Tuesday, 26 February 2019

On Thin Ice #BookBirthday #Review #Fan #Love

Welcome to the Release Week Blitz for

On Thin Ice (Juniper Falls 3) by Julie Cross

presented by Entangled Teen!

Grab a copy of this new release today, and be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Brooke Parker never expected to find herself in the tiny town of Juniper Falls, Minnesota. Of course, she also never expected to lose her dad. Or for her mom to lose herself. Brooke feels like she’s losing it…until she finds Juniper Falls hockey. Juniper Falls girls’ hockey, that is.

Jake Hammond, current prince of Juniper Falls, captain of the hockey team, and player with the best chance of scoring it big, is on top of the world. Until one hazing ritual gone wrong lands him injured, sitting on the sidelines, and—shocking even to him—finding himself enjoying his “punishment” as assistant coach for the girls’ team.

As Jake and Brooke grow closer, he finds the quiet new girl is hiding a persona full of life, ideas, and experiences bigger and broader than anything he’s ever known. But to Jake, hockey’s never just been a game. It’s his whole life. And leveraging the game for a shot at their future might be more than he can give.

It’s no secret, I’m totally in love with Julie Cross’s books. Her characters always come with quirky personalities and I just can’t resist them.

Jake Hammond is the captain of Juniper falls hockey team and towns the crowned prince. He’s not what I expected and he’s very swoon-worthy. Jake is all about hockey. He keeps his head in the game and doesn’t get distracted. At the beginning of the season, something goes terribly wrong. A 100-year-old hockey hazing goes so badly Jake is left with more than a sore arm. As a punishment, he has to help coach the girl's hockey team.

Brooke is a broken version of herself. Her dad has gone to prison and her mum isn’t coping. They have moved back to Juniper falls to live with her grandmother but Brooke isn’t interested in adjustment. She is numb and only speaks when she wants to. Jake seems to be the only person she wants to share her words with.

On thin Ice put my heart in my throat a couple of times. It’s a gripping story and the suspense was making me want to read faster. This is a glimpse into a future where one choice changes everything. The truth doesn’t come out straight away and the characters have to live with the consequences of their words. It’s about doing what right.

Brooke needs a friend but the most popular boy in school isn’t the attention she wants to draw. You don’t always get to choose the person who is there for you. The pair finds a new found love for hockey. Neither was looking for love and the romance is more than sweet.

On Thin Ice is actually about hockey which doesn’t always happen in hockey romances. In fact, I learned more about the rules from this book than any other book I’ve read. I wouldn’t say I’m a pro but I really like the information. Brooke joins the girl's ice hockey team after Jake challenges her. It’s fun to see her learn what being part of the team means.

I’m a huge fan of Julie Cross’s books. This whole series is great. This can be read as a standalone, however, the characters from previous stories are part of the background in this book. I really like seeing how they are all doing.

This rating is easy for me. 5 out of 5. It’s great. It isn’t an easy story but it’s perfect. I loved the storyline and the characters came to life. High five!

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES

Julie Cross is a NYT and USA Today bestselling author of New Adult and Young Adult fiction, including the Tempest series, a young adult science fiction trilogy which includes Tempest, Vortex, Timestorm (St. Martin's Press). She's also the author of Letters to Nowhere series, Whatever Life Throws at You, Third Degree, Halfway Perfect, Chasing Truth, Off the Ice and many more to come! Julie Cross was a longtime resident of central Illinois but has recently moved her entire family across the country to continue her academic studies at Stanford University.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dear You Tour and Giveaway

Dear You

by Derra Nicole Sabo

Genre: Biography

Dear You is a lovely invitation into Derra Nicole Sabo's world.

A wonderful opportunity borne out of a complex and challenging experience, to recall the good times with loved ones, the chance to express the rarely spoken profound specifics of what binds friends and family together.

Derra Sabo shares a bit of her world with you in this delightful memoir filled with "letters" to family and friends. Overcoming challenges by simply living life; Derra shares her experiences here in hopes of helping the reader gain an appreciation for life as it happens.

This is a heart-warming collection of letters to loved ones that explores the wonder, frailty and extraordinary qualities of friendship, family, love and life.

Goodreads * Amazon * Amazon UK

Dear You,

How y’all doin’? Perfectly imperfect I hope. Well, I come to you today because I have a favor to ask of you. I

need you to do me a kindness. Don’t worry, it won’t take up much of your time and it doesn’t cost a single shiny

Lincoln, however, it does require a few ounces of brain power and an open space in your heart. I have a story for

you… Yes, I know what you’re thinking, “Oh great, another book about a nobody’s life. A tale of how a nobody had a great childhood then hit a pot hole or two while growing up, but in the end found herself and had a happily ever after.” Well congrats, you are 50% correct.

This is indeed a tale of a nobody’s life, however, the bits about finding herself and having a happily ever are

slightly off. My tale is about a young girl born with an unwanted label cemented onto her forehead, a label that

cast a beautiful curse upon her heart. Do you know what it feels like to be a happy kid and then to have that rug

pulled from under your feet? To go from feeling broken to damaged to completely worthless in one swift motion? How about wanting so much to fit in that it starts to break you down into a reflection that your 20/20

vision can no longer make out? To be marked as “different”?

I have a story to tell you, a story filled with happiness drowned out by brokenness, sprinkled with darkness and topped with a delicious suicide attempt.

Served alongside is a refreshing shot of completely losing one’s self, ending in rebuilding an underdog to

become an invincible version of a beautifully imperfect human.

So here we are; just you and I sitting in a cozy place getting ready for the story that I have to tell. Now

whether you listen or not is your decision...

As someone with anxiety, writing is my way of speaking. When my verbal skills fail, my pen excels. I have always had something to say to the world and to the humans residing in it, I just could never get my mind and mouth to be on the same level. So, I picked up a pen and haven't looked back. I have a message for you. A message for my family, my friends and to all the beating hearts. Dear You is a letter personally written, from me to you.

Website * Twitter * Instagram * Amazon * Goodreads

Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Four Day Fling #AUDIO

✮ ✮ NOW AVAILABLE ON AUDIO ✮ ✮ ✮

Charming, funny, touching and the perfect summer read. - Julia Kent, New York Times bestselling author

Four Day Fling, a standalone romantic comedy of epically awkward proportions, from New York Times bestselling author, Emma Hart, is now available on audio!

Listen Today!

Amazon Audible: https://amzn.to/2TbmMII

Amazon Audible Worldwide: http://mybook.to/FourDayFlingEH

Tantor: http://bit.ly/2Skhgz2

Imagine this.

You’re ready to leave after a one-night stand, and you’re figuring out how to—shock horror—leave your number and ask him to be your fake boyfriend for your sister’s wedding this weekend.

When he wakes up.

Well, that happened to me. And over coffee and omelets, I found myself a date.

Which was how I ended up arriving at the wedding with a guy I knew nothing about.

I didn’t know his last name, or how we met, or how long we’d been dating. I didn’t know where he grew up, what he’d majored in in college, or how many siblings he had.

I sure as hell didn’t know he was Adam Winters, hotshot hockey player—and not only my father’s favorite player, but my little nephew’s freakin’ idol.

Which means I’m in trouble. Big, big trouble.

My mother is suspicious, my sister is bridezilla on crack, and my grandpa will tell anyone who’ll listen about his time in Amsterdam’s Red Light District.

Four days.

I have to keep this up for four days, and then Adam and I can return to our regular lives, where we don’t have sex whenever we’re alone and my family aren’t interrogating him over his intentions with me.

At least, that’s the plan.

And we all know what happens to those.

What the Parrot Saw #Blitz

Historical Romance

Publisher: Eve D. Ackerman

Release Date: February 26, 2019

photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

Hijacking an Englishman from a brothel is all in a day’s work for Captain Mattie St. Armand. She needs protective coloration, and a naïve (and expendable) white man will keep the eyes of the authorities off her as she smuggles slaves from the Florida Territory to freedom in the Bahamas.

Oliver Woodruff wanted a spot of travel in the Caribbean before he settled down, but he never expected “Marauding Mattie.” He’ll help her, but he knows there’s no place in his world for the bastard daughter of a pirate and a freedwoman.

As Mattie trains him for their ruse, she comes to realize he’s a man she can turn to for support and companionship, and Oliver grows to love the commanding and daring woman who refuses to fit society’s mold… but both are sure their relationship is doomed by society’s taboos.

It will take danger and adventure (and Roscoe the parrot) to convince them that the passion between them is more than an island fantasy.

Excerpt

1839

“I don’t need a useless white boy. Find someone else to take him off your hands.”

“Not a boy, a man. The sort you favor, captain—golden curls, pouty mouth. He’s quite pretty, I know you’ll agree.”

Captain St. Armand stretched out long legs clad in close fitting buckskins, admiring the shine on boots freshly polished. The brothel on St. Martin offered a variety of services to its clients, from excellent meals to boot-blacking, along with the usual amenities one expected from such establishments.

“If I bring a pretty lad aboard ship, everyone will want one. I don’t share my toys.”

“You’ll take him,” the madam said. “I’m calling in my marker for the incident last year.”

“That wasn’t my fault!”

“Your ship, your crew, your fault, St. Armand.”

“Really, that man needed some excitement in his life.”

“That’s not the excitement Mr. Carlson sought at this house. He never expected a goat.”

