Audio Spotlight & Excerpt: Three Lessons in Seduction by Sofie Darling and narrated by Mary Sarah

Lord Nicholas Asquith needs his wife. Too bad he broke her heart ten years ago. 

Can he resist a second chance at the love he lost? 

When Mariana catches the eye of the man at the center of an assassination plot, Nick puts aside their painful past and enlists her to obtain information by any means necessary, even if it means seducing the enemy agent. 

Even if the thought makes his blood boil. 

Only by keeping his distance from Mariana these last ten years was he able to pretend indifference to her. With every moment spent with her, he feels his tightly held control slipping.

Can she trust the spy who broke her heart? 

Mariana spent the last decade forgetting Nick. Now she has the chance to best him at his own game, an opportunity she can’t resist, even as her view of him begins to shift. Increasingly, she wants nothing more than to seduce her own husband.

It's only a matter of time before mad passion ignites, a passion never convincingly extinguished. A passion that insists on surrendering to the yearning of the flesh and, quite possibly, of the heart.

Excerpt

Excerpt

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About the Author

Sofie spent much of her twenties raising two boys and reading every book she could get her hands on. Once she realized that she was no longer satisfied with simply reading the books she loved, that she must write them, too, she decided to finish her degree and embark on a writing career. Mr. Darling and the boys gave her their wholehearted blessing.
When she’s not writing heroes who make her swoon, she runs a marathon in a different state every year, visits crumbling medieval castles whenever she gets a chance, and enjoys a slightly codependent relationship with her beagle, Bosco.

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About the Narrator

Voice Arts Nominee (2016), Mary Sarah is known for her subtle, yet powerfully, evocative performances. With a penchant for dialects and love of culture, Sarah has spanned the globe and time, working with rich characters set across genres of the classics, history, romance, poetry and children’s literature. Relz Reviewz states in reference to her rendering of Tamara Leigh’s ‘The Unveiling,’ that,“ her mellifluous tones, excellent voicing of emotions in dialogue and varied and accurate accents of both male and female make her a pure joy to listen to,” while her narration of “A Lady in the Smoke,” was cited as, “masterly.” Classically trained at The Riverside Shakespeare Academy and The Royal Shakespeare Company, Sarah loves to get to the heart of a word in order to release its’ power and finds great comfort in the beauty of stories to transform and speak to us.

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Read an excerpt from The River House by Carla Neggars

From New York Times bestselling author Carla Neggers comes the next standalone novel in her Swift River Valley Series, THE RIVER HOUSE!In this charming novel about the search for love, home and family, THE RIVER HOUSE takes readers on a journey to an irresistible town they’ll want to return to over and over again. Order your copy today!

Felicity MacGregor loves organizing social events for others but her own personal life is a different story. After a brief but failed attempt at a career as a financial analyst, she returned to Knights Bridge where she enjoys running a thriving party-planning business.

Then Felicity’s life gets a shake-up when her childhood friend Gabriel Flanagan returns unexpectedly to their tiny hometown. Now a high-flying businessman, Gabe always vowed to get out of Knights Bridge, but he is back for the local entrepreneurial boot camp Felicity’s been hired to organize. Together again, they’ll finally have to face each other—and their complicated past.

Gabe and Felicity soon realize their reunion is stirring up long-buried emotions. While Gabe has big plans for his future, Felicity is discovering that hers doesn’t depend on fate—she must choose what’s right for her. But if they can find a bridge between their diverging paths, they may just discover that their enduring connection is what matters most.

Excerpt

Russ and Kylie refused to let her help with cleanup. She had badgers to deal with, after all. Felicity thanked them and headed home along the river, content with her life—but wishing she’d find Gabe sitting on her deck or down at their swimming hole. Even without Russ’s take on Nadia, Felicity felt she and Gabe had unfinished business. Plus, she thought, she just wanted to see him, talk to him, laugh with him.

She groaned, blaming the hot, hazy early summer afternoon for her emotions.

