Showing posts with label excerpt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label excerpt. Show all posts

Friday, January 02, 2015

Exclusive Excerpt #2: Ashley's Dream by B.R. Kingsolver

Hello readers!

The holiday season is over I suppose, and everyone went back to work today.  But, I'm still giving out presents!  Remember that I told you I would share 4 excerpts of Ashley's Dream by B.R. Kingsolver?  Well, here is excerpt #2.  Enjoy:)


Can a woman have both love and her dreams?
Ashley isn't looking for love. Her dream is to travel the world, and getting tied down by a man doesn't fit into her plans. Relationships always get so complicated, and men always lie. It's better just to have some fun and no one gets hurt. 

After graduating university, she doesn’t get the job offer she hopes for, so it's life as usual, working as the manager of a college town bar and spending time with her friends. But life doesn’t always go the way you plan, and the next thing Ashley knows, she has two hot roommates interested in her. She likes them both, but is it love or just infatuation? She always seems to make decisions that break her heart. 

When the job offer she has always wanted arrives, her heart is torn between love and following her dream. 
Buy links:
EXCERPT:

When Jeff came over after his softball game, I still had a lot of anger and resentment that I hadn’t taken out on Marcie. I didn’t even know it was there until I had another convenient target.
He pulled me into his arms and kissed me, but I pulled away. Walking away from him, I said, “Why didn’t you tell me you were rich? Or that your father’s company is Owens, Hart and Collins?”
“You never asked me. Why, is it important?”
“I guess it isn’t if this is just a temporary fling. I just think it’s polite to let a girl know that you’re never going to take her home to meet your parents. It sort of puts everything in perspective so that she can decide whether or not she’s comfortable just being a casual fuck.”
“Ashley, what is going on? I’m not trying to hold anything back from you. We hardly know each other.”

“Yeah. I was asked earlier today, what your last name is and I didn’t know it. My fault, I guess. Normally you find that sort of thing out on a first date, but I guess we haven’t had our first date yet, have we? We just jumped into the fucking part and left the introductions for later.”
“I’m not the one who did the seducing,” he said. “I told you that we should wait. You’re the one who was hot to trot, and now that’s my fault? You’re being incredibly ungrateful. I think you’ve got issues, and I’m more than willing to let you work them out. Good night.”
He didn’t exactly slam the door, but he didn’t close it gently, either. I stood staring at it with my mouth open. What the hell just happened? The last thing I wanted to do was fight with Jeff. When he knocked on the door, my heart jumped in my chest, and I skipped to the door to answer it. And then I opened my mouth, and the same bitchy crap I’d laid on Marcie earlier came spilling out.

Monday, December 29, 2014

Exclusive Excerpt #1: Ashley's Dream by B.R. Kingsolver

Hello my readers!
B.R. Kingsolver, the author of a great new contemporary romance/new adult, has shared with me four exclusive excerpts.  And I'm going to share them with you as a little holiday gift!



Can a woman have both love and her dreams?
 
Ashley isn't looking for love. Her dream is to travel the world, and getting tied down by a man doesn't fit into her plans. Relationships always get so complicated, and men always lie. It's better just to have some fun and no one gets hurt. 

After graduating university, she doesn’t get the job offer she hopes for, so it's life as usual, working as the manager of a college town bar and spending time with her friends. But life doesn’t always go the way you plan, and the next thing Ashley knows, she has two hot roommates interested in her. She likes them both, but is it love or just infatuation? She always seems to make decisions that break her heart. 

When the job offer she has always wanted arrives, her heart is torn between love and following her dream. 
 
Buy links:

EXCERPT:
Marcie flew in to Denver on Friday and drove up to Fort Collins that afternoon. We had dinner together at the bar and then I went back to work. She showed up at my place the next morning at nine, and I would have killed her if she hadn’t had a key and been quiet about it. She let herself in, and though I woke up, I fell back to sleep when she didn’t come into my room.
The smell of bacon and fresh coffee woke me the second time. I staggered into the kitchen and watched in a daze as she shoveled pancakes and bacon on a plate and set it on the table.
“Eat,” she said, pouring coffee in a mug and setting it beside my plate. God, I thought, she’s going to make someone a great wife. As I ate, I decided that it should be me.
“Will you marry me?” I asked.
She threw back her head and laughed. “We might as well, considering our luck with men.”
We finished breakfast and I showed her my new clothes.
“Kind of a bummer,” I said, modeling one of the dresses. “I look gorgeous, but I don’t have anyone to wear them for.”
“Get Tyrell trained,” she said. “Things can’t be that busy during the summer. We should go out when I’m home.”
“How much longer are you going to keep the apartment here?” I asked. I knew it had to be a pain driving up here from Denver every week.
“I don’t know,” she said. “The lease is up next month. But from what they’re telling me, I’ll probably be on the road, either working on audits or project work, for the next couple of years. Some people do that their whole careers.”
She watched me change and then said, “You know, we could get a two or three bedroom place for less than we spend on two singles.”
I looked around. I’d had the apartment for a year, since Marcie left the previous summer for her internship in New York. I wasn’t particularly attached to it. We’d lived together for four years, and were comfortable together.
“Do we have to get a bunch of cats?”
I didn’t think it was that funny, but she laughed until tears ran down her cheeks.

Monday, December 01, 2014

Blg Tour (Excerpt): The Union by T.H. Hernandez


After global warming and a second civil war devastated the former United States, two different societies rose from the ashes – the Union, a towering high-tech utopia, hugging the perimeter of the continent, and the devastated, untamed midsection known as the Ruins.
Seventeen-year-old Evan Taylor has an easy, privileged life in the Union. What she doesn’t have is any idea what to do with the rest of her life. She only knows she wants to do something meaningful, to make a difference in the lives of others.
When she’s kidnapped and taken into the Ruins as a pawn in a dispute involving her boyfriend, Bryce, her ideal world is turned upside down. What she learns while in the Ruins shakes her faith in everything she’s ever known, from Bryce, to her family, and even the Union itself.
Now Evan must choose whether to stay with Cyrus, the sexy, resourceful survivor who believes she’s in the Ruins for a reason, or return to the only life she’s ever known. But when she stumbles upon a dangerous plot that threatens both worlds, her decision could tear her apart.

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EXCERPT:

Sonia, Marcus, and Cyrus are escorting me back to the Union. We’re leaving after breakfast, and I’m trying to ignore the growing sensation that I’m not ready to go. My parents must be worried sick, but this place and these people own a piece of me now, too.
After stripping the sheets from the bed, I take one last look around what has been my home for the past several weeks. My time here has transformed me in ways I still don’t fully understand. Maybe I still haven’t found my purpose, but I believe I’m closer than ever.
With a small sigh, I turn and walk downstairs, dropping the sheets by the back door with the rest of the laundry before entering the kitchen.
Sonia is at the counter making tea while Lucien and Draya talk in low tones in the corner, Lucien rubbing Draya’s arms. Marcus leans against the counter, his features pinched.
In the living room, little Connor, one of Ally’s brothers, is curled up with a blanket on the couch next to his sister, and she appears to be crying. Fear rolls through me like a wave – something is very wrong.
Cyrus is nowhere to be seen and neither is Ally’s other brother, Ty, sending prickles up my spine. I walk over to Sonia. “What’s going on?”
“It’s Ty.” Tension colors her light brown eyes.
“What happened?”
“He’s sick, very sick.”
“Sick?”
“I think he has pneumonia.”
“Pneumonia?”
“Oh my God! What is your problem?” Draya snaps at me from across the kitchen. “People in the Union don’t get sick?”
I turn to face her, ready to say something cutting when I see her face. The fear in her eyes chokes the words off before they reach my tongue. “Yes, but not often.” I turn back to Sonia. “What can you do for him?”
“We can’t do anything.” Draya answers. “I’m sorry if it delays your return to your precious Union.”
“You really think that’s what I’m worried about?” Her expression is defiant before she turns away. “You can’t do anything for him, no medicine you can give him?” I ask Sonia.
“We can’t afford the medicine he needs.” She moves to the stove as the tea kettle whistles.
“There is something he can take, though?” Hope buds.
“It’s expensive,” Lucien says.
“How much?”
Lucien rubs the back of his neck. “More than we have.”


