Wednesday, October 9, 2019

BLOG TOUR AND REVIEW -- Baking Me Crazy (Donner Bakery, Book 1) by Karla Sorensen

DB01-BANNER-BT-SBPR

"Friends to lovers at its best-- a sweet indulgence I couldn’t put down!” - R.S. Grey, USA Today Bestselling Author

Baking Me Crazy, the first in the romantic comedy Donner Bakery Series of standalones, from Karla Sorensen is available now!

20190718_DB01_Baking Me Crazy_Sorensen_KDP_FINAL
I'm Levi Buchanan, and until five years ago, I thought the legend of my family's curse was a load of crazy, Southern nonsense.

No curse can make you fall in love at first sight. No curse can force a true, deep, passionate, all-consuming love that will haunt you all the days of your life.

Then I met Jocelyn Abernathy and I realized how completely wrong I was.

The problem is, Jocelyn guards her feelings like well-armed soldier. She's the most beautiful, stubborn, infuriating woman I've ever met. Every time she talks, I want to kiss the living daylights out of her. But I can't.

Because when we met, she didn't need true love. She needed a best friend. And that's what I've been to her... for five years.

But when Jocelyn meets a handsome stranger her first day working at Donner Bakery and she lets him buy her a dill pickle cupcake, I realize with ominous regret that I may have missed my window with my best friend.

If I can't get her to see past our friendship, my new curse may be to watch the love of my life move on with someone else.

'Baking Me Crazy' is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is book#1 in the Donner Bakery series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.
DB01-LIVE copy
Download your copy today!
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/BakingMeCrazy
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2klKiUj
Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2ku91Wg

 BOOKISH STACY RATING: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Ahhh! The first book from Smartypants Romance was simply wonderful!

This is the story of Levi Buchanan and Jocelyn Abernathy. Levi has been in love with Jocelyn since the moment he saw her when she moved to town as a teenager, five years ago. Jocelyn was recovering from an illness that left her in a wheelchair and wasn't ready for any kind of relationship so they decided to be friends. Five years later, he worries that he has missed his opportunity and has friend-zoned himself when she starts talking about having "date feelings" for someone else.

This was a sweet, delicious slow-burn and I loved it. These two stole my heart as they tried to come to terms with their feelings and tread that line between friends and lovers. I thought Karla Sorensen did an excellent job with the research of Joss' condition--there was so much realness, I could FEEL her struggles. And Levi--he was just swoon-worthy. He knew exactly what he wanted and was willing to do whatever he needed to get it. There's also a connection to another Sorensen series, which was fun for me since I just finished that one.

This one just left my heart full and I can't wait for more in this series and the rest of the books from the Penny Reid Book Universe.

Excerpt:

"Besides, this is my best friend perk. Shouldn't I get perks in baked goods?"

She cut me a look. "You've been getting those perks for two years, Buchanan. Don't even pretend you didn't put on a solid ten pounds that first year I started baking." Quite pointedly, she looked at my stomach, which we both knew was covered in muscle.

“That's rude," I mumbled under my breath. I flexed my bicep. Nero licked my elbow since it was right in front of him. "Yeah, ten pounds in my left arm maybe."

The noise she made roughly translated to you are ridiculous. She made that sound at me a lot. Of course, the sad truth of the matter was that I was ridiculous.

Not once in the past five years had my feelings lessened for her. I had just learned to live with them. In my junior year of undergrad, I was taking a class on brain pathology in injuries, and a man came to talk to us about how he learned to live without his right arm after it was amputated.

He told us about how, even years after he lost his arm, his brain still triggered sensations to the limb that was no longer there. The adult brain, in particular, struggled to reorganize after the loss of a limb, and given that four out of five amputees suffer from phantom pain symptoms, some of which were incredibly debilitating, it was a lesson that stuck with me.

I wasn't fool enough to think that me loving Jocelyn was on par with a man who’d lost his arm, but something about the way he talked plucked at a chord inside me. Sometimes my brain struggled to remember that we were just friends.

