August 18, 2014

Undeniably You by Jewel E. Ann Release Day Event

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One crazy dog––one awkward vet––one naked pool guy––and one life-changing month in California to make friends, fall in love, and twist fate.
   
Who gets paid to walk a dog and recline by the pool all day? Sydney Montgomery, aspiring museum curator and professional house-sitter, that’s who.
   
When her aunt and uncle need a house and dog sitter for thirty days in Palo Alto, Sydney can’t turn down the chance to be closer to her sister in L.A. Within twenty-four hours of her arrival, Sydney’s cleaning up runny dog poo, taking an uncooperative pooch to a handsome yet awkward vet, and being rescued from the bottom of the pool by a naked “pool guy.”
   
Lautner, “pool guy,” has a hot body and a cool persona. With eyes of iridescent blue oceans, he is mesmerizing, sexy, and addictive. What he is not––the pool guy.
   
Dr. Lautner Sullivan is a college wide receiver turned pediatric resident. He knows how to woo a woman with flowers, pastries, and sweet tea. Lautner is every girl’s dream, but Sydney is not every girl. She’s immune to rainbows, fairytales, pixy dust, and the “L” word.
   
The attraction is immediate, the friendship is earned, and the love is undeniable. Thirty days is their forever, but forever is not long enough.

Release Date: August 18th, 2014
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER - Amazon

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Excerpt:

I pour a glass of iced tea and start to walk toward the deck. Then I turn around and pour another glass. “Hospitality is a good thing,” I tell myself, needing only to convince the rational part of my brain.

“Tea?” I offer, walking over to the pool.

Aaron sets the skimmer net along the side of the pool.

“Thank you.” The smirk on his face is suspicious and makes me feel like I’m missing some inside joke. He takes the glass from me and I move past him to get a closer look at the pool because I can’t look at him without his shirt and not break into a sweat.
“What are you skimming?”

“Nothing really. I’m stirring the water,” he says matter-of-factly.

This guy is not for real. What does he mean by “stirring the water?” He’s up to something. It’s obvious why Aunt Elizabeth hired him. She must properly clean the pool after he leaves so Trevor doesn’t get suspicious and fire his ass … a very fine ass I will confess.

“And why is it you need to stir the water?” I turn toward him and my eyes dart straight to his broad muscular chest and well-defined abs all kissed by the sun. Jeez, he’s too perfect and I’m … something. Distracted? Mentally lethargic? Crazy? Horny? BINGO!
“So there’s an even consistency of chemicals when I test the water.”

My mouth is agape and I cannot stop looking at him. He bends down to physically capture my attention. Shit! I show no shame staring at his bare chest.

“Hello?” he says, forcing my eyes back to his.

Shaking the inappropriate thoughts from my head, I take a quick sip of my drink to mask my embarrassment.
“Do I need to put my shirt back on?”

I choke on my tea. “No––” I can’t stop coughing. “I mean––” Clearing my throat, I notice his cocky smile. “Put your shirt on or leave it off. Why would I care?”

God, Sydney, could you be a bigger disaster today? The flap of the dog door distracts me. Swarley leaps down the deck stairs. Aaron hunches down like a lineman in anticipation of his overzealous greeting. The problem is, as Swarley races closer I realize he’s not aiming for Aaron. He’s aiming for––

“Oh shit!” I’m catapulted backwards into the pool.

My body makes its descent to the bottom while I open my eyes to see the blurry magnification of Mr. Sex on Legs pool guy standing at the edge looking down at me. I’m considering seeing how long I can hold my breath. Maybe he’ll decide to leave and I can surface from the depths of my own personal Hell without an audience.

Yes! That’s it. I can do this.

I still hold many records from my high school swimming career. Holding my breath until he leaves should be easy. Unless he decides to be heroic and jumps in to save me. Not a bad scenario either. Then at least we’ll both be drenched in our clothes.
Like a leaky raft, I release my breath one bubble at a time and take a seat at the bottom of the pool. Ha! He’s emptying his pockets. Looks like I won’t be the only drowned rat. Wait. What the hell? No he’s not. Oh dear God, yes he is. Sex on legs dives into the pool, sans shorts and underwear! The two haunting notes from Jaws sound in my head while I scramble to the surface in the opposite direction, desperate to get away from him.

The sweet relief of air filling my lungs is squashed by the anxiety of being chased by a naked stranger.
“Oh my God! What are you doing?” A frantic yell breaks out with the remaining breath in my lungs while I swim toward the ladder, barely escaping him. I leap out of the pool with superhuman speed. Wrapping my arms around myself, I scramble to the pool house, my heart racing and my whole body shaking as I fumble for a towel.

“The water feels great today.” His voice sounds behind me.

I whip around and gasp, wide eyed. A wet, naked, sinful-as-a-hot-fudge-sundae body greets me a few feet away. Hands fisted, his arms are casually crossed at his wrists covering part of his junk in the front. The perfect cover to Sports Illustrated stands before me, and all I want to do is smack him across the face to wipe the stupid smirk off it. Then, of course, I want to jump him and rub every sensitive part of my body against his, because right now I’m so pissed and so turned on, I need to dive into the pool again before I self-combust.
“Finish up and get out,” I mumble as I toss him a towel and stomp toward the house. On my way, I pass Swarley beached out in a lounge chair by the pool.

“Evil demon dog!” I scowl at him.

 

Want more? Take a peek at the epilogue and chapter 1 of Undeniably You!

 
About Jewel E. Ann
Jewel E Ann Jewel is a free-spirited romance junkie with a quirky sense of humor.

With 10 years of flossing lectures under her belt, she took early retirement from her dental hygiene career to stay home with her three awesome boys and manage the family business.  
After her best friend of nearly 30 years suggested a few books from the Contemporary Romance genre, Jewel was hooked. Devouring two and three books a week but still craving more, she decided to practice sustainable reading, AKA writing.
 
When she's not donning her cape and saving the planet one tree at a time, she enjoys yoga with friends, good food with family, rock climbing with her kids, watching How I Met Your Mother reruns, and of course…heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, panty-scorching novels.


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August 13, 2014

REVIEW: How to Love by Katie Cotugno

How to Love by Katie Cotugno
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: October 1, 2013
Rating: 5/5 stars
Get it: Amazon | B&N
Before: Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he's never seemed to notice that Reena even exists until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated-and pregnant-Reena behind.

After: Almost three years have passed, and there's a new love in Reena's life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena's gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she's finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn't want anything to do with him, though she'd be lying if she said Sawyer's being back wasn't stirring something in her. After everything that's happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?

My Review

What I loved about How to Love by Katie Cotugno



1. Reena

I adored her from the very beginning and the more I got to know her, the more I wanted to be her friend so badly. She was quiet and reserved, intelligent, driven, and had a lot to learn when it came to love and relationships. I got to see how she was before the boy, during the boy and after the boy. I saw Reena kind of stumble through love and a weird undefined relationship and get hurt and grow up and all that jazz. I loved her because she was so real and flawed. She was a character who was smart and had goals but who made a few mistakes, lived on and tried to become someone better.


2. Sawyer

He was kind of the mystery boy, the enigma, the one to snag Reena’s heart and attention. I wasn’t quite sure what was up with him, but I knew he had some issues he needed to deal with instead of just run away from. I had a love and hate relationship with Sawyer because he could be the sweetest, deepest, cutest boyfriend towards Reena and then other times I wanted to bop him in the head for being so dumb and making dumb choices and tossing Reena around. But even though, like Reena, I had a soft spot for Sawyer. He wasn’t entirely bad and he did redeem himself in my eyes. 

I do wish for his own book because I'd love to get to know him more and get lost in his mind.

3. Romance

The relationship between Reena and Sawyer was an odd one because they just “hung out” most of the time, there wasn’t any labels until later on. Most of the time Reena didn’t know what they were and there was a lot of ups and downs. They were not the perfect couple and they fought a lot. Reena kind of conjured up this great ideal Sawyer she knew from childhood and as she got to know him, it was clear that he wasn’t like what she thought and vice versa. Still, they kind of made it work, but they struggled with letting each other in. Their romance to me was very genuine, something that couldn’t be defined clearly, yet you know it was there and you know it’s important and meaningful. They meant something to one another, but they just needed time to work their own issues out and grow up some more.



4. Reena & Hannah

These two were probably my favorite tandem and held the best moments in the book. Reena shined most when she was with Hannah. I felt the love she had for her daughter and though she lost her future plans, she gained a new one in Hannah. She never resented Hannah, but loved her so much. She wasn’t a perfect mother, but it was obvious how much Reena cared. Reena had to grow up and mature really quickly and I saw just how much she struggled, but rejoiced with Hannah. They were adorable together.
 


5. Before & After

How to Love was spilt between the time before Sawyer left and then after. This worked so well for the book because I got to see how Sawyer and Reena came to be, how unclear and rocky their relationship was and why Reena ended up being stronger, more mature after everything she went through. We get to see exactly what lead up to the events of Sawyer’s departure to his return and the affects this all had on Reena and how she coped. A lot of things are learned about Sawyer and Reena both individually and as a couple and this is drawn out wonderfully throughout the whole book at a really nice pace. And the best thing is that the before and afters alternate in a way that made sense as if the present Reena was thinking about the before events, like a day dream. It just worked so well and it made everything flow beautifully.



6. The Writing

Katie Cotugno did an incredible job of giving Reena a very distinct, clear, and personably voice. As I read the novel, I knew and felt it was Reena. There was something about Reena’s voice that immediately had me taken and so absorbed into her story so quickly. Cotguno completely developed Reena’s character and brought her out so throughly in the writing. It was amazing.
 


All in all, How to Love was an incredible story. It was engaging, thought provoking, and just relatable in many ways. There was just something about it that really captures the heart and keeps you glued to the very end. 


August 11, 2014

Cover Reveal: Indiscretion Volume 2 & 3

We are so excited to reveal the cover of INDISCRETION: Volume Two and Volume Three by Elisabeth Grace today! INDISCRETION is a contemporary erotic romance being released in serial format - the first volume released on August 4th!

Check out the gorgeous covers below 
and find out a little more about what INDISCRETION is about!

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About INDISCRETION: Volume Two

Fraternizing with the competition? Check.

Risking everything I’d worked so hard for? Check.

Mind-shattering orgasms? Double check.

Max Richfield made me forget myself. Forget all the reasons why I'd chosen to be alone for so long. I had goals. I needed stability. He brought chaos. I’d taken years erecting my walls. And with good reason, I would soon discover.

Now my inability to see beyond Max’s charm could cost me everything. INDISCRETION: Volume Two releases August 18th – add it to your Goodreads list here!
Indiscretion: Volume Three releases September 1st - more details to come soon!
Indiscretion: Volume Four releases September 15th

Find out more about INDISCRETION: Volume One


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If you're US based and you want to receive a text message when Elisabeth has a new book go LIVE, text ROMANCE to 313131!  

August 4, 2014

Release Day Blitz: Indiscretion Vol. 1

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We're so excited to celebrate the release of INDISCRETION: VOLUME 1 by Elisabeth Grace! Make sure to get your hands on the first installment of this steamy serial!

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About INDISCRETION: Volume One

F*ck and chuck. Pump and dump. Hit it and quit it. One night stand. Didn’t matter how I branded it—that’s all she had wanted it to be. That much was clear when she left me with my pants down and my dick still out.What she hadn’t counted on was fate intervening and our worlds colliding—again.
The day I showed back up in the life of Chloe Griffins, I knew I had to have her again. My body was hungry for another taste. Like an addict, I’d been craving another hit for months, and there she was—flesh and bone, tits and ass.
The fact that she worked for the competition should’ve been reason enough for me to leave her alone. I had a job to do that summer and f*cking Chloe wasn’t part of it. But I was like a man possessed.
I’d do whatever it took to have her again.

Add it to your Goodreads list here! Amazon (to come) | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

 Indiscretion: Volume Two releases August 18th
Indiscretion: Volume Three releases September 1st
Indiscretion: Volume Four releases September 15th 5

Excerpt:

“You do not need to bring that up.” Her eyes narrowed and I could tell she was pissed. “Really?” I raised an eyebrow. “Do you react this way to every man who gives you an orgasm? Or just the ones you choose to hit and run?" “I, what? I did not...” she stammered. Good. I had her off-kilter. At least now I knew the feeling was mutual. “Look, it’s fine.” I shrugged and grinned, showing her I wasn’t all that bad. “Why did you take off that night?” She looked at me, contemplating her answer. “I was embarrassed. I’ve never done anything like that before. I had a little too much to drink and let’s just say I wasn’t thinking clearly.” I took a step closer, my gaze locking on hers. My hand moved to her face and cupped her jaw. I couldn’t resist. “Oh, I’d say you were clear enough with me about what you wanted.” I grinned and inched closer to her. The heat between us was palpable. I enjoyed making her uncomfortable. Maybe it was payback for her having left me in the dust that night. Who am I kidding? It was the attraction that still pulsed between us, even months later, in the light of day and stone-cold sober. Her mouth dropped open. “Please, you were the one who kissed me first!” “True, but you were the one who straddled me like you were gearing up to ride bronco,” I said with a pretend laisse-faire tone. Ah, there was that adorable flush in her cheeks again, when it had just started to subside.

Giveaway:

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Celebrate the release of Indiscretion: Volume 1!

Join Elisabeth Grace and other authors, readers, and bloggers tonight, August 4th, from 5pm to 11pm EST to celebrate the release of INDISCRETION: VOLUME 1! Here's the current line up of events - you can join in here! 5-5:45 pm -- Brooke Cumberland
5:45pm - 6:30pm -- C.d. Reiss
6:30pm - 7:15pm -- Keshia Langston 7:15pm - 8:00pm -- Michelle Lynn-Author 8:00pm - 8:45pm -- Livia Jamerlan 8:45pm - 9:30pm -- Faith Andrews w/Tracey from K & T Book Reviews 9:30pm - 10:15pm -- Corinne Michaels w/Trish from Schmexy Girl Book Blog 10:15pm - 11:00pm -- B.a. Wolfe w/Stacia from Three Girls and a Book Obsession

Connect with Elisabeth Grace

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest | Google+ | Instagram

If you're US based and you want to receive a text message when Elisabeth has a new book go LIVE, text ROMANCE to 313131!