T.H. Hernandez Bio:

When not visiting the imaginary worlds inside my head, I live in San Diego, California, with one husband, three children, two cats, and one dog. In addition to my day job as a technical writer and editor, I write young adult fiction. I love the intensity of teen emotions and the way they're still figuring out life.

When I'm not writing, you can find me with my nose in a book, hanging out with family and friends, hiking, or knitting. I'm obsessed with Facebook, young adult novels, bad lip reading videos, pumpkin spice lattes, microbrewed beers, and the San Diego Chargers.



Friday, October 31, 2014

Blog Tour: Baby, It's Cold Outside by Jennifer Probst, Emma Chase, Kristen Proby, Melody Anne, Kate Meader


Outside it may be frosty, so turn the heat way up with these stories of desire!

Can a determined woman executive and a playboy billionaire survive being stranded together in a snowstorm? Jennifer Probst depicts an encounter almost too hot to handle…

Drew and Kate play an encore to Tangled in this sexy take on a “Christmas Carol” by Emma Chase. When a Christmas Eve argument condemns Drew to a troubled night, three dream women teach him that no gift could be more tantalizing than Kate…

With Kristen Proby, ski slopes are quite delightful. Grace Douglas is sure she’ll never learn to ski, but instructor Jacob Baxter could teach her lessons of a different kind…

Can a southern California transplant survive Montana’s deep snows? Melody Anne, author of the bestselling Andersons series, melts the icy drifts completely away with the heat between sexy Hawk Winchester and brand-new teacher Natalie Duncan…

What could be hotter than a firefighter? Kate Meader shows how hot it can get as Beck Rivera and heiress-turned-tattoo-artist Darcy Cochrane discover that nothing ignites holiday flames like rekindling a lost love…

BUY LINKS:
About The Authors:
Jennifer Probst’s New York Times and USA Today bestselling novels, novellas, and ebooks include the acclaimed Marriage to a Billionaire series, as well as Searching for Someday and Searching for Perfect. She lives in upstate New York. Visit her at www.jenniferprobst.com.






Emma Chase is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Tangles, Twisted, Tamed, and Tied. She lives in a small town in rural New Jersey with her husband and children. Follow Emma on Twitter and Facebook, or visit her at www.emmachase.net.






Kristen Proby is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Loving Cara and Seducing Lauren, as well as the popular With Me in Seattle series. Kristen spends her days with her muse in the Pacific Northwest. Visit her at kristenproby.com.






Melody Anne is the New York Times bestselling author of the indie published Billionaire Bachelors series, the Baby for the Billionaire series, and the Surrender series, and she has a new series coming soon from Pocket Books. She lives in the Pacific Northwest. Visit her at www.melodyanne.com.






Kate Meader is the author of the sexy new series Hot in Chicago, coming soon from Pocket Books. When not writing she works in an academic library in Chicago. Visit her at www.katemeader.com.










Excerpt: “It’s A Wonderful Tangle Christmas Carol” by Emma Chase in BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

I bolt awake at my desk—disoriented and slightly panicked. The way my grandfather used to snore away in his recliner, before jerking up and claiming he was just “resting my eyes.”

Glancing at my watch, I’m relieved to see it’s only been a few minutes since I dozed off. “Wake the fuck up, Evans. No time for a nap.”

I head over to the conference room and make myself a quick cup of coffee. I sip the hot beverage of the gods and step back into my office.

And there, sitting on my suede couch—the same suede couch that played such a prominent role in my early Kate Brooks fantasies—is a woman.

Do you see her, too?

She’s strikingly beautiful. A pert nose, full lips, bright green eyes, and aristocratic cheekbones. Her hair is honey blond and long with a slight curl. She’s wearing a conservative white dress, blazer, and heels—something Kate would wear to the office. A string of pearls adorns her long neck and matching earrings decorate her lobes.

“Hello,” she greets me in a warm voice.

My eyes dart from her to the door. Security always calls before letting a client up.

“Hi,” I return. “Can I . . . help you?”

“Actually, I’m here to help you, Drew.”

Huh. She knows my name.

Has she crawled from the sea of my former one-night stands? It wouldn’t be the first time one tracked me down at my place of business. But with me riding the monogamy bandwagon these last eight years, it hasn’t happened for a long time.

“Have we met somewhere before?” I ask—but I really mean Have we fucked somewhere before?

She laughs, though I don’t know why. It’s a pleasant, alluring sound. “Always so clever. I’ve been watching you for a long time, Drew. You never fail to entertain. ”

I set my coffee on the desk and face her head-on.

“You’ve been watching me for a long time? Yeah, ’cause there’s nothing weird about that.”

“Well, it’s my job to watch you. I’m your guardian angel, after all.”

There’s a lot of crazy walking around New York City. And I don’t just mean the obvious vagrants mumbling around Penn Station or the naked cowgirl in Times Square. Professional dog walkers, bicyclists, and most employees of the sanitation department have several fucking screws loose, too.

You have to be careful with insane people. Getting them worked up isn’t a good idea. So I just nod and try to keep her calm.

“Interesting. You don’t look like an angel.”

“How do you imagine I should look?”

“Wings, halo, blinding heavenly light.”

She winks. “I only bring the halo out for formal events. As for my wings . . . I’m still working on earning them.”

I snap my fingers. “That sounds familiar. To earn your wings, you have to, like, stop me from offing myself, right?”

Her jade eyes round with surprise. “Oh, nothing as drastic as that. If things became that desperate I wouldn’t be doing a very good job. I’m here because you’re starting down the wrong path, Drew. We need to nip your behavior in the bud; get you back to where you should be."

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Blog Tour (Excerpt): Between by Megan Whitmer

 
When a supernatural freak of nature forces her family to separate, seventeen-year-old Charlie Page must turn to her frustrating (yet gorgeous) neighbor, Seth, to help reunite them. Seth whisks Charlie to Ellauria—a magical world filled with the creatures of myths and legends—and tells her of the Fellowship, the group charged with protecting mystical beings from human discovery. (All except Bigfoot: that attention whore is a total lost cause.) But when Charlie learns that she's under the Fellowship's protection herself, well, "stressed" is an understatement.

Ellauria should be the safest place for Charlie while the Fellowship works to find her family, but things in the mystical realm aren’t what they seem.

Magic is failing, creatures are dying, and the Fellowship insists Charlie holds the key to saving everyone. With her family still missing and the danger in Ellauria growing, Charlie doesn't know who she can trust. She's dealing with a power she never asked for, falling for a guy she can't have, and being forced to choose between her destiny and her heart. And if she chooses wrong, she could destroy magic forever.

Charlie may be in over her head.
Releases July 29, 2014 from Spencer Hill Press

Excerpt:
“Charlie?”
“Hmm?” My nails dig into his arms.
“You can look now,” Seth says against my forehead.
I squint open one eye and then the other before slowly releasing my grip and easing away from him. I stretch my fingers as I lower my hands. This flicker was longer than the others, and I sway a bit on my feet. I grab Seth’s forearm to steady myself. “Where are we?” I ask.
He raises his eyes and makes a sweeping gesture with his hand. “The edge of Ellauria. This is the Wisteria Tunnel.”
Wisteria. Twisted vines arch over our heads, each one dripping with cascades of flowers and creating stripes of pastel colors that stretch the entire length of the tunnel. White. Blue. Purple. Violet. Pink. An intoxicating sweetness hangs in the air. It’s straight out of a fairytale.
And I don’t have my sketchbook.
“What is it?” Seth asks.
I frown at him. “You’re supposed to tune me out, remember?”
He smiles with his lips closed. “Sorry. I forgot. I told you it’d be an adjustment.”
I nudge him and smile. “I’m just sad that I don’t have my sketchbook. This place is gorgeous.”
He tips his head down to mine and whispers, “I’ll bring you back.”
All my thoughts scatter when his breath mingles with mine. I open my mouth to say something, but I have no words—at least, none I feel brave enough to say just yet. I could go on and on about his lips and his eyes and the way his smell makes me want to bury my nose in his chest, but I won’t.
“Shall we?” He holds out his arm, and I close my mouth.
Pull yourself together, Charlie.
I curl my hand around his elbow as we tread beneath the flowering vines.
I try to watch Seth without watching him, admiring the way he moves. Every now and then I sneak a direct glance at his face, and I catch his eyes before they dart in a different direction.
It’s quiet and peaceful here, like Seth and I are the only two people in the world. It’s easy to forget that there’s anything else at all—nothing to cry over, nothing to fear. Just sweetness and splendor, created by the very hands that created me. I run my hands along the blooms and bring my fingers to my nose, inhaling their scent. Seth watches me and smiles when I catch him.
“I knew you’d like it,” he says.
Of course I do. I could fill an entire sketchbook with drawings of this place alone. Colored pencils would work. They’d capture the variance in the pastels completely.
When we’ve walked so far that I can’t see either end of the tunnel, I pull on Seth’s arm to make him stop, and he turns to face me. “I needed this,” I tell him.
Seth nods, looking upward. “So did I.”
He pulls a long strand of violet wisteria from the vine over his head and loops it around my wrist. It’s so silly and perfect it makes me giggle, and he smiles. My laughter fades, and neither of us find words to fill the silence. I look from his eyes to his lips.
His very soft-looking lips.
Something shifts in his gaze, and there’s a gleam, a tiny spark of life that tells me he’s still tuning in. The fact that he knows is both exhilarating and terrifying. I want him to kiss me, but I want it to be his idea. Now, I feel like my emotions are making the first move.
Stop looking at his lips.
Don’t look at his eyes, either.
Just stop looking at him altogether.
My eyes dart to the wall of flowers beyond his shoulder, and Seth laughs softly. He trails the backs of his fingers from my shoulder to my wrist, and then pinches my shirt at my waist, pulling me closer. My heart beats faster, so much that I’m sure he can feel it. I watch my hands slide up his arms like they have a mind of their own. They move across his shoulders and drift to his chest.
His other hand cups my chin and tilts my face upward as he dips his head closer. When his lips are a breath from mine, he stops. He looks at me, silently asking permission, and I nod. His eyes are mostly closed. His lips part, and he freezes. He blinks, and his forehead creases before he drops his head and backs away.
No. Not again.
I know he was going to kiss me; I may not be an empath, but I know he wants to. What’s stopping him?
“Seth?”
When he raises his head again, he looks so lost I can’t decide if I want to hug him or wring his neck for bringing his lips so close to mine without sealing the deal.
I step toward him, then change my mind and take another step back.
“Forget it,” I say. It’s the second time he’s pulled away from me in two days. I can take a hint.
“Charlie.”
“It’s fine.” I feel my blood pressure rise as heat branches out from my chest throughout my body. Oh no. I’m about to start saying stupid things. “I don’t know why I keep getting so flustered around you. And I get that it’s weird for you or something.” The words come faster and faster. Oh my God, Charlie, shut up. “It’s just sometimes it seems like you want me close and sometimes you don’t.” Stop talking. Just. Stop. Talking. “But I get it. You’re not interested.”
Seth flinches. “Is that really what you think? No, Charlie. That’s not it at all.” He moves toward me again until something behind me catches his eye. His face pales and he croaks, “Alexander!”
I spin around. The enormous founder stands a few feet away with his arms clasped in front of his belt.
“Seth.” That’s all he says. One word so full of judgment I nearly crumble beneath its weight myself. I glance at Seth, but his eyes are locked with Alexander’s.
What’s happening here? Seth wants to kiss me, but he doesn’t, but I’m wrong, and then Alexander’s here, and now I’m pretty sure I’m missing a giant piece of the equation.
“I’d like to take Charlotte to work on her powers now,” Alexander says, raising his eyebrows and staring down his nose. Somehow, he appears even larger than normal. “I assume you two are all finished here?”
“Yes, sir.” Seth’s gaze falls to the ground. “We’re finished.”
The founder’s lips set into a thin line, and he lifts his hand to me, beckoning.
I twist my bracelet around my wrist. Whatever’s happening, Seth must be in trouble. I can’t tell if I am, as well. Maybe we weren’t supposed to be out here. I try one last time, but Seth won’t look at me.
I walk to Alexander, my legs quivering with each step. When I reach him, he takes my arm and we disappear.
 
Giveaway:
 
BETWEEN Prize Pack #1

BETWEEN by Megan Whitmer ARC (signed)
SING SWEET NIGHTINGALE by Erica Cameron (signed) 
EVER by Jessa Russo (signed)
RECLAIMED by Sarah Guillory (signed)
TRAGIC TALES OF STRANGE GIRLS ebook by Suzy G
THE ART OF FALLING ebook by Jenny Kaczorowski
OF SCARS AND STARDUST postcard with download code for eARC by Andee Hannah


BETWEEN Prize Pack #2

BETWEEN by Megan Whitmer ARC (signed)
DOORWAYS TO EXTRA TIME by Erica Cameron (signed)
DIVIDE by Jessa Russo (signed)
RECLAIMED by Sarah Guillory (signed)
Preorder of BLACKFIN SKY by Kat Ellis
ULTRAVIOLET CATASTROPHE by Jamie Grey

BOTH prize packs will also include various swag from authors: Jessa Russo, Dahlia Adler, Tonya Kuper, Lynne Matson, and Kat Ellis

Author Bio:

Megan Whitmer loves all things Southern, and has a soft spot for football, kissing scenes, and things that sparkle. Aside from her personal blog and weekly vlog series, she's also a contributing blogger for YA Misfits and All The Write Notes. 

She lives in Kentucky with her family. Also, she writes books and talks a lot. You can learn more about her at www.meganwhitmerwrites.com.
 
Links to find Megan online: 

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Blog Tour (EXCERPT): Before You by Amber Hart


Some say love is deadly. Some say love is beautiful. I say it is both.

Faith Watters spent her junior year traveling the world, studying in exquisite places, before returning to Oviedo High School. From the outside her life is picture ­perfect. Captain of the dance team. Popular. Happy. Too bad it’s all a lie.

It will haunt me. It will claim me. It will shatter me. And I don't care.

Eighteen ­year ­old Diego Alvarez hates his new life in the States, but staying in Cuba is not an option. Covered in tattoos and scars, Diego doesn't stand a chance of fitting in. Nor does he want to. His only concern is staying hidden from his past—a past, which if it were to surface, would cost him everything. Including his life.

At Oviedo High School, it seems that Faith Watters and Diego Alvarez do not belong together. But fate is as tricky as it is lovely. Freedom with no restraint is what they long for. What they get is something different entirely.

Love—it will ruin you and save you, both.


Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iTunes | Kobo | Goodreads

EXCERPT

Being tough does not scare Faith Watters. Time to change tactics. I relax and flash a grin.

“Mami, why don’t I help you loosen up a little?”

She blinks, but doesn’t show any outward evidence that my words have affected her. I move close, very close. When I look down at her, she doesn’t look away.

Her eyes remind me of stained glass, bright and cutting.

“We could have a good time, you and me,” I say, mischief punctuating my voice.

“I don’t think so,” she says coldly.

I will not let her upstage me. I give her a long, slow once-over. She dresses older than she is, like she doesn’t belong in high school. I wonder what makes her so uptight.

What are you hiding, chica?

I usually don’t have to try with girls. It’s one of the very few advantages life has thrown my way.

“Oh, come on. You might like Latino if you tried it,” I say, voice low. The guys behind me laugh, egging me on.

“When you’re done with him, I’m available, mamacita,” Juan says. “I don’t mind leftovers.”

She sneers. Good. That’s progress.

“Let me take you out,” I say.

I’m not really going to take her anywhere. I just want to make a crack in her icy shield.

Why do you have a shield, anyway?

“Why?” she asks suspiciously.

"Because it would be fun," I say.

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ABOUT AMBER HART Amber Hart grew up in Orlando, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia. She now resides on the Florida coastline with family. When unable to find a book, she can be found writing, daydreaming, or with her toes in the sand. She's the author of BEFORE YOU, AFTER US, UNTIL YOU FIND ME, and sequel to UNTIL YOU FIND ME (untitled as of yet). Represented by Beth Miller of Writers House.

CONNECT WITH AMBER HART Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads