Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Until June - a two for one special!

I have been impatiently waiting for this book since I read Until July last year! (I mean I even tweeted & asked her how long I'd have to wait😳🙈)I couldn't wait to see what happened with June & Evan; what broke them up & especially what Evan would do (you know an ARR alpha would do something to make up for it) to get her back. I think that's one of the things that I love the most about an ARR book. She gives you (at least it gives me) major butterflies in my stomach when the H/h interact, and for me that moment when your stomach drops or you feel those butterflies....it just makes the book for me. 
I was not disappointed. As always ARR gives you all the feels with your over the top alpha man & his love for his woman. The story flowed well and I didn't want to put it down to participate in the real world. I was surprised that the usual drama aspect of an ARR story was missing. I never feel like the drama in the book is overwhelming, but there is usually a continuous problem throughout that was missing this time around. Instead there were several small problems that they had to deal with throughout the book. I found it to be different but I didn't hate it. I like when there's something different in a series. 
It is an amazing book & I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves ARR!! 
- L 

Another great book by ARR. She brings you in from the beginning of her books and it was no different with June and Evan. I loved that it was mostly about them with a little bit of drama here and there. (Though I did miss the standard ARR drama we have come to love!) Until June also touches on sensitive subjects but still demonstrates that they are real for people and you can get through it. So many relate-able topics in this read between love and family, both the ones we are born into and the ones we create. This is one of the reasons I loved Until June so much!  As always, seeking the characters from the original Until series is always a treat!! 

I laughed and teared up, cringed and smiled throughout this book. I needed a good book after a long work trip and this was the perfect break from reality! It also made me eager for both Sage AND Ashlyn's books!!! 

Thanks, ARR, for another amazing work of art. 
-J

between friends,
Laura and Jamie
25763989

UNTIL JUNE IS LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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The Boom is real!
Meet June & Evan in Until June !
Now available!
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1TRbaVd  
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1QNOL4n

Until June.jpg
Blurb
June Mayson and Evan Barrister’s whirlwind courtship resulted in a secret marriage right before he left for boot camp. Evan knows deep in his gut that June is too good for him, but after getting a taste of the beautiful life they can have together, he’s unwilling to let her go. June promises to wait for him, knowing neither time or distance will ever change her feelings for Evan—that is until she’s served with divorce papers while he’s overseas and she’s forced to let him go.
Her marriage and divorce a well-kept secret, the last person June expects to run into when she moves back to her hometown is Evan. Angry over the past, she does everything within her power to ignore the pull she feels whenever he is near. But how can she ignore the pain she sees every time their eyes meet? How can she fight the need to soothe him even if she knows she’s liable to get hurt once again?
Is it possible for June and Evan to find their way back to each other again? Or will they be stopped by an outside force before they ever have a shot?


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Excerpt 1
Seeing Evan again is taking a toll on me, I can’t sleep and my mind is in a constant state of turmoil. I wake up in the middle of the night from dreams of us. The memories of him, of us are too much. Some memories have the ability to heal. The ability to light up the dark because the beauty of the memory is so bright you’re still able to bask in it.
But the memories of us are killing me slowly. They remind me that for one moment I had everything while reminding me it’s gone. It’s the realization that we’re done that’s killing me. The realization that I can see him but can’t touch him that he exist but he’s not mine is agonizing.
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Excerpt 2

He’s beautiful his body is a work of art I want to touch him, I want to know what It feels like to have his bearded face against my delicate skin, I want to know if the rough edges I now see are smooth to the touch.
“June.” My name in his course tone gets my attention but when our eyes meet its not anger he’s looking at me with, its raw, powerful, hungry possessiveness.

Book Trailer

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About the Author:
aurora.jpg
Aurora Rose Reynolds is a navy brat who's husband served in the United States Navy. She has lived all over the country but now resides in New York City with her Husband and pet fish. She's married to an alpha male that loves her as much as the men in her books love their women. He gives her over the top inspiration everyday. In her free time she reads, writes and enjoys going to the movies with her husband and cookie. She also enjoys taking mini weekend vacations to nowhere, or spends time at home with friends and family. Last but not least she appreciates everyday and admires it's beauty.
Goodreads:  http://bit.ly/1pzLVIO


Wednesday, May 4, 2016

EXCERPT REVEAL! - Until June by Aurora Rose Reynolds


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until june coming soon.jpg
The Boom is real!
Meet June & Evan in Until June releasing on May 24th!
Now available for Pre-order!
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1TRbaVd  
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1QNOL4n

Until June.jpg
Blurb
June Mayson and Evan Barrister’s whirlwind courtship resulted in a secret marriage right before he left for boot camp. Evan knows deep in his gut that June is too good for him, but after getting a taste of the beautiful life they can have together, he’s unwilling to let her go. June promises to wait for him, knowing neither time or distance will ever change her feelings for Evan—that is until she’s served with divorce papers while he’s overseas and she’s forced to let him go.
Her marriage and divorce a well-kept secret, the last person June expects to run into when she moves back to her hometown is Evan. Angry over the past, she does everything within her power to ignore the pull she feels whenever he is near. But how can she ignore the pain she sees every time their eyes meet? How can she fight the need to soothe him even if she knows she’s liable to get hurt once again?
Is it possible for June and Evan to find their way back to each other again? Or will they be stopped by an outside force before they ever have a shot?


