New Releases in Romance - Week of June 15, 2014

Here's a few new releases for this week.  If you're looking for a really great story with a lot of humor, check out Cop a Feel by Robin Peterman.  I've read her book How Hard Can It Be and I loved it.  I'll be picking this one up really soon.

Paranormal


Historical


Contemporary


Erotic

A Day in the Life of ... Winter by Bridget Blackwood

A Day in the Life is a feature we started here at Bitten by Romance that takes a closer look into a day (or night) of a character and maybe gives us readers a glimpse 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.

Today's post features Winter from Bridget Blackwood's World in Shadow series between book 1 and book 1.5.  She's one of my favorite characters and I'm always excited to see more about her.

The Day I Died

Being born a Fae, I've witnessed events most people couldn't begin to imagine I’ve crossed the planes of existence between our world and the human world, watched empires rise and fall, and attended some of history's greatest moments. A couple weeks ago, I would've said not much surprised me, but that was before I saw my own obituary.

My cousin, Kiril, and I have been on the run from the Fae Queen. Quick family history lesson; She's my grandmother and his aunt. Tanith had her favorite daughter, the late Amalia, by his father.

Yeah, she slept with her own sister's husband. Nice, huh?

Fae family trees are gnarled and twisty, full of dead leaves and poisonous vines, enough to give any genealogist trying to follow it a stroke.

Perhaps all the weird inbreeding can account for some of the madness running rampant.

Kiril and I crossed Queen Tanith and jumped up on her list of people she wants wiped out of existence. What did we do? I stole back my magic and Kiril gave me a forbidden book. To add insult to injury, I announced my possession of the book and my willingness to spill the beans far and wide. Fast forward to today, we've been crisscrossing the world in an attempt to stay one step ahead. Exhausted, we're both ready to go home.

I reclined on the musty bedspread and flipped on the television in the two star hotel we rented for the day. The news has been all over the place with the revelation of The Shadow World. Vampires, Shifters, Fae; anything non-human falls under the realm of what the media dubbed 'The Shadow World.'

The blonde newswoman on the screen sported an 80's hairdo, must've taken a whole can of hairspray to shellac in place. “Vampire King, Manias Artorious, assures the president humans are safe from feedings as vampires have an alternate food source. No word yet on what the alternate source is.”

Vampire King? I snorted.

His title is Regis. Vampires did have an alternate food source, real food and the blood of other vampires. Human blood was bad for them, I've heard its effects were similar to opiate drugs.

The newswoman turned to look at her co-anchor, “What’s the news from the Fair Folk, Bob?”

Fair Folk? Gag me.

“It's a sad day, Louise. Summer Court Queen Tanith announced that the charred bodies of two Fae were identified as her nephew Kiril and granddaughter Winter.” Bob glanced at Louise for a scripted reaction, she delivered a puppy eyed frowny face.

Bob continued his report, “Winter was also the granddaughter of the Winter Court King and was unique in her dual citizenship. A state funeral is planned for tomorrow to allow their friends and family to say goodbye. The media was granted permission to attend, but both monarchs have asked that the affair remain closed to the public. Back to you Louise,” Bob said.

The camera panned to Louise again. “Our condolences to the families of Kiril and Winter.” Louise's phony sad face made me want to throw the remote through the window.

Shock transformed my face, my eyebrows were high on my forehead, merging with my hair line. “Uh, Kiril, you need to come in here for a second,” I hollered at the closed bathroom door.

Kiril opened the door and poked his head out, water dripped from the tips of his black tresses. “What's up?”

I pointed to the TV, the headline featuring our demise rolled across the bottom screen.

“We're dead, man.” A hysterical laugh bubbled up.

Kiril glared at me, “Not funny, winter.”

I felt sick, my stomach heaved and I ran for the bathroom. “Move, or I'm gonna puke on you!”

Kiril held onto the towel around his waist and jumped out of the way. I lost my breakfast down the toilet but didn't feel better. On lead feet, I staggered back to the bed and collapsed on my stomach.

Kiril sat in a rickety chair by the TV, he'd pulled on a pair of jeans. “I can't believe she 'killed' us. Who do you suppose took our place in death?”

I closed my eyes tightly and said, “A couple of unlucky Fae no one would miss. Does it matter? They're dead and we might as well be. She's cut us off from seeking out help from anyone.”

