Spotlight: Adam by Anna Castor

Series: Winter Peaks #1

Release Date: February 19, 2020

If Caitlin Ryan had known Pops’ grandsons in Colorado were freaking hot with an equal amount of irritating traits, she’d picked another place to overthink her life. Adam Mills, the oldest brother of the family that agreed to take her in, has an unnerving sexy confidence and overall hotness. And the former snowboard star has his eyes set on her.

As an Olympic gold medalist on the half-pipe, Adam Mills has seen and done it all before. He's finally ready to give his heart to a woman and settle down. But can Adam win over Caitlin's heart? 

Welcome to Winter Peaks, Colorado! A small tourist town where all year round, people come and go to enjoy the mountains. But the families of the Winter Peaks series have made the town their home.

ღ Small town romance

ღ Strong heroine & steamy alpha man

ღ Funny, relatable family members

ADAM is book one in the Winter Peaks series about the ups and downs of several families in a small tourist town in Colorado. The series is a spin-off of the sweet and sexy Lucky Irish series, about several close-knit families in Austin, Texas.

Each book is an interconnected standalone. As we read a new sexy romance, we can also catch up with favorite characters throughout the series.

Although the heroine, Caitlin, comes from the Lucky Irish series, it's not required to read those books first. 

This book can be read as a standalone.

Excerpt

“Here, let me help you.” Adam leaned over her shoulder and secured her. His closeness did wonders for her nerves. “We can go together? Maybe that would make you more comfortable?”

She shot a glance at the zipline. “Can we?”

“Sure.” Adam made work of clasping their clips to the next lanyard. He stepped to the end of the platform, turned around and squatted with his ass partially hanging over the platform.

“Hop on,” he said on a wink.

“Oh, my God. You can’t be serious?”

“Yeah, Cait, I am. If you want to go together, you must straddle me.”

Her eyes widened. Adam laughed and said, “Ah, come on. Bring those pretty titties to my face.”

She busted out laughing at his way with words. “Geez. Such a sweet talker.”

He joined her laugh and after a beat he said, “I promise you’ll enjoy the ride…”

“I’m going to hop on, just to shut you up.”

Caitlin straddled his tree trunk thighs and held herself stiffly in an upright position.

With one hand, he swooped her closer to him. So close, she felt him. There.

Her body tingled all over and her palms got sweaty again.

His breath caressed her throat. Caitlin almost let a moan slip from her mouth. She quickly coughed to cover the sound.

“Just sit back and relax. Let me do all the work,” he said with the biggest grin she’d seen.

“I bet you say that to all the girls,” she laughed, but the hint of truth to those words also pained her.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

Anna loves to write heartfelt and steamy romance series. She falls in love with her characters as they go through their ups and downs. Anna laughs out loud behind her laptop as she writes the banter between siblings. Sometimes she cries as a result from the real talk that comes with family. There's no hiding from a nosy Pops ;-) Her books are for mature readers only because of their steamy content.

Author of the Lucky Irish series. A series about several large and close-knit Irish families in Austin, TX with strong heroines, quirky family banter and steamy alpha's.

Anna is a former wedding photographer turned author. While photographing weddings, Anna loved being a part of the couple's special day to tell their (love) story through her pictures. Each wedding had a different story to tell: the histories of the bride and groom, their family dynamics, their challenges in life, and of course, how they met and fell in love.

And now Anna takes her readers through the troubles and hardships her characters may come across on their journey to a happily ever after.

Connect:

Website: https://www.annacastor.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaCastorAuthor/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annacastor_author/ 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19388808.Anna_Castor 

Spotlight: Snowman by AC Netzel

New York real estate developer, Summer Sloane, was just handed a career-changing assignment… persuade three small business owners in the middle of nowhere to sell their properties to make way for a condo complex. Salivating at a juicy promotion, corner office, and impressing her hard-to-please father, she travels to wintry Arid Falls to dazzle the locals and get their signatures on the dotted line.

Little did she know she was stepping into a living, breathing Christmas town crammed with excessively cheerful, fruitcake-loving, over hair-gelled locals who are a few logs short of an open fire—a place even Hallmark would envy.

Her confidence is shaken when she meets charismatic lumberjerk, Nick Snow—the owner of a bait and tackle shop, guardian of a feisty eight-year-old, and her biggest obstacle. 

With advice from her chiropractor-addicted best friend, Val… Summer ignores her growing affection for the town brimming with Christmas crackpots—and her undeniable attraction to the handsome, kind-hearted Lumberjerk… who sends naughty tingles in all the wrong places. 

Can Summer get her signatures and return home with her heart intact, or will the eccentric Christmas town and the man who gets her blood boiling and pulse racing change her mind?

~A little sweet, a little heat, a little offbeat~

Lace-up your snow boots… this is not a clean romance.

Buy on Amazon

Meet AC Netzel

I’m an accidental writer, a wife, and mother. I’m basically lazy at housework and discovered that writing books was a great way to get out of it. 

I’m in love with love and want to spread the joy, make you laugh, and swoon. If you’re smiling when you’re done reading my books, I’m a happy author.

I like to write about women with a little snark, their relationships with the men they love, and the friends they keep. I may seem a little cynical when you first meet me… but the truth is I’m a Happily Ever After Girl.

A little sweet, a little steamy, a little snarky Romance Author.

Connect with AC Netzel:

Join me in my Facebook Reader Group - The Casual Room. 

Get inside info on what I’m working on, bonus content, giveaways, and just hang out and chat. This is NEW to me and I’m excited to learn about you (and you learn about me). Click here to join: https://bit.ly/2ANTjNW

Website: http://www.acnetzel.com/

Facebook: Author AC Netzel: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-AC-Netzel 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ACNetzel 

Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/m47qqg5 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acnetzel/?hl=en

Excerpt: Her Dark Lies by J.T. Ellison

Hardcover: 416 Pages

Publisher: MIRA; Original edition (March 9, 2021)

Fast-paced and brilliantly unpredictable, J.T. Ellison’s breathtaking new novel invites you to a wedding none will forget—and some won’t survive.

Jutting from sparkling turquoise waters off the Italian coast, Isle Isola is an idyllic setting for a wedding. In the majestic cliff-top villa owned by the wealthy Compton family, up-and-coming artist Claire Hunter will marry handsome, charming Jack Compton, surrounded by close family, intimate friends…and a host of dark secrets.

From the moment Claire sets foot on the island, something seems amiss. Skeletal remains have just been found. There are other, newer disturbances, too. Menacing texts. A ruined wedding dress. And one troubling shadow hanging over Claire’s otherwise blissful relationship—the strange mystery surrounding Jack’s first wife.

Then a raging storm descends, the power goes out—and the real terror begins…

Excerpt

Jack’s hand is wandering up my thigh, but I bat it away. “If you’re looking for postprandial treats, you’ll have to wait until later, cowboy.”

“They don’t care,” he murmurs into my ear, but I shake my head.

“I care. Wait until we’re alone, and then you can have your dessert. I noticed you passed on the macarons.”

He flops back into the seat. “They were stale. Mom will be livid.”

“They were? I thought they were yummy.”

“You’ll learn. Once you’ve had one fresh out of the ovens on the Champs-Élysées, you’ll see what I mean.”

“You, my darling, are a snob.”

“And you love me.”

He kisses me sweetly, and the Suburban pulls to the curb in front of our house. We spill out, both loose and uncoordinated, under the watchful eyes of the Crows. Gideon stays with us while Malcolm sweeps the house. He gives us the all clear. Once we’re inside, they disappear into whatever crevice they live in overnight.

I carry my heels in one hand, grateful for the lack of stress on my arches. Jack tosses his jacket over the bar stool at the eat-in counter, tugs at his tie and unbuttons his collar, rolls up his sleeves, the motions so quick, so practiced and fluid, it’s hypnotizing. He sees me watching and makes it into a tease, stepping closer with each turn of the fabric.

“You should try that with the buttons,” I say, running my tongue over my lips.

He grins, lazy and confident. “Naw. I’ll let you have the honor.”

A step closer, another. My hand lands on his chest. My mouth tips up to his.

I smell something odd, something acrid and primordial, and step back.

“What the hell is that?” he says, pulling away.

“I don’t know. It smells terrible. Like burning hair. Is something on fire?”

“Shh,” he says, straining, listening. All I hear is the air-conditioner. But no, there it is. A thump. A creak. The unmistakable sound of footsteps.

Someone is in the house. Someone is upstairs in our house.

Jack bolts from my side, takes the stairs two at a time. I follow, just in time to see the door to the attic is open.

“Get Gideon and Malcolm,” Jack shouts over his shoulder, throwing himself headlong into the darkness. But I am frozen. My mind can’t process what’s happening. I am cold with terror, the adrenaline rush forcing away my reason. I can’t think. I can’t move.

A masked man bursts from the darkness above and launches himself down the stairs. I am in his way, and he knocks me to the ground in his haste. I smash backward into the wall, banging my head hard against the chair rail. Jack is there a heartbeat later, calling for the Crows as he throws himself at the intruder, arms out, a perfect flying tackle. They go down hard on the landing, scuffling, locked in a deadly battle. Jack is the bigger man, he has the leverage he needs to get an arm on the man’s windpipe, but the intruder is quick, kicking out at Jack’s stomach until he connects and Jack is knocked off.

This gives the intruder the upper hand. He flips Jack onto his back, punching wildly while reaching behind to his waistband. My mind registers the gun, and the peril Jack is in, and without another thought, I kick the man’s arm just as his fingers close around the gun’s grip. It spins away, clattering against the baseboards. We lunge for it at the same time. I am closer. I get there first.

The shot is deafening.

The intruder falls to the floor at my feet, moaning, squirming. Blood pours from his side. So much blood. The man bleeds and bleeds and bleeds until he is still. I watch, fascinated, as a small trickle of crimson runs toward my bare foot.

Then Malcolm and Gideon are hoisting me to my feet, and the roaring in my head overwhelms me.

Buy on Amazon | Audible

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J.T. Ellison writes standalone domestic noir and psychological thriller series, the latter starring Nashville Homicide Lt. Taylor Jackson and medical examiner Dr. Samantha Owens, and pens the international thriller series “A Brit in the FBI” with #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter. Cohost of the Emmy Award-winning show, A Word on Words, Ellison lives in Nashville with her husband.

Connect with J. T. Website | Facebook | Twitter| Instagram

Cover Reveal: Things My Mama Never Told Me by Nancy Mae Johnson

Date Published: May 13, 2021

 Publisher: Acorn Publishing

An insightful glimpse into what it is to be a teenager today . . . making mistakes, surviving them, and rocking your beautiful, powerful self.

In Things My Mama Never Told Me, Nancy "Pants" Johnson, mentor, leader, educator, and teen advocate shares the stories of brave, resilient, powerful young women who, despite their sometimes overwhelming and scary circumstances, overcome their fears and hold onto their dreams with unwavering strength. 

                Here are some of the questions she asked herself and her teen authors:

· Do you have questions, concerns, fears about being a teenager?

· Do you sometimes feel like your stress is going to burst out of your eyeballs?

· Do you sometimes get fed up with friends, family, or social media?

· Have you ever ignored your intuition and ended up in an unsafe situation?

Learn how to embrace your beautiful body, your abilities, and your worth; to monitor your own use of social media, cell phones, and computers, becoming aware of how they make you feel; to recognize your power as a woman in all aspects of your life, no matter your sexual orientation; to own your choices about what you want to do with your life and with whom you want to spend it; to deal with your stress in more positive and creative ways; to listen to your intuition and form personal safety boundaries; to love yourself first when making decisions about relationships, intimacy, your body, sex, and birth control; to be alert to red flag warnings and signs of abuse; to recognize the signs of alcoholism and addiction in yourself and others; to bring your secrets into the light; to forgive yourself; to prioritize your own health and well-being.

Being a teenager is hard and sometimes totally frustrating. You will survive. I’ve got you. You are just the person for the job. 

About the Author

Nancy Pants Johnson is an author, mentor, educator, and advocate with more than 20 years experience listening, learning, and guiding teens through their life stories. After surviving her own tumultuous high school life and teen marriage, Johnson entered college at age 32 and dedicated the rest of her adult life to being a teen advocate.

Johnson graduated summa cum laude from SDSU with a B.S. in English Literature and an MA in Secondary Education. She taught English within a Visual & Performing Arts Academy until her retirement in 2014. Today, she advocates for teens in her role as Director of Teen Programming for the San Diego Writers Festival. She mentors teens in local high schools as they write their stories for KidsWrite San Diego, and shares weekly with Al-Ateens in recovery.

Pants lives in La Mesa, California, and finds joy in her husband, children, grandchildren, her garden, and her dog, Phoebe. Visit Nancy at nancypantsjohnson.com to read her blog, follow her school visits with teens, and be an advocate yourself by donating one book to one teen in the inner city. You can also find her on Facebook @ nancyjohnson3766 or Instagram @ #nancypantsjohnson.

Connect:

Website: http://nancypantsjohnson.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nancyjohnson3766

Instagram: #nancypantsjohnson

Goodreads Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56768723-things-my-mama-never-told-me

Goodreads Author: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21107865.Nancy_Mae_Johnson

Spotlight: An Unexpected Earl by Anna Harrington

Publication Date: 2/23/2021

He’s determined to do right by the girl he left behind…

Twelve years ago, former brigadier Brandon Pearce had to give up the girl he loved, Amelia Howard. Now he’s the Earl of Sandhurst, but committed to stopping a criminal group that’s threatening the lives of innocent people. Amelia’s brother is in their clutches, and Pearce has to navigate the slippery slope of being back in Amelia’s life without telling her what he’s really up to.

But he’ll have to deceive her first...

Amelia is now a grown woman with a past she desperately needs to keep hidden in order to save her brother Frederick’s reputation. She’s shocked to discover that Frederick is being blackmailed—and heartbroken that, despite his protestations, Brandon Pearce appears to be on the wrong side of all this.

Pearce is playing a deep game to further his investigation, but he’s willing to do anything for a second chance with Amelia, even when he discovers she has secrets of her own…

Excerpt

“You’re soaked through and freezing because of me. I can’t stop you from putting yourself unnecessarily at risk—” When Amelia opened her mouth to protest that, Pearce cut her off. “But I can save you from catching your death of cold.” He put his hands on his hips in a commanding pose that showed him as the no-nonsense brigadier he’d become. “Now, take off that dress.” 

She refused to move and silently returned his stare. To be honest, the thought of taking off her wet clothes and finding something dry to put on tempted her. Greatly. Especially since an icy puddle was spreading around her feet at that very moment. But she’d never give him the pleasure of admitting he was right about— 

A violent shiver shuddered through her so hard that her teeth chattered. 

Pearce leveled an I-told-you-so gaze on her that had surely made his subordinates quake in their boots. 

“Fine.” With no other choice, Amelia grudgingly turned her back to him. “But I have no maid here.” She tried to inject as much irritation into her voice as possible, so he wouldn’t suspect how the thought of undressing in front of him twisted her belly into an aching tangle of desire. “So if you want me out of this dress, then you’re going to have to help me.” 

Her wet hair had tumbled down from the chase, and she lifted it off her back, out of his way, with trembling hands. 

When he reached for the row of tiny buttons on her back, she closed her eyes, willing her breath to remain steady, her pulse calm. One by one, the buttons slipped free, and her bodice loosened. 

“This is necessary,” he explained, misreading her protests. “You’ll never warm up as long as you’re in this wet thing.” 

She bit back a distressed laugh. “And here I thought you were simply attempting to see me naked.” 

She could almost hear the rueful twist of his lips. “I’ve undressed you before, you know.” 

“When I was nine.” A strained quality laced through her suddenly hoarse voice. “We’ve changed since then. If you persist in this folly, then we’ll both find out exactly how much.” 

“It isn’t folly.” He lowered his mouth over her shoulder. “And believe me, Amelia,” he murmured, his breath tickling her ear, “I know exactly how much.” 

Foolish longing ached at the back of her weakening knees. 

“All done.” The last button slipped free, and her bodice drooped low down her front. 

She grabbed at it with both hands to keep it in place as she whirled around to face him. “This isn’t at all prop—” 

Her chastisement died beneath his stare. Instantly, her anger was replaced by something else just as fierce. Something that pulsed achingly and made goose bumps spring up across her wet skin, that longed to have his hands running all over her and hers over him. His skin would be just as wet and cold as hers, she knew, but he would also be warm beneath, with smooth skin over hard muscles. The young lad she’d once loved was still there, ready for her to make love to him— 

She bit her lip to fight back a groan. Damn the man for making her want him! 

“Do you need me?” 

Did she need… Yearning pulsed through her, and she squeaked, “Pardon?” 

“To remove the rest of your clothes.” 

And that sent a wicked spiral of wanton desire shooting right out the top of her head. 

Her hand tightened its hold on her bodice as she somehow remembered to keep breathing. “I–I can manage the rest on my own, thank you.” 

“Including your corset?” His gaze scorched over her, as if he could see right through her dress. 

“Yes,” she breathed out. Her confused brain swirled. Had she just answered his question…or given permission for him to remove even more of her clothing? To do more with her than simply look? 

“All right.” But he didn’t turn his back to give her privacy. The rascal didn’t even look away. His eyes remained on her as she stood there in the firelight, her skirts clinging to her hips and legs. “Are you certain?” 

“No.” She wasn’t certain about anything when it came to this man…except that he made her feel beautiful. Desirable. Alive. 

Was it wrong to let him stir these feelings inside her, to luxuriate in them and the memories of how wonderful their friendship had once been? After all, it was only undressing, and only to keep her from catching cold. A completely practical, not at all sexual reason. As long as nothing intimate happened between them, there was no harm in removing her dress to warm herself, no harm in letting those feelings wash over her. 

Apparently, she was now lying to herself. 

Yet Pearce kept his distance, and she kept her gaze locked with his as her trembling fingers pulled at the cap sleeves of her dress and tugged them down her arms. The bodice came next, peeling down to her waist and then over her hips and thighs. She pushed the wet material to the floor, then stepped out of both it and her shoes. His eyes never left hers, even as she reached behind her back for her corset and tangled her shaking fingers in the lace. A tug untied the bow. She removed the corset and let it fall to the floor, leaving her in nothing but her stockings and wet shift. 

From several feet away, she saw the undulation of his throat as he swallowed. Hard. But his eyes stayed fixed on hers. 

“I think you have to agree,” she half whispered, her voice a hoarse whisper, “that a lot’s changed since I was nine.” 

A moment’s hesitation…then temptation won, and he dragged a deliberate gaze over her. The wet shift clung to her body, the material surely translucent in the firelight and revealing everything underneath. This time when she shivered, it wasn’t because she was cold. 

***

Excerpted from An Unexpected Earl by Anna Harrington. © 2021 by Anna Harrington. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

Anna Harrington is an award-winning author of Regency romance. Anna was nominated for a RITA in 2017 and won the 2016 Maggie Award for Best Historical Romance. The Secret Life of Scoundrels. A lover of all things chocolate and coffee, when she’s not hard at work writing her next book or planning her next series, Anna loves to fly airplanes, go ballroom dancing, or tend her roses. She is an English professor in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spotlight: A Shot at Normal by Marisa Reichardt

Published by: Farrar Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Publication date: February 16th 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Marisa Reichardt’s A Shot at Normal is a powerful and timely novel about justice, agency, family, and taking your shot, even when it seems impossible.

Dr. Villapando told me to get a good attorney. He wasn’t serious. But I am. I’m going to sue my parents.

Juniper Jade’s parents are hippies. They didn’t attend the first Woodstock, but they were there for the second one. The Jade family lives an all-organic homeschool lifestyle that means no plastics, no cell phones, and no vaccines. It isn’t exactly normal, but it’s the only thing Juniper has ever known. She doesn’t agree with her parents on everything, but she knows that to be in this family, you’ve got to stick to the rules. That is, until the unthinkable happens.

Juniper contracts the measles and unknowingly passes the disease along, with tragic consequences. She is shell-shocked. Juniper knows she is responsible and feels simultaneously helpless and furious at her parents, and herself.

Now, with the help of Nico, the boy who works at the library and loves movies and may just be more than a friend, Juniper comes to a decision: she is going to get vaccinated. Her parents refuse so Juniper arms herself with a lawyer and prepares for battle. But is waging war for her autonomy worth losing her family? How much is Juniper willing to risk for a shot at normal?

Excerpt

Now that the new school year has started and my parents have reached out to other local homeschoolers to plan field trips, I’m hoping I’ll make some new friends.

Until then, I’ll remain on the outside looking in.

Like this morning, in my room, where I spent from seven forty-fi ve to eight a.m. watching through the window as bright yellow buses pulled up to the curb in front of Playa Bonita High School. The bus doors opened and students spilled onto the sidewalk. Others rode up on bikes and skateboards. The older ones, the juniors and seniors, arrived in cars crammed with passengers, two in the front seat and three in the back. Everyone wore shorts or sundresses, because it’s still the last week of August and the heat of summer hasn’t let go of this town yet.

I could feel that heat in my armpits and the sweat marks collecting along the edges of my tank top when I woke up. I slathered on deodorant from the half- empty mason jar on my dresser like I do every morning. It’s sticky and lumpy and leaves behind a white, oily residue that stains my shirts. I’ve asked my mom for real deodorant. Or at least something from the natural health section at Whole Foods.

“Tapioca starch and coconut oil take care of things fine,” she says. I’m sure that’s not true, because if I notice the stink of my mom’s BO, then surely I have it, too.

The girls at PBHS probably smell like strawberries and freedom. I bet they spent all morning soaking themselves in those scented body washes from that store at the mall that always smells like a fruit stand. I also bet my mom can recite the exact paraben levels in each bottle. Because that store, like the mall itself, is not a place my parents would ever let me spend money.

That’s why those girls across the street are there and I’m here. The chemicals and the toxins and the mercury levels and the melting ozone layer made my parents take a big step back from the real world. Everything from our deodorant to our food to our cleaning products to our furniture is organic. Important things, I know. But there’s such a thing as too much. My parents are rabid in their beliefs.

“Organic isn’t what’s new. It’s what’s old,” my mom says proudly. “We’re original.”

She operates in a rose- colored version of history, which is also why my sister, my brother, and I don’t get vaccinated. This makes us ineligible to enroll in schools in California. Not that I haven’t tried. When we moved, I thought maybe this was finally it. The public high school was right across the street. I’d practically still be at home. I begged to go. But couple the strict California vaccination requirements with the fact that my parents think homeschooling creates lifelong learners as opposed to kids who simply regurgitate multiple- choice information for state tests, and it was easy for them to say no. “We decide what goes into our children’s bodies and minds,” they said. So here I sit at the kitchen table, digging into my putrid pancakes, trying to figure out if selling baled herbs and essential oils this summer made me a better person.

My guess is no.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

Marisa Reichardt is the critically acclaimed author of the YA novels UNDERWATER, AFTERSHOCKS (2020), and A SHOT AT NORMAL (2021). She has a Master of Professional Writing degree from the University of Southern California and dual degrees in English & American Literature and Creative Writing from UC San Diego. Before becoming a published author, Marisa worked in academic publications, tutored high school students in writing, and shucked oysters. These days, you can probably find her huddled over her laptop in a coffeehouse or swimming in the ocean.

Connect:

http://www.marisareichardt.com/

https://www.facebook.com/YoungAdultish

https://www.instagram.com/marisareichardtbooks/

https://twitter.com/youngadultish

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8154570.Marisa_Reichardt

a Rafflecopter giveaway