Until June Teaser.jpg

Prologue
Looking at my reflection in the mirror across from me, I cringe. My hair is a disaster, there are bags under my eyes, and the nightgown I have on isn’t even one of the cute ones I normally wear. It’s the one my sister, December, got me as a joke, but I wear it occasionally, because its comfortable, even if it was made for a woman three times my age. Resting my elbows on the desk in front of me, I run my fingers through my hair, pulling the strands back away from my face.
“I hate men,” I whisper into the empty interrogation room, where I was told to wait over an hour ago after the police kicked in my door and dragged me from my bed. Lifting my gaze, I look at myself in the mirror again and vow that whenever I get out of the mess my ex-boyfriend has gotten me into, I’m going to learn how to be a lesbian, even if I’m not sure that’s actually possible.
“June Mayson.” Turning my head, I look over my shoulder at the now open door behind me, and my eyes meet those of a man who reminds me of my dad. He looks to be in his mid-forties, and is one of those men time has been kind to. He’s built, with dark hair that’s cut short and parted on the side. His eyes are a blue that stands out against his dark lashes and tan skin. “I’m Officer Mitchell, and this is Officer Plymouth.” He nods behind him and is followed in by a man who must be playing the roll off ‘Bad Cop’, judging by the frown on his face and the look he gives me when our eyes meet. Time hasn’t been as kind to him; he looks like he has enjoyed one too many beers. His middle is soft, and his skin doesn’t look healthy.
Nodding, I cross my arms over my chest and run my hands down the bare skin of my biceps that’s chilled from the cool air coming from the vent above me.
“Would you like something to drink?” Officer Mitchell asks as he walks fully into the room.
Shaking my head, I mutter, “No, thank you.”
“Hot chocolate?” he offers, and I feel tears burn the back of my eyes. Since I was little, whenever I was having a bad day, my dad would offer me hot chocolate. His hot chocolate has magical powers that always make everything seem okay, but I doubt police station hot chocolate would have the same effect.
“No, thanks. I’d just like to know why I’m here,” I tell him as he takes a seat in the metal chair across from me and places a thick folder on the table between us.
“We may be here awhile, Miss Mayson, so I’d like you to be comfortable,” he says gently, and I look at Officer Plymouth, who is leaning against the wall, then back to him.
“I don’t mean to be rude, Mr. Mitchell, but I’d really like to get to the point. I have class in a few hours and I’d really like to make it on time.”
“I’m afraid you’re probably going to miss your class today, Miss Mayson.”
Closing my eyes, I open them slowly and ask, “Can I get a sweater?”
Surprisingly, Officer Plymouth slips off his suit jacket and walks it over to me, placing it around my shoulders.
‘Thank you,” I whisper up at him, and his eyes soften around the edges. Pulling my eyes from him, my gaze goes back toward Officer Mitchell.
“How long have you known Lane Diago?” Officer Mitchell asks, and I sit up a little taller.
“I don’t know anyone by that name,” I tell him, and he opens the file folder, fanning out a few pictures of my ex-boyfriend, Aaron, and me directly in front of me. Each of them were taken while we were a couple, showing we had been followed more than a few times. Him coming to my apartment…him kissing me outside my car…at the store, walking hand-in-hand down the aisles…at the movies…out to dinner…both of us doing normal couple things.
“You mean Aaron?”
“That what he told you his name was?” he asks, and I nod looking up at him.
“I’ve known him for about a year,” I whisper, dropping my eyes to the pictures again, realizing I actually didn’t know him, since his name isn’t even Aaron.
“How long have you two been dating?” he inquires, and my eyes drop to the pictures once more.
“We dated for about four months. I broke up with him a month ago,” I tell him truthfully as a feeling of sadness hits me unexpectedly. I wasn’t in love with Aaron—or Lane. Not even close. But I cared about him, and believed he cared about me as well. That was, until he sent me a text to meet him at his house. When I got there, one of his roommates let me in, and I found him up in his room with Susie Detrei’s mouth around his cock, proving I was wrong about him.
