#Giveaway - $25 Amazon Gift Card #BlogTour - Hearts with Heat and Heart Volume 2: A Charity Anthology

Hearts with Heat and Heart Volume 2: A Charity Anthology
Publication date: June 28th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

The hint of smoke. The flash of flames. When the wildfires burn through our towns, THEY step up to the fireline and risk their lives. Help us honor their bravery and sacrifice in this charity romance anthology.

All proceeds benefit Grassroots Wildland Firefighters organization.

Fall in love with the heroes of this steamy contemporary romance anthology, including stories by

Grassroots Wildland Firefighters Charity is a USA 503c organization advocating for the health and safety of wildland firefighters.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

SPECIAL NOTICE: Buy Heroes with Heat and Heart Vol. 2 for #99cents before before 7/3 and get a free adult coloring book and a sexy cocktail recipe book! After Sunday, the price will go up to $9.99, and the bonuses come down.

The password is the first word in Chapter 10 of Lolo Paige’s Alaska Flame. Click here to claim your prizes!

https://www.behindthebadgepress.com/prizes/

—

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

#Giveaway - $10 Amazon Gift Card #BlogTour - Unconditional: A Love Story Shon

Unconditional: A Love Story
Shon
Publication date: May 10th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Charli is everything Damian ever wanted.

Captivated from the moment they met, he allowed her to set the tone for their summer fling.

But when the summer was over and he wanted more, he soon found out that maybe his feelings were one-sided.

That was two years ago and he’s still stuck on Charli. He needs to move on.

A lot has changed since they last saw each other, but Damian can’t shake the what-ifs. And the moment they cross paths again he knows his heart still belongs to the elusive woman who stole it the first time he laid eyes on her.

Who’s to say they won’t get it right this time around?

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

prologue.
summer2019

“We need to talk.”

Well, shit. That’s not good, Charli thought to herself as she continued pulling on her shorts.

She couldn’t decide if it was worse to hear those four fateful words from a boyfriend or a fuck buddy.

I guess I’m about to find out, was her wry thought as she finished zipping up the distressed jean shorts that barely covered her ass. With her eyes darting around the room to avoid eye contact with the man who claimed they needed to talk, she located one of her gold hoops on the rug.

Following her avoidant eyes, the other occupant of the room bent to pick it up before she had the chance.

“Thanks,” Charli spoke lowly as their fingers brushed during the exchange.

The warmth of his fingers led to a sharp inhale that she couldn’t even hide.

“Did you hear me?” the beautiful man in front of her wanted to know. “I said we need to talk,” he reiterated. Just in case.

But she’d heard him loud and clear the first time.

Sighing, Charli took a step back and shoved the earring into her pocket instead of trying to put it on right now.

“I heard you,” she said, trying to veil the worry in her voice.

What could Damian possibly want to talk about? And why couldn’t his timing be better? They’d just finished…making each other very happy. His scent still surrounded her and captivated her senses.

But now, the knots in her stomach quickly pushed her to forget the pleasure she’d just experienced.

“What do we need to talk about?” she finally asked meeting his green eyes. They were usually enchanting and full of lust when they were together, but now he looked…panicked?

No, it couldn’t be. Not cool, calm Damian.

Unless…

Had he found a girlfriend? Was he about to end their arrangement and politely tell her to get on with her life?

The thought wasn’t a pleasant one, but Charli couldn’t really blame him.

As an Ivy League dropout and ex-socialite, she didn’t really feel like she had much to offer aside from a good time.

She winced inwardly and vowed to deal with the origins of that problematic thought later. Much later. Not now when she was standing face to face with the man she’d been trading orgasms with all summer.

Damian regarded her from his towering height of six-two and even though she was five-eight she felt miniscule under his unwavering gaze.

“It’s about us,” he revealed, “I need to talk to you about what we’re doing.”

Charli gulped but didn’t break eye contact. She could do this. She could have a civilized, adult conversation with someone she shared every inch of her body with on an almost daily basis at this point.

“What about us? I like what we’re doing.” Charli pushed her hair away from her face. She hated the sensation of stray strands tickling her cheeks.

Damian exhaled sharply and gave a faint nod. “Yea, I did too. Until recently.”

Ouch.

Charli straightened her shoulders and prepared for the next words, somehow knowing they would pack a devastating blow.

But nothing could have prepared her for what he said next.

Author Bio:

Shon is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She used her degree in English Literature for eight years to teach English all around the world. She has recently returned home to the States and now she spends all her time reading or writing down her wildest daydreams.

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

#Giveaway - $25 Amazon Gift Card #BlogTour Thief by Leslie Georgeson @lesliegeorgeson

Thief
by Leslie Georgeson
(Popov Bratva, #4)
Publication date: June 14th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Mafia, Romance, Suspense

I live by one simple rule.

