BLOG TOUR: A Matter of Forever by Heather Lyons

It all comes down to this . . .

Chloe Lilywhite has struggled for years to find her footing in a series of dangerous and demanding worlds. Creator, first tier Council member, and one of the most powerful Magicals in existence, she was little more than one of Fate’s pawns. But now, Chloe is back home and ready to call the shots. She knows what she wants and who she wants to be.

Except the Elders never got the memo.

Annar and Magical-kind are under attack. The lives of Chloe’s loved ones, and life as they know it, are at stake. Chloe's the key to taking the Elders down, but they won't go quietly into the night.

This time, neither will Chloe.

*This is a New Adult title, suitable for readers 18+.

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Heather Lyons has always had a thing for words—She’s been writing stories since she was a kid. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. Heather is a rabid music fan, as evidenced by her (mostly) music-centric blog, and she’s married to an even larger music snob. They’re happily raising three kids who are mini music fiends who love to read and be read to.

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And don’t miss the first books in the Fate Series!

A MATTER OF FATE (Fate Series #1)Just $.99 right now!

BEYOND FATE (Fate Series #1.5) Just $.99 right now!

A MATTER OF HEART (Fate Series #2)

A MATTER OF TRUTH (Fate Series #3)

This book was highly anticipated by me and as I have now read it, it is bittersweet.

A Matter of Forever is the end of this series and I am a total emotional wreck.
Completely happy and terribly sad at the same time.
Everything was leading up to this book. My stomach was in knots with worry. Heather Lyons has a way of ripping your heart out and giving you an ulcer from all the worry and stress.
I almost cheated and read the end of the book just to ease my mind, but I didn't...I dove right in and met the angst of this story head on.
A Matter of Forever wrapped up the Fate series with gut-wrenching, tear jerking moments that made me physically ache from the agony I was reading on these pages. Yet, I was also absolutely elated at the amazingly beautiful moments between some of my all time favorite characters. Even after I finished, even as I write this, I am weeping at the loss of leaving these characters.
I am not going in to details of the story. There is no way to do that without spoiling anything...
But A Matter of Forever rounded out this series with action-packed entertainment that kept me on my toes until the very end.
The closure for these characters was like nothing I would have guessed and I am extremely happy that I could not predict the final outcomes.
Brilliantly written, A Matter of Forever encompasses a world created that will forever be in my heart. Heather Lyons is a phenomenal writer, a pure genius, and I can't wait to see what she will bring us next...

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BLOG TOUR: Last Second Chance by Caisey Quinn

Welcome to our stop on the LAST SECOND CHANCE Blog Tour! Not only do we have a review, teasers, the playlist, and another awesome GIVEAWAY (lots to WIN), but we also have *get this*  VAN'S INTERVIEW with ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE!!! Buckle in for a rough ride, ladies. Van Ransom is about to ROCK your world...

As always, thank you to Caisey Quinn and the awesome chicks at Inkslinger for our ARC, hosting this tour. Y'all totally rock our socks.

Happy reading! ~Shell

When Stella Jo Chandler gets an offer to work at the Second Chance Ranch celebrity rehab facility right after graduating from Texas A&M, she’s tempted to turn it down. She wants to help real people with real problems, not spoiled celebrities going on vacation for publicity. But growing up on her family’s ranch left her with a love of horses that draws her to the opportunity. How bad can babysitting a bunch of strung out celebrities be?

What she didn’t count on was being roped into a tangled mess with infamous rocker and three-time rehab drop out Van Ransom on her first day. And she sure didn’t expect to feel the overwhelming attraction that pulls her to the man who has more issues than she can count on both hands. Like the hotel rooms and tour buses he’s famous for trashing, the havoc he could wreak on Stella’s heart would be irreparable.

Van isn’t at Second Chance for publicity or because he’s suffering from “exhaustion”. He’s on the brink of destruction, and he needs the kind of help Stella isn’t sure she can give. But without her, he'll lose everything. Because he’s on his last second chance.

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 VAN RANSOM: Mad Man or Just Misunderstood?

ROLLING STONE INTERVIEW WITH VAN RANSOM

  

RS: Hello, Mr. Ransom. It’s nice to meet you.

Van: Is it? *leans back in chair and folds heavily inked arms* What would you say is particularly nice about it?

RS: Um, well…your band, Hostage for Ransom, has had an amazing year. That must be pretty exciting to be a part of. How has the past year been for you?

Van: *snorts* Honestly I can’t remember most of it.

RS: *checks notecards* When you say you can’t remember, you mean…

Van: I mean I was dropped on my head a lot as a kid and I have short-term memory deficit.

RS: Okay. Perhaps you should see a doctor.

Van: Perhaps I should. I’ll look right into that.

RS: Mr. Ransom, surely your aware of the rumors circulating.

Van: Can’t say I am. Don’t have a habit of paying attention to rumors.

RS: Ah well, of course not. I just meant that, with all the media speculation, surely you’re aware that there have been mumblings about the possibility of your label, Red Devil Records, dropping you due to the incident last year in Vegas.

Van: I was in Vegas last year? Well, damn. Kind of wish I did remember that.

RS: Let’s take this opportunity to lay the rumors to rest then. Did you or did you not wreck a ten thousand dollar a night hotel room?

Van: *raises and eyebrow* That’s what they tell me.

RS: Any idea why you might’ve done something like that? Did you have a fight with someone? Another member of your band perhaps?

Van: *huffs out a harsh laugh* The only person I fight with is the voice in my head. So yeah, maybe he pissed me off.

RS: And the bus?

Van: *narrows eyes* What about it?

RS: Want to tell your fans why you trashed your tour bus last week and canceled two shows in New York?

Van:  There was…New York is… You know what? On top of all the shit I can’t remember, I have no recollection of agreeing to this interview. I think we’re done here.

*stands abruptly, knocking over chair and is followed out by his manager and a publicist*

Van Ransom, ladies and gentlemen. Mad man or just misunderstood? We can’t be sure. Guess you’ll just have to decide for yourself.

Caisey Quinn lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and other assorted animals. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie Ryans series as well as several New Adult Romance novels featuring country girls finding love in unexpected places. You can find her online at www.caiseyquinnwrites.com . 

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 I enjoy a good tale about a broken man and a damaged woman. A chance at redemption. A chance to be happy, healthy, and live a good life. And finding the one that makes it all okay. And LAST SECOND CHANCE is just that. A good story. Really, really good. It just wasn't great. Bear with me here. I'll explain. Y'all know what a big fan I am of Caisey, but... it didn't blow me away as Caisey's other books had. It had moments that tore at my heart, had me in tears, and often in stitches. But there was something that didn't give me that desperate feeling of this being Van's last chance to straighten his s*** out. Something that niggled at me throughout the book.

Again, bear with me, and don't get me wrong. Caisey is wonderful at creating characters you can empathize or at least sympathize with. She digs deep, cuts to the core, and usually, is no holds barred in bearing her characters souls.
She did that here. We pretty quickly know all of Van's sins. His doubts and fears. We know about his addiction. And its' cause- his great losses. Which were great indeed. It's easy to see why he would try to numb it all.

We also see into Stella's past. A history of feeling lost, unloved, and unwanted. In actuality, she is just the opposite. As Van, and everyone else at Second Chance Ranch, make perfectly clear. She's an asset and ally. A fierce protector and caring friend. Still, she struggles with doubts of Van's feelings and her self worth. Unfortunately, Van has these very same worries. It's a constant inner battle for both. And it's agonizing to witness.

Their romance is a whirlwind of heat, denial, and confusion. Unabashed desires and wicked pleasures, mixed in with hopes and dreams of sobriety and letting go of the past. But is it real? Or is it a way for Van to pass the time and still indulge himself? Can it survive the "real world" once Van completes his program? What do either really want? And are any of their dreams possibilities? Totally tense and heartbreaking...

So what really bothered me and made this not the usual scorching 5 flames? Van is by nature a very intense, passionate, FEELING man. Most musicians are. They bury themselves in their music, sex, and drugs. We all know this. But what drives Van's addiction is so personal and down right devastating. There is no denying it would drive most people to self destruction. So while I felt the anger, the desperation to stop the pain, I didn't really feel his struggle with his addiction itself. And that's what I was expecting. The recovery felt secondary rather than why they were brought together. Having dealt with addiction in one capacity or another my whole life, and experiencing the depths that Caisey usually takes her characters too, I was surprised- and OK, disappointed, that she didn't do that with Van. I wanted to feel his pain and suffering from withdrawals and the demand and expectations put upon him. *** slightly spoilerish***
Instead we deal more with the forbidden attraction these two can't seem to fight no matter what the consequences. And that is the other thing that got me a bit. Stella was a good girl. A rule follower, a hard worker,  outstanding student, and on her way to breaking away and becoming her own woman. As strong and smart as she was, she gave in too easily to her desires when so much was at stake for them both. Her only addiction was Van. And boy... well, I won't get into anymore of the actual story. I've already come close to breaking one of my own rules...