Kiril ran a hand through his soggy hair and cradled his head, “What do we do now?”

I buried my face in the mattress and groaned.

Why do I have to have the answers? I just wanted to let Tanith cool down and go home.

I pushed up from the bed and sat on the edge facing Kiril. “We either find a place to disappear that Tanith can't reach us...”

Kiril rested his chin on folded hands and scoffed, “Yeah, right. Or?”

“Or we look for a way back in. We need a bigger trump card than the book, something she won't risk us revealing. Then we could live in peace,” I rolled my eye. “Maybe.”

It was a long shot.

Kiril shook his head in defeat. “Planning to bust into the vault? Anything Tanith would be afraid of is dead or locked up tight.”

“Not necessarily. The book had pages missing, if she had those pages she would've kept them with the book. There's a chance they still exist somewhere out there,” I said.

Kiril leaned back against the chair's slatted back. “Huh. You might be right. Where do we start looking?”

I smiled, happy he was on board with my plan. “We start in the oldest ruins that still have power emanating from them. I'd wager we'll find them in one or something even better.”

Today I'd rest and let myself process my grandmother's treachery. Tomorrow I'd start a little treachery of my own.

World in Shadows is a Paranormal Romance series set in modern times with shifters, fae, vampires, and paranormals galore! 

Rachel Ryan wakes up with no knowledge of where she is or how she got there. Thrown
into a world she thought only existed in myths, she finds more questions than answers. Shape shifters, faeries, and vampires hide in plain sight among humans. There’s a war quietly brewing in the shadows. Rachel stands between mankind and those creatures that live in the darkness. Enhanced with power she doesn't understand, she’ll tip the scales, but who is the real enemy?

Book 1: Rising Shadows - Review

Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

Varian Caina believed his chance at love and happiness died with Winter, but what if Winter isn't dead? Why allow everyone to grieve? Winter has assassins after her, sent by the Seelie Queen Tanith and faces a new enemy in the Unseelie King Corrigan. Can Varian turn his back on Winter or will he embrace his second chance? A short story in the World in Shadows series between books one and two.

 Book 1.5: Winter's Kiss - Review

Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

Author Links:
Website - Goodreads - Facebook

Review: Aramus (Cyborgs: More Than Machines #4) by Eve Langlais

Title: Aramus (Cyborgs: More Than Machines)
Author: Eve Langlais
Source: Self-Purchased
Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Length: Novel
Release Date: September 23, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 5
Sexual - 3

Wiping out humanity is his number one objective—until he meets her.


Aramus has no patience or sympathy for the excuses humanity uses to hunt cyborgs down and eradicate them. He’s put up with too much at their hands to ever forgive and forget. But all that changes when he rescues a fragile human doctor who refuses to see him as a machine. She teaches him that perhaps not all emotions are a weakness and that love can make even a cynical cyborg like him stronger.

And for those who’d mock his change of view or threaten his female? Go ahead. His iron knuckles could use some exercise.

Book One: C791 - Reviews: CarolDee - Ollie - Jasmyn
Book Two: F814 - Reviews: CarolDee - Jasmyn
Book Three: B785 - Reviews: CarolDee - Jasmyn

As you can see - we sort of like these hot cyborg romances here at Bitten by Romance.  In book four, Aramus, Eve Langlais delivers once again with an amazing (and at times humorous) story of these special men.  For the first time in the series, our female lead is not a cyborg but a human - so it was pretty amazing to see her paired with Aramus.  Aramus is a self-proclaimed hater of anything non-Cyborg.  While he may not indiscriminately kill any and all humans, he really doesn't care too much if they end up dead.

As a military fighting unit his emotions are buried very deep.  I love his tough shell and watching him struggle to even admit that he might just possibly be feeling something - anything - was very fun to watch.  He even goes to the doctor to try and "cure" his "malfunction" and gets some very excellent advice that had me chuckling.

Eve also delivers on the action in this one.  We get to watch Aramus and his team as they storm the gates of a secret compound and engage in a few good old fashioned brawls (he prefers to use his hands you know).  The people behind the original Cyborg project are also making plans and there are a lot of new little twists introduced in this book.  It walks it's way right into the story of Seth (book 5) very nicely and it will definitely be on my reading block in the near future - it's already calling to me from the bookshelves.

Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

Cover Reveal: Privacy Code (Shatterproof #1) by Jordan Burke

Book Title: Privacy Code (Shatterproof, #1) 

Author: Jordan Burke 

Genre: Erotic Romance 

Release Date: July 9, 2014 

Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions

Everyone has secrets. No one has secrets like Watts.

Catherine Kolb has found the perfect diversion from her life of nearly complete seclusion: a virtually anonymous correspondence with a man she knows only as "Watts." Intelligent, intriguing, and with an insatiable appetite for sex, his words begin to draw her out of her closely guarded world.

Watts insists on privacy. He has no choice. In the wrong hands, his secrets could get people killed.

Including him.

And Catherine.

But curiosity and lust prove stronger than reason and safety. A planned one-time encounter sets into motion a series of events that bring Catherine and Watts to the edge of ecstasy and the brink of peril.

Two very private people. One risky night. A shot at love and redemption.

This is the first in a three-part serial, to be released over the course of three weeks beginning July 9. Due to mature themes, this book is recommended for readers 18+.

Excerpt:
I knew him only as “Watts.” Since we had an entirely email-based relationship, he said he preferred to keep it anonymous.

Once, when I asked if Watts was his first or last name, he wouldn’t say, and told me he would prefer that I didn’t force the issue. I promised him I wouldn’t ask again, not knowing at the time that I would break that promise and the consequence would be so harsh.

This was part of his “privacy code.” Actually, it was the tamest part of his code, which I would eventually find out. For six months before we finally met in person, though, our contact was exclusively in the form of the written word. It was safe, which is what I wanted.

It was also stimulating in a number of ways, which was something I didn’t even know I needed until Watts entered my life.

His words alone—those seemingly simple black and white letters on a screen, strung together to form ideas—awakened in me something I had no idea even existed. An aspect of my being that at times I thought was better left unexplored.

When he sent me an email, it always arrived just before noon. It didn’t start that way, but I had mentioned to him in one of my emails that it sure would be nice to have something stimulating to read on my lunch break. I was always reading something, usually a novel and always in physical book form. While everything I read spoke to me in some way, nothing struck my core quite like the words Watts wrote.

Sometimes they were short emails, asking me if I’d read a certain book. He loved to discuss books, especially older ones.

Other times, his emails were laced with what I sometimes referred to as “sexual poison” because of the effect they had on my central nervous system.

I even admitted that to him once, including the phrase I came up with, and he responded by telling me not to worry, that he’d always have the antidote.

I made the mistake of trying to one-up him with the flirting, having no idea the effect his response would have on me.

I had written: “An antidote I would never need. You would probably say you’re too much of a man for me, and that I couldn’t handle it, right?”

Watts had written back: “Your last word makes me very curious. ‘It.’ What exactly do you mean by ‘it’? If by ‘it’ you mean me in general, the fact of being with me, I think you’d have a good shot at handling ‘it.’ If, on the other hand, by ‘it’ you mean my cock specifically, that’s an entirely different question. You may be able to handle it. At least with a little practice. Tough call.”

About the Author:
Jordan Burke is the author of the erotic romance Shatterproof Series.

Erotica vs. Erotic Romance by A.L. Kessler

Erotica vs. Erotic Romance

by A.L. Kessler 

In order to understand the difference between these two genres, we must first understand what the general understanding of the definition of romance is. Romance in a book genre means that the focus of the storyline is on the couple (no matter if it’s an untraditional coupling) or couples building of a relationship. It ends in a committed relationship of some sort. It is the journey of the characters getting to their Happily Ever After (HEA) or Happy For Now (HFN) endings. Got that? Good.

Now, take that definition of romance and put erotic in the front of it. What we have here is a very steamy genre that still focuses on the building of a relationship. The characters still have a storyline of commitment building and they still get their HEA. Though there is a lot of steamy sex with less flowery words, there is still a focus on the relationship. It still ends with an HEA or a HFN. Got that? Okay good, moving on.

Take the romance away from the erotic and you’re left with Erotica.  Lots of not flowery-worded sex, a lot of heat between pairings and does not end in a HEA or a HFN. Some times doesn’t have a plot line or a whole lot of character development. Now, you’re probably asking yourself why you need to know this.