Do not get attached.

Feelings are a weakness that I can’t allow.

It’s an easy rule to abide by. Keep everyone at a distance.

Then a sassy, smart-mouthed redhead interferes in my heist. For the first time in my life, I botch the job.

If I let her go, she’ll turn me in. I have no choice other than to take her hostage.

Too late, I learn she’s a celebrity. Her disappearance will make the headlines and lead back to me. She’s nothing but trouble in a tight, sexy body.

Can I strike a deal with a woman who challenges me at every turn?

Then I discover she has secrets that could ruin her. Now I have the upper hand. I plan to use it to my advantage.

She has more to lose than I do. Or so I think.

I am about to learn that some rules are meant to be broken.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

My stomach dropped. Had I seriously lost my wallet? This was not good. I needed to go back to the store before they closed and see if I could find it.

It was ten-thirty at night. The store closed at eleven. I needed to hurry.

There might be a slim chance someone had found my wallet and turned it in to someone at the store. It was also possible I’d dropped it somewhere and it still lay where it had fallen. If I hurried, I might actually get lucky and find it before someone picked it up.

The paparazzi should be long gone by now.

Snatching up my purse, I tossed my phone inside and headed for the garage. I’d never lost my wallet before. I wouldn’t feel better until I had it back in my possession.

Snagging a hoodie from the coat rack by the back door, I slipped it over my head. Moments later, I was in my Audi R8 and pulling out of the garage. I’d fallen in car lust the moment I’d seen the sleek and sexy convertible at the car dealership last year. Melanie called it a “dickmobile” and I loved the description with its intended pun. The sports car had cost me over a hundred and fifty grand. It was one of my few splurges. Mostly, I was careful with my money, investing over half of it for the future. I was smart enough to know I wouldn’t be on top forever. Everyone’s career had its ups and downs. Considering where I’d come from, I wasn’t about to be too confident. Today I might have it all, but tomorrow I might have squat.

I took nothing for granted.

Ten minutes later, I reached the store. 10:45 p.m. I still had fifteen minutes until closing.

The parking lot was nearly empty now. Only a few cars remaining. A sleek black Escalade. A beat-up blue Honda. A nondescript gray sedan.

Assuming the owner of the Escalade was wealthy, probably a celebrity and unlikely to care if he or she spotted another celebrity, I parked next to it. Plus, I felt safer parking near another expensive car. People with nice cars were less likely to ding your vehicle with their doors.

Pulling the hoodie up over my head to hide my face and stuffing a pepper spray in the pocket for my safety—a girl could never be too cautious—I exited the car and hurried toward the south entrance where Gus had picked us up earlier. If I couldn’t find my wallet on the ground, then I would go inside and ask the store clerk if someone had turned it in.

I’d only taken about eight or nine steps across the parking lot when I sensed a movement behind me.

My skin prickling, I whirled around.

A man dressed all in black slipped out of the back of the Escalade and rushed around to the driver’s side of my Audi, his face hidden beneath a black balaclava.

My mouth dropped open.

Are you kidding me?

Frozen with shock and cursing my dumb luck and the decision to park near the SUV, I could only stare as my car bleeped, the lights flashing as it unlocked, and the man slipped behind the wheel. Of my car. How the hell did he unlock it?

What I did next was probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life. But I wasn’t about to lose my precious Audi in addition to my wallet.

Pulling the pepper spray from the pocket of my hoodie, I raced back to my car just as the engine fired up.

Oh, no, you don’t, asshole!

Yanking the passenger’s side door open, I leaped into the vehicle just as it started to move forward.

The man jerked toward me in surprise.

I aimed the pepper spray at his face.

And pressed the trigger.

Leslie Georgeson

Leslie Georgeson writes romance and suspense, sometimes with a dash of sci-fi or paranormal tossed in to make things more interesting. She is the author of the popular military romantic suspense series, THE DREGS, which was nominated for the 2018 TopShelf Indie Book Awards. Her other titles include the UNLIKELY HEROES series, the UNDERNEATH series, the standalone romantic mystery, NO SON OF MINE, and the newly released romantic suspense duet, THE PACT. Book one, The Mocking Man, is now available on Amazon.

Leslie lives with her husband and daughter on a quiet country acreage in Idaho. She is currently working on The Honest Liar, the second book in THE PACT, and anticipates an early May 2020 release.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Newsletter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

#Giveaway - $25 Amazon gift card #BlogTour - The Laughbox by Julia Kent @jkentauthor

The Laughbox
Julia Kent
Publication date: June 21st 2022
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

The Laughbox contains SIX full-length novels so you can start all of New York Times bestselling romantic comedy author Julia Kent’s series, plus get an ALL NEW NOVELLA you can’t find anywhere else.

Get a taste of billionaires, small towns, rock stars, office romance, secret bosses, second chances, first crushes, enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, and so much more.

Each series is wildly different from the others, with varying heat levels, different hijinks, but always, always – a heartwarming world you want to live in, with heroes who make you swoon and heroines who make you laugh – and cheer on in their quests for happily-ever-after endings.

This boxed set includes:

Shopping for a Billionaire (a New York Times bestseller)

Fluffy (a USA Today bestseller)

Love You Wrong

Random Acts of Crazy (a New York Times bestseller)

In Your Dreams

Maliciously Obedient (a USA Today bestseller)

and an ALL NEW novella, Shopping for a Billionaire’s Anniversary, featuring Declan and Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, as they celebrate their anniversary with affection, heat, and a hilarious set of awkward mishaps that still manage to be conquered by love.

Sink into seven fun stories that leave you with all the feels, loads of laughs, and strange looks from people around you as you read, giggle, and fall in love.

Note: each of these are series starters. Some are standalones (Fluffy), others end with the main characters together but with more books in the series as I follow their relationship (Shopping for a Billionaire, Random Acts of Crazy), others are prequels (Love You Wrong, In Your Dreams), while Maliciously Obedient has a cliffhanger. Full, up-front transparency for readers.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

SPECIAL RELEASE PRICE: 2.99 until 6/26 when price goes up to 9.99!

—

EXCERPT:

Declan

Here.” My executive assistant, Dave, shoves a perfectly wrapped present at me, with a card and a small envelope. We’re in my office, the sun shining on this beautiful spring day, and I am finishing up work before taking a vacation.

Yes–vacation. It’s for one night, but it counts.

“What’s this?”

“Your anniversary gift for Shannon.”

The note card is blank.

He notices me noticing this and his face sours, the corners of his mouth dropping in scorn, pulling his beard down so he looks like an angry leprechaun.

“I draw the line at writing sweet nothings to your wife and signing your name, even if my rendition of your signature is far superior to your own,” he says dryly, reaching down to square a pile of papers on my desk.

“My signature is my signature. No one can best it, Dave.”

He just snorts.

I shake the box lightly. “What’s in here?”

“Leather.”

“Leather?”

“Ninth-year anniversary gift. Leather is flexible and represents durability.”

“I am well aware of what leather represents. What does it have to do with my marriage?”

He snorts again.

I frown and ask, “Just leather? What is it, a wallet?”

“No! Of course not. The traditional gemstone for ninth anniversaries is lapis. I had a jewelry artist set chunks of lapis in gold, then stitch them onto a leather cuff bracelet.” Dave holds his phone up to me, showing a picture of the piece.

“That’s incredible.”

A short sigh of contentment, then a clipped, “You’re welcome” is how Dave takes a compliment. He doesn’t feed off praise.

He feeds off his own hypercompetence. If efficiency were a drug, Dave would be Al Pacino on Scarface, covered in the fine white powder of his own brutal excellence.

“The lighthouse is reserved for the evening?” I inquire, reaching for my briefcase.

“Yes. Your suit’s in the car already.” Dave eyes me. “Where will you change?”

I’m wearing jeans, hiking boots, and a Lacoste polo shirt, all Shannon’s favorites. The dark green shirt is a nod to my eyes, which she has spent almost a decade raving about.

Author Bio:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. Since 2013, she has sold more than 2 million books, with 4 New York Times bestsellers and more than 21 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French, German, and Italian, with more titles releasing in the future.

From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men's room toilet (and he isn't a billionaire she met in a romantic comedy).

She lives in New England with her husband and three children where she is the only person in the household with the gene required to change empty toilet paper rolls.

She loves to hear from her readers by email at julia@jkentauthor.com, on Twitter @jkentauthor, on Facebook at @jkentauthor, and on Instagram @jkentauthor. Visit her at http://jkentauthor.com

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Newsletter / Instagram / Bookbub / Amazon

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

#Giveaway - $100 gift card and 3x copies of Everything We Are by Darby Blake & Sienna Ray

Everything We Are
Darby Blake & Sienna Ray
Publication date: June 21st 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Sports

Thea Jenson has her future meticulously planned out. Graduate from college. Get a job. Marry her high school sweetheart and have two beautiful children. When she decides to transfer schools, her brother suggests she move in with him and his unruly hockey roommates. Everything in her life is going according to her plan . . .

. . . until she bumps into Kyler in their kitchen and sparks fly.

Kyler Rose, the starting center for the Northport University hockey team, is done for the moment he lays his eyes on Thea. But he can’t allow her to become a distraction. He’s determined to make it to the NHL. That’s if he doesn’t get booted for failing grades first. And even though he’s on scholarship, it doesn’t pay his bills or provide for his family. Neither do the tips he earns from his bartending gig. When an offer to make some fast cash falls in his lap, he takes it, thinking no one will care if he gets hurt . . .

. . . except Thea does care.

But just as Kyler finds a way to navigate his feelings for Thea, an unexpected link to his family comes to light and he finds himself in the fight of his life to protect those he loves the most – his family.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

—

EXCERPT:

THEA

I never really thought I’d be that person—the one who switches school after a year because they’ve changed their whole career path. It’s not as if the change is because some big scandal went down. There was no sordid affair with a teacher, no cheating on a test, not even the slightest hint of any wrongdoing. The plain fact is, I quickly discovered the major I was studying was not for me. It took a while for realization to set in. I thought my plans were set in stone since ninth grade. Graduate from college with a summa cum laude, become a successful defense attorney defending high-profile cases in the state, get married and have kids. Now my direction has changed, and a high-flying defense attorney has been replaced with a nutritionist and dietician.

There is another reason for this change; one I haven’t admitted to anyone. I feel like I’m stuck. I’m floating around in no man’s land with a future I’m not sure I want anymore. The trouble with having a life plan from an early age is the risk of growing out of it. It seemed like a good idea when I was fifteen and obsessed with crime dramas. It’s only when you start hitting the books and going to lecture upon lecture you realize it’s not as glamorous as it seems. I quickly discovered the legal profession is not for me.

So here I am, leaving my hometown of Silver Lake and moving three hours south, where I’ll attend the University of Northport for the next three years. The Health Sciences department at Northport is one of the best in our state, which is the reason I’m transferring there. My career choice may have changed, but my ambitions for graduating summa cum laude remain the same. It helps that my older brother, Jude, goes there. Thankfully, I get to share a house with him and some of his teammates. Jude is on Northport’s ice hockey team, and if he wanted to, he could easily be drafted to the NHL. At the moment, though, he’s set on graduating and “conquering the world,” his words, not mine.

Author Bio:

Darby Blake is a pen name for New York Times Bestselling Author Heidi McLaughlin. Darby’s first novel, EVERYTHING WE ARE, co-written with her best friend, is due to be released in June 2022. Learn more about Darby by visiting darbyblake.com

Author links:
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Newsletter
--

Sienna Ray is a quietly introverted author living in the UK. She lives with her other half and despite aspirations to be an author in her school days, has only just recently embarked on her writing journey. Her debut novel, EVERYTHING WE ARE, co-written with her best friend, is due to be released in June 2022.

Author links:
Facebook / Instagram

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

#BlogTour - Blood and Chaos by Emma Dean #Romance @emmadeanromance

Blood and Chaos
by Emma Dean
(A Syndicate of Blood and Chaos, #2)
Publication date: January 20th 2023
Genres: Adult, Mafia, Reverse Harem, Romance

Two kingdoms: one of shadows, and one of blood.

Damien Chaos was a devil of his own making, and yet, somehow he found himself agreeing to a deal with Kira Cain instead of the other way around. She’d manipulated him into a position where the only solution was to do exactly as she wanted.

Shadow was his, but the cost was almost more than he could stand.

Kira Cain was going to be his wife, and the arranged marriage would put her at his side as his queen and equal.

The only problem was Damien couldn’t control her, and she already had Aeron and Kaito wrapped around her little finger. Things may not be going as planned, but there was no way he’d let anyone else f*cking touch her.

Dante would suffer for putting her in danger, and this time Damien wasn’t going to let it slide.

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order

Emma Dean is the autistic author of Draga Court and the Council of Paranormals. Juggling work, life, higher education, and a rambunctious toddler leaves little room for much else, but when she gets the chance she dives into a good book and likes to re-read the Black Jewels series by Anne Bishop every year during Christmas.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Hosted by:

BOOK SPOTLIGHT!!! Gwenna The Welsh Confectioner (The New Zealand Immigrant Collection) by Vicky Adin #WomensFiction #FamilySaga #HistoricalFiction @VickyAdin @maryanneyarde

Against overwhelming odds, can she save her legacy?

Gwenna's life is about to change. Her father is dead and the family business on the brink of collapse. Thwarted by society, the plucky sweet maker refuses to accept defeat.

Amid the bustling vibrancy of Auckland’s Karangahape Road, she promised her father she would fulfil his dreams and save her legacy. But thanks to her overbearing stepbrother that legacy is at risk. Gwenna must find hidden strengths and fight for her rights if she is to keep her promise. 