“You were close,” Officer Mitchell states, and I nod because we were, or I thought we were. “Can you tell me who this man is?” he asks, pulling out a picture of Aaron’s—Lane’s cousin, or at least the guy he told me was his cousin.
“Aaron…I mean Lane’s cousin Cody. He lives in Mississippi,” I tell him.
“Did you ever overhear them talking?”
“Overhear them talking?” I ask, looking at a picture of Cody and Lane sitting in what looks like a bar, Lane with his favorite beer in his hand, and Cody with a short, wide glass with dark liquid and ice on the bar top in front of him, and his hand wrapped around it while he laughs at something.
“Overhear them talking about anything out of the ordinary?”
“No.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Maybe if you told me exactly why I’m here, I can give you the information you’re looking for.”
“Lane Diago’s uncle is one of the biggest distributors of illegal narcotics in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina.”
“What?” I whisper as my eyes focus on one of the pictures of Lane and me standing outside my apartment. I was wearing a short colorful summer dress and gold strappy sandals, and Lane had on a pair of black cargo shorts and a plain white tee. His head was bent toward mine, my hand was resting against his chest, and his was wrapped tight around my hip. It was our third date and our first kiss. I had waited forever to even go on a date with him, because I wasn’t ready for a relationship. I finally gave in to him, because he was so persistent. He asked me out every time we saw each other, and he was always dramatic in the way he did it.
“Did you ever see—”
“I never saw anything,” I cut him off. “Lane didn’t even smoke pot, and almost everyone I know smokes pot,” I whisper, pulling my eyes from the picture to look at him.
“You two were together a lot. He would have you drop him places. My men saw you on more than one occasion.”
“To friends’ houses,” I tell him, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. “If he asked me to drop him to a friend’s or to run him somewhere when we were going out, I would do it, but I never saw him do anything illegal.”
“Do you understand you can go to prison if we find out you spent any of the money he earned from selling drugs on things for yourself.”
Laughing, I cover my face with my hands and lay my head on the table while I try to pull myself together. I probably shouldn’t be laughing right now but its either laugh or cry.
“What do you find funny about this?” Officer Plymouth asks, and I lift my head to look at him.
“I paid for us to do things more than once, and he even asked me for gas money a couple of times. I never, not once, took money from him, not even for a coffee,” I tell him, and his eyes go to Officer Mitchell, who mutters, “Fuck.”
“He cheated on me a month ago, and I haven’t talked to him since then,” I tell him, and he shakes his head.
“We have time stamps for phone calls between the two of you over the last month.”
“Did you ever look at how long those calls lasted?” I ask, knowing that if he did, he would know we didn’t actually talk. “He called. He called over and over. Finally, I had to pick up to tell him to stop calling me. I didn’t want anything to do with him a month ago, and I sure as hell don’t want anything to do with him now.”
“Another fucking road block,” Officer Plymouth grumbles, and my head swings to him.
“I’m sorry. I swear that if I knew anything, I would help you out, but I don’t. Lane never told me anything, and I sure as hell didn’t see anything. If I had, I would have talked to my uncle about it.”
“You’re sure you didn’t see anything, hear anything?”
“I’m sure,” I tell him, wishing I did know something, not because I’m a rat, but because I know what drugs can do to people. I know not everyone dies from using drugs, not everyone’s life goes to shit from using them, but my best roommate freshmen year of college overdosed and died, and that was only after she turned into a completely different person. Someone I didn’t like much. Someone I couldn’t trust. So, there’s no way I would ever protect anyone who is responsible for supplying those drugs, no matter how much I care about them.
“Would you be willing to get back in with Lane?” Officer Plymouth asks, bringing my attention to him. My heart flips in my chest at the thought, but I don’t get a chance to answer, because someone bangs hard on the glass mirror in front of me, causing my image to go funny.

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About the Author:
aurora rose reynolds.jpg
Aurora Rose Reynolds is a navy brat who's husband served in the United States Navy. She has lived all over the country but now resides in New York City with her Husband and pet fish. She's married to an alpha male that loves her as much as the men in her books love their women. He gives her over the top inspiration everyday. In her free time she reads, writes and enjoys going to the movies with her husband and cookie. She also enjoys taking mini weekend vacations to nowhere, or spends time at home with friends and family. Last but not least she appreciates everyday and admires it's beauty.
Goodreads:  http://bit.ly/1pzLVIO
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/creynoldsauthor/

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Kylie Scott knows how to write a ...Dirty... book



I LOVE reading anything by Kylie Scott. If you haven't read something by her, Go. Get. One. Now! SERIOUSLY. GO!


I had been patiently waiting the release of Dirty for months! Then, when it is finally released, work got in the way and I had to wait to read. wah wah wah. But, alas, I snuck it in this weekend and boy am I glad I did! 

We first met the leading man in Kylie's Stage Dive series and I was super excited to see his name show up in the spin off! Kylie has a way of creating characters in all of her books that flow together effortlessly. They can be COMPLETE opposites, have the same sense of humor, or just not seem like they would belong together at all. But in Kylie's world, they fit together seamlessly. 

Lydia was by far my favorite heroine from Kylie. What girl could pick herself up after finding out at her wedding that her fiance was with his best man in 48 hours?! (I guess if you had a man like Vaughn it might not be too hard, but still.) And picked herself up still after Vaughn left her - she didn't let these men break her! She was a strong woman throughout the book, but also showed she was still human and had feelings. I was enraptured from the first page! (Though I do wish there would have been more time spent in their love interest.)

The secondary characters in this book brought something to love too. This series is something you are going to love - I cannot wait to see what happens to Pat. And I have already pre-ordered Joe's book, Twist

This is a great book with the perfect amount of sweet, funny and steamy! Gives you all the feels without a book hangover to go with it. 

4 stars from me - simply because I wish there was a little more with the love interest, but still a great lite read!

Until next time!

between friends,
J

Sunday, May 1, 2016

The Blogger Diaries Trilogy by KD Robichaux

Since this past December KD Robichaux has become one of my all time favorite authors. I discovered her books because, besides being an amazing author, she is also an editor, and on Amazon, her name would always pop up as someone who worked with some of the authors' books I would buy. Then, I was reading a book by Aurora Rose Reynolds (The Until Series) and in her acknowledgements she mentioned Kayla; so I decided to check out her books and various social media accounts.

Shortly after that I was following her on Instagram and on Facebook. I followed her blog page (Kayla the Bibliophile) & her author page. One of the things that I love most about Kayla is that we're both from North Carolina and have both moved to Texas. Her books were on my Christmas list this past year & Santa was very nice and got them for me! So of course I posted about it on IG & was surprised (& pleased) that she started following me back on IG & friended me on Facebook!!! I was so excited! I've gotten to know her over the past 5 months & I love that she is always willing to answer any questions or hear what I thought about a certain part of the series. Plus, I love that we can bond a bit about things from NC, and more recently over our love of all things Supernatural. I got to meet her in April at the Books Are Bigger In Texas event. I was so excited and nervous, but when we saw each other we had the biggest hug! She is the nicest & happiest person I've ever met.

Her books intrigued me because they're about how she and her husband got together. I'm a VERY nosy person & a hopeless romantic, so the idea of a series about how two people got together is the best of both worlds for me.

 In book 1 "Wished for You" Kayla leaves North Carolina and heads to Texas for a semester in Houston, and while she's there she meets Jason & is instantly in love. I feel like some people would scoff at that idea, but when you're reading the book and seeing how she feeling and what she's thinking, you just know it's the truth. Unfortunately since the series is a trilogy Jason & Kayla don't have their HEA at the end of book 1.

"Wish He Was You" is book 2, and in this book you see Kayla trying to pick up the pieces of her broken heart & soul back in NC. I think this is one of the most heartbreaking parts of the series because you can just see how difficult it is for her to get through each day. After awhile she meets Aiden, and they have a whirlwind relationship. The relationship isn't great (you can tell she tries, but he isn't Jason) but during that time she gets one of the best things, her daughter Josalyn. I don't want to give too many spoilers but shortly after Josalyn is born, Kayla & Aiden break up. Out of all of the books I was the most heartbroken at the end of this one. For some reason (and it might be that I had to wait for book 3 to be written & published!) I was just exhausted for Kayla. She had been through so much and I just wanted her to be with her prince charming and have her HEA.

 I had to wait until March to read book 3, "Wish Come True". I was lucky enough to win an ARC in her private reader group and as soon as she sent it to me I started reading and only stopped for sleep and work! I was so happy to be able to see how she & Jason got back together! At the end of book 1 you want to hate him for how he ended their relationship, but he 100% redeems himself. You can tell how much he realized he needed her, and Kayla is over the moon that shes with her dream man! One of my favorite things is how much Jason loves Josalyn. She is his baby from the moment he meets her. In this book you see how they have their youngest, Avary, and how they get engaged, & their wedding. This was my favorite book from the start! I just love the happiness that is felt throughout the whole book.

 I think that everyone should check out this series. It was such a great and easy read. I would definitely recommend that you make sure that you have plenty of time to read when you start, because you will not want to stop once you start. Lucky for y'all, you don't have to wait for any books to come out!!! Her books are available on all formats!

Where to find KD Robichaux:
IG: @kaylathebibliophile
FB: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKDRobichaux
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/KDRobichaux

 Go check it out y'all!

 between friends
 L