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Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Blog Tour & Review with Giveaway - The Bastard Billionaire (Billionaire Bad Boys #3) by Jessica Lemmon


Title: The Bastard Billionaire
(Billionaire Bad Boys #3)
Author: Jessica Lemmon
Publication date: February 28th, 2016
Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Forever
Beauty and the Beastly Billionaire . . . 

Eli Crane is one tough bastard. After an explosion left him injured and honorably discharged from the Marines, all he wants is to be left alone. Yet his brothers insist he take a greater role in the family business. They've hired him ten personal assistants-and Eli sent each one packing as fast as possible. But when beautiful number eleven walks through the door, Eli will do anything to make her stay.

Isabella Sawyer's employment agency can't afford to lose Eli Crane's business. Her plan: to personally take on the role of his PA, and secure her reputation with the wealthy elite in Chicago. But this beauty and her hot billionaire bad boy soon find themselves mixing business with pleasure in the most delicious ways. And passionate, stubborn Isabella won't rest until she tames this wicked beast…






Standing, she smoothed her hands down her pants and flipped her hair. She had planned to quietly finish her work and leave without seeing him again. No such luck. And no hiding that she was heading his way when her heels clicked along the concrete floor.
Well.
The kiss had happened. The button incident had happened. There was no taking it back. Regardless of how either of them felt about it, she was going to continue working here. So. She would deal with the here and now.
Since the sun was shining, Eli’s lair was welcome instead of foreboding. No fire cracked in the hearth today. Also unlike his usual, he wasn’t at his desk. He was at the printer.
“This yours?” He offered a sheet of paper.
“Yes.” She couldn’t keep from explaining. “Pressed the Print button by accident.”
Mi printer es su printer.”
Isa accepted the document and Eli sank his hands into his jeans pockets, his forearms flexing with the movement.
“I wasn’t—”
“I shouldn’t—” they said at the same time.
He pursed his lips and she looked at her shoes. “Go ahead.” She was going to say, I wasn’t offended when you kissed me, but now that she’d had a millisecond to think it through, maybe she should pretend the kiss hadn’t happened. Which was . . . impossible. Standing this close to him, it’s all she could think about.
“I shouldn’t have ruined your shirt,” he said.
“I dared you to.”
“Why?” His eyebrows compressed along with his lips.
“Because you have accepted the role of beast, but I don’t believe that’s who you are.” She let her gaze linger on his face before tracking down his body. “And because I like a challenge.”
“Do you?” He took a wide step toward her.
She matched his move and took one step closer to him. “Yes. I don’t wilt easily.”
He threaded her hair between his fingers, a look of longing and hurt mingling in his eyes. “I was about to lie and say I shouldn’t have kissed you.”
Shivers climbed her spine as she remembered how firm his lips felt against hers. “Maybe . . . you shouldn’t have stopped.”


TOP 5 FAVORITE LINES FROM TBB

#5~ Isabella Sawyer’s smart-aleck remark when Eli fires her for the umpteenth time:

“Apologies, Eli, but I’m not changing my shoes.” She came into his office, her hips swaying with each sure step she took toward him.“Fine. Then you’re fired.”“Oh, no, not again.”

#4~ Merina, the heroine from The Bastard Billionaire shows up as yet another feisty woman who refuses to bow to Eli’s gruffness.

“I can go out into public, you know,” he grumbled, setting the beer bottle next to his plate—on the table, no coaster, thank you very much. “You guys don’t have to come in here and serve me.”He was skilled at his new role of miserable bastard, and since everyone expected it now, he was determined to excel.“Oh but we do, Lord Crane.” Merina smiled demurely as she leaned over and handed him a glass.

#3~ I loved this line after Eli and Isa had sex—his honesty cracked me up!

“I like this.” She touched the corner of his mouth. “I’ve been trying to get you to smile since I started working here.”“Well now you know how to do it.”
 #2~ Bold Isabella knows how to ask for what she wants!

“Is kissing you in my marching orders for tomorrow night?” he asked, his eyes picking up a trace of heat.She wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity. No way. No how.“Yes,” she answered. “Need to practice?”
 #1~ Eli’s worry that he didn’t have what it took is my favorite line in the book.

He’d done what he needed to be a good soldier.Now that he wasn’t a soldier, he wasn’t sure what it took to be a good man.


The Bastard Billionaire, #3

3.5 “Billionaire Beauty & the Beast” Stars

ARC via NetGalley

Thank you, Forever!

This is the third book in the Billionaire Bad Boys series, and after reading all of them, I can honestly say Jessica Lemmon can’t disappoint when writing sexy billionaires and strong heroines.

As we get to the story of Eli Crane, the third brother, we’re introduced to yet again to another independent woman who’ll win the readers heart. Like Merina from book 1 and Rachel from book 2, Isabella Sawyer came into the Crane’s life to make an impression.

She’s a strong woman who gave up a privileged position running her family’s company to pursue her own dream. She wanted to start her own personal assistant company and she went for it, even if it meant going against everything her parents wanted for her. This journey made me like Isabella from the start, because it showed me she was a woman willing to work hard to make her dream come true instead of conforming to what other people thought her life should be like.

She’d need that strength in order to keep one specific client happy: Reese Crane, the main character in the first book and the brother of Eli Crane, a man her employees referred to as a monster, among other things.

Eli Crane is an ex-Marine discharged after an explosion left him injured and killed two of his friends. He lost one of his legs and is learning how to adapt to his new life now. For those who read book #2 in the series, Eli’s struggle and attitude won’t come as a surprise. He’s having a hard time adapting to his new reality, so he ends up taking it out on the wrong people. His family won’t leave him alone, and I love them for it, and to try to help (a.k.a. force) him back to the company, they hire Isabella’s firm to assist him.

The problem is Isabella has already sent every employee she could to help Eli, and they all come back crying. So the only solution she can come up with is to do the job herself. For a woman as strong as Isabella, Eli might be a challenge, but one she’s confident she’ll overcome.

The thing I always love about Beauty & the Beast-inspired tales is when they manage to portray the girl/woman as a strong character, because that’s the only one to make the chemistry with the Beast work.  Isabella is just like that—she doesn’t let Eli scare her, and that catches his attention.

The chemistry between them is instant and they’re hot together. The obstacles to their romance are also well-portrayed, and I enjoyed how once again Jessica Lemmon managed to make their inner battles bigger and more powerful than any outside obstacle. This way, we get to see these characters grow and learn how to deal with their feelings.

This is actually the main theme for Eli: dealing with feelings. He’s a character filled with guilt, so he has to work on that before he can move on and give Isabella the love she deserves. His journey is well-developed and makes sense given everything he went through.

Writing the Beast-like character isn’t easy, either. He can easily move into dangerous territory if the author isn’t careful to make him likable and relatable. I didn’t have this problem with Eli, because I understood where his fears were rooted. Besides, having him develop a charity and work on a project that would impact so many lives also helped. I also thought Jessica Lemmon was respectable on her approach to Eli's disabilty, which is always nice to see.

I also enjoyed seeing Merina and Reese and Tag and Rachel, the couples from the previous books. Merina, Rachel and Isabella’s interactions were priceless, and the three brothers together were swoon-worthy. I loved seeing them all happy and united.

After reading the three books, I still think The Billionaire Next Door (book #2) was the best of them, but The Bastard Billionaire felt like the perfect conclusion to this series.

A former job-hopper, Jessica Lemmon resides in Ohio with her husband and rescue dog. She holds a degree in graphic design currently gathering dust in an impressive frame. When she's not writing super-sexy heroes, she can be found cooking, drawing, drinking coffee (okay, wine), and eating potato chips. She firmly believes God gifts us with talents for a purpose, and with His help, you can create the life you want.

Author Links: Website Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Goodreads

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Top 10 Tuesday - Ten Books I Loved MoThan I Thought I Would

#Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme created & hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.
Come join us!

This week's theme is: 
Ten Books I Loved More Than I Thought I Would

Since Top 10 Tuesday is officially on hiatus this week, I'll do the option number 2 for the theme last week: books that surprised me in a positive way.


  

This wasn't my first Kristen Callihan book, but I remember taking more than a few minutes before clicking on request when I saw this one. I thought the blurb was interesting, but the book (and the series) was phenomenal. It shouldn't have, but it completely took me by surprise.


The biggest surprise so far, because I knew nothing about this author and only decided to read it because some friends on Goodreads had enjoyed this enemies-to-lovers story. It stole the few hours of my life it took to read this.

Another author I had never heard and a book that exceeded my expectations by miles.
 

This isn't the common romance story, and I didn't know how I'd feel about that magical element in a romance book, but it worked so well, and made this one of the most intriguing romances I read in a while.

This genre is so out of my comfort zone, but this book is hilarious and perfect. My Lady Jane won me over in a way I didn't expect.


I doubted I'd like this book the moment I got it. I have a bad experience with stories about brothers falling in love with the same girl, and I was expecting the author to mess up badly. I was so, so wrong. I mean, so wrong.

Another new author and great surprise. This NA reminded me of why I love this age category so much.

I'm one of those who didn't fall in love with Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles, so I didn't expect to love this book at all. Especially because I don't even like Alice stories that much. I was beyond surprised at how great this story was.

This is another example of why we should give authors a new chance even when we're not impressed with their first book. I rated Jamie Howard's first book right because her debut made me feel--angry at her characters, but still a feeling. Then I read Until It's Right and she changed that anger into major love for one of her characters, something she has managed to do again and again with her following books. I'm so happy I gave Jamie another shot, because she's one of my go-to authors now.
 

New author and a cover that made me think of love triangles, which I don't hate but understand can destroy a story if done badly. But this book was amazing. Amazing.
So, what do you think about these choices? Have you read any of them? Share you opinion bellow

Release Blitz - Throne of Truth (Truth and Lies Duet #2) by Pepper Winters

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Title: Throne of Truth
(Truth and Lies Duet #2)
Author: Pepper Winters
Publication Date: February 28th, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance

throne-of-truth-cover
TWO YEARS

Since my life changed for the second time and not necessarily for the better. Two years since I traded prison bars for streets and hunted a runaway who I’d met in an alley.

TWO DAYS

Since I forgot how to lie, woke to fists, and chased after the girl who’d been stolen from me.

TWO HOURS

To save her, rescue her, keep my lies intact. She looks at me full of hate. I look at her full of confession.

TWO MINUTES

For our relationship to switch from mutual dislike to floundering with unknowns. I’ve hurt her. Now, she’s hurt me. I guess we’re even.

TWO SECONDS

For her to listen, to see, to finally know who I am. The answer comes with hardship. The answer isn’t what she wants to hear.

TWO BREATHS

For me to walk out the door.

TWO HEARTBEATS

For it all to be over.

tot-availablenow



Buy LinksAmazon US | Amazon UK | iBooks Nook Kobo

Start the series with Crown of Lies: Amazon US | Amazon UK | iBooks Nook Kobo

tot-teaser3
Pepper Winters is a multiple New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today International Bestseller. After chasing her dreams to become a full-time writer, Pepper has earned recognition with awards for best Dark Romance, best BDSM Series, and best Hero. She’s an multiple #1 iBooks bestseller, along with #1 in Erotic Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, and Erotica Thriller. With 19 books currently published, she has hit the bestseller charts twenty-six times in three years. Pepper is a Hybrid Author of both Traditional and Self-published work. Her Pure Corruption Series was released by Grand Central, Hachette. Her books have garnered foreign interest and are currently being translated into numerous languages, including already released titles in Italian and Turkish. Audio Books for her entire back-list will be available in 2017.

Author Links: Website| Facebook | Twitter |  Amazon |  Newsletter

Book Blitz with Giveaway - Dream Catchers Series by Sandy Lo

Title: Dream Catchers Series
Author: Sandy Lo
Genre: (Rock Star) Contemporary Romance

Dreams come true only if you believe in them...Haley Foster never bothered to believe in herself or find her dream. Growing up with a silver spoon in her mouth, her parents gave her everything she needed except freedom. Fate steps in at the bus station when Haley bumps into Jordan Walsh, literally. His unpolished manners and rock star attitude rile her, though she is oddly drawn to him. Haley and Jordan's opposing personalities clash while on the bus-before they wind up stranded together! Haley finds herself in quite a predicament with no way to get home. Jordan challenges her to escape her wealthy conformity and go with him to New York, despite their disgust for one another. Haley is enthralled with the carefree, in control and gorgeous Jordan, yet he remains a stranger to her in many ways. With his help, Haley begins to discover who she is and what she wants. She finds herself at a crossroads: go back to her old life where she merely exists or take a stand and chase her dreams.
The DREAM CATCHERS series is not just a rock star romance, but it's about taking chances, chasing dreams, and finding yourself.
BREAKING THE MOON is the tumultuous tale of heartache and love, and how sometimes it’s just not enough.
A follow up to 2010′s DREAM CATCHERS, Sandy Lo continues Haley’s journey of self-discovery as she is faced with new obstacles all while trying to understand the tormented past of her boyfriend, Jordan.
In the beginning, love is as easy as breathing. After almost two years of dating, Haley and Jordan are the perfect couple. They’re young, carefree and on the brink of their dream careers. Life is perfect until their world is turned upside down by unexpected news: Haley is pregnant. The couple struggle with the news as well as Jordan’s demons and concepts on family. Will they be able to pick up the pieces after their world shatters?

EXPRESSIONS is the third installment to Sandy Lo’s DREAM CATCHERS SERIES. The book is a series of vignettes written from the point-of-view of various characters throughout the book series. From letters to blog entries to song lyrics, EXPRESSIONS delves deeper into the minds of the characters. Sandy hopes fans of the series will enjoy this 52-page companion book.


All Cami Woods has ever known was a hard work ethic and an unhealthy marriage that leaves her a single mother of her brand new baby. The story unfolds when Cami takes a vacation to visit friends in Florida and winds up having a hot and steamy affair with a major league baseball player.
That famous baseball player isn’t a stranger, however. He’s Cami's ex-boyfriend, Jordan's little brother, Drew Ashton. With leftover feelings for gorgeous rock star Jordan, Cami finds herself in quite a predicament as his equally irresistible baby brother starts to steal her attention more than just bases.
TAKE ME HOME is a story of loss, loneliness, renewal and true love, making it a wonderful addition to the romantic book series!
THE REUNION is the 5th part in the DREAM CATCHERS SERIES. It acts as a direct sequel to “Take Me Home“, following the storyline of music mogul Cami Woods and Yankee short-stop Drew Ashton.
Three years have passed and famed music manager Cami Woods finds herself engaged to the man of her dreams, New York Yankee captain Drew Ashton. While they struggle to balance their busy, high-profile careers, the couple are still smitten with one another and hope to have a baby by the time they marry.
With the pressure of conceiving, Drew’s college reunion approaching, and the confession of leftover feelings from her ex-husband, Cami finds herself once again reevaluating love, but this time, it’s not her feelings she’s concerned with, but rather both her fiance’s and ex-husband’s.
While Drew is pondering the path he has taken in life, which led him away from his first love, Katie, he finds himself pulling away from Cami, the one person who filled the hole in his heart. Drew feels Cami is too independent to be the wife he always imagined.
Faced with the realization she might lose Drew after he sees Katie again, Cami contemplates falling into old habits, like the temporary comfort in the arms of Danny, her ex.
THE REUNION is a journey through the ugly feelings of jealousy, suspicion, guilt and living in the past, but ultimately, it’s about learning from old mistakes and taking hold of your future before it’s too late.

Aylin Ashton always had a voracious heart and is fiercely loyal to the ones she loves. At twenty-one, she wants more than the celebrity lifestyle her family is known for—she wants an identity of her own with friends who care about who she is and not her last name.
Most of all, Aylin wants the love story her parents have. In a world full of divorce, and a society that has made it hard for her to be “normal”, she is not sure if true love can be her reality.
She finds herself struggling to grow romantically and keeps hitting a dead-end with men. From the egotistical pop-rocker Rad Trick to hipster music critic Mike, Aylin is not particularly gaga for either of them, and can’t help to pine for too-old-for-her, Colin Houlihan, who happens to be her father’s tour manager.
The impetuous Aylin can’t help but make passes at the flirty, always doting on her Colin, and when he actually admits an attraction to her, the two are on dangerous ground.
The experience leaves Aylin wounded, but ultimately sends her on a journey to find out who she is and what she really wants, and maybe to the special someone she had hoped for.
*"Spotlight" is the 6th book in the "Dream Catchers" Series and is from the perspective of photographer Haley Foster and rock star Jordan Walsh's daughter, Aylin.*
**Releases March 1st, 2017!!**
Sandy Lo's personal story is inspiring. She started, StarShine Magazine, an online publication in 2001, at the age of 18. She wrote her first novel in 2009, "Lost In You," followed by the "Dream Catchers" Series. She was the first person ever to professionally interview Taylor Swift and has received personal endorsements for her books from members of boy bands Backstreet Boys and 98 Degrees. Recently, she has been seeing some tremendous momentum in book sales on Kindle. She has been included on the "50 Writers You Should Be Reading" list by The Authors Show, and recently, both "Dream Catchers" and "Breaking The Moon" reached the Top 100 Best Selling Coming of Age novels in Amazon's Kindle Store. What makes this even more unique, is that Sandy relocated from NY to Nashville in order to write "The Watch Dog," which is set in a fictional town outside of Music City. She has true dedication to her craft!
Author LinksTwitter * Facebook * Instagram * Youtube * Goodreads * Amazon