Here’s the deal authors are miss labeling some of their works. You need to make sure you have the genre correct in order to make sure you’re selling to the right market. Someone who wants sex without all the romance is more and likely to pick up Erotica, that being said, you don’t want them to pick up your Erotic Romance and give you a bad rating for the wrong genre. Or vise versa. The correct genre helps locate your readers and your market properly.

So let me break this down for you…

HEA (or HFN) + Hot steamy sex =Erotic Romance

   no HEA  (or no HFN) = Erotica

Got it? Good, now go check your genres. 

A.L. Kessler’s Dance in the Moonlight (DWC #2)

Release: March 13th, 2014

Renee’s life had been normal until the shadows reappeared and the legendary stone was sent to her. As the arrival drags her further into the paranormal world, the last thing Renee expects is to be swept off her feet by a brooding werewolf. 

Yet Coran captures her heart and attention. Small problem—he doesn't want a mate. Coran still suffers from the loss of his first mate, but when Renee is attacked by shifters he is forced to protect her at all costs. Things heat up when he realizes fate has wickedly granted him a second chance at love. With the war causing the body count to rise, now is not the ideal time to find a mate. 

The Circle is becoming desperate and something has Lucius worried which means trouble for his followers. It's a dance between danger and fate in this second installment of the Dark War Chronicles.

Buy Links:

Amazon: Paperback, Kindle, Smashwords, Createspace

Author Bio:

A.L. Kessler is a paranormal romance and urban fantasy author living in beautiful Colorado Springs, CO. When she’s not at beck and call of the household—made up of her cats, dog, daughter and husband—she can be found hard at work on her next novel. In those rare moments of free time, she can be found playing video games, crafting, or reading.

Author Links

Website

Facebook Author Page

Facebook Author Profile (friend)

Facebook DWC Page

Goodreads

Amazon Author Page

Other Works

Novels:

Midnight Symphony

In the Light of the Moon

Short Stories:

The Touch of Night

Of Souls and Steam (Penny Dread Vol. 4)

Excerpt:

When Coran’s shift ended he wasted no time escaping the bar.  Jumping into his truck, he leaned his head against the back of the seat and took a deep breath. He’d thought about Renee the whole evening. His wolf did nothing but pace inside him when the human came to mind and that alone was unsettling; normally the beast was the pillar of calm. Something about the human woman stood out to him and he wanted to see her again, despite everything.

Voices made him look out his window and a group of males gathered on the sidewalk caught his attention. If Coran had been human, he wouldn’t have noticed anything different about them. Dressed in clubbing clothes, they could have just been out for a night on the town. It wasn’t unusual to see a group like them downtown, but the wind brought a scent through the cracked window. Shifters, ones he didn’t recognize. They took off running to the west and he started up the truck. Following the group, he parked to watch what their plans were when they approached a house party. Again, not something that was unusual downtown, but something ate inside Coran.

Renee downed another drink from her housemate. Another whiskey down after an hour of drinking games made the room spin around her. Danielle laughed and grabbed Renee's wrist. "Okay birthday girl, I think you've had enough."

Renee shook her head. "Nooo, I need more. Rum. Where is the rum?" She stood and tried to get to the kitchen, but Danielle held her back.

"It's gone." Someone else in the house cried out.

"Why is the rum always gone?" Renee asked, feigning a pirate voice. She giggled as she headed towards the kitchen, escaping Danielle's clutch. She searched through the bottles but froze when a person she didn't know passed on the other side of the counter. Swearing, she saw an animal waver behind him, just like she had with Coran at the bar. Then she blamed it on being stressed. Now she blamed it on being drunk. Placing her shot glass on the counter, she drew in a couple deep breaths and closed her eyes. When she opened them the room stopped spinning and the man with the shadow was no longer in the room.

"You okay?" Danielle's voice made Renee jump.

Nodding, she pulled away from her friend. "I just need some fresh air."  She grinned.

Danielle motioned to the door. "You know where the door is, use it."