There was no Gabe, of course, when she arrived back at her house, just tiny black ants that had discovered a gooey crumb on her kitchen floor.

She threw her hands on her hips. “How’d you guys get here so fast?”

She dealt with the ant mess, welcoming the sense of normalcy that came with it. Ants weren’t unusual this time of year.

Dealing with a potential stalker was unusual.

Felicity took her laptop out to a shaded spot on the deck and checked her messages. No texts, emails or voice mails from anyone, never mind Nadia Ainsworth.

As she worked, Felicity noticed dark clouds gathering to the west, adding a gray cast to the river. The air was still, oppressively hot and humid. She welcomed the cold front that the dark clouds signaled was moving in, but she’d happily skinny-dip in an isolated spot in the river right now. Probably not a good idea to be swimming when lightning struck.

She went inside and sat in front of a fan in the living room. It was one of those rare days when she wished Mark had installed air-conditioning.

A text came through. She glanced at her screen. “Gabe,” she whispered as she read it.

Made it to Boston. Thanks again for everything. What are you up to?

She typed her answer: Resisting our swimming hole.

Not good to swim alone.

Who says I’m alone?

But you are.

She smiled, surprised she wasn’t annoyed. I am. Storm’s coming. No swimming for me. Working. You?

Always working. TTYL.

Should she bring up Nadia? Felicity shook her head, but she’d known she wouldn’t before she’d posed the question to herself. She typed a quick response: Talk soon.

Two minutes later, Gabe sent her a short video of bulldog puppies, a throwback to their pre-fight friendship. She watched the video twice, smiling even as she warned herself not to get sucked in by Gabriel Flanagan. He liked to have things his way, and she wasn’t going to twist herself into knots to please him. That didn’t mean she knew what they were to each other after the past few days, but if she wanted a man in her life, Gabe was a distraction if not an outright impediment—not because she couldn’t have male friends but because of their history, because they’d kissed at the swimming hole.

Because they weren’t just friends and maybe never had been.

If he were here, what would they be doing now, with a storm moving in on a hot, sweaty day?

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About the Author

Carla Neggers is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sharpe & Donovan series featuring Boston-based FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan, and the popular Swift River Valley series set in the small, fictional New England town of Knights Bridge. With many bestsellers to her credit, Carla loves to write now as much as she did when she climbed a tree at age eleven with pad and pen. A native New Englander, Carla and her husband divide their time between their hilltop home in Vermont, a sofa bed at their kids' places in Boston and various inns, hotels and hideaways on their travels, frequently to Ireland. Learn more and sign up for Carla's newsletter at CarlaNeggers.com. Follow Carla at facebook.com/carlaneggers and twitter.com/carlaneggers.

Read an excerpt from the Devil Side by Lacey Dailey

Unable to continue living on the path her father created for her, Gigi Moretti does something she’s never done before.

She takes a risk.

When musician Maxwell Mitchell waltzes into an old diner in the early morning up to his elbows in secrets, he offers Gigi the perfect escape from the future she’s never wanted.

It takes an over the top demand from her father and a shocking revelation from her fake fiancé to get her to pack her bags and ride shotgun on Max’s spontaneous tour across the country.

As she and Max grow closer, Gigi learns what it’s like to throw out her overbearing workload and be an actual 21-year-old. She quits her job, eats too many Cheetos, tosses out her pink wardrobe, and takes a job as Max’s manager.

She’s finally free, living her life free of her dad’s grip and falling in deep with the musician whose songs hold stories no one will ever uncover and whose past includes a secret hero named Aiden he credits for his survival.

The more time they spend together, the deeper they fall and the closer she gets to the truth. Despite the unknown, she’s happy. She has a job she enjoys, she’s making plans for a future she’s actually excited about, and she’s living with a boyfriend who adores her.

Everything is perfect.

And then she meets Aiden.

And it all changes.

Excerpt

Max bypasses the crowd completely and sticks close to the wall, heading for the edge of the stage. It isn’t very big. Just a long rectangular strip with a microphone on a stand and a small speaker I can only assume is an amp. The crowd comes all the way to the edge. Despite the fact this bar looks like it’s two snorts away from a drug bust, there are a ton of people here. Maybe it’s well known. Maybe they have good prices. I honestly have no idea why a place whose staff is smoking weed in the back, and whose bartender seems to not give a shit about money, is packed so full. I’ll ask Max later. Though it’s likely he won’t tell me. 

“Stay here, babe.” I get a kiss to the head before he climbs the two stairs and plugs his guitar into an amp. He taps the microphone twice, making sure it works and then launches into a song. Just like that. He doesn’t greet the crowd. Doesn’t introduce himself or his music. He just starts singing. And that’s enough because the entire audience is entranced.

Me included.

It doesn’t matter who you are. Doesn’t matter if you’re drunk or sober. Stoned or straight. It doesn’t matter if you’re from the rough side of town or if you're living the high life. It wouldn’t even matter if you had an extra leg or a third eye. Max’s music reaches everybody. It reaches down your throat, squeezes your heart and forces it to beat a little bit slower than it normally does. 

His voice is raspy and light. Low and breathy. It’s almost as though he isn’t even speaking. Just breathing the lyrics. Like the air in his lungs is the cause of whatever beautiful thing is happening in front of me right now. Every word he sings comes from his lips effortlessly and eloquently. He’s stripped down entirely, not at all concerned with putting on a show. It’s just a man and his guitar, breathing lyrics so raw, I rock back on my feet.

With each breath he takes, I become more and more intoxicated. Drunk on his lyrics and the way he’s pouring everything into the words he’s letting loose for the whole world to hear and interpret in whatever way they please. He’s spilling beans left and right, singing tenderly about a side of him he claims saved his life. The song feels so personal, yet he doesn’t make it about him. He makes it about each individual standing below him. 

Maxwell Mitchell cares. It wouldn’t appear that way at first. Not with the way he didn’t greet his crowd or show his appreciation for his stage time. But the moment he started sharing his art with the world, there’s no denying how much he cares. He cares about his music and the way it affects people. He cares that it finds someone and makes a difference. He cares about his lyrics and the way he can use them to touch people in a way not everyone can.

What he doesn’t care about is glitter. There is nothing extra making him shiny. Nothing to catch people’s eye or make him stand out in a crowd. 

Max doesn’t stand out. He blends in. So much so that not a single person noticed he was on stage until he started playing. Maybe that’s why everybody can relate to his words. Because he’s not a rockstar. He’s not famous. He’s just like us. He’s just a man, playing a guitar in a room full of people. 

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About Lacey Dailey

Lacey Dailey is a full-time college student at Central Michigan University. She lives in Farwell, Michigan surrounded by her family. When she isn't in class, she is most likely teaching dance classes at the small dance studio she grew up in or making pizzas at her mother's pizzeria. 

Lacey has been an avid reader since elementary school and will read a book any chance she can get. While she loves all types of books, romance will always be her favorite genre citing she is, "a sucker for a good love story." 

Lacey's love for reading and romance was what inspired her to embark on the crazy adventure that was writing Extraordinary You, her debut novel released in 2017. 

She loves feedback from all readers who took a chance on her novel. You can find her on Facebook or email her at laceydaileybooks@gmail.com

Connect with Lacey: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

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Spotlight: The Backup Plan by Jen Mclaughlin

I’m beyond help...

I threw a football before I could walk. Everything in my life revolved around football–and I loved every second. I was a star. Until, suddenly...I wasn’t. Now everyone thinks I’m the monster who killed his best friend. I’m an outcast on campus, silent and alone. Then Taylor Selmer walks back into my life. When will she learn–I’m beyond saving.

I need to save him...

