Blog Tour & Giveaway - Distorted by Laura Dunaway

Welcome to my stop on Laura Dunaway’s Virtual Blog Tour for Distorted.  Please leave a comment or question for Laura below to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter her tour wide giveaway through the Rafflecopter form below.

Title:  Distorted

Author: Laura Dunaway

Release Date: May 14, 2013

Genre: New Adult

Description:

Aly Chase has worked for Paul Pierce for years, loving him from afar. He is handsome, rich, and the powerful CEO of Pierce Homes. Just when Aly has decided her love for him is futile and vows to move on, Paul begins to give Aly the attention she had always desired, forcing her to feel confused by his actions.

Then there's Aly’s best friend, Ethan Baker. He's sweet, handsome and charming. He is also in love with her. He's accepted that Aly and he will only be friends, until one day Aly realizes that her feelings towards Ethan are way more.

Aly is caught in between the man she’s loved for so long and the man that has always been there for her. As her feelings are pulled and tugged in both directions, she must make a choice before her distorted life loses both of them.

Who will end up winning Aly's heart?

 Excerpt:

“You’re beautiful, you know that?” he asked.

I stopped what I was doing and looked at him.  He was just sitting there, casually watching me with the sweetest look on his face.  My heart lurched and I was frozen. 

His brows drew together.  “I mean it,” he said.

I gave him a small smile.  “Thank you,” I said quietly as I got his food out of the microwave.  I put it on his plate and handed him a beer from the fridge.  He smiled at me as he twisted up a mouthful on his fork and dove in.

I leaned on the counter, drinking another glass of wine, and watching him eat.  He popped the cap off of his beer and took a long drink.  He set the bottle down with a big, “Ahh,” and gave me a silly grin.

“Ethan, what did I do to deserve you?” I asked, suddenly very serious.

He stopped mid-chew and looked at me.  “What brought that on?” 

I sighed and set down my wine glass.  “I don’t know.  I just see you here, with me, being so cute, and I wonder.  I mean, you know I’ve been in love with Paul for years, yet you never wavered, you stayed with me. And even now, when we’ve developed more to our relationship and I haven’t been able to give you any promises, you’re still here.”

He set his fork down and shoved off his stool, walking around the bar to come next to me.  He grabbed my hips and pulled me to him, wrapping me in his arms.  He kissed the top of my head, rubbing my back.

“Aly, you know better than that.  I am here to stay, no matter what you decide.  If you ultimately decide Paul is the man for you, or anyone else for that matter, I can’t say it won’t kill me, but I’ll always love you.  We were friends first and we will be friends last, no matter what.”

About the Author

Laura Dunaway has been married to her prince for 17 years and together they are raising three amazing kids.  While she's always had a passion for reading and writing, it wasn't until this past year that she finally realized she should pursue her dream of writing a book.  After many many attempts at starting one, Distorted was finally the one that flowed and before she knew it, she'd written The End.  When she's not busy shuttling her kids to lessons and practices and making dinner, she's busy behind her computer writing her next book.

Follow Laura:

Goodreads | Facebook

Tour Schedule

Queen of the Night Reviews   May 25

The Book Blog   May 26

Stuck in YA Books Blog   May 26

Bridger Book Bitches Blog   May 27

Love Between the Sheets   May 27

Lookin for a Bookin   May 27

Book Crush   May 27

Fiction and Fashion Blog   May 28

Shhh Mommy’s In The Bathroom Reading   May 28

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Cover Reveal - Kiss It Better by Linda Kage

Welcome to my stop on Linda Kage's Cover Reval for Kiss It Better.  Please leave a comment or question for Linda below to let her know you stopped by.


And now.....the moment we've all been waiting for...........

KISS IT BETTER

Contemporary Adult Romance

61,000 words

Republishing July 2013


A PAST TO PLAGUE HIM...

When his sister is sexually assaulted, memories of his miserable childhood haunt Reed Walker and interfere with his perfectly structured life. To add to the chaos, just when dating becomes the last thing on Reed’s mind, Sophia Eschell, the very woman he’s been dreaming about for the past three years, barrels into his life.

AND A WOMAN TO HEAL HIM...

After hooking up with too many troubled men, Sophia is determined to find a normal, average guy sans baggage. She turns her attention to Reed, only to discover he has more issues than anyone. But if he can learn to open up to her, can she honestly reject him or will she kiss it all better? 

