COVER REVEAL: Pinned Up by C Michelle

PINNED UP by C. Michelle

NA Contemporary Romance

Coming soon!

Readers in search of something fresh in the adult contemporary romance department will celebrate the arrival of C. Michelle’s vibrant debut novel, Pinned Up. Full of snappy dialogue, edgy humor, and a lot of heart, this fun look into the world of a modern-day pin-up model is one interesting journey. Are you ready to embark on a wild ride?
Twenty-five-year-old Nina Moretti lives a double life of sorts. She’s a victim advocate during the day and as a side gig, lives out her 1940s fetish as a pin-up model. This arrangement suits her well, as does never having a steady boyfriend. Trust is an issue that was ruined for Nina at a young age and has yet to be recovered. While she may not “do” serious relationships, she has found fulfillment in her work and hanging out with her best friend, Kade—the greatest sidekick any woman could possibly want. All is well in Nina’s hectic, but satisfying life…
That is, until she meets Josh, a stunningly handsome man who has a notorious reputation as a ladies’ man. Living in San Francisco, California, Nina has met her fair share of eligible bachelors. But there is something different about Josh, something that compels her to try and get to know him better. For his part, Josh has always been reluctant to commit to any woman, largely as a way to spite his well-meaning, but rather overbearing mother. Nina, however, sparks his interest in a way that no other woman has before. What are two people, both scared of commitment, supposed to do?
Readers will feel an array of emotions as Nina and Josh do the unthinkable—embark on a relationship together. As they navigate the pitfalls of romantic entanglement, both come to realize that their pasts are intertwined in ways that they could never imagine. Perhaps they have more in common than just their fear of relationships.

A heartfelt novel depicting modern love with a refreshing twist, Pinned Up is a must-read.

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GIVEAWAY: The Secrets They Kept by Joanne Tombrakos

I am helping Sarah's Reviews with some giveaways over the couple of months or so and this is the first. There are some great giveaways coming up, so please make sure you keep checking back and enter to win some fabulous books.

Title: The Secrets They Kept
Series: N/A
Author: Joanne Tombrakos
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: September 2011
Genre: Adult Women's Fiction

Every family has its secrets. Elena Poulous knew that. As an attorney she witnessed such deception every day. But she never thought her Greek-American family was like everybody else’s. She believed she knew everything there was to know about them - until the Saturday morning, the police knock on the door of her New York City apartment. Her otherwise organized and controlled life is suddenly disrupted as they inform her of the death of Yannis Poulous, a man she had never heard of, a man who has listed her as his next of kin.

As Elena sets out to settle his affairs, she encounters a web of secrets that have been silenced for a lifetime. A box of old letters she unearths in his Brooklyn apartment begin to help unravel the mystery. But the biggest part of the puzzle - why everyone in her family, especially her mother Kristina refuses to talk about him - proves the most difficult to discover.

The story unfolds over the course of the forty days that follow Yannis’ death, a time when according to the beliefs of the Greek Orthodox religion, the soul of the deceased remains close to the earth and to those it loves as it asks for the forgiveness of its sins.

The Secrets They Kept is a multi-generational story, of mothers and daughters, of cultural and religious influences that still exercise power, of hearts closing and opening, of secrets kept and discovered, all in the name of love and of family.

About the Author

Joanne Tombrakos is a creative digital strategist, writer and speaker who blogs on perspective and practical advice on living and working in the digital age at www.joannetombrakos.com The Secrets They Kept is her first novel. She is also the author of It Takes An Egg Timer, A Guide To Creating The Time For Your Life.

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Giveaway

Open Internationally
Ten (10) copies The Secrets They Kept either paperback OR Kindle
Ends 5th June 2013
Winners will have 24 hours to respond to the email or a new winner will be chosen

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BOOK BLAST: Tragic by J.A. Huss

TRAGIC: Rook and Ronin, #1
By J. A. Huss
New Adult Contemporary Romance
Published May 15, 2013
Science Future Press

Rook Walsh is TRAGIC

Because life so far – just sucks. Some girls get parents. Rook got the foster care system. Some girls get Prince Charming. Rook got an abusive frog. Some girls get lucky…

Rook got a second chance.

And she took it. Because when fate throws you a bone – you grab it with both hands and run.

Antoine Chaput knows the minute he spies Rook in his photography studio that she’s got The Look. The dark and desperate look he must have to land the exclusive TRAGIC media contract.

Rook is paired up with top model, Ronin, and he’s everything her abusive ex-boyfriend wasn’t. Patient, gentle, happy, attentive, and sexy! He knows exactly what to do to make Rook blush for Antoine’s camera.

Rook’s luck changes in an instant and suddenly she’s the darling of the modeling world. It’s a dream job to go with a dream guy and all she has to do is look pretty and follow directions. But there’s always a price to pay – and Rook is about to get the bill.