Chase and I used to be friends. But after the accident, nothing was the same. We used to have something special–until we didn’t. But he doesn’t smile anymore. Doesn’t talk. Doesn’t play. It hurts me to see him this way, and I will do everything I can to get him back in the game. Whether he likes it or not.

Excerpt

The door opened...making me fall backward into Chase’s pitch-black room. When I landed against something hard and naked, arms closed around me without hesitation.

A palm brushed my right breast, sending a wave of awareness shooting through me. I tried not to think about that, though.

Guys were nothing but trouble.

I had bigger plans than falling for a smooth talker with bright eyes and a fake smile who would do nothing but distract me. Once I managed to regain my balance, I spun on my heel and looked at him.

The room behind him was dark, but the hallway illuminated his hotness. And once it did? I wished I hadn’t looked at all.

He stood in the doorway, looking completely unfazed by the fact that he’d basically just felt me up, and glowered at the guy in the hallway. He was shirtless, and wearing nothing but a pair of black sweats. His chest was hard and chiseled, and his abs...yeah. I wasn’t gonna touch upon those for the sake of my own sanity.

Waxing poetic over his abs wasn’t part of my job description.

“Uh, hey...” the guy in the hallway said, trailing off after a feeble attempt at pretending he hadn’t been talking crap about him moments before.

Chase’s green eyes met mine before focusing on the guy in the hall again. His sharp cheekbones were the same as I remembered, and so was his short brown hair. He used to have dimples in his cheeks when he smiled, which had softened the harsh lines of his face and given him a softer appeal, but I had no idea if they still existed since he hadn’t smiled at me yet. Or...at anyone all day. Had he forgotten how?

He said nothing. Just stared the other guy down.

Even I had to admit his stony silence was impressive.

Of course, he kind of reminded me of his dad right now, something he probably wouldn’t like. Or would he? I had no clue.

“I didn’t mean to...” The guy backed up, his face pale, and looked back at me. “She a friend of yours?”

Chase didn’t answer him. He just motioned me inside, his jaw ticking ever so slightly. When I didn’t move fast enough, he shot me a look with those gorgeous eyes of his, and I jumped slightly. “Um. Yes, I am.” I swallowed hard and inched past him, making sure I didn’t brush against his bare chest in the process.

Chase slammed the door behind me. I blinked across the inky blackness of the room, my heart hammering away in my ears. He’d been sitting here in the dark this early in the night? Had he been napping before hitting the books?

I’d learned college kids napped more than one year olds—and much more enthusiastically.

“Do you have something against lights?” I asked, forcing a little laugh at the end.

Dead silence met my joke. In all fairness, it was a pretty lame attempt. For a second I wondered if he was even in the room with me, but I heard him breathe. I turned my head, trying to figure out where he was. To my left, maybe.

“Okay. No lights, then. That’s fine. It’s cool. I’m not scared of the dark.” I paused. “Were you taking a power nap? I could use one. I got an hour of sleep last night.”

Still nothing.

I sensed him there, right next to me. He wasn’t touching me, but I swore he was thinking about it or something.

That makes no sense, Taylor.

I shivered, anxious and excited, all at the same time. “I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m—”

Without warning, Chase moved close enough for me to feel his heat. I backed against the wall until I couldn’t back up anymore. It wasn’t that he scared me. He didn’t. I just...

I just backed up, okay?

“You’re Taylor Selmer. Of course, I remember you. Why are you in my room?”

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About the Author

Jen McLaughlin is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of sexy books with Penguin Random House. Under her pen name, Diane Alberts, she is also a USA TODAY bestselling author of Contemporary Romance with Entangled Publishing. Her first release as Jen McLaughlin, Out of Line, hit the New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal lists. She was mentioned in Forbes alongside E. L. James as one of the breakout independent authors to dominate the bestselling lists. She is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency.

Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal-clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a schnauzer mutt, and three cats. Her goal is to write so many well-crafted romance books that even a non-romance reader will know her name. 

Connect: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Street Team | Instagram: @jenmclaughlin66

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Cover Reveal: Across My Heart by Shanna Clayton

Across My Heart
Shanna Clayton
Publication date: April 27th 2018
Genres: New Adult, Romance, Suspense

Meet the Serras: A Dynasty of Murders

AMELIA

My entire life has been a lie.

My name isn’t real. Everything I know about my family was told to keep me from looking for them. All this time, I’ve assumed my father was dead. Imagine my surprise when I find out not only is he alive, but I have two siblings I never knew existed. Oh, and the biggest lie of all? That I’m safe.

Only one man has the guts to tell me the truth.

Casper North is everything I’m not. Brave. Wild. Adventurous-with a reputation for living on the edge. My story unravels around the same time I discover he’s stalking me. Or as he calls it, protecting me. He invades my personal space, refusing to leave. Just being near me puts his life at risk, but he stays anyway, ripping away the illusions and exposing me for who I really am.

My real name is Amelia Serra. My family’s legacy is death. One by one, we fall like dominoes, until eventually, there will be none of us left.

Guess who’s next in line? That’s right-yours truly.

CASPER

I can’t save her.

She’s naïve. Gorgeous. And a Serra. Meaning, she will die. Soon.

I was never even supposed to meet her. She was just a side job, some extra cash in my pocket, and a favor to her father. Watch her, find out if someone’s after her-that’s all I was told to do. Then she had to go and put herself on the brink of death, forever linking my life with hers.

Now I can’t stay away.

I should get out of her life. Stay unattached. Except I can’t. There’s something about her that draws me in, and I refuse to let go. The last time I lost someone, it almost destroyed me.

Amelia just might be the girl who buries me for good.

There’s a target on her back, but she’s marking an X across my heart.

Across My Heart is a FULL-LENGTH, standalone novel at 95,000+ words.
NEW ADULT ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Recommended for 17+ due to mature language and adult situations.

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Author Bio:

I live and breathe all things books. When I’m not writing, I can be found eating too much chocolate, obsessing over Game of Thrones, and spending time with my crazy family.

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Keep up with me on social media. I LOVE hearing from readers!

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Spotlight: Whispers In The Dark by Leteisha Newton

I was captured...That’s just the beginning of my tale. I’ve survived Purgatory, abuse, and near death. In that abandoned farmhouse I nearly lost everything, but Jacob saved me. We were trapped in this hell together, giving each other the strength to hold on. I fell into darkness with my captor’s son.Until I left him behind.She was perfect, my Alana. Brilliant and full of pain. She understood my darkness and fueled the fire. When she left, I waited patiently to find her, and in her honor, I killed men who took away from innocents. Then I found her...She’s deadly now, a killer too, and perfectly mine. It was beautiful to behold, but she belongs in a cage. My cage. She’ll love me again, or I’ll expose her dirty secrets for the world to see while going down in flames with her. In darkness, it’s most definitely till death do us part.

Warning: This book is full of triggers. It’s wicked dark, with created evil falling in love. People die. They are hurt horribly. The bad guys get away, and there is no apology for it. Hardcore trigger within these pages.

Excerpt

Young Jacob had been a sight. Good-looking, Jacob could’ve had any girl he wanted if he would’ve been a normal teenage boy. But grown-up Jacob? He was a whole other breed of man. Handsome, with movie-star looks, a hidden darkness peered out from his eyes when he gazed at me. I lost all sense of reason underneath him. But what he’d said about him being my master and me being his toy filled me with an uncontrollable rage and made me crave his blood on my hands.
I was no longer a toy, and he sure as hell wasn’t my master. I was older, wiser, and much, much darker than he could imagine. He entered dangerous territory when he walked into my killing ground and had the audacity to knock me out as if he had some sort of control over me. Wait until I strangled him with my bare hands and sucked the life out of him. He’d see who was in control then.
“Alana, time to wake up.”
Glaring, I didn’t say a word to him. The bastard wanted something from me, he could damn well work for it. I was no longer that sweet, naïve eighteen-year-old. I was a grown woman who left bodies in her wake. I would not bow down to him so easily.
“Alana. Come on, baby. Noel, tell Mommy to be nice.”
“Jacob! Stop. Stop using Noel against me. That’s a dirty trick and you know it.”
“No, Alana. Someone has to remember him. Remember what we lost.”
“What we lost?”
“He should’ve been mine! You were mine. You were always mine. Father gave you to me. Then he stole you away. He fucking stole you out from underneath me!”
His words took my breath away. My stomach turned to stone.
“I was supposed to be yours?” I scoffed. The bastard had another think coming. “I’ll gut you, I promise.”
“You were promised to me. A sweet blonde. And how sweet you were. Too sweet. Of course, Father had to keep you for himself. But it’s all right. I’m here now. We can finally have the life we were meant to have. It’s okay that you left … if you accept me now.”
He was delusional, absolutely delusional. Sure, we’d always had a bond. We were drawn to one another because of what his father put us through, and yet here, now, he was talking as if we had a future.
We had no future. I was a killer. A woman who lusted for blood and made men pay for their sins. And he was the son of the Devil, the man who took me and made me this way. I should hate him. I should want to see him dead.
And yet … I didn’t.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Jacob shouldn’t have been able to affect me any longer. What we had was support and emotion triggered by immaturity and a need to survive a horrendous situation. It wasn’t real, and it was nothing we could find again. Even now, years later, I was drawn to him, despite his delusions. Despite telling myself there was nothing between us. While we may not have a future, our connection thrummed in the air. This couldn’t be right.
“What are you going to do with me?” Knowledge was power, and killers tended to like to brag.
“What should’ve been done from the start. I’m going to make you mine.”
“Don’t do this, Jacob. You saved me. You saved me. I’m alive because of you. You don’t want to do this to me.”
“I’ve always wanted to do this to you, sweet Alana. I’ve dreamt of this moment. I know you never meant to leave me behind. You were scared. I’ve been waiting for us to be together again. You told me, remember? That if I ever lost the girl, I had to find a way to take her back. I’m here now.”
I ran away back then. I ran and left Jacob behind to pay for our crime. I could’ve looked him up and found him before, but I didn’t. He wasn’t a part of my new life. I did what I could when I didn’t implicate him in my treatment. While Jacob may have played a starring role in my fantasies, I never wanted to go down that path again. My feet were firmly set on the path of darkness, and there was no time for love or relationships. Love was a nuisance. Not that it existed for monsters like me anyway.
“We were children, Jacob.”
“And I loved you, and you left me behind!”
I sucked in a breath, closing my eyes against the anger and pain in his gaze.
“You left me. Alone. I couldn’t find you. My girl, my Alana. The woman I learned to change for. We were together for over a year, we killed my father together. Did that mean nothing to you?”
“We can talk and spend time together. You don’t have to hold me prisoner.”
“I trusted you to come back, and you didn’t,” he whispered.
I couldn’t help but look at him, at the dip in his shoulders, the closed-off way he held himself. I’d hurt him, I could read it plainly on his flesh, the scarring I’d left behind. But he shook and changed, surety replacing confusion in his gaze, along with that cocky grin that took my breath away when we were kids spreading over his face.
“Can you feel it, Alana? Your soul calls to me like a whisper in the dark. We were made for it. We were made for each other.”

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About the Author

Writing professionally since 2008, LeTeisha Newton’s love of romance novels began long before it should have. After spending years sneaking reads from her grandmother’s stash, she finally decided to pen her own tales. As many will do during their youth, she bounced from fantasy, urban literature, mainstream, interracial, paranormal, heterosexual, and LGBT works until she finally rested in contemporary romance.
LeTeisha is all about deep angst and angry heroes who take a bit more loving to smooth their rough edges. Love comes in many sizes, shapes, and colors, as well as with—or without—absolute beauty and fairy tale sweetness. She writes the darker tales because life is hard … but love is harder.

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