Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Valentine's Day Book Blitz: Cursed By the Fountain of Youth



Holly Kelly is a mom who writes books in her spare time: translation--she hides in the bathroom with her laptop and locks the door while the kids destroy the house and smear peanut butter on the walls. She was born in Utah but moved around a bit, living in Kansas, Texas, and Hawaii where she studied marine biology. She's now back in Utah--"happy valley". She's married to a wonderful husband, James, and they are currently raising 6 rambunctious children. Her interests are reading, writing (or course), martial arts, visual arts, creating Halloween props, and spending time with family.


For centuries, countless adventurers have searched for the Fountain of Youth. Those who found it thought they would gain eternal life. Instead, they find themselves murdered by its guardians. There was, however, one, lone survivor—Fae Miller. As an infant, she not only survived the Fountain, she took its power.

Twenty-two years later, Fae is hiding in plain sight at a local college. She’s is determined to leave the past behind her and live a normal life. But for one dying man, the search for the Fountain of Youth continues, and he is leaving a trail of blood and mutilated bodies in his wake. Unfortunately, that trail leads directly to Fae. Her only hope is a young, new college professor, also known as Special Agent Nick Chase of the FBI. Nick is determined to do two things: keep Fae alive, and keep his relationship with his student professional. Both of these jobs prove difficult—especially when love and magic get involved.
 Snippet:

Brigitte inched around the tree and stepped into the scene. Swallowing bile, she crept forward. The young mother lay on her back at the water’s edge. Blinking back tears, she leaned over to see the woman’s face. She didn’t know what she’d find. She’d never seen a dead person before, but she didn’t expect the expression she found. She looked at peace.
“Why did you fight so hard to protect your baby, and then toss her into the water to drown?” Brigitte looked back at the glassy-smooth surface of the water. That poor child floated down there somewhere—probably dead by now.
She sighed. Her heart felt like lead in her chest.
She turned away and started back toward camp. Just as she reached the edge of the trees, she heard the most curious thing—the sound of a baby crying.
https://www.amazon.ca/Cursed-Fountain-Unnatural-States-America-ebook/dp/B01MU3XQKK/
https://www.amazon.com.au/Cursed-Fountain-Unnatural-States-America-ebook/dp/B01MU3XQKK/

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Valentine's Day Book Blitz: The Duchess


Writes whatever strikes her fancy: Contemporary Romance, YA fantasy, Picture Books, Non-Fiction, blog posts and anything else that requires pen and paper. She works at an elementary school as a reading tutor teaching children to love reading as much as she does. She’s married to a wonderful man and her four greatest accomplishments expect her to cook them dinner and tuck them in at night.


Katie Murphy is the manager of overnight pop sensation, Duchess, whose biggest gimmick is that no one knows her true identity. Katie’s job is to keep this secret no matter the cost. When Duchess agrees to perform in a benefit concert for wounded veterans, Katie gets more than she bargained for when she meets Chase.

Carter Chase went from being a soldier in the Army to volunteering at Veterans’ Aid. The charity helped him through a dark time and he would do anything for them, including help plan a benefit concert. But when he finds out the main act is Duchess, the British pop diva who makes fun of America, he is ready to bail out—until he meets Duchess’s manager, Katie Murphy.

As they work together, Chase soon becomes a risk to Duchess’s true identity . . . and also to Katie’s heart.
 Snippet:

“Du-chess! Du-chess! Du-chess!” The chanting washed over her like a warm wave. The adulation of the audience enthralled her in a way nothing else ever could.
            After taking a swig of water, she patted her perspiring brow with a towel, careful not to scrub off her makeup or disturb the wig. The tall, white-powdered monstrosity sat atop her head like soft-serve ice cream balancing precariously on a cone. To say it was awkward was an understatement of epic proportions. The platform shoes and big, bulky dress were no picnic either, but Duchess knew what the people wanted, and she would go to any lengths to give it to them.
            She had to—a life depended on it.
Plastering on a smile, Duchess waited for the fog machines to send out misty fingers and then swept onto the stage for her encore.
“Dahlings, dahlings, dahlings! Your Duchess is back!” The lights of the stage, the smell of the fog, and the screaming of the fans lit something inside her every time. Duchess basked in the glow. “Are you ready to dance?”
The response was deafening, and she fed off the energy. She waited for the fog to mask the wires attached to the hidden belt inside her dress. As the first few notes of her new single floated from the back of the stage out to the screaming audience, a real smile lifted the corner of her mouth. This was her audience, and they were under her spell.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Duchess-Nikki-Wilson-ebook/dp/B01DK0Q906
https://www.amazon.ca/Duchess-Nikki-Wilson-ebook/dp/B01DK0Q906
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Valentine's Day Book Blitz: Little Thief



Bonnie Valach Frazier was born in McDowell County, West Virginia. She completed her B.S. English Education 5-12 at Concord College (now University), and her M.Ed. TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from Grand Canyon University. She also studied at Radford University and Virginia Tech. She has taught Kindergarten through college, and loves working with young people. Bonnie is the mother of eight, grandmother of three. She lives with her husband and five children in Virginia. 


When Judge Carter gives Emma Greenwood one more chance by assigning community service, she thinks it's just one more card against her, cards like abandonment, foster care, and the thief trap she's in. Little does she know that there is more to her assignment that meets the eye, more like the mysterious old lady, Rose, who acts senile in front of her looming caregiver, but cleverly sane to Emma. As Rose's secrets unfold, so do Emma's. And now with friendship, love, and life on the line, Emma must decide if she is willing to be that Little Thief again.

 Snippet:

We all piled into the theater, Jahvonee made sure he was next to Tasha.  She giggled while he compared the weather in Virginia to that in the islands.  I took and end seat.  Jason filled the seat next to me.  Why did he ave to smell so amazing?  He nudged me with his elbow.  "You want some popcorn?"

"No.  I'm ok. But I think I'll go grab a Sprite."  I started to stand.  He grabbed my hand and helped me up.  Why did his hand have to feel so amazing?

He didn't let go of my hand as we walked to concessions.  "How come I haven't seen you around here before?"

"We don't come over here much."

"Yeah.  Most people just go to the big cinemas." He naviaged me through incoming viewers by pulling me closer to him. Why didn he have to make me feel so amazing?

I stopped just outside the door.  "I hope you take this as a compliment, because there aren't many people I have ever said this to, but I'm not going to lie to you." (pg 87)
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Valentine Book Blitz: Southern Charmed

Melanie Bennett Jacobson is an avid reader, amateur cook, and champion shopper. She lives in Southern California with her husband and children and a series of doomed houseplants, and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in writing for children and young adults.



Lila Mae Guidry is a Southern girl through and through. As a fourth-generation Latter-day Saint in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she's proud of her heritage as both a Southerner and a Saint—and she doesn't take kindly to people who disparage either. Ten years ago, Max Archer was just that kind of jerk. As the mission president's son, Max spent his entire three years mocking the South . . . and teenage Lila. After Max's family moved away, Lila forgot about her sworn enemy. Almost.
When a new job brings a grown-up Max back to Baton Rouge, Lila is less than thrilled with his reappearance, especially since everyone seems intent on throwing her together with this old adversary. Yet fight as she may, Lila soon realizes resistance is futile—their connection is undeniable. Max embodies everything she wants in a man—except perhaps the most important thing her life is rooted in the city she loves, but his dreams are bigger than Baton Rouge. With such mismatched visions of the future, Max and Lila are faced with a life-altering decision: jeopardize their aspirations or risk losing love.

 Snippet:

He had been an annoyingly good-looking teenager, and he’d grown into a sexy man. He was a half foot taller than when he’d moved away, and the skinny boy I remembered had become a sculpted piece of eye candy with broad shoulders, a strong jaw, and Ian Somerhalder cheekbones. The mess of black curls on his head had been tamed into a well-groomed haircut. If it weren’t for his eyes, I might not have recognized him.
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Friday, February 3, 2017

Valentine Book Blitz, Day 5: The Soulstealer's Child

Brandon Gray is the pen name of Braden Bell (Brandon writes YA fiction; Braden writes for middle grades). Braden holds a Ph.D. from New York University. He and his family live on a quiet, wooded lot in Tennessee, where he teaches middle school theatre and music. An experienced performer, Braden enjoys reading, gardening, and long summer afternoons writing in his hammock. His most notable skill is being able to eat a full rack of BBQ ribs with one hand on long drives.
When soul-eating demons overrun his world, Kaelis, a young seraph warrior, uses the Queen’s ring to open a portal in space and flee with the infant heir to the throne, landing on earth. Unbeknownst to him, the demon leader, Nsark, follows through the portal, determined to devour the soul of every last seraph, especially the Queen’s heir. After Kaelis hides the baby, Nsark creates the ultimate weapon by fathering a half-human, half-demon: a soul-stealer’s child. 

Sixteen years later, an awkward teen named James struggles to fit in with his peers. In a last-ditch effort, he joins the school play, where he meets Lucy. Something deep draws them together, and their friendship reveals their hidden pasts: one is an angel, one is half-demon. Lucy and James find themselves pulled into an age-old war between their peoples. Hunted by relentless enemies, and grappling with deep-seated instincts and strange new powers, they must fight for their lives, their souls, and each other.

Snippet:


James looked down at Lucinda’s head resting against his shoulder, her long tresses streaming down his arm and chest like a river of frozen fire. Her small shoulders rose and fell with each breath, but beyond that, she didn’t move. She looked like a sleeping angel fallen to the earth, and he had to fight the sudden urge to touch her hair. How it would feel to let his fingers run riot through those soft strands? 
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Thursday, February 2, 2017

Valentine Book Blitz, Day 4: Teapots and Treachery

My apologies.  For some reason this didn't go up on the 2nd as it was meant to and I didn't check until I was setting up the one for the 3rd.

This book is actually a pair of novellas and I got to become familiar with it earlier this year, so I hope you look into it further.

Award-winning author, wife, mother, grandmother, Harry Potter geek, Army veteran, karate black belt, and online gamer girl.
A Savage Ghost
Lia Savage reluctantly puts her dream of opening a dessert boutique on hold to help her dad remodel a castle he’s inherited in Washington State. Soon, a specter targets her younger sister.

Lia enlists the help of strapping Coop Montgomery, the head gardener and her former crush. As they search together for a way to rid the castle of its ghost, the romance she used to dream about with Coop kindles. 

But Lia’s gentle giant means to stay in Washington while she’s determined to return to California. She must find the courage to face both the ghost and her future.

With Coop. Or without him.

Waves of Deceit
Twenty-six-year-old Shelby Nash wants to break free of her controlling, billionaire father. With the completion of one more project for his company, she can branch out on her own. However, her ex-boyfriend’s been appointed as the new lead architect. She has to find a way to protect her heart from him while avoiding whoever’s making anonymous threats.

Wade Masters did a poor job handling the news about the identity of his girlfriend’s father. Shelby walked out of his life without another word. Finally, four years later, Wade has a chance to win her back. As long as whoever’s targeted her doesn’t get her first.
Snippet From Waves of Deceit:

She tried to ignore Wade beside her. He wore her favorite cologne, the one she had first introduced him to. During the meeting, she’d managed to ignore it, but now ... It brought back so many memories. She’d liked the fragrance well enough at the mall, but when he’d put it on, he’d brought his own something to the smell.

Her pulse quickened at the memory. Irritated, she tried to analyze her reaction to the smell, thinking of the science behind it, of the molecules of the fragrance responding to a person’s skin and hormones, the complex mixture of all those chemicals—water, fat, acids, sugars, salts, proteins ...

What she really wanted was to snuggle against his neck and breathe him in.

Shelby leaned away from him, as far as she could, and rested her cheek in her palm. Didn’t she hate him? Hadn’t she told herself that over and over again for years? He’d rejected her because of who her father was. Like she had any control over that. It was absolutely ridiculous to still respond to him in this way. It made her feel weak, a simpleton who let hormones control her. She wouldn’t do it.

From the side, she sensed movement from him, and a whiff of his cologne hit her again. Was he doing that on purpose? She straightened, prepared to say something. He sat with his laptop open, earbuds already in his ears. He glanced at her and pulled out a bud.

“Sorry, is that blowing on you?” Wade reached up, shifted the air vent a little, and returned the earbud. He leaned over his computer, like he’d already forgotten her.

Shelby pulled the dagger from her heart. All these years she’d grieved the death of their love, vilified him, and agonized over what they might have had. Apparently, he hadn’t even given her a second thought.

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Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Valentine Book Blitz, Day 3: Courting the Countess

Welcome back to the Book Blitz!  Today, we alliteratively get around to Courting the Countess.  Read about it below!


Donna Hatch, author of the best-selling “Rogue Hearts Series,” is a hopeless romantic and adventurer at heart, the force that drove her to write and publish seventeen historical romance titles, to date. She is a multi-award winner, a sought-after workshop presenter, and juggles multiple volunteer positions as well as her six children. Also a music lover, she sings and plays the harp, and she loves to ballroom dance. She and her family recently transplanted from her native Arizona to the Pacific Northwest where she and her husband of over twenty years are living proof that there really is a happily ever after.


When charming rake Tristan Barrett sweeps Lady Elizabeth off her feet, stealing both her heart and a kiss in a secluded garden, her brother challenges Tristan to a duel. 

The only way to save her brother and Tristan from harm—not to mention preserve her reputation—is to get married. But her father refuses to allow his daughter to marry anyone but a titled lord. He demands that Elizabeth marry Tristan’s older brother, Richard, the Earl of Averston. 

Now Elizabeth must give up Tristan to marry Richard, a man who loves another, a man she’ll never love. 

Snippet:

Moving slowly, as if trying not to frighten off a wild bird, he took her hand. He stepped closer, enfolding her hand inside both of his.
“Come.” He led her to an adjoining room and closed the door.
Stillness enfolded them. Richard brought one of Elizabeth’s hands into his chest and smiled down at her with tenderness shining in his eyes. With slow, deliberate movements, he tugged at each fingertip to loosen her evening glove and slid it off her arm. He lowered his head and kissed the back of her hand. His breath, warm and moist, caressed her skin. And his lips. Oh, his lips were so soft. So gentle. The last of her fears scattered as he kissed first her hand, then each finger. He turned over her hand and pressed his lips to her fingers, her palm, her wrist. Pleasure glided along her skin in unexpected sensuality. Her heart thumped and heat built inside. She inhaled his masculine scent and stepped closer. He kissed her palm again before wrapping his fingers around it. Warmth shone in his eyes as he raised his other hand to her face. He traced the curve of her jaw and brushed the back of his fingers across her cheek, up and down.
“Soft. Beautiful.” Tenderness was joined by intensity. “I will never give you cause to fear me, sweet Elizabeth. I count myself fortunate that we shall wed on the morrow. Any man would be proud to have you as his bride.”
She’d only ever dreamed of a man saying such lovely words to her and touching her with such gentleness. Light filled the dark places inside, bringing hope and belonging. Tears rose up and spilled down her cheeks.
He carefully wiped the moisture away with the pad of his thumb, tracing her cheek again. “I hope those aren’t tears of sadness.”
She let out a half sob, half laugh. “No, indeed. Your words mean much to me, my lor…Richard.”
He kissed her hand again. “Ah. A good sign. You give me hope. I’d like to enjoy the pleasure of your company more, but I suppose, sadly, we ought to return to our guests now.”
Speechless at the warmth tumbling over her, she nodded.
Richard. A knight in a gentleman’s clothing. 



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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2072970.Donna_Hatch
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