Spotlight: Still Savannah by Sandra Owens

Still Savannah
Sandra Owens
(Blue Ridge Valley, #3)
Publication date: October 23rd 2018
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

He was her first love, the boy who broke her heart. When her life falls apart she turns to the man he is today. She is a wounded soul, and he is just the man who can help her heal, but only if he dares to risk his heart again.

Known simply as Savannah, a beautiful face on the covers of glamour magazines, Savannah Graham has the perfect life… or so it seems to the world. Behind closed doors her reality is far from perfect. When a person she should be able to trust threatens her, she returns home to Blue Ridge Valley, the only place she feels safe. The valley is also where he lives, her first and only love.

Adam Hunter stepped out of Savannah Graham’s life nine years ago so she could follow her dream. She was his first love, and there is still an ache in his heart for what he lost every time he sees her face on the cover of a magazine. Now she’s home, needing protection, and he can’t refuse. When the danger is over, she will return to her glamorous life. So she’s not the only thing he has to protect, he also needs to safeguard his heart.

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EXCERPT:

“Savvy?”

“Mmm?” I opened my eyes to see Adam peering at me.

“Why are you in bed with me?”

“I couldn’t sleep. What time is it?”

“It’s early. Come here.” He pulled me to him, spooning me. “Go back to sleep.”

“’Kay.” But I couldn’t, not with his body wrapped around mine and his face buried in my hair. I wanted to stay cocooned by him, though, so I pretended to sleep while soaking up everything about this moment—his body heat, his scent, his skin pressed against mine. His breaths evened out, and when I was sure he was asleep again, I pulled his hand against my chest, linked our fingers, and pushed back so that every part of me was touching him. He gave a sigh of what sounded like contentment that brought tears to my eyes.

Our chance had passed. I knew that, but I would selfishly horde these special moments until it was time to leave him again. Apparently I did go to sleep because when I woke up, Adam was on his back and I was sprawled over him with one of my legs captured by his.

Unable to resist, I touched his bottom lip with a finger, smiling when his lips twitched. Before he opened his eyes and found me covering him like a blanket, I started to ease away.

The arm he had around my back tightened. “Going somewhere?”

“I guess we should get up.”

“Is that what you really want to do? I’m asking because you were molesting my mouth a few seconds ago. Thought maybe you had something else on your mind.”

“No,” I whispered. “It’s not what I want.”

He flipped me over, and with his chest over mine, he looked down at me. “Tell me what you want, Savannah.”

“This off.” I tugged at the T-shirt he’d worn to bed.

I’d only been with two men, Adam and Jackson. With Adam, intimacy had been a beautiful thing. The boy who had loved me had made love to me as if I were his treasure. Jackson in bed had been all about power and control. It had been ugly and humiliating. I wanted Adam to wipe those memories away. I wanted to be treasured again.

“This won’t mean anything. Are you sure you’re good with that?”

No, I wasn’t. I wanted it to mean everything, and his words sent an ache to my heart. But he was right. We weren’t Adam and Savannah anymore. We were only two consenting adults who would share some time together before we each went back to our lives.

I put my finger on his lips. “Shhh. Make love to me, Adam. That’s all I’m asking for.”

His eyes turned soft as he lowered his mouth to mine. His lips brushed over mine, teasing at first, then growing hungrier. The kiss grew deeper, more passionate, the soft caresses firmer and more demanding. It felt as if sparks flew around us, electrifying the air. He slid his hands to my back, slipping under the camisole I’d worn to bed. His fingers trailed up and down my spine, causing me to shiver as pleasure followed the path of his hands. When his tongue probed the seam of my lips, I opened for him. I would always open for this man.

While his tongue explored my mouth, I was busy exploring his body. The new muscles he’d acquired since we were together—the ones I’d been dying to touch—were firm and rock-hard against my fingertips. Heat poured from him, warming me. I had the stray thought that if Adam was always next to me, I’d never be cold again.

“Are you sure you want this?” he said again.

I liked that he asked, and I knew if I said no, that he would stop. “I’m sure. Are you?”

“God, yes.”

There was so much emotion in those two words, as if this meant more to him than just sex with a random woman. He rolled away, pushed off the bed, and stood.

“Adam?” Had he changed his mind? If so, I might die.

“Condom,” he murmured as he headed for the dresser where he’d left his wallet.

I watched him, appreciating the view of his back, of the shoulders that had grown in width since high school. When he turned, condom in hand, his beautiful eyes held mine prisoner as he prowled back to me. My heart, already thumping in my chest, beat even harder.

He stopped at the edge of the bed, his gaze still on me, and dropped the condom on the night table. When he put his hands on the waist of his sweatpants and raised a brow, giving me one last chance to say no, I sat up and pulled my camisole over my head. A thrill shot through me when he exhaled a long breath as the blue of his eyes darkened.

“So beautiful,” he whispered and then pushed his sweats down his hips.

No, he was the beautiful one. Being here with him, the way he was looking at me with heat burning in his eyes, made me feel intoxicated, as if I’d consumed an entire bottle of wine. He leaned over and kissed me again. This kiss was different. It was gentle and tender, and if I didn’t know better, I would have thought he had feelings for me. Don’t start thinking like that, Savannah, I warned myself. He’d broken my heart once, and I wouldn’t let him do that to me again.

“I’m going to feast on you,” he said, stretching out next to me. He cupped a breast. “I’m going to taste you here.” He danced his fingers down my stomach to my sex. “And here.”

“Are you asking permission?”

“No, Savannah. I’m taking what I want.

Author Bio:

A best selling, award winning author, Sandra Owens lives in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Her family and friends often question her sanity, but have ceased being surprised by what she might get up to next. She's jumped out of a plane, flown in an aerobatic plane while the pilot performed death-defying stunts, has flown Air Combat (two fighter planes dogfighting, pretending to shoot at each other with laser guns), and rode a Harley motorcycle for years. She regrets nothing.

A member of Romance Writers of America's Honor Roll, Sandra is a 2013 Golden Heart® Finalist for her contemporary romance, CRAZY FOR HER. In addition to her contemporary romantic suspense novels, she writes Regency stories.

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Spotlight: An Autumn in Paris by Alix Nichols

An Autumn in Paris
Alix Nichols
Publication date: November 1st 2018
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Because of Audrey Hepburn, I have foolishly…

a) bought into the whole “Paris is always a good idea” thing without any offscreen evidence,
b) uprooted my son and left my bittersweet memories behind,
c) allowed Thomas—the handsome, caring, way-out-of-my-league vet—to disrupt the humdrum life I had self-prescribed for my Broken Heart Syndrome.

Behind his easy smile and swoon-worthy pecs, Thomas conceals an open wound. No matter how hot his kisses or how genuine his affection, he’s still reeling. He can’t move on.

And I can’t risk falling for him. I have a child to raise—a preteen boy who needs his mom to be all there.

But as autumn strips the trees of their leaves, falling for Thomas is exactly what I do. Throwing caution to the wind, I dare to hope for a future with him…

…until the past comes knocking.

Can we handle it or will it break us forever?

Whether you’re a fan of timeless movies like “Sabrina” or prefer steamy contemporary romance novels, “An Autumn in Paris” has something for you to love.

Escape to Paris, and let this sweet, fun and sensual tale give you all the feels!

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EXCERPT:

Baloo clings to me, scrabbling and whining as I try to set him down.

“Do you know the breed?” Dr. Brousse asks, studying Baloo.

I try to peel his paws off me. “Likely a Terrier cross. He’s a rescue dog.”

Losing my patience with the uncooperative Baloo, I force him onto the table without realizing that one of his paws is in my shirt.

The fabric tears, buttons fly off, and the next instant I’m staring at my breasts on full display, nipples prodding my unpadded, wire-free bra. I lift my eyes in horror and catch him staring at my boobs.

He averts his gaze immediately.

I cover my chest with my left hand, the right one gripping Baloo so he wouldn’t fall off the high table.

The vet takes hold of the dog. “I have him.”

Letting go, I yank the lapels of my shirt over my breasts and hold them together, hoping my face isn’t too red.

Except, I know it is. My cheeks and ears feel hot enough to spontaneously combust at any moment.


Author Bio:

Alix Nichols is an unapologetic caffeine addict and a longtime fan of Mr. Darcy. She pens sexy romantic comedies and sci-fi romances that "keep you hanging off the edge of your seat" (RT Book Reviews). At the age of six, she released her first book. It featured highly creative spelling on a dozen pages stitched together and bound in velvet paper. Decades later, she still writes. Her spelling has improved (somewhat), and she became a Kindle Scout winner (2015), USA Today bestseller (2017) and Amazon All-Star for being one of the 100 most-read authors in Kindle Unlimited (2017, 2018). She lives in France with her family and their almost-human dog.

**To read a rom-com and a sci-fi novelette FREE, visit: alixnichols.com/freebies (just copy and paste into your browser).**

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Spotlight: The Girl from Berlin by Ronald H. Balson

In the newest novel from internationally-bestselling author Ronald. H. Balson, Liam and Catherine come to the aid of an old friend and are drawn into a property dispute in Tuscany that unearths long-buried secrets

An old friend calls Catherine Lockhart and Liam Taggart to his famous Italian restaurant to enlist their help. His aunt is being evicted from her home in the Tuscan hills by a powerful corporation claiming they own the deeds, even though she can produce her own set of deeds to her land. Catherine and Liam’s only clue is a bound handwritten manuscript, entirely in German, and hidden in its pages is a story long-forgotten…

Ada Baumgarten was born in Berlin in 1918, at the end of the war. The daughter of an accomplished first-chair violinist in the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic, and herself a violin prodigy, Ada’s life was full of the rich culture of Berlin’s interwar society. She formed a deep attachment to her childhood friend Kurt, but they were torn apart by the growing unrest as her Jewish family came under suspicion. As the tides of history turned, it was her extraordinary talent that would carry her through an unraveling society turned to war, and make her a target even as it saved her, allowing her to move to Bologna—though Italy was not the haven her family had hoped, and further heartache awaited.

What became of Ada? How is she connected to the conflicting land deeds of a small Italian villa? As they dig through the layers of lies, corruption, and human evil, Catherine and Liam uncover an unfinished story of heart, redemption, and hope—the ending of which is yet to be written.

Don't miss Liam and Catherine's lastest adventures in The Girl from Berlin!

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About the Author

RONALD H. BALSON is a Chicago trial attorney, an educator and writer. His practice has taken him to several international venues, including villages in Poland that inspired his first novel, Once We Were Brothers.

Spotlight: A Dream Called Home: A Memoir by Reyna Grande

From bestselling author Reyna Grande—whose remarkable memoir The Distance Between Us has become required reading in schools across the country—comes an inspiring account of one woman’s quest to find her place in America as a first-generation Latina university student and aspiring writer determined to build a new life for her family one fearless word at a time.

When Reyna Grande was nine-years-old, she walked across the US–Mexico border in search of a home, desperate to be reunited with the parents who had left her behind years before for a better life in the City of Angels. What she found instead was an indifferent mother, an abusive, alcoholic father, and a school system that belittled her heritage.

With so few resources at her disposal, Reyna finds refuge in words, and it is her love of reading and writing that propels her to rise above until she achieves the impossible and is accepted to the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Although her acceptance is a triumph, the actual experience of American college life is intimidating and unfamiliar for someone like Reyna, who is now once again estranged from her family and support system. Again, she finds solace in words, holding fast to her vision of becoming a writer, only to discover she knows nothing about what it takes to make a career out of a dream.

Through it all, Reyna is determined to make the impossible possible, going from undocumented immigrant of little means to “a fierce, smart, shimmering light of a writer” (Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild); a National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist “speak[ing] for millions of immigrants whose voices have gone unheard” (Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street); and a proud mother of two beautiful children who will never have to know the pain of poverty and neglect.

Told in Reyna’s exquisite, heartfelt prose, A Dream Called Home demonstrates how, by daring to pursue her dreams, Reyna was able to build the one thing she had always longed for: a home that would endure.

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About the Author

Reyna Grande is an award-winning author, motivational speaker, and writing teacher. As a girl, she crossed the US–Mexico border to join her family in Los Angeles, a harrowing journey chronicled in The Distance Between Us, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist that has been adopted as the common read selection by over twenty schools and colleges and fourteen cities across the country. Her other books include the novels Across a Hundred Mountains, winner of a 2007 American Book Award, and Dancing with Butterflies, and The Distance Between Us, Young Reader’s Version. She lives in Woodland, CA with her husband and two children. Visit ReynaGrande.com.

Spotlight: The Christmas Star by Donna VanLiere

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Christmas Hope series comes another heartwarming, inspirational story for the holidays.

Thirty-two-year-old Amy Denison volunteers at Glory’s Place, an after school program where she meets seven-year-old Maddie, a precocious young girl who has spent her childhood in foster care. Unbeknownst to Amy, Maddie is a mini-matchmaker, with her eye on just the right man for Amy at Grandon Elementary School, where she is a student. Amy is hesitant – she’s been hurt before, and isn’t sure she’s ready to lose her heart again – but an unexpected surprise makes her reconsider her lonely lifestyle.

As Christmas nears and the town is blanketed in snow and beautiful decorations, Maddie and the charming staff at Glory’s Place help Amy to see that romance can be more than heartache and broken promises.

In The Christmas Star, Donna VanLiere delivers yet another sweet, joyous story that is sure to capture readers' hearts.

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About the Author

Donna VanLiere is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author. Her much-loved Christmas Hope series includes The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Blessing, both of which were adapted into movies for CBS Television, The Christmas Secret, The Christmas Journey and The Christmas Hope, which was adapted into a film by Lifetime. She is also the author of The Angels of Morgan Hill and Finding Grace. VanLiere is the recipient of a Retailer's Choice Award for Fiction, a Dove Award, a Silver Angel Award, an Audie Award for best inspirational fiction, and a nominee for a Gold Medallion Book of the Year. She is a gifted speaker speaks regularly at conferences. She lives in Franklin, Tennessee, with her husband and their children.

Spotlight: The Little Shop of Found Things by Paula Brackston

New York Times bestselling author of The Witch's Daughter Paula Brackston returns to her trademark blend of magic and romance guaranteed to enchant in The Little Shop of Found Things, the first book in a new continuing series.

An antique shop haunted by a ghost.
A silver treasure with an injustice in its story.
An adventure to the past she’ll never forget.

Xanthe and her mother Flora leave London behind for a fresh start, taking over an antique shop in the historic town of Marlborough. Xanthe has always had an affinity with some of the antiques she finds. When she touches them, she can sense something of the past they come from and the stories they hold. When she has an intense connection to a beautiful silver chatelaine she has to know more.

It is while she’s examining the chatelaine that she’s transported back to the seventeenth century where it has its origins. She discovers there is an injustice in its history. The spirit that inhabits her new home confronts her and charges her with saving her daughter’s life, threatening to take Flora’s if she fails.

While Xanthe fights to save the girl amid the turbulent days of 1605, she meets architect Samuel Appleby. He may be the person who can help her succeed. He may also be the reason she can’t bring herself to leave.

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About the Author

PAULA BACKSTON is the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch's Daughter and The Little Shop of Found Things, among others. Before becoming a writer, she was a horse groom, a travel agent, a secretary, a teacher, and a goat herd. Everyone (particularly the goats) is relieved that she's found a job she does properly. When not in her writer’s shed, Paula can be found being walked by the dog, hacking through weeds in her vegetable patch, or sitting by the pond with a glass of wine. She lives in Wales with her family.