Renee stumbled outside and took a deep breath, closing her eyes again. The heat from the day still clung to the air and thoughts from the chase the night before returned to her. Footsteps still echoed in her head, reminding her of the men who chased her. Her eyes flew open when someone grabbed her wrist. Stumbling, her heart pounded as she shoved at the stranger, frantically slapping him with her other free hand, trying to get them to let go. Drinking made her more clumsy than normal, but she tried to pry the man’s hand off her. The world spun around her as she struggled with the stranger. The man's grip bruised her arm as he pulled her off her stumbling feet. Renee crashed to the ground taking her attacker with her. He landed next to her with a yell and two other men came running. Her eyes widened when she could see the other forms — a wolf, a big cat of some sort, and a bear. A scream bubbled up in her throat, but one of the other men clapped a hand over her mouth. She tried to kick, but her alcohol-laden system moved too slowly to surprise him.

"Shut it, you little bitch."

An accent she couldn’t place tinged his voice. She thrashed against the man, her mind racing through the worse possible scenarios.

Within a moment the man disappeared, yanked away from her. Renee glanced up, surprised filling her hazy brain when she recognized the hunky bartender. Coran held an attacker in the air by the shirt collar, a foot off the ground. She couldn't believe it, exactly what kind of bartender was this guy? Coran smirked at her and in that moment the image of the wolf flickered behind him, snarling. She swallowed and gave him a shy wave.

He set the man down. "I suggest you run before I rip your head off."

The man quickly nodded in agreement and he and his comrades took off. Coran turned back to Renee and held a hand out to her. "What was that all about?" he asked as he pulled her up. She stumbled into him. "Are you drunk?"

"Beats hot milk and butter." She grinned before turning in the direction the attackers ran off in. "Those butt faced miscreants."

Coran laughed and put an arm around her trying to lead her back to the house. "That's a new one."

Renee leaned into him, using him for balance. Here she was drunk and about to screw up a chance with the hot bartender...again. "I don't want to go back in there." Her mind flashed to all the images flickering behind people and tears formed in her eyes. She was tired of these forms reappearing. She swore that time of her life was over.

"What? Why? It looks like a fun party." He turned to her and tilted her chin up to meet her eyes. "Are you crying?"

She sniffled, trying to keep the little drops from falling. "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...gosh darn it! I'll leave if I want to."

"I'm so going to be dead for this." He grumbled and picked her up, cradling her against his chest. "How drunk are you?"

"You're only going to be mostly dead." She laid her head against his chest. "And I'm not as think as you drunk I am." She could feel his chest rumble with laughter as he started to walk away from the house. He tucked her into the passenger side of his truck, buckled her in and kissed her forehead.

"To the bat cave," she muttered and pointed out the windshield.

He got in on the other side, chuckling as he started the truck. "Something like that, sweetheart."

"You're going to let that shifter walk off with your charge?" A male voice made Danielle turn around.

She shrugged. "I know she's safe with him. It bothers me, but obviously we have other problems on our hands."

"Like the fact that she was just attacked? You think you should report this?"

Protocol required a Hunter to report if anything changed in their assignment, but Danielle wasn't ready to report that the human she was assigned suddenly started to attract a shifter and a pack of rogues. "Not yet. I don't want to get them worked up over nothing. It could just be a coincidence. "

"You don't sound so sure of that." Her partner leaned against the door jam. "After what? A couple years finally something starts to happen with this girl and you want to ignore it?"

Dani glared back at him. "Look, I'm the Elite here, you follow my orders. We don't report this yet and we don't pursue it. There is something else going on here. I'll talk to her about her choice in men when she comes back tomorrow."

"You think she'll come back?" He laughed. "Most women can't resist shifters."

She snorted. "This is Renee, she’d rather have Mr. Darcy than a shifter who happens to be there when she's drunk. Besides, tomorrow she'll wake up embarrassed and come home."

"You're sure about that?" Her partner's voice made her doubt everything. She hated when the younger Hunter did that.

She forced herself to nod. "I am, I've known her for years. She's not the type to fall head over heels with a man." Even she could hear the hesitation in her voice.

"Weren't you given orders to follow her every move?" He chuckled. "Do you need me to help track her? She has no idea what I am so it would be easy."

Dani shook her head and bit her fingernail. "That man is a shifter, an immortal one nonetheless. I've heard the local wolf pack talk about him. He'd know you were there in a heartbeat."

"I wasn't aware there was an immortal in town."

"And that's why you're a Skilled and I’m a Elite. Give her until tomorrow before you start following her around."