She falls in love with the cheeky and charming Johnno, but just when things are beginning to look up, disaster strikes. Throughout the twists and turns of love and tragedy, Gwenna is irrepressible. She refuses to relinquish her goal and lets nothing and no one stand in her way. Blind to anything that could distract her, Gwenna overlooks the most important person in her life, putting her dreams, her family, and her chance at happiness in jeopardy. 

Gwenna The Welsh Confectioner

Brigid The Girl from County Clare

The Costumier's Gift

Vicky Adin

Vicky Adin is a family historian in love with the past. Like the characters in her stories, she too, is an immigrant to New Zealand, arriving a century after her first protagonists and ready to start a new life. 

Born in Wales, she grew up in Cornwall until aged 12. Her family emigrated to New Zealand, a country she would call home. Vicky draws on her affinity for these places in her writing. Fast forward a few years, and she marries a fourth-generation Kiwi bloke with Irish, Scottish and English ancestors and her passion for genealogy flourishes.

The further she dug into the past the more she wanted to record the lives of the people who were the foundations of her new country. Not just her ancestors but all those who braved the oceans and became pioneers in a raw new land. Her research into life as it was for those immigrants in the mid-late 1800s and early 1900s gave her enough material to write about the land left behind and the birth of a new nation for many years. 

Vicky holds a MA(Hons) in English, is a lover of art, antiques, gardens, good food and red wine. She and her husband travel throughout New Zealand in their caravan and travel the world when they can. She hopes that younger generations also enjoy learning about the past through her stories as much as she had in writing them. 

Social Media Links:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

Instagram

Pinterest

BookBub

Amazon Author Page

Goodreads

Tour Schedule

Giveaway - $25 Amazon gift card #BlogTour - Monterey King by Claire Marti @clairepmarti

Monterey King
Claire Marti
(California Suits, #3)
Publication date: June 16th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

When former Army Major Cameron Taylor comes home a hero from his deployment in the Middle East his scars run deep – both physically and emotionally. But he’s starting over, running a luxury hotel with his best friends. And Lucy Goodwin, apparently…his high school sweetheart who he’s never quite managed to forget.

There’s only one reason Lucy’s been engaged – and walked away – three times and now he’s standing right in front of her. Cameron Taylor is the man she’s never stopped loving, even when he left her “for her own good” all those years ago. There was nothing good about it, that’s for sure. Just like there’d be nothing good about trying to break down Cameron’s walls now. But that doesn’t mean she’s not tempted to try…

***Monterey King is the third book in award-winning and USA Today bestselling author Claire Marti’s spin off contemporary romance series, California Suits. The series will follow the adventures of five best friends who are opening a string of luxury boutique hotels from La Jolla to Monterey to Beverly Hills as each one finds true love…usually where he least expects it. Each book is a standalone.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

But sharing the conference table with the hotel’s Managing Director, Cameron Taylor, who she hadn’t set eyes on since he’d dumped her thirteen years ago? Yeah, that explained why her pulse pounded in her temples like the massive surf crashing on the nearby Monterey shore. She paused in front of the closed conference room door, taking a moment to gather her composure.

“The door isn’t locked.” An unmistakable voice rasped from beside her.

She spun around and her throat tightened the moment her eyes locked with Cameron Taylor’s arctic blue gaze.

How could someone look so familiar yet like a stranger? Lucy studied his lean, angular face. His strong, slightly crooked nose was the same, as was the determined squareness of his jawline. Small lines fanned out from his arresting eyes and grooves bracketed his chiseled mouth, which was pressed into a firm line. His posture was ramrod straight––even more rigid after a dozen years serving overseas in the Army.

“Cam.” How many times had she imagined what she’d say if she ever saw him again? How many impassioned speeches had she rehearsed before moving on with her life?

He inclined his head. “Hi, Lucy.” His crisp tone was as remote as his stony expression. The voice of an acquaintance––not the man she’d shared the love of a lifetime with until he’d broken her heart.

Through impeccable self-control, if she did say so herself, she forced her lips to curve upward. “So… how are you?” Awkward, but it was the best she had to offer. She hadn’t expected to encounter him one-on-one, at least not yet.

“Fine, but we should go in. Ryan and Charlie are waiting.” Cam reached for the mahogany wooden door’s carved brass handle at the same time she did.

His long, blunt fingers brushed hers. A flash of heat sparked up her arm and she snatched her hand back. Muscle memory? Of course, Mr. Poker Face didn’t flinch as he pushed the large door open.

Bright light flooded the conference room and bathed the expansive space in a golden glow. Lucy blinked. January on the Monterey coastline wasn’t celebrated for clear blue skies, but the cloudy gray morning had cleared, and rays of sunshine exposed the rugged Pacific coastline beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Author Bio:

Claire Marti is an award winning and USA Today Bestselling author of swoonworthy Contemporary Romance novels set in Southern California, including the Pacific Vista Ranch series and the spin-off California Suits series. She lives in San Diego with her husband, silly dog, and two clever cats.

Claire started writing stories as soon as she was old enough to pick up pencil and paper. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a BA in English Literature, Claire was sidetracked by other careers, including practicing law, selling software for legal publishers, and managing a non-profit animal rescue for a Hollywood actress.

When Claire's not writing, she's teaching yoga. You can find her sixty+ online classes on the international website www.yogadownload.com. A breast cancer survivor, Claire is a sought-after speaker on the power of yoga and meditation. She's been published in numerous magazines with articles on wellness and is the author of a memoir, Come Ride with Me Along the Big C, on her experience beating breast cancer.

Claire loves to hear from readers!

Reach out via email or sign up for her newsletter at www.clairemarti.com

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

Giveaway - $25 Amazon gift card and ebook copy of The Right Kind of Unexpected by Rayna York

The Right Kind of Unexpected
Rayna York
Publication date: June 18th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Tess hasn’t experienced many kindnesses in her eighteen years. When her boyfriend abandons her at a small-town gas station, it’s just one more crappy event to add to the pile. Without a car, money, or cell phone, her options are limited, and calling her parents isn’t one of them. So when the family that owns the business throws her a lifeline, she grabs hold. Because even the worst situations can have a silver lining, and this one is a town called Jasper Creek, a diner everyone calls Earl’s, and a young mechanic named Colten Reed.

Rayna York’s standalone novel gives readers the small-town romance they crave with enough feels to make the heart sing. It’s the perfect feel-good, summer romance.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

I rush to the bathroom at the side of the building and lock the door behind me. I can’t deal with this anymore. I grip the sides of the pedestal sink and drop my head, breathing deep. In, out, in, out, fighting for calm.

Why? Why did I think this was a good idea?

Three days ago, Dax and I were on our way to a gallery opening when I mentioned I’d never been to Disney World. He said he hadn’t either. I commented on how it would be fun to jump in the car and go. High school graduation was over, my parents were in Europe, I didn’t have any plans for the summer, so the next afternoon we were on the road.

Bad idea.

Horrible.

The worst.

I lift my sunglasses to the top of my head and startle at the red-rimmed, brown-eyed zombie staring back at me. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since we left, and I forgot to take my makeup off last night, then Dax was in such a hurry this morning.

Maybe our relationship was always a mess. I don’t know. We’ve only been together for six months. In New York, Dax and I got along great. There were parties, restaurants, people, and places to fill our time. Now, without the distractions and being stuck together in mostly confined spaces, I realize we don’t have as much in common as I thought. But it’s more than that. He needs to be right about everything and nags me until I concede to his views. I never noticed him doing that before. There are a lot of things I didn’t notice before.

I use a little soap and water on a paper towel and clean the black smears from around my eyes. It cleans the makeup off perfectly, but the dark circles and puffiness remain. I slide a hair elastic from around my wrist and pull my brown mop of humid-induced frizz into a messy bun.

With a deep sigh, I slide my glasses back over my eyes and push the door open into the bright sunlight. I take in the beautiful field dotted with wildflowers behind the gas station, then close my eyes and lift my face to the sun, disregarding the intensity on my pale skin. I breathe in the fragrant smell of green that only a sweltering heat can produce.

It’s time to put an end to this impromptu adventure. It ceased being fun after the first five hours. And it’s my car, my time, my money. With renewed strength, I turn on my heels, ready to confront Dax and get my car keys back. I’m heading home with or without my soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. I can drop him off at a bus station if he wants to continue the trip.

I round the corner of the building. Wait, what? Where is it?

I walk to the two ancient gas pumps and turn in a circle, taking in the white building with peeling paint, and everything else in the three-hundred-and-sixty-degree radius, but the car is nowhere in sight. I walk to the other side of the building, thinking he might have parked in a different location while getting something from inside, but the car isn’t there either.

Author Bio:

Rayna York grew up with hippie parents that liked to adventure. Where change was the norm, books were her constant—a way to escape. As an adult, many careers came and went, but writing has always been her passion. Everything I knew to be true is her first published novel.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Newsletter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

Giveaway - $25 Amazon gift card #BlogTour - The Second Time Around by Kelly Collins @kcollinsauthor

The Second Time Around
Kelly Collins
Publication date: June 2nd 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

A swoon-worthy second chance romance with all the feels.

Brie Watkins had loved two men in her life. One abandoned her at the altar twelve years ago, and the other died in the war. She is no stranger to loss, but she’s still learning how to move on. When her sick aunt asks her to come back to Willow Bay to help at the family resort, Brie says yes. After all, she’s a southern girl at heart, and a southern girl never turns her back on kin. Brie sells her beloved home, quits her job restoring historic properties, and goes back to the last place she wants to be, only to find her aunt healthy, The Brown Resort thriving, and the man who left her at the altar living next door, looking as handsome as ever. Why can’t life be fair?

Carpenter Carter Kessler left Willow Bay a dozen years ago and never looked back, but he never forgot his first love, Brie. He’s spent the rest of his life regretting his decision to leave her all those years ago. After his father’s death, he reluctantly returns to find his family’s resort a mess. But it is not a total disaster – Brie is next door and as beautiful as ever. He talks her into helping him refurbish The Kessler Resort, but first she lays out the ground rules: they aren’t friends, they’ll never be lovers, and she’ll never stop hating him. As far as Carter is concerned, it’s a start.

But as summer heats up, so does their relationship. As they peel back the layers, what will they find hiding beneath the surface? Can what they started all those years ago be restored, or are some things better left buried in the past?

Find out in The Second Time Around…

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

She leaned on the suitcase. Even in the moonlight, and despite her frown, she still had the most beautiful blue eyes. Eyes as blue as the bay. The Texas coast wasn’t known for its clear waters. It didn’t have the blue of the Caribbean, but the way the reef protected the shore gave it a unique environment, and it had the bluest water. He’d forgotten how he’d thought of the bay as Brie blue, and paired with her chestnut hair, she was one of the prettiest girls in Texas.

He started back to the porch and his beer, but he caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye, trying to stand. She stumbled over the suitcase and fell on top of it.

He raced toward her. “How much of that bottle did you drink?”

She looked at it and shrugged. “Not sure. Four or five.”

“Four or five what? Sips? Gulps? Gallons?” She rose and tottered back and forth. Her back end was high in the air. All these years later, she still had the finest derriere he’d ever seen. “Let me help before you hurt yourself.”

She wagged a finger behind her. “Stay away from me.” She shifted and grunted and righted her suitcase, only to lose her balance again. This time she landed on top of it like it was a lounger. She squeaked, then smiled and let out an “Oh, this isn’t so bad.” She opened the bottle for another drink.

“Is that wise?”

“What do you care?” She laid back and looked up at the twinkling lights of the willow tree. “Did you know when I woke that morning, Mama got me ready? She used an entire can of Aqua Net. I smelled like Ms. Cricket but looked like Miss America.” She ran her hands through her hair and sighed. “I had the prettiest braids going in every direction, but they all came together in the back.” The whiskey bottle fell into the sand, which was probably a good thing. “So pretty.”

“You were always beautiful, Brie.”

“Oh, what would you know? You didn’t even show up.” She blindly searched around for the bottle but gave up quickly.

He sat a few feet away from her. He had a lot to say, but all he’d do was listen.

“You know what the funniest thing of all was?”

“Tell me.” He scooped up sand and let it sift through his fingers. It kind of felt like how life was. It just got away from you.

“Mama wanted me to wear those fancy jeweled shoes. Those heels were four inches high and pinched my toes. I’m telling you, she had me practicing for days, and I was in pure agony. I refused to wear them and hid them at Tiff’s house, because I knew with the humidity, my feet would swell, and I wanted to dance under this tree with you. I didn’t want to have achy feet on my wedding day, so I bedazzled my Keds. I had the perfect shoes for running, and I wasn’t the one who ran.” She turned on her side, showing her back to him.

He thought about how he’d apologize. He wasn’t sure what she knew or didn’t know. It had been so long, and both her parents were gone. Did she know her mother had been unfaithful? Did she believe until their dying days that they’d been hopelessly devoted to one another? Her father had died of a heart attack on a yacht filled with half-naked drunk coeds. Though he’d been gone, gossip traveled fast, and he’d gotten the condensed version every time his mother talked to someone from town.

“Look, Brie, I did what I did for a lot of reasons, but mostly it was to spare you pain and embarrassment.”

“Mm-hm.”

This was going far better than expected. “I’m sorry for hurting you, but if you’d known what I did, you would have been hurt so much more. I was a coward for many reasons. I should have stayed and let the grenade explode. At least then, maybe we could have worked it out, but I didn’t have the maturity to face them or you.” A loud sound startled him, and he scooted closer. “Brie.” He reached out and touched her leg, only to realize she was snoring.

Author Bio:

Like FREEBIES? Join the VIP readers at http://bit.ly/KellyCollinsFreeBook for members-only exclusives!

~ Tip: Just hit "FOLLOW" for notifications about deals & new releases! ~

International bestselling author of more than thirty novels, Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping love alive. Always a romantic, she blends real-life events with her vivid imagination to create characters and stories that lovers of contemporary romance, new adult, and romantic suspense will return to again and again.

Kelly has sold more than a quarter of a million books worldwide, and in 2021 she was awarded a Readers' Favorite Award Gold Medal in the Contemporary Romance category for A Tablespoon of Temptation.

You can learn more about Kelly at www.authorkellycollins.com.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub / Amazon

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

#Giveaway - Nearly $200 value! 5 surprise signed books! AND a $100 Amazon Giftcard! The Sacrifice by Kitty Thomas @kitty_thomas

The Sacrifice
Kitty Thomas
Publication date: May 23rd 2022
Genres: Adult, Dark Romance, Romance

I caught the bouquet at my best friend’s wedding. I wasn’t even dating anyone, so I was sure I wouldn’t be next.

Until someone from the past came back. We’d promised if neither of us were married by the time we were thirty we’d marry each other.

But then I’m taken captive by someone else and told I am the sacrifice, that I’m now property. A payment for a debt that has nothing to do with me.

Now I wish I could go back to that boring, safe life. Because this can’t possibly be my fairy tale.

NOTE: This is a dark contemporary standalone in the Dark Wedding world.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

—

EXCERPT:

Soren crosses the room to me and sits in a chair near the bed. “I’m afraid we’re in a bit of a situation, and you’ve become the sacrifice.”

“Are you going to throw me into a volcano?” It’s meant to sound sarcastic and angry, but it comes out small and weak as though I think that might be what’s really about to happen here. And honestly I’m not sure because who talks like this? You’ve become the sacrifice? What sacrifice? And suddenly I’m back inside my fantasy again, except this time it’s a nightmare.

This feels like some kind of punishment for fantasizing about my best friend’s husband.

He chuckles. “No, Macy. Though you’d be an appropriate candidate for a volcano god.”

My eyes widen at this remark. Does he know I’m a virgin? How could he possibly know that? That’s private. Would Livia have told him? She wouldn’t. Or is it just that obvious how innocent I am? He’s so perceptive he can probably smell the purity on me. I wonder what purity smells like. Gardenias? Crisp fresh sheets? A mountain spring?

Soren must read the betrayal on my face because he says, “Don’t worry, Livia didn’t tell me, but I know everything that happens in my home.”

I wonder briefly if he’s got the place wired up so he can spy on her, and once again I’m worried about my best friend’s safety and once again wanting to disconnect this guy’s balls from his body. Not only am I a sex fiend in my imaginary world, but quite violent as well.

I’m grateful the room is so dark because I don’t want him to see me blushing again. I wish I had the kind of skin that could conceal embarrassment instead of blooming out in bright pink for all the world to see.

“Why am I here?” I rattle the handcuff impatiently. I want to add and why am I naked? But I don’t want to draw attention to this vulnerability even though I know he knows about it because he’s probably the one who took my clothes off.

I want to beg him to let me go, but I’m not quite there yet. I don’t want to be so pathetic so quickly—especially since it’s still hard for me to believe this has happened. And there’s a part of me still convinced he wouldn’t hurt me because of Livia even though I’m now not sure if he’d hurt Livia.

But wouldn’t he? Maybe he’s a secret serial killer. I saw a six-part series on TV about killers who lived normal lives and nobody suspected until they had a big body count and were in handcuffs in a courtroom with cold dead-eyed stares which nobody seemed to notice before that exact moment. Their wives all thought they were wonderful.

After that I went down an internet rabbit trail about it and couldn’t sleep properly for a month. It also didn’t do my dating life any favors. On the one hand I was afraid I might date a serial killer, and on the other I was afraid I might be the girl who gets serial-killed while the clueless wife sits at home thinking he’s amazing. So maybe Soren is that kind of crazy.

He sighs. “As I said, you’re unfortunately the sacrifice. You see, I have a… what do you girls call it? A frenemy? Apparently some things I said caused some problems for him, and he believes I owe him. He’s threatened to tell the world the truth about my unconventional marriage. This would also spill out onto Dayne and Griffin. And of course it would affect Livia. So you are the sacrifice that stops all that unpleasantness and keeps all our stock prices up.”

He keeps saying that word: sacrifice. And I don’t quite know what it means, but I know it can’t be good.

KITTY THOMAS writes dark stories that play with power and have unconventional HEAs. She began publishing in early 2010 with her bestselling COMFORT FOOD and is considered one of the original authors of the dark romance subgenre.

To find out FIRST when a new book comes out, subscribe to Kitty's New Release List: KITTYTHOMAS.COM

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Bookbub

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by: