February 17, 2015

Spotlight, Excerpt & Giveaway: Just in Time for a Highlander by Gwyn Cready

Title: Just in Time for a Highlander
Series: Sirens of the Scottish
Author: Gwyn Cready
ISBN: 9781492601937
Pubdate: February 3rd, 2015

From RITA winner Gwyn Cready comes a Scottish borderlands time travel romance perfect for fans of Outlander

For Duncan MacHarg, things just got real…

Battle reenactor and financier Duncan MacHarg thinks he has it made—until he lands in the middle of a real Clan Kerr battle and comes face to face with their beautiful, spirited leader. Out of time and out of place, Duncan must use every skill he can muster to earn his position among the clansmen and in the heart of the devastatingly intriguing woman to whom he must pledge his oath.

Abby needs a hero and she needs him now

When Abigail Ailich Kerr sees a handsome, mysterious stranger materialize in the midst of her clan’s skirmish with the English, she’s stunned to discover he’s the strong arm she’s been praying for. Instead of a tested fighter, the fierce young chieftess has been given a man with no measurable battle skills and a damnably distracting smile. And the only way to get rid of him is to turn him into a Scots warrior herself—one demanding and intimate lesson at a time.

“Undine, do you see what your magic has wrought?” Abby stabbed a finger in Duncan’s direction.
The woman gave him a full look and her eyes widened. “Oh. Oh, dear.”
“What magic?” Duncan demanded.
Undine regarded him thoughtfully. “He’s handsome, at least. And tall. That could be useful. But that hair…”
“If I wanted handsome, Rosston would certainly do. He at least wields a real sword.” She took Undine by the elbow and turned her away from Duncan. “The poor man appears to have no skills beyond his fists,” she said in a lowered voice. “And I think he’s addled in his head—like Hal the sheep shearer.”
“What were you thinking?” Undine demanded.
“What was I thinking?! ’Twas your herbs.”
“I mean when you opened the paper.”
“I didn’t open the paper. It was shot out of my hand.”
“All of it?!” Undine paled.
“Except for the part that flew in my mouth.” Abby wiped the back of her hand across her tongue and made a sharp sound of disgust. “It tasted like burnt groats.”
Duncan had had enough of being ignored. “What herbs? What magic? What are you talking about? Did you bring me here?”
Undine considered. “You could try to make do with him.”
“Make do?!” Abby cried. “You make do with him! Can’t you see this is the last thing I need with the clans right now?” She pulled herself onto the horse. “You need to get rid of him.”
The “get rid of him” made Duncan’s stomach tighten. “No. Wait—”
“Abby?” a voice called from beyond the trees. “Abby, are you there?”
“Oh, God help us, it’s Rosston.” Abby gave Duncan a warning look. “Don’t say another word.”
“No!” Duncan grabbed her pommel. “I want to go home! Send me home! I don’t know what you two witches have done.”
“Silence, you fool.” She jerked the reins in an effort to keep the beast from lurching. The arrow fell from her bow.
A kilted clansman crested the rise.
“You, there!” Duncan called to the man. “Help me. These women have—”
Duncan felt a thwack on the head, and the world went dark.

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Gwyn Cready is the RITA-winning author of sexy, funny romance novels. Her newest book, Just in Time for a Highlander, is the first in the Sirens of the Scottish Borderlands series. In the book, a young but determined clan chieftess seeks a strong arm to help her command her clan, but when a fortune teller’s spell goes awry, she finds herself with a dashing man from the twenty-first century instead. Find out more at cready.com.

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December 15, 2014

Spotlight, Excerpt & Giveaway: The Highland Dragon’s Lady by Isabel Cooper

The Highland Dragon’s Lady by Isabel Cooper
Series: Highland Dragons
Genre: Paranormal Romance/ Historical Romance
Publication Date: December 2, 2014

He’s Out of the Highlands and on the Prowl…

Regina Talbot-Jones has always known her rambling family home was haunted. She’s also aware her brother has invited one of his friends to attend an ill-conceived séance. She didn’t count on that friend being so handsome…and she certainly didn’t expect him to be a dragon.

Younger son of a family of shapeshifting dragons, Highlander Colin MacAlasdair has lived a life free of both family duty and mortal cares. Moving in and out of human society as he wishes, he takes very little seriously—until Regina drops onto his balcony one midnight, catching his attention and his interest. She’s like no mortal he’s ever met, and no matter how hard he tries, he can’t seem to get her out of his head.

Bound by circumstance, drawn by the fire awakening inside of them, Colin and Regina must work together to defeat a vengeful spirit—and discover whether their growing love is powerful enough to defy convention.

Over the course of his life, Colin had been alone with young ladies in a variety of places: featherbeds, haystacks, and even the occasional riverbank in pleasant weather. Dusty attics had never featured. Yet these places also had never featured Reggie, with her dancing eyes and her hair falling down around her shoulders.
“You’ve got a bit of cobweb,” he said, noticing the strands at her temple. He knelt down and reached out. “Hold still. And, er, brace yourself.”
She closed her eyes and waited, patient for once in their brief acquaintance. Colin brushed his fingers over her temple, lifting the spider’s web away. Beneath it, the edge of her face was warm and soft, and her hair was like heavy silk. He swallowed, brushed his hand off on his trousers, and noticed that Reggie hadn’t yet moved.
Mostly, at least. Her breasts were rising and falling rapidly, and he could see the quick pulse in the hollow of her neck.
Colin touched his fingers to that spot, lightly, and felt the speed of her heartbeat. Desire was coursing through his own veins, collecting warm and heavy in his groin, but he kept his voice quiet. He could be playful for the moment. He could be human, as she was.
If she let him, at least.
“‘Exciting people,’ is it?” he asked. “You certainly don’t seem calm.”
Without opening her eyes, Reggie shook her head slightly. “No,” she said, drawing the word out.
Colin traced a finger along her collarbone, just above the neckline of her dress. “Are you afraid of me, then?”
Her eyes snapped open at the question. “No,” said Reggie, very definitely. Then she gave him an impish smile, one that went straight to his swelling cock. “Should I be?”
“That depends verra much on who you ask,” he said, and leaned forward to kiss her.

Kindle: http://geni.us/1YvS
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The Highland Dragons Series:
http://www.isabelcooper.org/books.html
Legend of the Highland Dragon
The Highland Dragon’s Lady
Night of the Highland Dragon

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I’m a geeky Boston girl, who started writing when I was 12—mostly so that I would have something to do in math class other than math. Didn’t work out well for either the story or the long division skills. Over the years, my writing’s improved in ways beyond “not being in four-color pen”, to the point where Sourcebooks published No Proper Lady, my first romance novel, in September 2011. Two sequels are coming soon!

The long division, on the other hand, still eludes me.

I like exploring weird combinations of history, fantasy, romance, and (very very soft) science fiction. I have often been known to say that I come up with plots the way some people come up with cocktails: hopefully the next morning is better, though.

Oh, two of the four colors in that pen? Hot pink and turquoise. We were living in California at the time, and it was the early nineties, so I can’t entirely hold myself responsible for that one.

Posted in Author Spotlight, Giveaways, Historical Paranormal Romance
Tagged Excerpt & Giveaway: The Highland Dragon's Lady by Isabel Cooper, Isabel Cooper, Sourcebooks, Spotlight
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November 28, 2014

Spotlight, Review & Giveaway: FULL THROTTLE (Black Knights Inc.) By Julie Ann Walker

FULL THROTTLE (Black Knights Inc.) By Julie Ann Walker
Publication Date: December 2, 2014
Reviewed by: Reading in Pajamas/Donna
Rated: 5 Stars

Abby Thompson didn’t sign up to be the daughter of the President of the United States. The position was forced on her by the small matter of her birth. Preferring a quiet life of study, she’s content to leave the politics and the international intrigue to her father. Unfortunately, the most powerful man on the planet is sure to make enemies. When a group of armed thugs takes her hostage half a world away, demanding the U.S. government release prisoners in exchange for her safe return, she fears her father’s policy of “not negotiating with terrorists” means she’ll never see the shores of the Potomac again. Luckily, there’s one glimmer of hope. His name is Carlos Soto. And though she abruptly ended things with him years ago, she knows now he’s the only man who can save her…

Carlos “Steady” Soto has taken part in his fair share of dangerous missions working at the covert government defense firm of Black Knights Inc. But nothing prepared him for the emotional rollercoaster he faces when he’s tasked with rescuing the only woman he ever loved-who also broke his heart. Racing against time and outmaneuvering a group of trained terrorists will take everything he’s got. Plus there’s the heat simmering between them which is threatening to ignite into an inferno. While ruthless enemies stalk them, they must learn to trust each other again. Even if they do make it out alive, will Abby turn her back on him… for the second time?

Another great installment in the Black Knights Inc. story! Carlos is, well perfect and embodies all my points for a hot special ops member with a heart. Abby was so likeable and funny that it was a match made in heaven. I also need to mention that the fast paced heart stopping story started immediately and didn’t let up. This book was filled with humor, action, hotties, heroes and steamy romance. It hit all my checkboxes and then some.

*Review copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Exclusive Excerpt

Sniff…wuffle…baraaaaaag!

The elephant was getting frustrated at their continued ability to evade its searching trunk, and Abby could only pray the advice she’d read in those articles was correct. It was bad enough to think of dying at the hands of militants, but getting snuffed out by a pissed–off pachyderm?

PRESIDENT’S DAUGHTER DONE IN BY DUMBO…

Yep, she could see the headlines now. Definitely not the most respectable way to go and—-

Baraaaaaag! She jumped as another head–splitting trumpet blasted through the humid jungle air. Carlos tightened his arms around her, and she couldn’t help but think of what would have happened had the elephant not timed its arrival so precisely.

I mean, what the frickin’ sticks was I thinking? Oh, yes. She hadn’t been thinking. That was the whole problem. She’d simply been playing the part of Slutty McSlutNuggets, attempting to bang the one guy on the face of the planet she had no business banging.

Of course, in her own defense, it was a hard to say no to him when she’d been fantasizing about saying yes for most of her adult life. And then, as if that weren’t enough, there was the shock value of the thing. As in, Carlos Soto kissing her, caressing her, telling her to ride him and—-

She still had trouble believing it. Trouble believing he’d actually, factually wanted her. And, alrighty then, so maybe instead of seeing her as nothing more than that pesky undergrad who followed him and Rosa around like a lost puppy, she had, in fact, grown up in his eyes.

Still, you’re an idiot to have let things go so far, she admonished herself, even as she reveled in the feel of being held so tightly against his wide chest that she could hear his heartbeat thudding steadily beneath her ear. She wondered how it was he could remain so calm when they were ten seconds away from being skewered on a set of pointy ivory tusks. But then he moved his leg, just a little, and every thought in her head came to tire–squealing stop.

He was…hard.

***

Julie Ann Walker is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of award-winning romantic suspense. She has won the Book Buyers Best Award, been nominated for the National Readers Choice Award, the Australian Romance Reader Awards, and the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award. Her latest release was named a Top Ten Romance of 2014 by Booklist. Her books have been described as “alpha, edgy, and downright hot.” Most days you can find her on her bicycle along the lake shore in Chicago or blasting away at her keyboard, trying to wrangle her capricious imagination into submission.

Social Networking Links:
Website: http://julieannwalker.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/JAWalkerAuthor
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/jawalkerauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JAWalkerAuthor

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Posted in 5 Stars, Author Spotlight, Donna's Reviews, Giveaways, romance reviews
Tagged Julie Ann Walker, Review & Giveaway: FULL THROTTLE (Black Knights Inc.) By Julie Ann Walker, Sourcebooks, Spotlight
8 Comments

July 3, 2014

BLOG TOUR, Review & Giveaway: BETRAYED by Rebecca York

BETRAYED by Rebecca York
Release Date: July 1, 2014
Reviewed by: Reading in Pajamas/ Donna
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Rated: 3 Stars

There is a spy in S&D systems who is leaking top-secret information that could lead to extreme disaster. It’s up to Shane Gallagher to uncover the mole and set things right.

Systems analyst Elena Reyes had no intention of stealing company secrets until her brother’s life was threatened by the cruelest of mobsters. When Elena finally confesses her deeds to Shane, he’s ready to do everything he can to keep her out of danger. But will Shane’s help be enough to protect them, or will his good intentions leave them all for dead?

This was a fast paced story involving the Mob and corporate espionage. I couldn’t truly relate to Elena. I understand how she acted was part of the story but I struggled with it nonetheless. I also wished there was more camaraderie between the men at Rockfort Security but they worked well together and had each other’s backs when it counted. All in all a fun story with just enough heat to counteract the danger.

*Review copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Elena had never thought about seducIng a man. She wasn’t even sure of her moves. But she knew that Shane wanted her, even if he wasn’t prepared to admit it. She also knew he felt protective of her, which was probably part of the conflict he must be feeling.

Before he could come up with another objection, she cupped the back of his head with her hands and brought his face down as she raised her own head toward him.

She hadn’t been sure what would happen. Or perhaps she’d been afraid that he’d wrench himself away from her. But the danger must have affected his emotions as well as her own. When their lips met, it was as though someone had tossed a match into a pile of gasoline- soaked kindling. Invisible flames rose as heat flared between them.

She heard him growl her name and felt him gather her closer as he kissed her with purpose, running his hands up and down her back.

The heat coming off him made her dizzy. She should be afraid, but she kept kissing him, letting him feel all the passion that she’d held inside herself for so long.

Opening her lips, she invited him to explore her mouth, then did the same with him, absorbing his taste and the way the mouth-to-mouth contact sent shock waves to every part of her body.

“You know that you’re playing with fire?” he asked.

“I know what I want.”

“Then take off your clothes.”

Again, a dose of reality. Was she ready to get undressed in front of him? Or was she going to back away—the way he hoped she would.

She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of scaring her off. Not because she was trying to score any points, but because what she wanted hadn’t changed, even if he was trying to make her take a step back.

She did step back, but only a few feet. She kept her gaze on him as she reached for the hem of the T-shirt and pulled it over her head, then let it drop on the floor so that she stood before him naked to the waist…

Kindle $6.15 http://georiot.co/2ZNp
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New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Rebecca York’s writing has been compared to that of Dick Francis, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Maggie Shayne. Her award-winning books have been translated into twenty-two languages and optioned for film. A recipient of the RWA Centennial Award, she lives in Maryland near Washington, DC, which is often the setting of her romantic suspense novels.

Social Networking Links:
Website: http://rebeccayork.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8110.Rebecca_York
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rebecca-York/122426234846
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RebeccaYork43

Posted in 3 Stars, Donna's Reviews, Giveaways, romance reviews, romantic suspense
Tagged Blog Tour, Rebecca York, Review & Giveaway: BETRAYED by Rebecca York, Sourcebooks
2 Comments

July 1, 2014

Release Day Blitz & Giveaway: THE CAPTIVE by Grace Burrowes

THE CAPTIVE by Grace Burrowes
Release Date: July 1, 2014
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Historical Romance

Captured and tortured by the French, Christian Severn, Duke of Mercia, survives by vowing to take revenge on his tormentors. Before the duke can pursue his version of justice, Gillian, Countess of Greendale, reminds him that his small daughter has suffered much in his absence, and needs her papa desperately.

Gilly endured her difficult marriage by avoiding confrontation and keeping peace at any cost. Christian’s devotion to his daughter and his kindness toward Gilly give her hope that she could enjoy a future with him, for surely he of all men shares her loathing for violence in any form. Little does Gilly know, the battle for Christian’s heart is only beginning.

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The countess brought Christian’s hand up, holding the back of it against the extraordinary softness of her cheek. Until he’d taken liberties with her in the library, he’d forgotten how wonderfully, startlingly soft a woman’s cheek could be. As soft as sunshine and summer rain, as soft as the quiet of the English countryside.

“Shall we sit?” he asked, though she’d likely release his hand if they sat. He was a widower, though, and she ought not to begrudge him simple human contact when he’d been so recently bereaved.

She let him lead her to a shaded bench near the roses, the morning air faintly redolent of their perfume. When Christian seated her, the countess kept his damaged hand in hers.

“I was not allowed to garden at Greendale,” she said, fingers drifting over his knuckles. “The estate had gardens, because his lordship would not be seen to neglect his acres, but I was forbidden to walk them, or to dig about in the good English soil, or to consult with the gardeners regarding the designs and plantings.”

Based on the studied casualness of her tone, this prohibition had been irksome.

“You are free to garden here all you like,” Christian said. “I ask only that you not disturb my mother’s roses.”

“They are lovely.”

“She was lovely.”

Another silence, while Christian became aware of his surroundings beyond the small hand holding his. The roses were in their early summer glory, and why Polite Society insisted on staying in Town through most of June was incomprehensible, when the alternative was the English countryside. The sunshine was a perfectly weighted beneficence on his cheek, the scent of the gardens heavenly, and the entire morning aurally gilded with the fluting chorus of songbirds.

He wanted to kiss the lady beside him again, not in thanks, not as a good-night benediction, but for the sheer pleasure of the undertaking.

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New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Grace Burrowes’ bestsellers include The Heir, The Soldier, Lady Maggie’s Secret Scandal, Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish and Lady Eve’s Indiscretion. Her Regency romances have received extensive praise, including starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Grace is branching out into short stories and Scotland-set Victorian romance with Sourcebooks. She is a practicing family law attorney and lives in rural Maryland.