[Book Review] Beautiful Chances by Alicia Rae

Beautiful Chances
Alicia Rae

After losing her parents and sister in a tragic car accident, Lily distances herself from those still around her. As she solely focuses on her work, she refuses to form any emotional attachments in fear of struggling through another unbearable loss. 

…until Kyle enters her life with his possessive and overbearing personality. Instead of running, Lily finds herself drawn to him. Helping her on a path to healing, Kyle stands by her side and lends her his strength.

A bond is formed, but it is tested when the unthinkable happens.

Can taking a chance on love conquer all?

*Book contains mature adult content*

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

Lily is struggling and feels like she is broken. After tragically losing her family, she cannot stand another minute of being where she is. She runs away to Florida and tries to heal and start over. Figuring out that running from problems cannot solve anything comes harder than she realizes and when she meets Kyle, she is taken back. Kyle was… interesting. I always thought that he was hiding something because Lily was often not my favorite person in the book. But I really liked how the things turned out at the end because of the issues that kept coming up.

It was really enjoyable read and I loved watching their relationship grow. The issues that they had together and the way they worked through everything was really honorable. There was love, sadness, suspense, and just the right amount of spicy for this contemporary read.  

☆☆☆☆

About the Author

Alicia Rae is a Contemporary Romance Author who lives in Dekalb, Illinois, with her husband and three beautiful boys. Alicia has a passion for reading all types of romance, writing to bring a story to life, and photography.

Thank you to my dear sister, Kels, who showed me a few years ago how much I truly missed reading. And to my loving husband, for not throwing away my Nook, and planting the seed of writing into my mind. I am forever grateful. Xo

Readers, words cannot thank you enough for supporting me along this incredible journey. I hope you enjoy my novels as much as I do writing them. I thank each and every one of you. 

Believe in yourself and follow your dreams...

[Book Review + Giveaway] 15 Minutes by Jill Cooper

15 Minutes
Jill Cooper

I have 15 minutes to save my mother’s life….

15 minutes is all the Rewind Agency gives you in the past, but for Lara Crane it’s enough time to race through the city, find her mother, and stop her from being killed in a mugging that happened over ten years ago.

But that’s not how it happened. The story she’s been told all her life is a lie and when Lara takes a bullet meant for her mother, her future changes forever.

The love of her life acts like a stranger. Her simple life is replaced with a giant house, glamorous clothes and a new boyfriend. 

Except someone knows her secret. And he will try to stop her at every turn as she races against the clock to unravel a dangerous conspiracy.

15 Minutes is an edgy high octane YA thriller that can be described as Back to the Future meets Inception where the people Lara trusts change in an instant. She is in a timeline she doesn't understand, and is about to make one fatal mistake as she faces an enemy so familiar, he’s family.

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

When Lara discovers that she can affect time during her Rewind pleasure jaunts and decides that this would be the perfect chance to save her mother that was killed ten years earlier. When she time travels and gets to reverse the past, she doesn’t realize how much the future would actually change. Suddenly she has a step-father, brother and sister, and living as someone who doesn’t even look like her. She realizes that changing something in the past can influence her entire future and all the good for it can be erased.

I loved 15 Minutes! The plot, the characters, and the twists were absolutely crazy and I love the concept of time traveling that was presented in this book. There were enough romance and thriller to keep this an exciting read that would be perfect for many YA readers. The only thing I thought could be different is having a little more explanation on how the time travel actually happened. It’s more presented as just what is written and I really wanted to see how the author saw time travel happen.  

☆☆☆☆

About the Author

Jill Cooper loves to blend horror, comedy, the supernatural, and love, through her novels. A fan of genre blending, her work strives to cross boundaries, but most of all strives to entertain. She loves soft cuddly cats, warm blankets, and paranormal romances. Jill resides in Massachusetts, is constantly renovating her home that she shares with her husband, young daughter, and two skittish cats. 

You can find Jill here:

 Website * Twitter

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[Cover Reveal] Heartbreak Ranch by Anastasia Ryan

Heartbreak Ranch

by Anastasia Ryan

Release Date: 10/15/13

Publisher: Swoon Romance

Summary from Goodreads:

Recent college graduate, Graysen Beaufort, resigns herself to two weeks of boredom at a dude ranch honoring her parents’ wishes for one last family vacation.

She doesn't plan on meeting Colt McCord, an irresistible cowboy who threatens to bring disorder to Graysen's ordinarily ordered life.

Dodging an overprotective family, an unwelcome suitor, and certain heartbreak, Graysen struggles to break free of her limitations and submit her heart to Colt’s love. But learning to let go isn't easy, even with a man like Colt.

Colt McCord, White Pine Ranch’s head horse trainer, loves the busy, back-breaking work of a cattle ranch.

But when he meets a beautiful and spirited woman from Iowa, she makes him forget everything he'd known before, and he risks everything to be with her.

Colt is accustomed to breaking horses, but can he tame Graysen’s wild heart before it is too late?

About the Author

Anastasia Ryan is a native New Yorker, but lives in Iowa with her family. She loves the beautiful chaos of raising six children. She is her husband’s girlfriend, but is also quite smitten with the written word. As the daughter of teachers, she has had a love of both great literature and writing in her blood since she was a baby. At a very early age, you would have found her perched on her father’s lap as he typed out his Master’s thesis for English. She is addicted to great books she can get lost in, finds cooking relaxing, is a sometimes web geek, and loves spending time with family and friends. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Creative Writing.

Anastasia Ryan's debut new adult novel HEARTBREAK RANCH will be released by Swoon Romance in the Fall of 2013. 

Author Links:

   

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[Book Spotlight] Pure & Sinful by Killian McRae

Pure & Sinful
Killian McRae

APPROPRIATE FOR MATURE READERS ONLY. 

When it turns out your ex was actually a sexy demon sent by the devil to seduce you to evil, you'd think the next guy, no matter what he's like, couldn't be a worse decision. Enter Father Marc Angeletti, a smooth talking piece of forbidden fruit with onyx eyes and a razor wit, and Riona Dade may as well start packing her luggage for damnation now. But come Hell or... well, Hell, Marc, Riona, and demigod Dee Zitka have a mission: serve as a Pure Soul and vanquish Lucifer's minion scum from the face of the Earth to protect humanity from evil. 

Oh, and don't get seduced into sin yourself, because a fallen Pure Soul is one of Lucifer's biggest thrills. As long as Riona and Marc can keep things professional and north of the sheets, no problem, right? 

Yeah, that worked out great in the Thornbirds, too...

excerpt

The archangel continued. “Nothing distracted Gaius from his work, nothing.”

“Well, something must have.” Riona tasted the brew — some sort of licorice tea. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be setting him up to be the moral of your story.”

Ramiel’s eyebrow arched. “Sure Dee hasn’t told you this before?”

Riona curled her legs up under her frame. “I grew up in the post-Disney era, Ramiel. I know the ‘beware the danger of’ tone pretty damn well.”

“Hmm…” Long, graceful fingers pinched his chin. “Well, yes. As you know, a mortal sin, the kind that gets you sent to Hell, is all relative to the person’s own moral code. Unless they’ve declared a vow to a higher power, that is, like with Marc and the church. The Big Bad Hooha figured out that knowledge was Gaius’s pinnacle of morality, and exploited it. It’s a mini-victory every time a soul falls into darkness and becomes his property, but when that soul is a Pure Soul? Well, let’s just say the celebration Lucifer has would put a post-war tinker tape parade or the season finale of American Idol to shame. There’s nothing that makes him happier. So much so, that sometimes he gets a Pure Soul of particular interest or talent in his sight, and becomes obsessed.”

Riona jumped to the climax. “And let me guess: Gaius fell?”

“Like a senior citizen for the Nigerian lottery scam,” he confirmed. “It was a perfect set up. Turned out that the devil had saved that old apple Eve took a bite out of in the Garden of Eden. He does that, collects mementos. Lucifer took on his old angel form and rose to earth. In those days, we were still trying to keep it on the down-low that the ruler of Hell was a fallen archangel. Gaius thought he was a representative of the Big Boss. Lucifer told Gaius that the prize was his gift for all his hard work, that the apple would imbue him with ultimate knowledge. Gaius was so blinded by his pride and arrogance, he didn’t hesitate for a moment to believe it was no more than what was due him, and took of the fruit. He was under Satan’s command before he even swallowed.”

About the Author

Killian McRae would tell you that she is a rather boring lass, an authoress whose characters’ lives are so much more exciting than her own. She would be right. Sadly, this sarcastic lexophile leads a rather mundane existence in the San Francisco Bay Area.

She once dreamed of being the female Indiana Jones, and to that end she earned a degree in Middle Eastern History from the University of Michigan. However, when she learned that real archaeologist spend more time lovingly removing dust with toothbrushes from shards of pottery than outrunning intriguing villains with exotic accents, she decided to become a writer instead. She writes across many genres, including science fiction, fantasy, romance, and historical fiction.
 

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[FREE on Amazon] The Reluctant Bachelorette

The Reluctant Bachelorette 
Rachael Renee Anderson

Unknowingly cast as the bachelorette for her town’s charity event, Taycee Emerson wants out. Especially when she discovers her old teenage crush, Luke Carney, is one of the bachelors and it’s up to the viewers–not her–to decide which bachelors stay or go.

Coerced into participating, Taycee does what any self-preserving girl would do. She launches a subtle attack on Luke’s good name with the hope of getting him voted off the show. Unfortunately, Luke’s an eye-for-an-eye kind of guy, and when he discovers what she’s up to, it means revenge.

Grab a copy for FREE on Amazon!

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[Release Day Event] The Cross of Santiago by Evie Gaughan

Title: The Cross of Santiago

Author: Evie Gaughan

Genre: Contemporary/Historical fiction (time slip)

“One cross will bind two couples across four centuries”

An ancient love story, locked in the heart of a sunken treasure, is destined to find its happy ending… even if it takes four hundred years to do so.

Amanda Morrison does not believe in love or destiny, but when a long­lost aunt leaves her a mysterious golden cross in her will, her uneventful life in Galway City is turned upside down. The arrival of Xavier, a charismatic yachtsman in search of treasure and adventure, complicates life further, as their paths seem destined to cross. While Amanda tries to uncover the truth about her family’s past, a strange series of events ensues involving hippy hypnosis, five­a­side football, scary sheep, and radical reincarnation. Though, not all in that order.

Author Bio

 Evie has always been a storyteller. From a very young age, she held a captive audience (mostly with rope!) as she performed her party piece, which involved sitting on a high stool and telling extremely tall tales.

Things have moved on a bit since then and Evie’s love of storytelling has blossomed. Having published a number of short stories and articles for Irish magazines such as Woman’s Way and GalwayNow, she is set to launch her debut novel, ‘The Cross Of Santiago’, on September 16th 2013. A time-slip novel full of intrigue, humour and romance, it is an exciting blend of historical fiction and contemporary women’s fiction.

Evie lives on the West Coast of Ireland in Galway City, where she shares her home with two sewing machines, an easel and a guitar that refuses to stay in tune. She is greatly inspired by her hometown, which is not only the setting for her novel, but also the subject of her other passion, art. She has several paintings currently exhibiting at the local gallery, featuring vibrant streetscapes and quirky designs. Evie is currently working on her second novel and short story collection.

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[Book Spotlight] Fated Truth by Tasha Gwartney

Fated Truth 
Tasha Gwartney

Living in a world never truly meant for her, Ella Reese has tried her whole life to fit into the mold her parents wanted, and not stand out in a small town where gossip reigned supreme. Despised for what she is, she will be lucky to make it through her senior year intact and spending time with her two best friends would be a major bonus.

However, Fate intervenes and Ella suddenly finds herself thrust into an odyssey where she not only discovers she is a powerful Goddess Touched True Witch but a life mate has also been chosen for her.

In love with her soul mate and reunited with a family who accepts her, Ella's world falls apart when Fate deals her a horrific blow. As she travels the path Fate has set her on, she must uncover her true self or die trying. 

About the Author

Tasha Gwartney is a Military wife and devoted momma to a handsome little man by day. At night she drops her domestic goddess cloak and becomes an avid writer. She lives in Central Louisiana with her family and two huskies. Tasha has been writing poetry and short stories since she was ten years of age. There wasn’t ever a time when a story plot wasn’t found somewhere in her head. Tasha has had several of her poems published. She is looking forward to publishing many more poems and novels as well. Tasha has always enjoyed bringing the worlds that begin inside her head to the minds of others.

Tasha Gwartney started writing short stories when I was about ten years old. I would print them out on the sides of worksheets in school, basically write them on anything that was handy when the idea would pop up in my head. My elementary teachers would tell me to stop because it was disruptive and not pertaining to the subject that I was so post to be learning at the time.

All the way through school I wrote. My short stories got longer and I branched out into poetry. Some of my school teachers encouraged me to write. They even said they liked some of my work. But it wasn’t until I was a junior in High School that it really hit me that I wanted to do this. I wanted to write and reach people. To put the stories that were bouncing against the walls of my mind down on paper, and teleport someone into my own private world.

My Science teacher caught me writing a poem on the back of a test during class one day. That was a HUGE no-no in his class. You did not get side tracked. It was one of his major pet peeves. He asked me to stay after class that day, and I was literally shaking in my platform boots. He was majorly hard on people that ticked him off during his classes. Come to find out, I wasn’t in trouble. He wanted to talk to me about the poem that he had read on the back of my end of term test. He asked if he could give it to his wife for their anniversary. I was so happy that I wasn’t in trouble that I quickly said yes then shot from the room.

The poem that I wrote on the back of that test was about love and loss. I had read a novel the night before that really touched something hidden deep inside me. You have to remember I was sixteen. I was a teen that knew nothing of truly feeling emotions of love on this deep of a level. But the novel I read the night before had me enthralled. I fell into the main character and felt every emotion that she felt, celebrated her every triumph, and cried her tears when she lost the man she loved. That was how I was able to write a poem on the back of a test that touched even my grouchy Science teacher.

After that I wanted to be that author that transported readers and wrote something that made them feel every emotion that the characters I made come to life feel. This is the reason that I write.

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