All that said, LSC will test your patience and strength, just as it does our main characters. It pokes and prods at you. Makes you question your own feelings for Van, and your flaws and afflictions. How you feel about addiction and how it affects more than the abuser. It isn't pretty. But then, it's not meant to be. What it is, is... a wildly explosive and racy romance about two people who on paper should never, ever work, but despite the odds, just very well might. Go in with an open mind and you may find you fall for Van and Stella. Despite the minor disappointments, these two grabbed a piece of my heart and had me praying everything would work out. Does it? Well, you'll have to on this crazy ride yourself to find out.

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COVER REVEAL: Until We Fly by Courtney Cole

Are you ready to Get BRANDed?

Get ready because Brand is getting his book! That's right! Courtney Cole is writing a fourth novel in her Beautifully Broken Series, and it's coming out July 7th. Today, we have the amazing and beautiful cover to share with you. So, without further ado... we introduce you to...

UNTIL WE FLY (Beautifully Broken #4)

 

Are you as excited as we are? Don't forget to go add it on Goodreads!

Ex-Army Ranger, Brand Killien, has always been good. A good friend, a good soldier, a good everything. . The problem is, good hasn’t gotten him anything but a crushed heart. So after licking his wounds, he decides to move on. And moving on doesn’t include being good anymore. Bad sounds so much better. Jaded and detached, Brand is determined to never open himself up to anyone again. It’s not worth the pain. Instead, he becomes closed, hardened, aloof. But then he’s called back home for a family emergency… a family that he is estranged from. A family that he put out of his mind a long time ago for very good reasons…reasons that involve secrets and pain. Reasons he tried hard to forget. But home is where the heart is, and it just might be where Brand finds his again. Why? Because home is where Nora Greene is. A fiery, red-headed spitfire, Nora is a thing from his past. A beautiful, feisty thing. When Brand left, she was away at boarding school. But she’s back now. And she wants Brand, scars and all.

   

Cover designed by The Cover Lure

 

And don’t miss the other Beautifully Broken, now available:

IF YOU STAY

IF YOU LEAVE

BEFORE WE FALL

Praise for the Beautifully Broken Series: 

 "I loved If You Stay. Like, really really loved it. The kind of love that kept me reading until 2:40 am and left me crying, smiling, devastated, and elated. The best kind of book love." - Andrea, The Bookish Babe 
 "Beautiful, raw, gritty, emotional and breath-taking are just a few of the words I can find to describe this book...reading this book was one of the best experiences I have had." -Amanda, Globug and Hootie Need a Book 
 "In If You Leave, we continue the wild ride Courtney Cole started us on in If You Stay. This raw story of heartbreak and hope solidifies Cole's standing as a rising star in hot contemporary romance." --- New York Times Bestselling author of Down to You, M. Leighton 
 "Another raw, gritty masterpiece with a sexy-as-hell Army Ranger to swoon over." --- K.A. Tucker, author of Ten Tiny Breaths

ABOUT COURTNEY COLE: Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people. Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.

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BLOG TOUR: Dirty Nights by A.M. Hargrove

If you like your romances light and sweet, this is NOT for you. This is a tough and gritty story of heartbreak, rejection, and hard love. You’ve been warned.

Life isn’t easy.
Nor is it fair.
And you don’t get to choose who you fall in love with.
Sometimes love chooses you.

Skylina...Her story is not pretty. Discarded like trash by her father. Forced into prostitution by her mother. Used and abused, she learns to cope. And survives. Because she has to. What other choice is there?

Ryder...His story is every bit as ugly. Beaten and left for dead. A star whose light was extinguished long before it should have been. Now a he’s drug addict who wrestles with the demons that try to destroy him.

Two broken people...
Extraordinary circumstances...
Pasts that could tear them apart.

Attention: This book is also published as the Dirty Nights Novella Series under A.M. Hargrove’s pen name of Emerson St. Clair.

**Content Warning: Due to the explicit sexual content this is not intended for younger readers.

 Skylina

Six Years Ago

“Skylina, I swear to God I will whip your fucking ass if you don’t do what I say. Now get your skinny ass out there if you know what’s good for you. He’s been waiting and he doesn’t like to be late.”

“Mom, please.” It’s my last ditch attempt at begging. This isn’t the first time she’s dressed me up like a whore and forced me to meet her pimp.

Her voice suddenly turns whiny. “Sweetie, you know how much I need my medicine. I get sick if I don’t have it. And this is the only way. Do it for me, baby. You will, won’t you?”

When I look at her, I know I have no choice. She’s skin and bones, nothing like she was when my dad still lived here. She used to be real pretty then. But now, she takes no pride in herself. None. She rarely bathes unless she gets so hard up that she turns tricks on her own. And now that I’m old enough, she’s all but sold me off to her pimp and bullies me to do her dirty work. She has ulterior motives. I bring in more money than she ever would. Oh, if she’d get cleaned up, she would be okay, I guess. But she won’t do it. So I hook for her and support her drug habit. Me, a sixteen year old. Fun times.

“Yeah, Mom.”

Any other mother would die before they’d put their daughter in danger like this. Not my mom. Oh no. She stands there and smiles. Then claps her hands. Like we’re getting ready to go on a picnic or something. Some twisted picnic.

“I knew you’d see it my way. Always knowing how to help your poor old mom.”

Turning around I walk out the door. Her pimp, Mikey, stands there waiting.

“Hurry your ass up, Lena. I don’t have time for your shit!” His fingers tighten around my neck. “Now you better act right tonight or you know what’s coming your way, right?” He presses himself against me and his fetid breath would make me gag, but I don’t because his grip on me is so tight it restricts any motion in my throat.

“Yeah,” I croak as I squeeze back the tears. What he means is he’ll beat the shiz out of me. He’s done it before and he won’t hesitate to do it again. The last time, the beating was accompanied by a rape. Bile rises up from my gut again, but I force it back into its proper place. What other choice do I have? We get in his car and he drives me to some guy’s place. It’s in a seedy part of town, and I climb three long flights of steps to get to apartment 4D. The guy answers the door and I want to turn and run. But I don’t. Instead, I walk inside, where the room is foggy with smoke. An open bottle of whiskey sits on a round table and he asks, “Want some?”

“No thanks.”

The place is a mess, clothes strewn everywhere and dirty dishes all over the place. But that’s not what bothers me the most. It’s what I’m going to have to do next.

The guy is old, like my mom. Maybe in his forties or something. He’s pudgy with a belly that hangs over his pants.

“Take off your shirt. I wanna look at your tits.”

My hands shake as I undo the buttons. One thing I’ve learned is not to look at their faces. But I make the mistake of doing that now and see him lick his lips. Watching his fat slimy tongue slide over his thick ugly lips almost makes me lose my lunch. My face must show this because he laughs.

“Not into this, are you?”

“Er, uh, yeah, I am.” I can’t keep the stammer out of my reply.

“Good.” His beady eyes darken as his hands move to his zipper. “Get over here. You know the drill.”

My feet don’t want to move, but I somehow move over to him.

“On your knees little girl.” He puts his hands on my shoulders and shoves me hard to the floor.

My knees burn from the rough carpet. I reach into his pants for his thingy, and put my mouth on him. His pecker tastes like sour milk and this is when my daydreams begin.

My mind takes me away from this horrid place, into my fantasy world where I can dance away all the dreadful things I’m going to have to do to him tonight.

By the time I leave, it feels like my insides have been stripped raw. Mikey is outside waiting and I give him the cash the man handed me. He snatches it out of my hand and counts it. Then he tosses me fifty bucks. That’s all I get. For a night of horror. When I get back home, Mom’s waiting with her hand extended. After I hand over the money I climb in the hot shower and scrub the filth off of me until my skin is chafed. Then I brush my teeth and Listerine my mouth raw. But I never get the taste of those nasty men out. They linger with me for a long, long time.

The cheap sheets scratch my skin as I slide into bed. A tear escapes from my eye, though I do my best not to let it. This is the time I dread the most, because I’m alone with my thoughts and reminded of how ferked up my life is. My dad doesn’t want me. My mom is a drug addict. I’m a high school drop out. My dream of becoming a professional dancer is moving further and further out of my reach.

When I quit school earlier this year, it became apparent that going to any professional school was no longer attainable. Mom made sure of that. Whoring for her nights made keeping up with my school work impossible. And then there were those rumors flying around. I’d hang my head in shame everyday as the girls whispered about me and treated me like I was diseased. But not the boys. Oh no, they flocked to me like ants on honey. They even cornered me in the stairwell several times and if someone hadn’t come by, I’m sure it would have ended up in rape. So I decided it was time to bow out gracefully and withdraw from high school.

It would be nice if I had someone to talk to about all of this, but that’s never going to happen. Not with my current situation anyway. I burrow down into my hard nest of a bed and do my best to try and sleep. But all I can think of is a set of big beefy paws as they painfully pinch and squeeze me, and the tears finally gush out, while my aching body is wracked with sobs.

 A.M. Hargrove resides in the south, dividing her time between the upstate of South Carolina and the mountains of North Carolina. She truly believes that chocolate, coffee and ice cream should be added to the USDA food groups. 

Her books include Adult, New Adult and Young Adult Romances, including, The Guardians of Vesturon (Survival, Resurrection, Determinant, reEmergent and the novella Beginnings); Dark Waltz (A Praestani Novel) Edge of Disaster, Shattered Edge, Kissing Fire, Tragically Flawed, Exquisite Betrayal and Tragic Desires.

Please find her at http://www.amhargrove.com

A.M. also writes under the name of Emerson St. Clair. Emerson's books include the Dirty Nights novella series

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 WOW!! I was totally blown away with this book. A tasty treat, drawing you in with its steamy seductive cover...and also the scorching sex...but this novel provided so much more; while it may have some dirty nights in it...it is surrounded by a beautiful tale of two broken people being pieced together again....

Skylina and Ryder are two characters that will crawl in to your heart...I was amazed at the lives these two had and continue to lead.
My heart ached for them both and all I could do was keep reading to find out more...Ryder and Skylina both have a tumultuous past that seems to plague their present. Even though one of them seems to be taking more control, the other accepts the here and now and stifles themselves for better...
It is when these two meet and find that kindred spirit together that they search themselves and decide to overcome the chains that have been keeping them down.
GAH....Brilliantly written with an intriguingly suspenseful storyline all the while heating you up from the flaming erotic sex...
A definite must read..

RELEASE DAY BLAST: Last Second Chance by Caisey Quinn

RELEASE DAY SPECIAL!

LAST CHANCE TO BUY A SPECIAL SIGNED EDITION OF LAST SECOND CHANCE FOR 99 CENTS!

On May 13, this steamy standalone novel will return to its regular price of 3.99 and will no longer be the signed version!

When Stella Jo Chandler gets an offer to work at the Second Chance Ranch celebrity rehab facility right after graduating from Texas A&M, she’s tempted to turn it down. She wants to help real people with real problems, not spoiled celebrities going on vacation for publicity. But growing up on her family’s ranch left her with a love of horses that draws her to the opportunity. How bad can babysitting a bunch of strung out celebrities be?

What she didn’t count on was being roped into a tangled mess with infamous rocker and three-time rehab drop out Van Ransom on her first day. And she sure didn’t expect to feel the overwhelming attraction that pulls her to the man who has more issues than she can count on both hands. Like the hotel rooms and tour buses he’s famous for trashing, the havoc he could wreak on Stella’s heart would be irreparable.

Van isn’t at Second Chance for publicity or because he’s suffering from “exhaustion”. He’s on the brink of destruction, and he needs the kind of help Stella isn’t sure she can give. But without her, he'll lose everything. Because he’s on his last second chance.

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TEASERS 

EXCERPT 

Van stood at the edge of her bed and stared down at her. He had to clench his hands at his side to keep himself steady.

Fuck, she was beautiful. She was more than beautiful. She was a goddess. She was something no one had created a word for yet. Because no other such creature had existed.

“Lose the blanket, Stella Jo.” His gravelly voice filled the small room.

She nodded, licked her lips, and slid the white comforter down. His eyes narrowed when he saw that she’d left her bra and underwear on.

“I said naked, cowgirl. But you know that, don’t you?”

“I was…” She paused to take a deep breath. “I thought I had more time.”

Setting the rope and riding crop on the bedside table, Van crossed his arms. “You have all the time in the world. Go ahead. I’ll wait.”

Her emerald eyes widened, meeting his with an ‘are you serious’ stare. He nodded once at her unspoken question.

She stood on shaking legs, and he resisted the urge to let her off the hook. She was nervous. She should be. He was going to do things to her that would wreck her—things she wouldn’t be able to forget for as long as she lived. 

He planned to make damn sure of it.

GIVEAWAY

Lots of easy entry options to win a signed Pretty Girls Read tote filled with signed books by Alice Clayton, Monica Murphy, Emma Chase, S.C. Stephens, & more! 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Caisey Quinn lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and other assorted animals. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie Ryans series as well as several New Adult and Contemporary Romance novels featuring southern girls finding love in unexpected places. You can find her online at www.caiseyquinnwrites.com.

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