She'd never dated, never even hinted that she wanted to. She'd never given me a longing glance. Never stared at my mouth like she wondered what it tasted like.

But my hands never, not once, stopped wanting to reach for hers. My fingers always, always itched to dig into her crazy hair and see what the curve of her scalp felt like.

My brain knew what this relationship was, but sometimes, the signals it sent to the rest of my body didn't always match up with the truth of our situation. We worked out together a lot, Joss and I, and when she got frustrated with the limitations of her body, I always wanted to wrap my arms around her.

I wanted to pull her into the curve of my body, absorb her dissatisfaction into my skin, and carry it for her. That was the irony when she made noises like that.

She had absolutely no clue how ridiculous I really was.


About Karla Sorensen
Karla Sorensen has been an avid reader her entire life, preferring stories with a happily-ever-after over just about any other kind. And considering she has an entire line item in her budget for books, she realized it might just be cheaper to write her own stories. It doesn’t take much to keep her happy…a book, a really big glass of wine, and at least thirty minutes of complete silence every day. She still keeps her toes in the world of health care marketing, where she made her living pre-babies. Now she stays home, writing and mommy-ing full time (this translates to almost every day being a ‘pajama day’ at the Sorensen household…don’t judge). She lives in West Michigan with her husband, two exceptionally adorable sons and big, shaggy rescue dog.
Connect with Karla
Connect with Smartypants Romance

COVER REVEAL -- Sweet Victory (BTU Alumni #3) by Alley Ciz




Title: Sweet Victory
Series: BTU Alumni #3
Author: Alley Ciz
Genre: Contemporary Sports Romance
Cover Design: Juliana Cabrera, Jersey Girl Designs
Release Date: November 11, 2019



Blurb

Holly Vanderbilt is running.

From her past, her present, her future – everything.
Baking is her only solace. Cookies, cakes, ingredients coming together, they make sense.
A professional fighter walking into her kitchen? Not so much.

Vince Steele is focused on his future.

The next fight.
The next win.
Nothing else matters except feeling the weight of the Light Heavyweight belt around this waist.
Until Holly.

He has what it takes to win the belt.
But will Holly’s past prove to be an opponent he can’t beat?
He’s never backed down from a fight.
He wasn’t going to start now, not when winning Holly’s heart could be the sweetest victory of all.

The Coven is back and about to recruit a new member. SWEET VICTORY is the third book in the BTU Alumni series and can be read as a stand-alone. This book features a Christmas-loving hot mess of a baker, an alpha-dirty-talking MMA fighter, and the best group of friends ever (even if they don’t know how to mind their own business). HEA guaranteed—being on Santa’s Nice List…not so much.




Also Available


AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited



AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited




Author Bio


Alley Ciz is an indie author of Contemporary/New Adult, Rom-Com, Sports Romances.
She's a stay at home mom to 3 amazing and crazy mini royals, a 95lb lab, and let's face it on some days her hubby is her 4th kid... But to be fair she totally loves him a a lot.
When she's not corralling her crazy mini royals she can be found writing the stories the voices in her head tell her. Caffeine is a staple in her daily diet since she does most of her writing late at night when the rest of her house is asleep, usually with her trusty dog Buke (short for Beukeboom reluctantly named after a NY Ranger even though she's a NJ Devils fan all the way. Is it any surprise she writes sports romances?
Pizza and mac-n-cheese are major food groups and she is a proud Potterhead and superhero buff.
She is a complete romance junkie and can always be found reading or listening to a book.


Author Links




Tuesday, October 8, 2019

RELEASE BLITZ -- Baking Me Crazy (Donner Bakery, book 1) by Karla Sorensen

DB01-BANNER-RB-SBPR

"Friends to lovers at its best-- a sweet indulgence I couldn’t put down!” - R.S. Grey, USA Today Bestselling Author

Baking Me Crazy, the first in the romantic comedy Donner Bakery Series of standalones, from Karla Sorensen is available now!

20190718_DB01_Baking Me Crazy_Sorensen_KDP_FINAL
I'm Levi Buchanan, and until five years ago, I thought the legend of my family's curse was a load of crazy, Southern nonsense.
No curse can make you fall in love at first sight. No curse can force a true, deep, passionate, all-consuming love that will haunt you all the days of your life.
Then I met Jocelyn Abernathy and I realized how completely wrong I was.
The problem is, Jocelyn guards her feelings like well-armed soldier. She's the most beautiful, stubborn, infuriating woman I've ever met. Every time she talks, I want to kiss the living daylights out of her. But I can't.
Because when we met, she didn't need true love. She needed a best friend. And that's what I've been to her... for five years.
But when Jocelyn meets a handsome stranger her first day working at Donner Bakery and she lets him buy her a dill pickle cupcake, I realize with ominous regret that I may have missed my window with my best friend.
If I can't get her to see past our friendship, my new curse may be to watch the love of my life move on with someone else.
'Baking Me Crazy' is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is book#1 in the Donner Bakery series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.
DB01-LIVE copy
Download your copy today!
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/BakingMeCrazy
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2klKiUj
Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2ku91Wg


About Karla Sorensen
Karla Sorensen has been an avid reader her entire life, preferring stories with a happily-ever-after over just about any other kind. And considering she has an entire line item in her budget for books, she realized it might just be cheaper to write her own stories. It doesn’t take much to keep her happy…a book, a really big glass of wine, and at least thirty minutes of complete silence every day. She still keeps her toes in the world of health care marketing, where she made her living pre-babies. Now she stays home, writing and mommy-ing full time (this translates to almost every day being a ‘pajama day’ at the Sorensen household…don’t judge). She lives in West Michigan with her husband, two exceptionally adorable sons and big, shaggy rescue dog.
Connect with Karla
Connect with Smartypants Romance

Monday, October 7, 2019

RELEASE BLITZ AND REVIEW -- Fragile Scars by Lilian Harris




Title: Fragile Scars
Series: Fragile Hearts #1
Author: Lilian Harris
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: October 7, 2019



Blurb

SOMETIMES THE DEEPEST SCARS ARE THOSE NO ONE SEES.

Lilah seems to have it all--a great job and a gorgeous boyfriend, but underneath the perfect exterior are bruises left behind by a monster who claims to love her.

Damian has a troubled past of his own. He vows to steer clear of love, that is until he meets Lilah--a woman whose secret is slowly consuming her. One look and he knows they've met before but he doesn't know where.

Determined to help her escape the violent relationship she can't seem to leave, he befriends her, vowing to keep her safe, but protecting Lilah comes at a price.

When their attraction turns into passion and their secrets threaten to tear them apart, will they fight for one another? Or will their demons swallow them whole?


Fragile Scars is a steamy contemporary romance with suspenseful undertones. It contains strong language, sexual situations and references. It is the 1st book in the Fragile Hearts series. All the books in the series are standalone romances with a different couple, but past couples and characters do make an appearance in later books.

Author Note: Below is a trigger warning for those who may need it. Please stop reading now if you don't want one. 


This story contains graphic violence and sexual assault, which may not be suitable for some readers. 







Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

BOOKISH STACY RATING: 🌟🌟🌟

Fragile Scars is the debut novel of Lilian Harris and it is the story of Lilah and Damian. From the moment I read the blurb, I was very excited to read this. If you have triggers, please pay attention to the author's warning--there is some very tough subject matter and graphic scenes that will not be for everyone. I thought Ms. Harris did an excellent job with this subject matter though--it felt very real. I don't want to give too much away so I'll just say there was a lot that happened really fast in this book and I think that was the reason that I felt slightly disconnected from the characters. The timeline just seemed a bit rushed to me, especially considering what Lilah had been through. That being said, I was so blown away by the author's writing and think she is only going to get better with time. I also thought she did any excellent job with the suspense angle. The supporting characters that were introduced have me very curious and I will definitely be looking out for the next book in this series.






Playlist




Author Bio


For Lilian, a love of writing began with a love of books. From Goosebumps to romance novels with sexy men on the cover, she loved them all. It’s no surprise that at the age of eight she started writing poetry and lyrics and hasn’t stopped writing since.

She was born in Azerbaijan, and currently resides in Long Island, N.Y. with her husband, two kids, and a dog named Gatorade. Even though she has a law degree, she isn’t currently practicing. When she isn’t reading or writing, Lilian is baking or cooking up a storm. And once the kids are in bed, there’s usually a glass of red in her hand. Can’t just survive on coffee alone!


Author Links




Thursday, October 3, 2019

RELEASE BLITZ AND REVIEW -- Caught in the Lies by Kacey Shea

🔥🔥 HOT NEW RELEASE 🔥🔥
Caught in the Lies by Kacey Shea is LIVE!! Stop what you’re doing 
and #OneClick!
BOOK BLURB  
Fire captain Cameron McClain dropped into my life with as much subtlety as an unsolicited d*ck pic. I shouldn’t be attracted to him, but I am. He’s too old for me, too alpha for my tastes, and too bossy in the bedroom. Though, I have to admit he knows exactly how to use his . . . firehose. 

 I’m not interested in a forever kind of relationship, but he’s down for whatever I’m willing to give. Our arrangement is perfect. At least that's how it begins. I never wanted the happily ever after, but he’s just so tempting.  

The smart choice would be to end things before they combust, but for some reason I can’t push Cam away. The harder I try, the harder he—well, you get the picture.  

I wish things were different. I want to be someone worthy of his devotion. But the secrets I hold close, they don’t just eat me up inside, they destroy anyone who gets too close.  

So, I won’t fall in love. Simple, right? Wrong. 

So freaking wrong. I don’t just fall. I crash and burn for this man. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Turns out I’m not the only one telling lies and keeping secrets, and his are enough to rip us apart forever.   

Cover Photography: Reggie Deanching, R+M Photography  
Cover Model: Blake Sevani  
Cover Design: Sommer Stein, Perfect Pear
    

BOOKISH STACY RATING: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Whew! Jill and Cam were smokin' hot in this one! Both of them were carrying some intense secrets (some I thought that were set aside a little too easily) and this made them think they couldn't have a "real" relationship. What they didn't realize is that it was pretty darn real all along. Jill was hard to like at times, but I did admire her strength and how she was always there for the people in her circle. I loved the relationship she has with her girlfriends. Cam was everything you'd expect from the typical  hot fireman, but there was also a deeper, scared side to him that made him very endearing to me. Kacey Shea's writing is excellent and kept me completely invested in this story, even though I did want to smack these two more than once. Overall, I thought it was a great read and I'm excited to get to Alicia's story.
 

PURCHASE LINKS:
Available on KindleUnlimited
Release week price of $3.99
 
Audiobook is available now and already Whispersynced. Narration by Savannah Peachwood with Jason Clarke.
Amazon Audiobook ➞ http://mybook.to/CITLAudioAmazon
Audible US ➞ http://bit.ly/CITL_US
Audible UK ➞ http://bit.ly/CITL_UK
Audible CA ➞ http://bit.ly/CITL_CA
Audible AU ➞ http://bit.ly/CITL_AU

ONE CLICK ONE HOT NIGHT:
Download ONE HOT NIGHT, the short and steamy prequel available now and FREE!

GIVEAWAY
Head to Kacey Shea’s Facebook page to enter to win a signed paperback. Good luck!
Kacey Shea’s Facebook Page: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kaceysheabooks
 
   
  

  
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  
Kacey Shea is a USA Today bestselling author of steamy contemporary romance. She enjoys writing strong and smart heroines, heroes with hearts of gold, and stories that deliver a satisfying, well-earned happily ever after. When she's not writing you will find her playing Uber to one of her three children, drinking iced tea by the gallon, or planning her next escape from the Arizona heat. Kacey has a free book for all newsletter subscribers along with bonus epilogues for her most beloved novels https://kaceysheabooks.com/newsletter-freebie    

AUTHOR LINKS 

PRINT BOOK GIVEAWAY -- The Mogul and the Muscle (a Bluewater Billionaire Novel) by Claire Kingsley



👠🌴💍𝒮𝒾𝑔𝓃𝑒𝒹 💛𝒫𝒶𝓅𝑒𝓇𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 💚𝒢𝒾𝓋𝑒𝒶𝓌𝒶𝓎🍹🕶👙

Claire Kingsley has FIVE signed paperbacks of The Mogul and The Muscle, her steamy romcom releasing October 11, 2019, up for grabs!

Easy entry ➯ http://bit.ly/2lPorVv

“𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲, 𝗰𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆. 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀. 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲. 𝗠𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗠𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱.”

Cameron Whitbury—billionaire aerospace mogul—can engineer her way out of any problem. Sure, she’s living with the threat of a potential sex scandal thanks to her lying ex. And that attempted mugging in her parking garage might not have been a random attack.
But she’s totally got this. Sacrifice her privacy to an overprotective bodyguard? No thanks. She doesn’t need a six-foot-five, motorcycle-riding, square-jawed, hazel-eyed man-beast shadowing her every move.

Jude Ellis—one-man security operation and professional problem solver—is ready to retire from the cloak and dagger stuff to live a normal life. He doesn’t need another client. Not even one with coppery-red hair and mile-long legs who looks hot AF in a sexy pair of heels.

To appease her worried friends, Cameron hires Jude as her bodyguard. And despite their feisty banter and their rampant—and totally inappropriate—sex fantasies, they’re both determined to keep it professional.

But as the danger to Cameron escalates, the heat simmering between them just might combust.

𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭-𝘰𝘧-𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺) 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬. 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘦𝘹 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘌𝘈.

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

COVER REVEAL -- Someday, Someday by Emma Scott

Someday Someday - CR banner.jpg
How long would you wait for true love?
Someday, Someday, an all-new standalone new adult romance by International bestselling author Emma Scott is coming November 7, 2019.
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Max Kaufman was kicked out of his home as a teen and his life has been an uphill battle ever since. From addiction and living on the streets, to recovery and putting himself through nursing school, he’s spent the last ten years rebuilding his shattered sense of self. Now he’s taken a job as a private caretaker to Edward Marsh III, the president and CEO of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Max soon learns Marsh’s multi-billion-dollar empire is a gold and diamond-encrusted web of secrets and lies.
The longer Max works and lives with the Marsh family, the tighter the secrets tangle around him. And his heart—that he’s worked so hard to protect—falls straight into the hands of the distant, cold, and beautiful son of a dynasty…
Silas Marsh is set to inherit the family fortune, but his father is determined his heir be the “perfect” son. Before Silas can take over the company and end its shady business practices, he must prove himself worthy…and deny his true nature. Silas must choose: stand up to his father by being true to himself and his undeniable feelings for Max. Or pretend to be someone he is not in order to inherit everything. Even if it means sacrificing a chance at happiness and real love.
SDSDFINAL Ebook (3).png
Coming November 7, 2019 to Amazon and Kindle Unlimited!
Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2nUBqGt
Cover Designer: Melissa Panio-Petersen
FB Cover Reveal.png  
About Emma: Emma Scott is a bestselling author of emotional, character-driven romances in which art and love intertwine to heal, and in which love always wins. If you enjoy emotionally-charged stories that rip your heart out and put it back together again, with diverse characters and kind-hearted heroes, you will enjoy her novels.
Connect with Emma:  
Stay up to date with Emma by joining her mailing list: