Spotlight: Me + You by Gina Azzi

You + Me

The Senior Semester Series by Gina Azzi Publication Date: February 14, 2018 Genres: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Purchase: Amazon

Eager for a career in government and excited to explore a new city, Emma Stanton is thrilled to accept an internship on Capitol Hill. When unexpected financial difficulties arise, she trades happy hours with colleagues for a second job, serving at D.C. restaurant Barracuda. Prepared for a semester of long hours and little fun, Emma’s outlook brightens after meeting her boss, Luke Harrington. Luke has worked toward one goal his whole life: becoming a professional boxer. On the brink of his title shot, he inherits his late uncle’s restaurant and hires Emma on the spot. When she proves to be more than just an employee, Luke struggles to balance his business, his boxing, and his desire to win Emma’s heart. Coming from two different worlds, Emma and Luke skirt around their mutual attraction, certain they can’t fit into each other’s futures. But what kind of idealist doesn’t chase her dreams? And what kind of boxer doesn’t fight for what he wants? As their hearts collide, so do their worlds… even the dark parts that threaten to keep them apart.

About Gina Azzi

Gina Azzi writes NA Contemporary Romance with relatable, genuine characters experiencing real life obstacles, surprises, friendships, and love. She is the author of The Senior Semester Series and Corner of Ocean and Bay. A Jersey girl at heart, Gina has spent the last decade traveling the world, living and working abroad, before settling down in Ontario, Canada with her husband and two children. She’s a voracious reader, daydreamer, and coffee enthusiast who loves meeting new people.

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Spotlight: Curiouser and Curiouser by Melanie Karsak

Curiouser and Curiouser: Steampunk Alice in Wonderland
Melanie Karsak
(Steampunk Fairy Tales)
Publication date: July 17th 2017
Genres: Adult, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Retelling, Steampunk

To save the Hatter, Alice must work with the one man she despises so much that she might still love him.

Alice thought she’d turned over a new leaf. No more working for Jabberwocky. No more making deals with the ruthless Queen of Hearts. No more hanging around The Mushroom with tinkers, tarts, scoundrels, and thieves in London’s criminal underbelly. But she’d been bonkers to dream.

Hatter’s reckless behavior leads Alice back to the one person she never wanted to see again, Caterpillar. Pulled into Caterpillar’s mad schemes, Alice must steal a very big diamond from a very royal lady. The heist is no problem for this Bandersnatch. But protecting her heart from the man she once loved? Impossible.

Sometimes love is mad.

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EXCERPT:

“If you say it again, I’ll stab you,” I said as I struggled to adjust the formal gown. The bulging bustle of fabric on my backside made my lower back itch, and my corset was too tight. A proper lady’s gown indeed, but I wondered how anyone who dressed in proper fashion got anything done. I touched the brim of my tiny top hat. It, along with my parasol, were the only pieces of the outfit I actually liked. Of course, the parasol had a feature that allowed me to slip the White Queen into the shaft to serve as a handle. Leave it to the Countess to think of that.

“All I said was that you look lovely. I hardly think that’s a stabbing offense.”

“Shows what you know,” I replied as I eyed him sidelong. He had changed into a fine suit and wore a black top hat. I both hated and loved being there with him. My conflicting emotions made me cranky.

“Tickets,” said a man standing just outside the door of the Crystal Palace.

“Good morning,” William said politely and handed the man our tickets.

The man stamped the date on the tickets then handed them back. Nodding, he motioned for us to enter.

Taking me gently by the arm, as a gentleman ought to do, William escorted me inside.

While the Crystal Palace’s ornate structure, made of glass and iron, towering several stories high was a sight to behold from the outside, nothing quite prepared me for the marvels inside.

As we entered, a cacophony of sounds reached our ears. The sweet melodies coming from a stand of self-playing harps, the screech of monkeys, the hum of machines, and the sounds of hundreds of voices rolled to our ears all at once.

The structure had been built around the tall ash trees that had stood in the park. They still stood standing tall in the middle of the structure. Fountains lined the center promenade. The crowd gasped and stepped back as a group from Africa passed on their way toward their display, lions on leashes walking in front of them. Not far behind them, a man wearing a straw hat jogged past pulling a rickshaw, two laughing—and elegantly dressed—ladies inside.

I gasped as a man flew overhead on wings made of lightweight material. To my great surprise, he flapped his wings, the metal of the clockwork bones and joints revealed when the sun overhead struck him just right.

William chuckled. “Shall we take it all in?”

Barely able to breathe, I nodded.

“Now, there is my Alice,” he said softly. “Her curious eyes open wide.”

I smiled. “It’s a wonderland.”

Author Bio:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Melanie Karsak is the author of The Airship Racing Chronicles, The Harvesting Series, The Burnt Earth Series, The Celtic Blood Series and Steampunk Fairy Tales. A steampunk connoisseur, zombie whisperer, and heir to the iron throne, the author currently lives in Florida with her husband and two children. She is an Instructor of English at Eastern Florida State College.

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Cover Reveal: Drawn to Dark by Emma Tharp

Drawn to Dark
Emma Tharp
Publication date: February 27th 2018
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Being a Rock God isn’t easy. Kingston Lawless has survived a lot of things – alcoholism, ultimate betrayal, and an ill sister only he can save. But Kingston is ready to get his life back on track.

When his path crosses with nurse Camilla Watts, he immediately knows she’s different than all the other women he’s met. Sweet, innocent, and she didn’t even know he’s famous. Could Cam give him the kind of life he wants?

Unable to deny their chemistry, Kingston and Cam start a whirlwind romance. But King’s past isn’t ready to let him go. Will their love be able to overcome the lies or will his dark past rip them apart?

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Author Bio:

Emma was raised in upstate NY. Being an only child, she spent a great deal of time alone dreaming up characters that would keep her company on long family road trips. Putting her writing on the back burner, she went to college and became a chiropractor. After spending 14 years healing patients, Emma decided—with the help of her amazingly supportive husband—to use the creative side of her brain and let her characters come to the page.

If she’s not writing, Emma can be found at the gym, one of her kids sporting events, Starbucks, or at a live music event.

A perfect day for Emma would be spent at her lake house with her husband, two ginger-haired children, and Vizsla, reading a book and drinking a large cup of coffee (or wine) with music playing in the background.

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Excerpt Reveal: Gentleman Nine by Penelope Ward

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward, comes a new, sexy standalone novel.

Growing up, the three of us were friends.
He was the nerd.
I was the playboy.
She was the beauty.

Deep down, I only ever wanted her. I kept it inside because Rory and I made a pact that our friend, Amber, was off-limits.

He lied.

I went off to college, and he got the girl.
Amber never knew how I felt.
They were together for years—before he broke her heart.

Through it all and across the miles, she and I casually stayed in touch.
When my job sent me to Boston for a three-month contract position, Amber let me stay in her spare room.

Still reeling from her breakup, she’d sworn off men.
One night, I opened her computer to find the shock of my life. She’d hesitantly contacted a male escort company. Afraid to date and get her heart broken again, she was looking for sex with no strings.
Every emotion imaginable ran through me: protectiveness, jealousy—curiosity.
Amber had chosen Gentleman Number Nine and sent him a message.
She opened up to him, confessing, among other things, her physical attraction to her friend—me. But she considered me off-limits—and she thought I was a manwhore. (Ironic, considering the circumstances.)

Eventually, she set up a date to meet Gentleman Nine at a hotel. 
When she showed up several nights later to meet him, she was stunned to see me standing there—with an offer I hoped she wouldn’t refuse.

Excerpt

G9,

Is that what your friends call you? I like that. Thanks for the answers.

That’s an interesting question—why tonight of all nights? Well, I saw my ex tagged on Facebook with another woman, and that put me over the edge. But it’s more than that. Lately, I’ve developed a strong attraction to a good friend of mine, and that’s sort of screwing with me a bit. He’s actually temporarily living in my condo, but he’s someone I’ve known for years. I’ve always thought he was extremely handsome, but it’s complicated. He and I would not be a good match romantically. He’s not the monogamous type, or at least, he never used to be. We’re better off as friends. He was also the best friend of my ex years back, so there’s that. Having him around, though, has made me more sensitized to my sexual desires. Little things like the waft of his scent, the way he touches the small of my back when he passes by me in the kitchen…it’s like my body is on this constant state of alert. So, I was thinking if I could just—for lack of a better word—get laid, maybe I could get this feeling out of my system.

—Amber

My jaw was open as I just sat there staring at the screen.

Holy shit.

I read it again.

And again.

And again.

I honestly didn’t think that Amber felt that way about me. She would always make jokes about me being good-looking, but her attraction to Rory proved that her taste wasn’t exactly conventional. Now, I really felt like shit for invading her privacy, because there was no way she would’ve been okay with confessing that to me. I never imagined any of this had to do with me. I’d assumed it was solely about Rory.

She wanted to use another man to f*ck me out of her system?

That revelation left me shocked and confused—not to mention hard as f*ck thinking about the fact that Amber wanted me.

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About the Author

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She’s a seventeen-time New York Times bestseller. Her novels are published in over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world. Having grown up in Boston with five older brothers, she spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 13-year-old girl with autism and a 12-year-old boy. Penelope and her family reside in Rhode Island. 
    
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Spotlight: The Wrong Kind of Compatible by Kadie Scott

The Wrong Kind of Compatible
Kadie Scott
(Love Undercover #1)
Published by: Entangled: Lovestruck
Publication date: June 12th 2017
Genres: Comedy, New Adult, Romance

Data analyst Cassie Howard may be brilliant (and, okay, a little awkward), but she’s worked hard to get where she is. She definitely doesn’t need some sexy new analyst coming in and taking credit for her work. Or the inappropriate thoughts that keep popping out of her mouth she’d rather he not hear.

For undercover FBI agent Drew Kerrigan, computers have always made more sense than people, but he’d better develop some slick social skills in a hurry if he’s going to win over the too-tantalizing-for-his-sanity Cassie. Hacking their systems was easy. Now he’s just got to hack the one person in the company most likely to see through his ruse…

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—

EXCERPT:

She flipped his hand palm up, and, with firm but gentle strokes, proceeded to massage the area. She pressed into the muscles, pulled on his fingers, and pinched the pressure point between his thumb and forefinger. Every stroke, every brush of her fingers against his skin turned into sheer sensual torture.

Done with his right hand, she placed it in his lap. Drew clamped his lips shut around a groan at how close she was to a part of his body that would love some similar attention. Instead, she picked up his left hand and gave it the same treatment.

“Is the pain gone?”

His headache was, replaced by an entirely different kind of ache. “Not entirely.”

“Okay. Let me try one more thing.” She let go of his hand. “Close your eyes.”

He did as she asked, but immediately regretted it, because now his mind could supply all sorts of inappropriate images as she touched him. He should put a stop to this, but found he couldn’t. Didn’t want to.

She gently ran the pads of her fingers over his face, smoothing over his brows, his forehead, his cheekbones, his temples. Needing to see her, he slowly opened his eyes.

She smiled, eyes dark with an answering desire. “Helping?”

Help was a relative term. Drew didn’t answer, instead, he ran his gaze over every nuance of her face, eventually locking on to turbulent turquoise eyes, unable to pull his gaze away. He reached out and touched a strand of her silky, pale hair that had escaped her pencil restraints.

Cassie’s lips parted on a sweet little gasp that teased his ears. Unable to stop himself, Drew closed the small distance between them and brushed his lips over hers. Just the briefest kiss to relieve the need to touch her like this, to feel her soft lips against his.

“Drew?” she whispered against his lips.

Lord he could become obsessed with the husky timbre to her voice and the way she said his name. Lose himself in her. He pulled back just enough to see her expression. “Yeah?”

She swallowed. “Maybe we should finish this tomorrow?”

Why not tonight? The words trembled on the tip of his tongue until he realized she was talking about work.

Author Bio:

Award-winning contemporary romance author, Kadie Scott, grew up consuming books and exploring the world through her writing. She attempted to find a practical career related to her favorite pastime by earning a degree in English Rhetoric (Technical Writing). However, she swiftly discovered that writing without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it.

No matter the genre, she loves to write witty, feisty heroines, sexy heroes who deserve them, and a cast of lovable characters to surround them (and maybe get their own stories). She currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her own personal hero, her husband, and their two children, who are growing up way too fast.

Kadie also writes award-winning paranormal romance under the name Abigail Owen.
(http://abigailowen.com)

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(http://eepurl.com/czjrKn)

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Cover Reveal: Eight Goodbyes by Christine Brae

Eight Goodbyes
Christine Brae
Published by: Vesuvian Books
Publication date: September 4th 2018
Genres: Adult, Romance

When Tessa Talman meets Simon Fremont for the first time, not only is she attracted to him, she’s intrigued by how different their lives are. He’s a dedicated scientist, practical, pragmatic, and grounded—while she’s a head-in-the-clouds romance author. As their relationship grows, they agree to meet in places around the world, while continuing to live on opposite sides of the globe.

Though their feelings for each other deepen, their priorities remain the same. Simon is in a hurry to be financially sound and settle down, but Tessa is enjoying her freedom and newfound success. Neither is willing to give in, but as each goodbye gets harder, Tessa begins to wonder whether fame is the path to happiness, or if she has everything she needs in Simon.

Just as Tessa finds the courage to go after her own happily ever after, the unthinkable happens, separating them in ways they never imagined.

To move forward, she must let go of the past, and determine once and for all if love is truly more powerful than the pain of goodbye.

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Author Bio:

Christine Brae is a full time career woman who thought she could write a book about her life and then run away as far as possible from it. She never imagined that her words would touch the hearts of so many women with the same story to tell. Her second book, His Wounded Light was released in December, 2013.

Christine's third book, Insipid, is a standalone that was released in June, 2014, and her fourth book, In This Life, released in January 2016.

When not listening to the voices in her head or spending late nights at the office, Christine can be seen shopping for shoes and purses, running a half marathon or spending time with her husband and three children in Chicago.

Christine is represented by Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo Helin Literary Management.

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