to the two by the fire. His eyes narrowed as he watched the younger girl help his female to sit up.

Mine, he thought in stunned disbelief. My female.

Dagger barely registered the softly spoken words as the two women talked. His eyes were glued to the pale face, trembling hands and fragile form as she moaned and closed her eyes in pain. It took every ounce of discipline he had to remain still. His body shook as he fought to remain in position. He couldn’t compromise the mission. He repeated that over and over as he clenched his fists.

Glazed hazel eyes blinked and a weak smile curved the female named Jordan’s lips as the younger girl held a steaming cup up to her mouth. He didn’t miss the way her hands trembled as she weakly took the nourishment. His body jerked forward in protest as her softly spoken words ripped through him.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be strong again,” Jordan whispered, dark despair making her words echo with sorrow.

She will be, he thought as he stepped into the light. I will make sure that she is.

© SE Smith LLC

Hunter's Claim is a new Science Fiction Romance series that released earlier this year.

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Author Links:

Website - Goodreads - Facebook - Twitter

Jesse Sampson and her two younger sisters have lived a hard life on the streets of Seattle,
Washington for the past several years.

Four years before, the Earth received its first visitors from space causing mass fear.

Alone in a world gone mad with just her sisters, she has learned to use the darkness and the remains of the city to survive and keep what was left of her family alive. She has seen the savage side of human nature and finds they are not much different from the aliens who conquered Earth.

The Trivators have taken control of Earth to prevent the humans from destroying it in their fear.

A world of warriors, they are sent out by the Alliance of Star Systems to seek out new worlds. Their mission is first contact. They are to establish communications with the leaders of the new worlds they find and bring them into the Alliance.

Any resistance is to be quickly subdued to prevent unnecessary death of the inhabitants of the new worlds they find. Their payment comes from the success of their mission.

Hunter is what he is called. A hunter, one of the elite clans of the Trivators who seek out those who resist. His abilities to track, capture and eliminate those who try to harm any warrior is renowned.

He finds the tables turned when he becomes the one captured by a group of ruthless humans. Hunter is shocked when a strange human female risks her life to help him escape only to disappear into the ruins of the city.

He now has a new mission, finding the female who saved his life. He is determined to find her before she is damaged by others of her kind.

What he finds is a reward beyond comprehension to a Trivator warrior, a family.

Can he convince Jesse that he can give her and her younger sisters a better life on his world? Or will fear keep her from accepting what he has to offer?