Wednesday, May 31, 2017

BLOG TOUR: The Clover Chapel by Devney Perry


We are thrilled to be one of the participating blogs kicking off this Blog Tour for Devney Perry's The Clover Chapel, the second book in the Jamison Valley series! Various participating blogs will have various posts to share, such as: excerpts, reviews, etc. There is also a tour-wide giveaway we will be sharing! Check it out and grab your copy today!

Genre:
New Adult
Contemporary Romance
Series:
Jamison Valley, #2
Publish Date:
May 30, 2017

Synopsis:
She took a dare and fell in love. Truth would have been the smarter choice.

After years of living under her father’s thumb, Emmeline is ready to break free. She’s abandoned her life as a New York socialite to follow her dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher in a small, wholesome town. Seeing the man that nearly broke her was absolutely not what she had hoped to find in Prescott, Montana.

Nick hasn’t seen his Emmy in nine years, but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten a thing about the woman he loves. After just one blissful night as man and wife, he gave her up, sacrificing his own happiness to keep her safe—far away from him. But the moment she walks back into his lonely life is the moment he decides never to let her go again. He won’t waste his second chance. All he has to do is win back Emmeline’s heart, keep her safe from the shadows in his past and prove to her that taking a wager on him is a sure bet.
 


     


*Excerpt*
“What are you doing here?”
“Picking you up for dinner,” he said.
“It’s only three thirty. I prefer to put at least six hours between meals and I ate lunch at noon.”
“I’m not here to take you now, Emmy. But I’m giving you a heads-up that I’ll be back at five thirty. Don’t drive home.”
“You could have texted me all of this,” I said.
“Yeah. But then I wouldn’t have been able to do this.”
He crossed the space between us in a millisecond and captured my mouth, wrapping his arms around my waist. His lips pressed roughly against mine as his tongue swept my lower lip. Over and over he stroked until my mouth fell open. When his tongue found mine, I melted. Heat erupted throughout my body and my knees gave out.
When I started to sink to the floor, he stopped kissing me but tightened his grip on my waist.
“I’ve got you.” A crooked grin formed on his lips.
I took a moment to steady my legs and stand tall before stepping back a foot. The skin around my mouth was surely pink from the contact with his beard. But at least it would match my flushed cheeks.
“Five thirty,” he said and walked out the door.
Shit.
Thinking clearly was not an option after a Nick kiss but I really needed to pull myself together. I’d spent last night tossing and turning, replaying all the things Nick had told me these last few months.
You’ve always had my heart, Emmy.
We’re it for each other.
I thought about you every day for nine years.
And I thought about what my mother had said. That my heart had already forgiven him and I just needed to get my head straight with that concept.
Sinking into my chair, I let my head fall into my hands. “What am I going to do?”
I tried to picture what our life could be like. Me happy. Nick and I living a normal life. But every time that image popped in my head, it was immediately followed by the vision of me waking up alone to a note that said he was sorry.
Time was ticking away and I needed to make some decisions. My attorney had emailed me while I was in Italy to say he’d have my divorce papers drafted by the end of the month. Nick was not going to stop inserting himself into my life unless I made it clear we were over.
Were we over?
For nine years, I’d thought we were. But so much was different now. He was everything that I remembered. Kind. Affectionate. Intelligent.
And stubborn. Every time I tried to push him away, he just pushed back harder. But honestly, I really hadn’t put up much of a fight against his advances.
“Ten seconds ago, you let him stick his tongue down your throat with no fight at all, Emmeline,” I mumbled into my hands.



~~~

Don't miss the first title in the Jamison Valley series!

(cover links to Goodreads)

      

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**About the Author**
Devney Perry lives in Montana with her husband and two children. After working in the technology industry for nearly a decade, she abandoned conference calls and project schedules to enjoy a slower pace at home with her kids. She loves reading and, after consuming hundreds of books, decided to share her own stories.

Stay connected with Devney Perry
   

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***The Giveaway***

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Blog Tour Organized by

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

BLOG TOUR: Infinite Us by Eden Butler


We are thrilled to be taking part of this exciting Blog Tour for Eden Butler's Infinite Us! If you haven't read this yet, enjoy a sneak peek with an excerpt! We can't forget about the cool tour-wide giveaway...at the end of this post! Check it out and order your copy today!

Genre:
New Adult
Contemporary Romance
Publish Date:
May 23, 2017

Synopsis:
Love is timeless…

Nash Nation loves zeroes and ones, over-sized monitors and late office hours. He’s too busy taking over the world to make time for relationships—that is, until his new neighbor Willow O’Bryant barges into his life, and now Nash can’t shake the feeling that this isn’t the first time she’s interrupted his world.

Then, the dreams start. And in the dreams—memories.

Memories of a girl named Sookie who couldn’t count on love or friendship, never mind forever. Memories of a library and a boy called Isaac and secrets made in private that destroyed his world.

The memories seem real, but who do they belong to?

When Nash and Willow discover the truth, life as they know it unravels.

The bridge between this life and the next is shored up by blood and bone and memory. Sometimes, that bridge leads to the place we’ve always wanted to be.


       

*Excerpt*
It was then that I saw something from Isaac I hadn’t seen before. His stony resolve crumbled and whatever excuses had always kept him from wanting me, from allowing me to act as though I wanted him too, fell away when he began to lower his hand and I held it still against my cheek.
His skin was warm and I could just make out the sharp bite of his calluses against my face. He had an arch along his top lip and eyes like a perfect circle, a play of amber and gold vying for dominance in his irises. Not hazel really, but somewhere in the middle, someplace that said Isaac came from people divergent and varied.
“Riley…” he said, a warning I didn’t want to hear. My gaze didn’t falter; I may have stumbled with Trent, but still, I knew what I wanted, what was best for me, and that was not some overbearing, suit-wearing bully. And Isaac, sweet Isaac, took my lifted chin for the invitation it was, made a sound deep in his throat, and just like that, with a single tilt of his head, stopped fighting and kissed me.
The world went away and I heard the song of hundreds of voices inside of me that sounded so familiar, yet were unlike anything I’d ever heard before. Maybe it was that active imagination of mine working in overdrive. I had wanted Isaac’s touch for months, had daydreamed about it for hours and now that it was here, I realized that my imagination was dull and pathetic. Reality was so much better.

He moved his mouth over mine, tentative at first, but fueled by my reaction and the awesome magnitude of what this felt like, he moved more confidently, more surely. Isaac wanted me and took what I offered freely—his lips soft, directing, his tongue teasing and satisfying all at once, careful of my broken lip yes, but oh, so absolute.


****What Others Are Saying****

“Beautifully written, skillfully interwoven, a wonder of a tale. It's not often that I am truly impressed, but Eden Butler has blown me away.” New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Amy Harmon

“Infinite Us is a gripping story of the roots that define us, the hardships that test us, and the healing power of love and acceptance. It's a testament to how far we've come and how very far we have to go.” J.A. DeRouen, Bestselling Author of Low Over High

“Eden is a masterful storyteller who takes mere words and turns them into magic. She takes you on an intoxicating journey that refuses to let go. Infinite Us is an unforgettable story that'll leave you breathless.” Cassie Graham, Bestselling Author of Who Needs Air

"Simultaneously commercial and literary, a thinking person's romance." Christopher Ledbetter, author of "Drawn" from Evernight

“Butler shines again in this emotionally moving tale of love, despite life and its trials and tribulations. The writing is crisp, lyrical and the flat out FEELS between the characters leak from the pages straight into your heart. You WILL be moved.” Trish F. Leger, author of the Amber Druid Series.


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**About the Author**
Eden Butler is an editor and writer of Fantasy, Mystery and Contemporary Romance novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking and rum.

When she’s not writing or wondering about her possibly Jack Sparrowesque ancestor, Eden patiently waits for her Hogwarts letter, edits, reads and spends way too much time watching rugby, Doctor Who and New Orleans Saints football.

She is currently living under teenage rule alongside her husband in southeast Louisiana.
Please send help.

Stay connected with Eden Butler
     

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***The Giveaway***

Blog Tour Organized by

BLOG TOUR: Cherished by Christina Bauer


Welcome to the Official Blog Tour for Christina Bauer's Cherished, the third book in the Beholder series! This tour will consist of various excerpts, reviews, guest posts, etc. On our tour stop today, we have a cool guest post, "The Real People Who Inspired Cherished." to share with you! We even have a cool tour-wide giveaway!!! Check it out and grab your copy today!
Follow the tour, HERE!

Genre:
Young Adult
Paranormal Romance
Series:
Beholder, #3
Pubish Date:
May 30, 2017
Publisher:
Monster House Books LLC

Synopsis:
For Elea, there’s never been a better time to turn away from witch life. The Tsar is in exile. The Vicomte is dead. And Rowan? Falling for him only broke her heart. Instead of casting spells, Elea spends her days running Braddock Farm and enjoying the flirtations of the very handsome and non-magical Philippe. Everything is going perfectly, except for one problem.

Someone’s trying to kill her.

Shujaa is a Changed One, a Creation Caster mage whose mutated form makes him invincible in battle. Now that the Tsar and Vicomte are gone, Shujaa wants to rise and rule. To do so, he must eliminate all those powerful enough to oppose him, and Elea is top on his list. Anyone who offers her aid quickly ends up dead.

In the end, there’s only one person who can keep Elea safe while helping her defeat Shujaa: Rowan. Like it or not, Elea must team up with her old love. With Philippe along for the ride, Elea plans to team with Rowan without losing her heart this time. But that’s when all her plans fall apart…


      

The Real People Who Inspired My Book Cherished
by Christina Bauer

My book, Cherished, tells the story of a woman who wants to be a farm girl but ends up as the most powerful Necromancer in her realm. It's book three in my Beholder series (if you aren't familiar with the series, there's a quick trailer right here. In any case, I'm now doing an author tour to celebrate the launch of Cherished, and I've been asked to share some of the folks who inspired the main characters. It's quite a story, so I'll share it in steps!

ELEA
Elea (pronounced Ah-LAY-ah) is the lead character of the series and a medieval necromancer. For her, I was inspired by so many strong women named Eleanor, in particular Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor basically ran England for much of her adult life, especially since her son Richard the Lionheart spent most of his time overseas or on crusade.
But I digress.
I could have named the character Eleanor, but we had a cleaning woman named Eleanor growing up and—how do I put this?—I’m pretty sure she hated my guts. Not without good reason, either. I was your standard issue angsty teenager who left her room a mess. Still, I couldn’t get past that brooding stare of the real-life Eleanor as she glared at the unfilled dishwasher, so I changed the name to Elea and moved on with writing the book.
ROWAN
This character was originally named Asher, but a friend was planning on writing a book someday with a main character who had a similar name, so she asked me to change it up. I swapped out one tree for another and Rowan was born.
Rowan as a character is inspired by all the golden age of radio plays I listened to growing up in the 1980’s. You could get them on cassette, and I ate them up. I’m talking the Shadow and all sort of Westerns, that kind of thing. What I loved about those stories was that the hero was a good guy: honest, open, true and still incredibly attractive. I can’t get behind the anti-hero. The golden age of radio simply ruined it for me. I like a noble dude and that’s that.
DUNIA
Now, the back cover copy for Cherished talks about Shujaa as the big bad, but the real nasty in the story is Dunia, Rowan’s Mother. Ironically, she’s also inspired by Eleanor of Aquitaine. There’s a not-so-flattering portrayal of her in the play-turned-film The Lion in Winter. Katherine Hepburn plays Eleanor and damn, she’s ruthless in pursuit of power and revenge.

On a side note, I think the real Eleanor of Aquitaine probably was somewhere Elea and Dunia, but it was an interesting exercise to tease apart both sides of the woman. With Elea, there was a sweet girl who got thrust into being a world player due to the fact that she inherited one of the most important tracts of land in medieval times. With Dunia, there was a ruthless woman who would do anything to maintain power and exact revenge. We’re all a study in contrasts, aren’t we?

Thank you so much for the opportunity to answer this thoughtful question; I certainly enjoyed the journey of writing my response. If you think of more queries, please know that I'm always up for reader interaction, and more information on how to contact me is listed below.

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Don't miss the previous titles in the Beholder series!
 
(covers link to Goodreads)

      

***Release Special***
Monster House Books is celebrating the launch of the ebook version of Cherished! As a result, the first two books in the series are specially priced for a limited time!



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**About the Author**
Christina Bauer knows how to tell stories about kick-ass women. In her best selling Angelbound series, the heroine is a part-demon girl who loves to fight in Purgatory’s Arena and falls in love with a part-angel prince. This young adult best seller has driven more than 500,000 ebook downloads and 9,000 reviews on Goodreads and retailers.

Bauer has also told the story of the Women’s March on Washington by leading PR efforts for the Massachusetts Chapter. Her pre-event press release—the only one sent out on a major wire service—resulted in more than 19,000 global impressions and redistribution by over 350 different media entities including the Associated Press.

Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.

Be the first to know about new releases from Christina by signing up for her newsletter.

Stay connected with Christina Bauer
      

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***The Giveaway***

Giveaway is Open Internationally

Blog Tour Organized by