St. Armand snickered at the memory. “I still say what you’re asking is excessive.”

“I thought you’d turn me down.” Barbara Simpson took a sip of the sherry she’d served herself. Her guest was drinking Jamaican rum, as usual. “You should know though, the young man in question is Bunny Rathbone’s relation.”

“Bunny Rathbone! How is the dear old boy?”

“He’s well, moving up in the world. He wrote me to say his cousin was touring the islands and if he came here I should treat him as an honored guest. Bunny implied Mr. Woodruff needed to experience more of life. To put it bluntly, he called the young man a ‘stuffy, boring stick.’ I invited him to the house, but first he ran into a spot of trouble and I brought him here for safekeeping.”

The doors to the parlor were open to catch the afternoon breezes rustling through the bougainvillea—a restful pause before business commenced for the evening. Comfortably rounded and middle-aged, Mrs. Simpson was a shrewd businesswoman whose motto was to give the clients what they desired—within reason—and to treat her girls as she’d wanted to be treated when she’d worked there. She’d miss Captain St. Armand, a favored customer setting sail for Nassau after a stop to provision and catch up on mail and messages from home. A packed valise waited near the door.

“The two of us have fond memories of Bunny’s visits to this house, but I’m sailing on the tide, so bring your package out here and let me see for myself.”

The madam’s bully boys were summoned and returned a short while later with their “package” struggling between them in a futile attempt at freedom. It was a young man in his mid-twenties, and, as promised, he had bright gold hair and sky-blue eyes. One of those eyes was blackened, and a bruise discolored the left side of his face. He was also gagged with his hands tied in front of him.

“As you see, I need your help taking him away, and you could use a cabin boy. You told me so yourself. Mr. Woodruff has an unfortunate habit of speaking intemperately, and there were people who took exception to what he said.”

“People?”

“Americans. Ah, I thought that would interest you.”

“I am slightly tempted,” the captain said, looking the young man over. “I may have a use for him, other than the obvious one. As always, you have an excellent eye for the goods.”

The captive made a noise muffled by his gag.

“Don’t look so horrified, Sunshine. The work’s not onerous and it comes with special benefits. If he’s annoying the Americans I’m thinking of, it makes him far more trouble than he’s worth, Barbara. I’ll pay you for the goat incident and leave him to his own devices.”

“The goat incident set me back twenty-five pounds, not to mention the free services Mr. Carlson received for his embarrassment. You owe me, but if you take Woodruff with you to Nassau we’ll call it done.”

She directed one of her men to get the captive’s gear. The captain pulled a fine cigar from the mahogany box on the table, taking time to light it and inhale before answering.

“Twenty-five pounds? I don’t care how pouty his mouth is, there’s not a man alive worth that amount.”

The bound man squawked again, jerking against the hold on his arms.

“Untie the gag, James. Maybe Woodruff can convince me of his worth.”

The gag removed, the captive worked his square jaw back and forth, glaring at them.

“I demand you release me at once! I am a British citizen and I will notify the authorities!”

St. Armand looked at Mrs. Simpson, then both laughed aloud. Even the guard chuckled.

“How do you intend to back up that demand?” St. Armand asked. “Did you happen to bring a knife with you? Or guns? Or friends with guns?”

“Friends with guns are good, Captain.”

“Indeed they are, James, but I don’t believe Woodruff has friends here, with or without guns.”

“You cannot hold me here! I did not come to the islands to end up in a bawdy house!” he protested.

“Well, that’s your problem right there, Sunshine.”

Woodruff took a deep breath, then looked at the mistress of the house.

“You are not responsible for me, Mrs. Simpson. I am not unappreciative of your protecting me by keeping me here, but I can take care of myself.”

“You don’t seem to be doing a good job of it so far.”

He glared at the sea captain.

“I do not know what your interest in my affairs is, sir, but I do not need your assistance.” He started to step forward, but James’s heavy hand on his shoulder kept him in place.

St. Armand set down the cigar.

“It’s not up to you. Hold out your hands.”

Almost reflexively the man thrust his arms out. St. Armand’s knife sliced through the knots, but when Woodruff tried to pull his arm back, the captain gripped his hand and turned it over.

“Soft and smooth as a nun’s arse. You’ve never hauled lines or done work harder than holding a pen. Don’t look so astounded. I can tell you’re a scribbler from this callus on your finger.” Cold eyes scanned him from his face down to his feet. “Soft all over. I only take crew and cargo aboard my vessel. You are worthless to me.”

The brothel owner delicately cleared her throat.

“Goats, St. Armand. Remember the goats. You don’t have to keep him forever, like a pet. Take him to Nassau or Jamaica and leave him there. You owe me, and I owe”—she paused and looked at her guest—“our mutual friend, so let’s be reasonable about this.”

Woodruff stared at the sea captain. “You are Captain St. Armand? The Captain St. Armand, of the Prodigal Son?”

Before he could answer, the brothel’s majordomo knocked at the door.

“A note arrived for the captain, ma’am, and it’s marked urgent.”

St. Armand read the rumpled paper, a frown creasing the lean face.

“There’s no time for further debate. I’ll dispose of this person for you, Barbara, and make sure the body’s well hidden.”

“What? You can’t kill me!”

They ignored such a patently ridiculous statement, but Mrs. Simpson shook her head.

“I must insist.”

“Oh, very well. Woodruff, you’re coming with me. Your only choice is whether it’s bound and across your saddle, or riding.”

He appeared ready to argue, but after one look at St. Armand’s set face said, “I’ll ride.”

“You’ll find a way to turn a profit on him,” Mrs. Simpson said, rising to her feet as well, “I know you.”

“There is that,” St. Armand said cheerfully. “He could have an unfortunate and fatal accident aboard ship, and I know a surgeon in Nassau who pays well for fresh cadavers. Don’t look so pasty-faced, boy. If you follow orders, you should survive long enough to keep scribbling. The first order is this… The captain is always right, and when I give an order, I expect it to be obeyed. Say ‘Aye, Captain’ if you understand.”

Woodruff looked at him and swallowed.

“Aye, Captain.”

About the Author

Darlene Marshall is the author of award-winning historical romance featuring pirates, privateers, smugglers, and the occasional possum. She loves working at a job where business attire is shorts and a shirt festooned with pink flamingos and palm trees. Marshall lives in North Central Florida, a convenient location for putting the convertible top down and researching sites of great historical significance, which also happen to be at the beach and serve mojitos.

Marshall is a graduate of the University of Florida and worked as a broadcast and print journalist, news anchor, radio station owner, obituary writer and a few other odd jobs. She's section leader for Erotic Writing at TheLitForum.com.

Her books have been published in English, German and Estonian. Awards include the New England Chapter RWA (Romance Writers of America) Readers' Choice Award and Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence for The Pirate's Secret Baby; the Denver RWA Aspen Gold award (Castaway Dreams); the First Coast Romance Writers National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award (The Bride and the Buccaneer), and two EPIC awards.

Represented by Barbara Collins Rosenberg of the Rosenberg Group.

Contact Links

Purchase Links

B&N

Monday, 25 February 2019

The Winnowing #BlogTour #GuestPost #Giveaway

The Winnowing

(Stanley and Hazel #2)

Jo Schaffer

Darkness descends over St. Louis, a city already rocked by the Great Depression. More and more people are disappearing, and some have turned up dead. A sinister secret society is putting forward their plan known as “The Winnowing,” designed to wipe out those they consider “undesirable.”

After Stanley and Hazel foil the diabolical plans of Charles Chouteau, they become instant celebrities. Hazel is thrust into the role of debutante, and risks loses herself in it. Meanwhile, Stanley must deal with the horrific tragedy of his best friend’s death while being threatened by the unseen forces of the Veiled Prophet.

With things spiraling out of control, Stanley and Hazel’s relationship is tested, possibly beyond repair. As bodies pile up, people become more desperate. The divide between wealthy and poor grows ever wider, threatening to tear their worlds apart. Now, the two must find a way to work together if there is any hope at all of saving their relationship and their futures.

The Winnowing (Stanley & Hazel #2) by Jo Schaffer

Publication Date: February 26, 2019

Publisher: Month9Books

Link to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42111232-the-winnowing

Pre-order Link

Jo Schaffer

Top 10 “Happy Feely” songs

I love music and there are so many songs that make me feel amazing!

1. Unbreakable Smile- Tori Kelly

2. Happy- Pharrell Williams

3. Good Life- One Republic

4. Fight Song- Rachel Platten

5. The Greatest Showman Soundtrack and the Lalaland Soundtrack

6. Sinatra music

7. Put Your Records On- Corinne Bailey Ray

8. On Top of the World- Imagine Dragons

9. I Am Woman- Jordin Sparks

10. Unwritten- Natasha Bedinfield

Jo Schaffer was born and raised in the California Bay Area in a huge, creative family. She is a YA novelist, speaker and a Taekwondo black belt.
She’s a founding member of the nonprofit organization that created Teen Author Boot Camp, one of the nation’s biggest conferences for teens where bestselling authors present writing workshops to nearly a thousand attendees.
Jo loves being involved in anything that promotes literacy and family. She is passionate about community, travel, books, music, healthy eating, classic films and martial arts. But her favorite thing is being mom to three strapping sons and a neurotic cat named Hero. They live together in the beautiful mountains of Utah.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads