GIVEAWAY { ! } best laid wedding plans by Lynette Austin

In anticipation for the release of Every Bride Has Her Day, book 2 in the Magnolia Brides series, I am hosting a flash giveaway for the first title! Prize is an iBooks copy of the title, and is open to US residents only.

To enter, click here and like/retweet!
*open until 7 pm CST

Sourcebooks Casablanca | November 3, 2015 | Contemporary Romance
Magnolia Brides, book 1
★★★★1/2

SOURCE: PUBLISHER via NETGALLEY

Jenni Beth Beaumont thought she left her broken heart in Chance, Georgia, when she moved away. But when she suddenly inherits her family's beautiful, antebellum home, her dream of turning the residence into a wedding destination calls her back.

Cole Bryson, an architectural salvager and Jenni Beth's former flame, intends to purchase and deconstruct the Beaumont family's down-at-the-heels estate. To his surprise, Jenni Beth is more of a stubborn Southern girl than he thought. Cole will have to use all his sultry, steamy tricks to test more than the resolve of his sexy competition…

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{ review } .

Ah, Jenni Beth and Cole... If her name wasn't any indication, she is as southern as it comes, and with that comes spunk and sarcasm behind her "Bless you, dear"s. These two were incredibly fun to read; I enjoy wedding series {Nora Roberts' BRIDE QUARTET, namely Laurel and Del, was a favorite} and I have a feeling this one will be no different. When Jenni Beth moves back home, she has plans to convert Magnolia House into a wedding venue. Problem? The man helping with the task is a) her older brother's best friend, and b) the man who broke her heart in high school. 

With those slight outside factors at play now that they're adults, it was fun watching them maneuver into a friendship/relationship as adults.

This was a sweet, charming read. There were points in the writing that didn't quite grip me, but when I moved past them, I was intrigued and lost in the story. The writing style is effortless and believable. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for the remaining stories.

review || HOLD YOUR BREATH { blog tour } by Katie Ruggle

Sourcebooks Casablanca | April 5, 2016 | Romantic Suspense
Search and Rescue, book 1
★★★★

SOURCE: PUBLISHER via NETGALLEY

In the remote Rocky Mountains, lives depend on the Search & Rescue brotherhood. But in a place this far off the map, trust is hard to come by and secrets can be murder…

As the captain of Field County’s ice rescue dive team, Callum Cook is driven to perfection. But when he meets new diver Louise “Lou” Sparks, all that hard-won order is obliterated in an instant. Lou is a hurricane. A walking disaster. And with her, he’s never felt more alive…even if keeping her safe may just kill him.

Lou’s new to the Rockies, intent on escaping her controlling ex, and she’s determined to make it on her own terms…no matter how tempting Callum may be. But when a routine training exercise unearths a body, Lou and Callum find themselves thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a killer who will stop at nothing to silence Lou—and prove that not even her new Search and Rescue family can keep her safe forever.

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{ a special kind of cover reveal } RACE THE DARKNESS by Abbie Roads

It’s precisely 7:22 pm ET, the sun has just set in the east, and it’s starting to get dark... We are excited to reveal the cover of Race the Darkness, a dark, gritty, emotional and sexy romantic suspense novel by debut author Abbie Roads.

First in a gripping paranormal romantic suspense duo by a Golden Heart finalist debut author whose clinical work gives her chilling insights... Cursed with a terrible gift Criminal investigator Xander Stone doesn’t have to question you—he can hear your thoughts. Scarred by lightning, burdened with a power that gives him no peace, Xander struggles to maintain his sanity against the voice that haunts him day and night—the voice of a woman begging him to save her. That threatens to engulf them... Isleen Walker has long since given up hope of escape from the nightmare of captivity and torture that is draining her life, her mind, and her soul. Except…there is the man in her feverish dreams, the strangely beautiful man who beckons her to freedom and wholeness. And when he comes, if he comes, it will take all their combined fury and faith to overcome a madman bent on fulfilling a deadly prophecy. About Abbie Roads: Abbie Roads is a mental health counselor known for her blunt, honest style of therapy. By night she writes dark, emotional novels, always giving her characters the happy ending she wishes for all her clients. Her novels have finaled in RWA contests including the Golden Heart. Race the Darkness is the first book in the Fatal Dreams series of dark, gritty romantic suspense with a psychological twist. Race the Darkness will be available on October 4th.  Amazon: http://amzn.to/22nGnVk B&N: http://bit.ly/1pwghOK BAM: http://bit.ly/1RmOgoN

Dear Readers, I wrote Race the Darkness from start to finish three different times, with three different story lines, and with three different titles! The only thing that ever remained the same between the versions was Xander and Isleen. I believed in them and the story they wanted to tell. I hope you love reading about their tragedies and triumphs as much as I enjoyed writing them… All three times! And isn’t the cover amazing, beautiful, gorgeous? I cried the first time I saw it! It made all the hard work to get this book to you worth it! Abbie Roads  P.S. I would love to connect with you and hear what you think about the cover! You can find me here:  Website Facebook Twitter

An excerpt from Race the Darkness:  No fucking way was he going to die running. He stopped, turned and faced the truck barreling toward them. The tires ate up the ground at an indecent rate. He clutched Isleen tighter to his chest. For her sake, he wanted it to be a quick death. No more lingering. No more pain. That thought infuriated him. None of this was right. They shouldn’t be on the verge of death. Again. The truck kept coming—twenty-five feet. Everything slowed, happened as if through the quicksand of time. A white dandelion floaty meandered on the breeze directly between them and the truck. His heart no longer ran a staccato rhythm. Duh…duhm. Pause. Duh…duhm. Pause. His life didn’t flash before his eyes. The future did. Isleen’s future. In an ethereal dream beyond time, her skin was gilded by firelight, her eyes void of sadness and fear, her body whole and healthy. She smiled, an expression so full of warmth and tenderness and undiluted joy that it plunked itself down inside his heart and wouldn’t leave. He ached to create that kind of smile on her face, but their lives were over and it all could’ve gone so differently if he’d only listened to her, believed in her, found her years before now.

review || REBEL COWBOY { blog tour } by Nicole Helm

Sourcebooks Casablanca | January 5, 2016 | Contemporary Romance
Big Sky Cowboys, book 1
★★★★

SOURCE: PUBLISHER

For hotshot NHL star Dan Sharpe, hockey isn’t just his job—it’s his everything. But when claims of cheating get him bounced from the ice, he finds himself feeling lost. Everyone thinks he’s crazy for taking on his grandfather’s ramshackle Montana ranch, but hey, he’s Dan Sharpe: how hard can it be?

As it turns out? Plenty hard.

Mel Shaw has been fighting tooth and nail to keep her family from falling apart. The last thing she needs is a distraction, but taking a job as some city slicker’s consultant may be her only chance to save the land she loves. But she never expected someone like Dan to come roaring into her life, and it doesn’t take long for Mel to realize this hockey-star-turned-cowboy has the power to upend her carefully ordered world—and heart—for good.

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review || ON HIS WATCH { spotlight tour } by Katie Ruggle

Sourcebooks Casablanca | January 5, 2015 | Romantic Suspense
Search and Rescue, book 0.5
★★★1/2

SOURCE: PUBLISHER

In the remote Rocky Mountains, lives depend on the Search & Rescue brotherhood. But in a place this far off the map, trust is hard to come by and secrets can be murder...

Ice rescue diver Derek Warner never meant to be a hero. But when two little girls go missing, he's the first in line to bring them home-even if that means scouring the wilderness with the woman he once loved and lost, Artemis Rey.

Artemis has never stopped wanting Derek. Now, racing to find the girls before it's too late, minutes turn to hours. Night falls. Old flames rekindle. And a danger grows in the darkest wilderness that may be more than even the Search and Rescue brotherhood can hope to face...

On His Watch is the pulse-pounding prequel to the riveting Search & Rescue series by Katie Ruggle.

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reviews + spotlight || terry spear, samantha chase, & kim redford

Title: A Silver Wolf Christmas
Author: Terry Spear
Series: Silver Town Wolves, #5
Pubdate: October 6th, 2015
ISBN: 9781492609506

IT’S A SILVER TOWN CHRISTMAS, AND THE WOLVES ARE READY TO HOWL

CJ Silver and his brothers have returned to Silver Town eager to reconnect with the pack. And with the she-wolf newcomers renovating the old Victorian Silver Town Hotel, it looks like the holidays are going to be very merry indeed.

Laurel MacTire and her sisters are excited to be living in a wolf-run town, but they have another motive— to solve the fifty-year-old mystery of their aunt’s disappearance. When CJ gets a whiff of trouble brewing, his protective instincts kick in—now Laurel has a hotel opening to prepare for, a mystery to solve, and a brawny wolf shifter underfoot. Perhaps she should have resisted the temptation to kiss him so wickedly in the snow.

USA Today bestselling author Terry Spear has written over fifty paranormal and medieval Highland historical romances. In 2008 Heart of the Wolf was named a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry also creates award-winning teddy bears that have found homes all over the world and is raising two Havanese puppies. She lives in Crawford, Texas.

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1WitjKd

Apple: http://apple.co/1KORNqP

BAM: http://bit.ly/1LNSkWf

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1gNEQ4j

Chapters: http://bit.ly/1ORDtQ5

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1MIVPmR

Indiebound: http://bit.ly/1R2JYy6

Title: Cowboy Firefighter for Christmas
Author: Kim Redford
Series: Smokin’ Hot Cowboys, #1
Pubdate: October 6th, 2015
ISBN: 9781492621478
Rating: ★★★★

Warm up this Christmas with a sexy cowboy firefighter who knows how to ignite flames as well as put them out…

He’s hotter than a wildfireTrey Duval is a rancher, proud as can be of his Wildcat Ranch. He’s also the top volunteer firefighter of Wildcat Bluff, Texas, the town that pulls out all the stops for its Christmas festivities.

City girl Misty Reynolds comes to Wildcat Bluff just in time to help Trey put out a suspicious fire, leading him to dub her his “Christmas angel.” Unfortunately, Misty’s past has left her with terrible memories of fire, and of Christmastime.

As the two are thrown together again and again, Trey finds himself wanting Misty more and more, and Misty feels stronger and braver when Trey is around. Though their trust grows slowly, their passion for each other is burning hot…

Kim Redford draws her inspiration from a Texas lifestyle of cowboys, cowgirls, horses, cattle, rodeos and small towns to create her bestselling novels. When she’s not writing steamy romances, she’s a rescue cat wrangler and a horseback rider. She divides her time between Texas and Oklahoma. A Cowboy Firefighter for Christmas is first in her Smokin’ Hot Cowboys series with Blazing Hot Texas Cowboy coming soon. Visit her at www.kimredford.com.

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Lo2S4b

BAM: http://bit.ly/1iO5V9j

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1jeh6Im

Chapters: http://bit.ly/1LXpAPw

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1KBHMZt

Indiebound: http://bit.ly/1FhX6i4

Title: The Christmas Cottage/Ever After
Author: Samantha Chase
Pubdate: October 6th, 2015
ISBN: 9781492622598
Rating: ★★★★1/2

Legend has it that any couple who spends the night in the Christmas Cottage shall have love everlasting...

THE CHRISTMAS COTTAGELacey Quinn does not believe in happily-ever-after or the legend of the Christmas Cottage. But her best friend does, and she’s the one getting married. It’s Lacey’s job to make sure everything at the cottage is perfect for the newlyweds. Instead, she finds herself snowed in with the best man, and she begins to wonder if fairy tales really can come true.

EVER AFTERAva Callahan wants desperately to believe in love everlasting. But when Brian McCabe walks back into her life and upsets her carefully organized world, her commitment to perfection makes it hard to accept the love that’s right in front of her. Will it take a night in the Christmas Cottage for Ava and Brian to find their happy ending?

New York Times and USA Today bestseller Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan's Return, in November 2011. Although she waited until she was in her forties to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Teaching creative writing to students from elementary through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams motivated Samantha to take that step as well. Stay With Me (Montgomery Brothers book 3) hit the USA Today bestseller list upon its debut. Catering to the CEO was included in the romance bundle Loving the CEO, a five-book package that made the New York Times and the USA Today bestseller lists. In March 2013, The Christmas Cottage was nominated for two Indie Romance Convention Awards—Best Indie Romance Novella and Best Indie Contemporary Romance—while Samantha was nominated for Indie Author of the Year. When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading contemporary romances, blogging, playing Scrabble on Facebook, and spending time with her husband of twenty-four years and their two sons in North Carolina.

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1L4dDpc

Apple: http://apple.co/1PT5pRW

BAM: http://bit.ly/1JXN1lu

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1FLxqdU

Chapters: http://bit.ly/1QeyUxL

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1Zm4dg3

Indiebound: http://bit.ly/1Pl4Thl

HIS KIND OF TROUBLE { blog tour } : Q&A with Callum

Sourcebooks Casablanca | November 3, 2015 | Contemporary Romance
Beauty and the Brit, book 2
★★★★1/2

SOURCE: PUBLISHER

Monica Campbell may have a history as a wild child, but she's changed her ways. She's respectable, responsible-and, most importantly, she's sworn off bad boys. That is, until Callum Hughes roars back into her life with his sexy British accent and killer smile.

Cal remembers every steamy moment he shared with Monica, but he barely recognizes the straight-laced woman she's become. Determined to lure Monica into letting go of her inhibitions, Cal will use every trick he knows to fire her blood and tempt her body...reminding her just how good it can feel to be bad-and his.

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review || MADE FOR US { blog tour } by Samantha Chase

Sourcebooks Casablanca | August 4, 2015 | Contemporary Romance
Shaughnessy Brothers, book 1
★★★★

SOURCE: PUBLISHER

Can't make time for love?

The Shaughnessy brothers have spent the years since their mother's untimely death taking care of each other and trying to make their father proud. Oldest son Aidan is hard-working, handsome, successful-and still single. Sure, he'd like to have his own family someday, but who has the time?

She'll show him how to find it

Zoe Dalton, a stunning designer Aidan meets on one of his construction jobs, has the beauty and heart to make Aidan realize how much he could be missing. But it's not easy to break down walls you've spent years building up. Now there's a major storm bearing down on the North Carolina coast, and it could be catalyst enough to force Aidan and Zoe into some major decisions of the heart.

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review || HOT POINT { blog tour } by M.L. Buchman

Sourcebooks Casablanca | August 4, 2015 | Romantic Suspense
Firehawks, book 10 (book 3 of Emily Beale trilogy)
★★★★

SOURCE: PUBLISHER

THESE AIRBORNE HEROES BATTLE MORE THAN FLAMES

The elite firefighters of Mount Hood Aviation fly into places even the CIA can't penetrate.

FROM WILDFIRE TO GUNFIRE

Master mechanic Denise Conroy-with a reputation for being as steel-clad as the aircraft she keeps aloft-shuns useless flyboys who don't know one end of a wrench from the other.

Firehawk pilot Vern Taylor-known for unstoppable charm and a complete lack of mechanical skills-proves his talent for out-of-the-box thinking with every flight. He's a survivor and a natural-born heli-aviation firefighter.

When Denise and Vern crash together in the Central American jungle with wildfire on one side and a full-fledged military coup on the other, their newly forged partnership is tested to the max. They have each other, but not even their formidable skills combined can protect Denise and Vern from the conflagration sweeping the jungle...and their hearts.

The third in M.L Buchman's firefighter romantic suspense series featuring a team of daredevil smokejumpers who fight more than fires. The elite fire experts of Mount Hood Aviation fly into places even the CIA can't penetrate

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review || WOLF TROUBLE { blog tour } by Paige Tyler

Sourcebooks Casablanca | August 4, 2015 | Paranormal Romance
SWAT, book 2
★★★★★

SOURCE: PUBLISHER

He’s in trouble with a capital T

There’s never been a female on the Dallas SWAT team and Senior Corporal Xander Riggs prefers it that way. The elite pack of alpha male wolfshifters is no place for a woman. But Khaki Blake is no ordinary woman. 

When Khaki walks through the door attractive as hell and smelling like heaven, Xander doesn’t know what the heck to do. Worse, she’s put under his command and Xander’s protective instincts go on high alert. When things start heating up both on and off the clock, it’s almost impossible to keep their heads in the game and their hands off each other…

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review || SEAL WOLF HUNTING { interview tour } by Terry Speak

Sourcebooks Casablanca | July 7, 2015 | Paranormal Romance
Heart of the Wolf, book 16
★★★★

Paul Cunningham has eluded many traps in his long career as a Navy SEAL, but there’s no way out of this one. On a rare visit home, he gets “volunteered” for a local charity bachelor auction, and the community is counting on him. Then he discovers that the sexy she-wolf with the winning ticket is Lori Greypaw—the one woman he could never resist. And she has plans for Paul that go way beyond a simple date. For the first time in his bachelor life, this alpha wolf SEAL is going to have to prove his worth…

Amazon 

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review || HELL OR HIGH WATER { blog tour } by Julie Ann Walker

Sourcebooks Casablanca | July 7, 2015 | Romantic Suspense
Deep Six, book 1

★★★★

SOURCE : PUBLISHER 

Only two things could make former Navy SEAL Leo Anderson return to the world of weapons and warfare. First, a capsule of chemical weapons lost on the ocean floor, and second, a plea for assistance from the one woman he can't seem to forget-CIA Agent Olivia Mortier.

Now, working together to race against the clock and a deadly terrorist faction, Leo and Olivia must find the missing capsule, all the while battling the intense desire burning between them. If they can survive, can their growing attraction become more than just a momentary flare?

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review || WAY OF THE WARRIOR { homecoming tour }

Way of the Warrior by Suzanne Brockmann, Julie Ann Walker, Catherine Mann, Tina Wainscott, Anne Elizabeth, M.L. Buchman, Kate SeRine, and Lea Griffith

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (5/5/2015)
Overall Rating: ★★★★★

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EIGHT PASSIONATE LOVE STORIES ABOUT AMAZING MILITARY HEROES BY AUTHORS Suzanne Brockmann, Julie Ann Walker, Catherine Mann, Tina Wainscott, Anne Elizabeth, M.L. Buchman, Kate SeRine, Lea Griffith

To honor and empower those who've served, all author and publisher proceeds go to the Wounded Warrior Project.

The Wounded Warrior Project was founded in 2002 and provides a wide range of programs and services to veterans and service members who have survived physical or mental injury during their brave service to our nation. Get involved or register for programs and benefits for yourself and your family online at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

review || FULL CONTACT

Full Contact by Sarah Castille 

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (4/7/2015)
Series: Redemption, book 3
Genres: Adult, Erotica, Romance
Source: Sourcebooks, through NetGalley/Xpresso Book Tours
Purchase links || amazon | bn || add to goodreads 

Rating:  ★★★★1/2





When you can’t resist the one person who could destroy you…

Sia O’Donnell can’t help but push the limits. She secretly attends every underground MMA fight featuring The Predator, the undisputed champion. When he stalks his prey in the ring, Sia is mesmerized. He is dominant and dangerous and every instinct tells her to run.

Every beautiful thing Ray “The Predator” touches he knows he’ll eventually destroy. Soft, sweet and innocent, Sia is the light to Ray’s darkness-and completely irresistible. From the moment he lays eyes on her, he knows he’s going to have to put his dark past behind him to win her body and soul.

spotlight tour || COWBOY HEAVEN { + cowboy delight }

Cowboy Heaven by Cheryl Brooks

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (3/3/2015)

Source: NetGalley
Genre: Erotic Western Romance

Purchase links || Amazon | B&N | BAM | !ndigo | IndieBound | Kobo

Rating: ★★★★1/2

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When you find yourself in cowboy heaven...

When lonely widow Angela McClure hires a gorgeous hitchhiking cowboy with an affair in mind, she knows they’ll have to be discreet: her old-fashioned father and the stern ranch foreman adamantly discourage any interaction between her and the ranch hands.

Things can get hot as hell...

Despite their attempts at secrecy, the heat between them is undeniable. To divert suspicion, Angela forms a new plan: she’ll flirt with all of the ranch hands. Suddenly Angela has a whole stable full of sexy-as-sin cowboys to play with, but only one can win her heart.