 

 

 

 

 

 Author Info

Linda grew up on a dairy farm in the Midwest as the youngest of eight children. Now she lives in Kansas with her husband, toddler daughter, and their nine cuckoo clocks. She works a day job in the acquisitions department of a university library and feels her life has been blessed with lots of people to learn from and love. Writing's always been a major part her world, and she's thrilled to finally share some of her stories with other romance lovers.

You can find Linda on the web at:

Website - http://www.lindakage.com 

B Fan Page - https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/authorlindakage?fref=ts

 

 

 

Tasty Review Tour & Giveaway - You and Tequila by Crystal Donahue

Welcome to my stop on Crystal Donahue’s Virtual Book Tour for You and Tequila.  Please leave a comment or question for Crystal below to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You can also follow her tour here, the more often you comment and enter, the better your odds of winning.  You can read my review here.  

You and Tequila

By: Crystal Donahue

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila… Score!

Cassel Bailey's life hasn't exactly turned out how she planned. Between the tragic death of her parents, a brother that practically despises her, and working her way through nursing school alone, she's learned to stay guarded, relying only on herself and her friends for love and support. Over time they’ve become her surrogate family. So when one drunken night at the bar lands her in bed with her close friend, Will Tanner, it threatens to change their otherwise platonic relationship forever. Life as she knows it suddenly begins spinning out of control as she struggles to understand her conflicted emotions.

Guided by her authoritative best friend, Tina, and her quirky next-door neighbor, Rita, Cassel must decide between fighting to keep her friendship with Will alive, or going with Plan B and risking it all for something more.

Just when she thinks she knows what she wants, Cassel is bullied into caring for a patient that, unbeknownst to her, played an important role in her sad past. The stunning secret this person reveals about her former lover, Dane, threatens to open up previously healed wounds and leads Cassel to question not only the career she loves, but where her heart truly lies. Everything she thought she knew about life, love, and promises is shattered like an empty bottle hitting the floor.

One thing is for certain, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade... when life gives you limes, you grab some salt and a bottle of tequila and learn to take it one shot at a time.

Buy Links

Amazon   | Barnes and Noble 

Excerpt

"So tell me everything, Cass.  What exactly happened, from start to finish?"

"Well," I start with a hesitatnt sigh, "a bunch of us met at The Broken Tap last night to celebrate Will passing the bar exam and being offered a position at the County Attorney's Office.  At some point Kelsey suggested we all do a round of shots in honor of the occasion." 

“Kelsey’s always looking for an excuse to do shots,” interrupts Tina. There’s no love lost between those two and I often have to play referee when they’re in the same vicinity.

Shooting her a dirty look for interjecting, I continue, "Anyway, a few rounds later and everyone's feeling good, a little too good perhaps.  I started teasing Will about having to wear a suit every day, knowing how much he hates them.  And he started teasing me about having to give enemas and wipe people's butts for a livign.  We were just joking around like usual but the next thing I know we're making out in one of the booths in the back." 

"So that's it?  You guys just had a drunken make out session at the bar?  That isn't so bad, you can bounce back from that." Tina shrugs, unimpressed with my sex life yet again.  

"Not exactly," I take another deep breath and continue on, "I suggested we take the show on the road.  His place was closer so we ended up there." 

“You suggested it? I see,” Tina smirks. We stare at each other for a few seconds before she finally asks the one thing she’s dying to know, “So, how was it?”

Crossing my arms on the table in front of me, I drop my head and let out a muffled groan.  Without looking up, I admit, "Honestly, it was the best sex I've ever had."

Author Info

Crystal Donahue has been fortunate to live all over the US, including but not limited to Arizona, Hawaii, and Georgia but she currently resides near the Iowa/Illinois border with her tornado obsessed son and their mischievous cat, Brownie. She is a procrastinator of epic proportions, finds humor in almost everything, loves sarcasm and loathes washing dishes.

A 2004 graduate of Western Illinois University, Crystal has held several unique jobs including driving a Zamboni and being a relay operator for the hearing and speech impaired. While working as a claims adjuster she realized life is too short not to do something that makes you happy, so she quit her job to go back to school and study nursing. Between work, school, and raising her son she somehow manages to find time to write too, usually to the detriment of her social life. Fortunately her friends and family rock so it isn’t much of an issue… yet.

Links

Website/Blog: www.crystaldonahue.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CDonahue_Writes

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Crystal-Donahue/585060708171196

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/crystaldonahue

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Don't forget to leave a comment or question for Crystal below to let her know you stopped by.

Review - You and Tequila by Crystal Donahue

You and Tequila

By: Crystal Donahue

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila… Score!

Cassel Bailey's life hasn't exactly turned out how she planned. Between the tragic death of her parents, a brother that practically despises her, and working her way through nursing school alone, she's learned to stay guarded, relying only on herself and her friends for love and support. Over time they’ve become her surrogate family. So when one drunken night at the bar lands her in bed with her close friend, Will Tanner, it threatens to change their otherwise platonic relationship forever. Life as she knows it suddenly begins spinning out of control as she struggles to understand her conflicted emotions.

Guided by her authoritative best friend, Tina, and her quirky next-door neighbor, Rita, Cassel must decide between fighting to keep her friendship with Will alive, or going with Plan B and risking it all for something more.

Just when she thinks she knows what she wants, Cassel is bullied into caring for a patient that, unbeknownst to her, played an important role in her sad past. The stunning secret this person reveals about her former lover, Dane, threatens to open up previously healed wounds and leads Cassel to question not only the career she loves, but where her heart truly lies. Everything she thought she knew about life, love, and promises is shattered like an empty bottle hitting the floor.

One thing is for certain, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade... when life gives you limes, you grab some salt and a bottle of tequila and learn to take it one shot at a time.

Buy Links

Amazon   | Barnes and Noble 

 My Review

What should you do when you don't really know what you want, but know what you want could cost you the most important relationship in your life?  If you're like Cassel Bailey, the main character in Crystal Donahue's You and Tequila, you accidentally get drunk, sleep with your best friend and second guess every decision you've ever made.  A quirky, occasionally funny and emotionally angst filled contemporary romance, You and Tequila is definitely best served with lime.

Cassel Bailey has a job she loves, friends who are as close as family, and loves the Chicago Bears.  A nurse at a local hospital, Cassel is intelligent, caring and good with people.  She also has issues with trust, has two best friends, and an ex who doesn't seem to understand the meaning of the phrase "get lost".

Secretly in love with his best friend, Will Tanner just passed the bar exam and is looking forward to his first real job.  Celebrating with Cassel, and some of their other friends, is all he's got planned for the night.  Getting drunk, making out and taking her home is more than he had planned.

The scenes between Cassel and Will are full of snappy dialogue, and lots of emotional and sexual tension.  Secretly attracted to each other for a while, neither one quite knows how to take their relationship from best friends to something more.  Ms. Donahue does a good job developing likable characters that are easy to connect with, though I'll admit there are a few times I want to shake "Cass" and smack her upside the head.  While both are mature, responsible people, they both have issues with trust, self worth and seriously needed to work on their communication.

The secondary characters are well written and all contributed to the story.  I especially loved Tina, Cass's best friend, who refused to choose side between Cass and Will and was determined to help them see they were right for each other.  While there is no real "villain" in the story, Dane, Cass's ex- boyfriend and Will's ex-best friend, provided plenty of angst, tension and trouble.

Will Cass finally decide what she really wants?  And will she take a chance on love?  You'll have to read  You and Tequila to find out.  I enjoyed it and I think you will too.

My Rating:  3.5 out of 5 Stars 

FTC Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

Waiting on Wednesday - May 22, 2013 Edition

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that highlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This weeks pre-publication "can't wait to read" selection is Take MeUnder (Dangerous Tides, #1) by Rhyannon Byrd 

Take Me Under

by Rhyannon Byrd

Dangerous Tide, Book 1 

Publisher: Berkley Publishing

Expected Release Date: June 4, 2013 

Genre: Contemporary 

Buy Link: Amazon 

Description:  

Ben Hudson had a thing for shy, sexy Reese Monroe from the moment he first saw her three years ago. Back then, she was married and living in Boston—two very good reasons for the Miami detective with a bad-boy reputation to stay away.

But that was then…

Now Reese is divorced and moving to Florida, where her mother has rented her a small beach house—one that happens to be owned by Ben. Living right next door, he can’t get Reese’s soft curves out of his mind. He has waited three long years to touch her in all the ways he’s been dreaming about, and this time he won’t let anything get in his way.

For Reese, Ben’s sudden advances are thrilling but leave her stunned. With her limited experience in the bedroom, she never expected a man with such a wicked reputation to go after her. She knows she should be on guard, but he’s a temptation she can’t resist. And when trouble follows her down from Boston, threatening her life, Ben may be the only one who can help her.

Why I’m waiting on this book:

1. Sounds sexy

2. Beginning of a new series by an author I’ve never  read

3. The cover screams “Summer Beach Read”

What’s Your “Waiting on Wednesday” Pick this week?

Want to participate?  Grab the logo , post your own “WoW” entry on your blog and leave your link below or if you don’t have a blog, leave your entry below in the commets.