He snorted. "I'm only six months away from graduating you know."

"Then you should have realized that he was an immortal and that there is at least one in town." She shrugged and walked back into the house, determined to enjoy the rest of the party.

If you're an erotic romance author and would like to show readers how to tell the difference between erotic romance and erotica please email Laurie at bittenbyromance@gmail.com

Cover Reveal: Flash Bang by Meghan March

Book Title: Flash Bang 

Author: Meghan March 

Genre: Erotica 

Release Date: June 30, 2014 

Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions

Rowan Callahan is a career-climbing slut. At least according to the vicious—and false—rumor that is destroying her professional life. But a little thing like her career as an attorney ceases to matter when a plane crashes in downtown Chicago and the entire city goes dark. Her unconventional upbringing makes her suspect the worst: she’s just witnessed the kick-off to the apocalypse. Armed with a backpack of supplies, she leaves Chicago, intent on resetting her skewed priorities and seeking shelter at the family farm with her father and sister. She’s injured and running for her life when she stumbles directly in the crosshairs of two men who just might be her salvation . . . and her greatest temptation. 

Graham Buchanan and Zachariah Sawyer are best friends and brothers-in-arms who have been indulging in ménages since before their Force Recon team served in Iraq and Afghanistan. They’ve hung up their uniforms to build a new life for themselves and their team at Castle Creek Whitetail Ranch—a rustic deer hunting preserve that covertly doubles as a doomsday prepper’s paradise. They thought they were prepared for anything until Rowan comes crashing into their lives. Graham and Zach are convinced she’s the one woman who can handle them both, but she has no intention of deviating from her carefully laid plans for longer than it takes her to recover from her injuries. So they propose a deal: they’ll provide her an armed escort home, and in exchange, she’s theirs until they part ways. 

It was the perfect plan; except once they've had her, they can’t let her go . . .

Excerpt:

Chapter 1

September—Chicago. 

A plane fell from the sky. 

It was quite possibly the only interruption that could have dragged Rowan out of the epic pity party she was throwing herself. It was the kind of pity party one threw when a carefully planned life and decades of hard work were demolished by a complete and utter shit storm. And not demolition by a run-of-the-mill shit storm. A shit mudslide, followed by a category five shit hurricane. Rowan doubted anything other than the plane, the fifty-story building it toppled and the hundreds of lives that had been violently and tragically cut short could have pushed the thoughts of the lying asshole and blackballing bitch who owned his sad sack from her mind. 

Rowan had to swallow back the bile that rose when what she’d just seen started to sink in. The loss of life ... What the hell just happened? 

The symphony of honking horns that filled the Chicago streets died abruptly, right in time with the falling plane. For a single moment, the lunchtime crowds on North Wacker Drive completely stilled. 

A beat of silence. 

Then chaos erupted. 

“We’re under attack!” a woman screamed. She was only three feet away from Ro, and her screech nearly ruptured an eardrum. Terrorists. Okay. That makes sense. Doesn’t it? 

“Run!” a large man in a suit shouted as flames burst from the collapsing building. 

Traffic stood still. The familiar sound of idling engines and car radios was eerily absent. Rowan’s gaze darted around frantically. The traffic lights and DO NOT WALK signs were dark. There were no fire truck sirens screaming toward the building that was quickly becoming a fully involved inferno. No ambulances were rushing to the scene to try to save potential survivors. 

A greasy feeling of panic pooled in Ro’s stomach. Loud popping noises punctured through the sounds of chaos as the glass globes of the nearby light poles shattered before bursting into flames. 

Without taking her eyes from the disaster playing out before her, Ro rooted around in her bag for her cell phone. Her panic spiked when she pressed the button and swiped her finger across the darkened screen. Nothing. It had been nearly fully charged when she’d unplugged it from the charger on her desk only twenty minutes ago. Ro’s continued furious pressing of buttons did nothing to bring it to life. 

Her brain snapped into focus. No way. It’s not possible. 

A firefighter crashed into her bistro table as he ran toward the burning building. Her uncapped bottle of iced tea toppled, spilling onto her lap. The splash of cold liquid freed Rowan from her temporary paralysis, just as three other firefighters ran past. Thank God help is on the way. In that moment, she made her decision. She reached down to yank off her pumps, swapped them for the ballet flats in her bag, and started to run.

About the Author:
Meghan March is a Michigan native who has spent a good portion of her life buried in a book. Case in point: she read the entire romance section of her small town public library by age fourteen. Even after growing up (sort of) and getting a law degree, she never lost her passion for a great story, twisty plot, epic romance, and amazing characters. When she’s not writing, she’s probably reading, target shooting, drooling over fast cars, playing with her crazy mutts, or hanging with her very own sexy man.

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Review: The Last Dragon (The Witching Pen #4) by Dianna Hardy

Title: The Last Dragon (The Witching Pen #4)
Author: Dianna Hardy
Source: Request
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: Novel
Release Date: December 3, 2013
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 4
Sexual - 2

The Earth is in a state of shock after the apocalypse. The veil between dimensions is no
more. Demons and fallen angels walk among humans, and everyone is trying to find their place in the new world - Morgan le Fey's world.

But the fairy queen finds herself cemented within humanity and struggling with human emotions, and her right-hand-man, Lucifer, has secrets which are causing fissions among every race.

Meanwhile, Karl and Elena struggle with their powers, Katarra delivers an important message, and two men will stop at nothing to protect their unborn child - the Messiah of the New Age - and the woman they love.

Far to the east, the fallen Archangel Michael is fighting for the one he holds above all others.

The Last Dragon is about to rise and seal everyone's future, which depends solely on its survival ... or its extinction.

Book Prequel: Wilted - Review
Book One: The Witching Pen - Review
Book Two: The Sands of Time - Review
Book Three: The Demon Bride - Review

I was sooo glad that there was another book after The Demon Bride.  There still seemed to be more story to tell, and while The Last Dragon isn't a romance, it really completed the series and the romances from the first three books as well.  The story tells us of the coming of the dragons, what it means to all the races, and the history of earth, hell and heaven.  Quite a lot to fit into one book.

Since there is so much going on there was a lot of jumping around.  There were a few times that it got confusing, but Dianna Hardy did a great job of merging the stories together in an easy to follow type of way.  I was surprised at how everything was wrapped up and amazed at how inventive her story ended.  It was not what anyone in the book (or the reader) expected.

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Review: Inked Magic (Inked Magic #1) by Jory Strong

Title: Inked Magic (Inked Magic #1)
Author: Jory Strong
Source: Self-Purchase
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Romantic Suspense, Menage
Length: Novel
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 4
Sexual - 4

From the New York Times bestselling author of Healer's Choice comes the story of a
woman with the power of touch. Skin doesn't lie to her. It is her gift, sometimes her curse. She feels what others felt, and sees the things held in their memories...

With the touch of her palms to the skin of a crime victim, San Francisco tattoo artist Etaín can see the faces of the guilty and draw them. Changeling elf but unaware of it, at odds with her police captain father and FBI agent brother, magic and gift have put her in the path of two compelling men.

Cathal Dunne, the son of an Irish mob boss, needs Etaín's help finding the rapists who left his cousin for dead. Eamon, a powerful elf lord, is determined to make her his consort-wife.

Her gift once made permanence impossible when it came to a lover. Now, as she approaches the transition to fully Elven, her survival depends on keeping two. One of the men is willing to share her. The other isn't-until the search for a sexual predator turns deadly, and only by paying magic's price will there be any future at all.

Two strong men and one strong woman make for an interesting story - throw in a serial rapist and the mob and it gets even more interesting.  Etain doesn't do relationships - she hasn't since her mysterious "gift" caused problems.  She can see and feel things - things she doesn't always want to see and feel.  But she does the best she can with it, uses it to help others as much as she can.  Etain is so bad ass that she was a bit much.  I wish she had been a little more real.  She was a motor cycle riding, tattoo artist, magic wielding, tough girl that didn't seem to be afraid of much of anything.

Cathal and Eamon are both strong controlling men that don't really like to share.  Somehow Etain manages to have her way with them without making the seem any less masculine.  Their tenderness and care for her made them some amazing leading men.  I liked that one of them struggled for a long time with the idea of sharing her with the other.  But Etain needs them both, for different reasons.

The story unfolds around Etains budding and developing abilities, the search for the Harlequin Rapist, and Cathal's mission to find who is responsible for his counsin's attack.  Three big storyline manage to converge very nicely and wrap around each other very well.  Although at first I thought the Harlequin Rapist was the one Cathal was after as well, but I think that's because I midread something.

There are some fairly dark scenes in this book, especially when dealing with the victims of the rapes.  While there are no very detailed scenes of the attack, the emotional impact and impression is very tangible.  The author handled this very sensitive subject with taste, but with honesty as well.  This book had a definite noir feeling to it.  I pictured the scenes in dark tones with flashes of vibrant colors.  Book two, Inked Destiny, in on the shelf waiting for me.

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Cover Reveal and Giveaway: Anything by Jerri Williams

Book Title: Anything 
Author: Jeri Williams 
Genre: Contemporary Romance 
Release Date: August 4, 2014 
Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions

 Dacey and her family just went through having "Everything" in their life change. After the death of her parents, the rest of the family seems to working on moving forward. Her younger sister, Aria, is moving forward and is happy in a relationship. Her ex-boyfriend is clearly moving on, and even her crazy Aunt has started a new chapter in her life. She knew her life was beyond perfect, she thought she had seen the worst of it. Now with a wedding to plan, her distant bestie and trying to forget about how broken she really is Dacey is trying to start her own new chapter.... But fear, ex-boyfriends and malicious uncles keep getting in her way. She thought she could handle it all. And then there's Justin who has made it very clear that he wants to be more to her than just a friend, but is Dacey ready for that? Can "Anything" go right for Dacey? Ever?

Excerpt:

I just wanted to get inside and forget about all of them but my mouth started spilling words before my brain had a chance to tell it to shut the hell up. 

 “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I keep allowing myself to be bothered by him. Part of me still pines for him, hoping that he will see how miserable we are without each other and take me back. And the other part says fuck him, I don’t need him. I have this perfectly hot man in my life now that I know I could really fall in.. I mean, we have a great friendship from all of this and if this thing with Trevor had never happened you wouldn’t be in my life so I should really be thinking him or at the very least sending him a fruit cake.” 

 Justin’s mouth came crashing down on mine making my ramble crumble and die on my lips. I hadn’t been kissed in a really, really long time so it might have taken me a minute to realize that I was actually being kissed. No, not kissed, consumed. His lips were smooth and softer than I thought they would be as he pressed harder against my mouth, I have no idea what overcame me but I didn’t push him away. Nope, my insane side welcomed it by pulling him closer and moving my mouth fervently against his as he hands came up to cup the side of my face, locking me in place. I couldn’t move if I wanted to and with the way he was kissing me, I didn’t want to move. Ever. 

He applied just the smallest amount of pressure causing me to open like a flower and he wasted no time in slipping his tongue inside to have a slow dance with mine. His tongue caressed mine at the same time as he was sucking on it gently then back to caressing it. Caress then suck, it was a combination I was not used to but instantly became addicted to. You know that movie about the girl who had never been kissed, this was that never been kissed kiss. This kiss was habit forming the thing of addictions and AA meetings. This kiss was everything. 

With a final tug on my bottom lip, it ended and was left with a feeling in a state of undescribed bliss. 

“Another talent, calming down crazy rambling women. You should see me in hostage negotiations.” He smirked showing one of his dimples. I was at a loss for words, dumfounded. The dumb had found me. I know that we just crossed some sort of line but I couldn’t translate that to my lips. 

He leant in and kissed the corner of my mouth before making the other dimple appear in full on smile. 

“Relax Bell, we’re still friends, nothing has changed. I just wanted to shut you up. I’ll call you later.” And with that he hopped in his car and drove away, leaving me still standing there probably catching flies with my mouth open, wondering what the hell just happened. 

What the hell did he mean nothing has changed? Umm, hello, everything had just changed. At least to me. 

About the Author:

Jeri Williams lives a super fabulous lifestyle (by fabulous, she mean’s kinda lame) in the hot Florida sun and loves reading of any kind (except instruction manuals and cereal boxes). She has always written stories and made her family listen to them since she was young, although this is her first book she has ever published. She is a mom of an up-and-coming Jerry Seinfeld (in girl form) and also enjoys being right and knowing everything, although she is hardly ever right and really doesn't know anything and is obsessed with inventing miniature zoo animals you can carry around in your pocket (although not really). 

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