New Adult Contemporary Romance *Mature Content* Recommended for ages 17+ due to sexual situations and language usage

**Does contain strong language

I gather up all my clothes and stick them in the stackable washer in the closet just off the bedroom. The breeze caresses my naked limbs and gives me the chills, but I enjoy it. The goose bumps travel up my arms and spread out to my whole body. I shiver for a second and then head to the kitchen.

And stop dead in the living room.

Ronin fucking Flynn is sleeping on the couch.

What is he doing here? My eyes track to the front door and I suppose it's my fault, I left it open. There's nothing but a screen door between this apartment and the terrace. My gaze wanders back to the sleeping man. He's lying on his stomach, his one arm tucked underneath him, the other falling over the edge of the cushion, and he's shirtless.

And then I realize I'm naked.

"Shit!"

He stirs and I make a break for the bedroom. It's one thing to let him see me naked half hidden in darkness and quite another to be fully illuminated by the bright morning sunshine. I wrangle the sheet around my body and then head back to the living room, wistfully looking at the washer that contains every single article of clothing I own.

"Ronin!" I say loudly.

Nothing except a half-muffled snore from him. Lord, this man has the most perfectly chiseled and muscular back I've ever seen. Both hands pull up and go under his face, like he's blocking out the sunlight, and this gives me the perfect opportunity to study his flexing biceps. The muscles are thick and hard-looking near his shoulders. They curve down, dip into a little valley, and then climb once again.

I lean down and smell him.

"Why are you sniffing me?" he asks groggily.

"Uh—" Because you smell delicious, the inner Rook says. But luckily the outer Rook says, "I'm checking to see if you're drunk. Why are you sleeping on my couch?"

He peeks up, opening one eye in my direction, squints, and then croaks out some words. "I love your outfit." He grins, winks, and then drops his head back down into his arms.

"Are you leaving?" I ask, frustrated and confused at the same time. "I mean, why are you here?"

"I told you I'd come back with dinner. But when I got here, the lights were on and you were in bed. I only sat down for a second to think up a rational excuse to wake you up, but I guess I fell asleep." He raises his head again, grins sheepishly, and then rolls over on his back, tucks his hands behind his neck, and flashes his perfect body at me as he closes his eyes, probably confident that I'll be checking him out.

I do check him out. It's quite hard not to notice that he's got the perfect six-pack abs and that absolutely adorable fuzzy happy trail you see on a shirtless designer jeans model. Hmmmm… maybe he is that model? "You have no shirt on."

Yes, after all that gawking, I finally manage the obvious.

He opens the one eye to look at me again. "Neither do you."

Purchase your copyAvailable on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.

J. A. Huss likes to write new adult books that make you think and keep you guessing. Her favorite genre to read is space opera, but since practically no one reads those books, she writes new adult science fiction, paranormal romance, contemporary romance, urban fantasy, and books about Junco (who refuses to be saddled with a label).

She has an undergraduate degree in horses, (yes, really–Thank you, Colorado State University) and a master’s degree in forensic toxicology from the University of Florida. She used to have a job driving around Colorado doing pretty much nothing but shooting the breeze with farmers, but now she just writes, runs the New Adult Addiction and Clean Teen Reads Book Blogs, and runs an online science classroom for homeschoolers.

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Book Review: The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

Goodreads Summary: Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.
Literally.
Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.
Then Eli’s dream comes true.
Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

Title: The Nightmare Affair
Series: The Arkwell Academy #1
Author: Mindee Arnett
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: 5th March 2013
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy
Format: eGalley
Source: via publisher on NetGalley

The Nightmare Affair was a great read and a fantastic beginning to the series. I really enjoyed the writing style and characters created by Mindee Arnett and can’t wait for book 2 in the series, The Nightmare Dilemma, due for release next year (2014). This reminded me a little of the Mythos Academy series by Jennifer Estep and even Phoebe Pope and the Year of Four by Nya Jade. These both have academy settings and mysteries to be solved. I am really enjoying academy setting books at the moment, as you can see. :)

Destiny (Dusty) Everhart is a 16 year old and has a Nightmare Mother, Moira. Dusty lived with her Father up until her magical abilities turned up not long ago. Since they arrived, she had to attend a new school, Arkwell Academy. Arkwell is a school for magickind, where they learn to use their abilities. But life at school isn’t easy for Dusty with the history her Mother left behind.

A Nightmare is a darkkind, which means they have to get their power from living people. Dusty has to feed off dreams from humans and this one particular night, Dusty went dreamwalking and picked Eli Booker. Eli was the quarterback at high school where Dusty used to go and she wasn't really excited to see his dreams, but did anyway. This dream was very different for Dusty, very vivid and was of a dead girl from Arkwell. It was all very strange really and Eli somehow found Dusty in the dream and grabbed her arm. When the dreamer and the Nightmare touch in the dream, it automatically kicks the Nightmare out. The funny thing is, when Nightmares jump into dreams, they have to position themselves on the chests of their victims. So when Eli and Dusty were out of the dream, she fell off Eli and started shooting spells at him, but for some reason the spells bounced back off. What is going on?

Dusty is captured by the Werewolve Police and taken back to school where she finds the crime scene she just witnessed in the dream. Now she is really confused.

Dusty and Eli is a dream-seer pair, which is rare and exciting. Dusty and Eli have been tasked with finding the killer and preventing any further people from dying. In their dreams they could find clues to what is going on and try to prevent it from happening.

Since their bond has started, they find themselves becoming allies and with the help of Dusty’s roommate, Selena, they all embark on an adventure to find the culprit and discover the secret behind the Keepers.

Can Dusty and Eli interpret the dreams to find clues to the killer? Will they accept they have a connection that goes beyond the dream-seer dreams? Can Dusty forgive her Mother from running out on her when she was little?

I found this book very intriguing and a fun read. Having betrayal, action, mystery, romance, paranormal creatures and teen angst, I really enjoyed the world Ms Arnett created and the fun quirky characters.

4 GREAT FUN BOOKS

About the Author

Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space. She has far more dreams than nightmares.

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Book Review: The Water Witch by Juliet Dark

Goodreads Summary: "You have only to call my name to bring me back," he whispered, his breath hot in my ear. "You have only to love me to make me human."

Seduced by a powerful incubus demon, Callie has succeeded in banishing him to the Borderlands but Liam still haunts her dreams, tempting her with the knowledge of how to bring him back.

But loving an incubus usually ends in death for a human. For her own sake, Callie must learn to control her desires and ensure Liam remains trapped for all eternity in his watery prison.

Only there is a more dangerous creature than Liam in the Borderlands. The Water Witch is looking for a way back.

Title: The Water Witch
Series: Fairwick Chronicles #2
Author: Juliet Dark (Carol Goodman)
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: 12th February 2013
Genre: Adult Paranormal Fantasy Romance
Format: eGalley
Source: publisher via NetGalley

I really loved The Demon Lover and really love the writing style of Juliet Dark. The Water Witch was no exception and was another addictive and fast paced read. I love Callie and love watching her grow with each book and the wonderful friendships she has made since moving into the town.

After banishing Liam into the Borderlands, Callie is still trying to piece back together her broken heart. Still not able to truly love him and turn him human, Liam is now stuck for eternity in the Borderlands. Callie must be careful not to desire him too much or he could escape again. Callie is still having hot and sweaty dreams about Liam and doesn’t know if they are real or just fantasies.

Callie is going to help her friends show a batch of undines the doorway to Faerie before they die. As Callie is the doorkeeper, she is the only one able to help guide them through. But Callie gets more than she has bargained for. One of the undines grabs a hold of Callie and pulls her into the water; the only way she is able to escape is to show the undines their way through the passage into Faerie. Travelling the passage is dangerous and finally making it through the other side, Callie is beside herself.

Callie is now in Faerie and watches as the undines turn into beautiful women, with legs and watch as they join their relatives. Callie has an argument with Lorelei, she is extremely angry and wants Callie to open the door for her to return to the human world, where she can breed. Callie doesn’t want to allow this angry, crazy undine back in and Lorelei is hell bent on taking revenge on her.

After returning back home and having a dangerous storm follow her through the doorway, Callie finds trouble and her house is torn apart. Looking for a new handyman, Bill turns up and Callie has an instant liking to him.

The witches in town have found Duncan, a renowned specialist and help to train new witches. Callie can’t but help be attracted to Duncan and with the hopes that he will be able to show her her full strength and witch abilities; Duncan has become her new friend.

With the threat of the doorway to Faerie being closed forever and Aelvesgold being taken away, the witch world will have no more magic. Callie is on a tight schedule to find a way to be able to keep the door open.

Who/what is the handyman Bill? Who/what is Duncan? Will Callie be able to get over Liam finally OR truly accept that she loves him? Who is the Water Witch? Can the door be kept open?

This was a great sequel to The Demon Lover and a fantastic continuation. I really love this series and the unique world that Ms Dark has created. There were a lot of surprises throughout this book and I was amazed and awed by the ending. I cannot wait to read book 3, The Angel Stone, due for release early September 2013.

4 GREAT FANTASY BOOKS

About the Author

Carol Goodman (Juliet Dark is a pseudonym) is the author of The Lake of Dead Languages. Her work has appeared in such journals as The Greensboro Review, Literal Latt, The Midwest Quarterly, and Other Voices. After graduation from Vassar College, where she majored in Latin, she taught Latin for several years in Austin, Texas. She then received an M.F.A. in fiction from the New School University. Goodman currently teaches writing and works as a writer-in-residence for Teachers & Writers. She lives on Long Island. (from the publisher's website)"

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