Cover Reveal: A Flawed Heart

Coming soon from April Emerson

a new adult erotic romance

from Secret Cravings Publishing

Cover by Jada D'Lee Designs

Release Date: July 21, 2014 on SCP with all buy links available July 29!

Claire Brighton has just finished college and is abandoning her warm, southern home in favor of gritty New York City. She searches for the perfect roommate and finds Lydia Taylor. Lydia lives a life of privilege in her father's penthouse, but like Claire, she's ready to go out into the world on her own. Claire and Lydia rent a little apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, not far from Lydia's older brother, Jason. Claire is intrigued by Lydia's stories of Jason, who is the black sheep of the family—and a musician. The minute Claire hears him sing, she falls for him. Claire thrives in her new urban surroundings, treasuring her time with Jason and exploring her new found sexuality, but both Claire and Jason carry shadows with them. They're each fighting to move on from wounds of their past, but they learn that they will need each other to do it.

Jason takes a sharp breath in, flicks his cigarette away and takes a step toward me. The intensity of his eye contact makes me apprehensive. I never talk about my daddy with anyone. I look down at my feet and Jason gently grabs and holds my wrist. The top of my head only reaches the base of his neck. I stare at his fresh tattoo. It’s black, white, and gray. It’s a Lilly with script around it. I can barely read it in the dim light but looking closer I see it says, ‘Never let go’. “The tattoo. It’s for your mother?” I whisper. Jason nods and leans down toward me. He presses his forehead against mine. The only sound is our breathing. I feel our pain in my chest. My heart is ripping open, and I want to comfort him and hold him and kiss him. I tilt my head back and look into Jason’s eyes. The current running between us is palpable. I part my lips and press them to his. The kiss is shy and tentative. His lips are so soft…they taste like beer and peppermint, and they’re warm and strong against mine. I realize how brazen I’m being and pull away. As I move back, Jason’s grip on me tightens and he places his hand on the small of my back so I can’t step away. I smile and kiss him again. This time he presses my body to his and work his lips over mine, at first gentle and then rough. He lets go of my wrist and I’m free to touch his body. I place one hand over his heart and the other reaches up to touch his hair. He moans, grips my neck, and tilts my chin up with his thumb. The kiss becomes more desperate, more filled with desire—and warmth spreads through my body. He backs up against the wall and begins to kiss my neck. He tangles his hands in my hair. I take this opportunity to breathe, but he kisses me again as he slides his hand down to my ass. I wrap one leg around his, craving more contact, wanting to ease the ache I’m feeling. He gets hard as my body rubs against his. He moans as I grind up against him and kisses me harder. I move my mouth to his shoulder and nibble at his flesh. I’ve never felt more aroused or been this forward. I feel as though I could kiss him every day and never tire of the way our mouths and bodies fit together. His grip tightens, and I know he must be feeling it, too. “You’re so beautiful. You feel so good.” He knots his fingers in my hair and kisses me again. Just then, I hear the worst possible sound. The emergency door opens and Ben is standing there.

   

April Emerson moved to New York City after graduating from college with a degree in literature. As a nature lover, living in the city was a culture shock, but she soon began to enjoy being surrounded by so much energy. Submerged in perpetual crowds, April developed a fondness for people watching, which inspired her to start writing. Drawn to both the light and dark of humanity, she strives to tell sexy and romantic stories with exquisitely complex characters. When she isn’t writing, she loves listening to music or reading a good book while enjoyinga glass of wine.

You can find her at aprilemerson.com

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            Be sure to check out April's other books!

Purchase a signed copy here

   

Review: The Land of the Shadow

Title: The Land of the Shadow (The End of All Things #2)
Author: Lissa Bryan
Publication Date: August 21, 2014
Source: Publisher
Summary (from Goodreads): In the highly anticipated stand-alone sequel to The End of All Things, Lissa Bryan returns readers to a world devastated by disease, and the breakdown of modern society.

Two years after a horrific virus swept the globe, decimating the world’s population, Carly Daniels and her husband, Justin, have made a safe home in the isolated southern town of Colby. Protected by fences and a vigilant population, the residents there had somehow managed to keep the Infection out. Until the sight of Carly and Justin’s healthy baby girl convinced them it was safe to allow Outsiders in.

Now, in the wake of fresh losses, the small band of survivors struggles to rebuild a community. With only nineteenth-century technology to aid them, they must learn skills long forgotten to provide for their basic needs. Each day brings new challenges, and every choice they make affects their long-term survival. While Carly and Justin adjust to a growing family, and to their roles as community leaders, they must rely on one another for strength and support when they face difficult questions.

Carly has to decide how to move forward in a world where equality, justice, and freedom from tyranny are no longer guaranteed. And when new threats emerge, she has to decide what she is willing to do—and how far she’s willing to go—to protect what she has worked so hard to build.

When the end has come and gone, it’s a journey down a long and broken road through The Land of the Shadow.

Anyone who read my review of The End of All Things knows I loved the first book in this series. Lissa Bryan is a very talented story teller and has a way of pulling the reader in and making them care about her characters in a way I’m sure she does as well.

I was really looking forward to this one. Justin and Carly where just one of those couples I could never really forget about so I was excited to see where their journey had taken them.

The Land of the Shadow takes place a couple of months where we left off in the first book. Justin and Carly and their daughter have settled into Colby, have become the leaders of the community and adoptive parents to one of the orphaned.

Their way of life isn’t easy but they’re managing to survive and we’re shown just how much work they’ve put into putting a life back together through-out the first half of the book. You can definitely tell how much research Bryan put into her novels and this was no exception. The characters in this series have to basically go back to living during the pioneer days for the most part and with every challenge they meet I can picture the scene so clearly because of Bryan’s thorough writing.

Like I said, the first half of the book is basically catching us up on what has gone on the past few months, what they have to do to survive, etc. It isn’t until about half way where things start to get intense, new characters are introduced and Justin and Carly, along with the rest of their community, have to decide just how far their willing to go to protect what little they have.

Justin is the same strong, take charge character he was in the first book. He’s no bullshit attitude and realistic views are what has gotten everyone so far and kept them alive, in my opinion.

Carly…while she’s still the strong woman she was in the first novel I don’t believe she’s as hard as she should be to live in the world they now do. In some parts she seemed almost naïve in the way she thought or acted—particularly when it came to the Infected.  She’s soft-hearted, and while that isn’t a bad thing and is a feature to be endeared, it’s not the attitude she needs to survive in this new world.

That being said she does come through and when needed with that “cut throat” attitude.

I can’t wait for the third installment of this series. The cliff-hanger is terribly mean—in such a good way!

                                 

Cover Reveal: As Darkness Gathers

PRESENTS. . .

A Cover Reveal

for

As Darkness Gathers

by Emma Elliot

Release Date: September 9, 2014

Published by The Writers Coffee Shop

When their plane goes down in the Canadian wilderness, Finch Rhodes’ and Clay Gandy’s lives become entwined. Together they face the unforgiving elements of unfamiliar terrain in winter, wild animals, raging rivers, and their own growing weakness from hunger, shock, and exposure. With their lives at stake as well as the lives of those depending on them to find help, Finch and Clay are forced to rely on one another, and they forge a bond that lasts even after they are rescued. Finch’s struggles to adjust to normal life upon returning home are hindered by her broken engagement, her friend’s disapproval of her friendship with Clay, her parents’ marital issues, and her brother’s uncharacteristic belligerence and suspicious request. And by the seemingly harmless mishaps that soon escalate into brutal attacks. After she is injured, Finch once again comes to rely on Clay. But as the connection between them deepens, the threat against her grows. With her life in jeopardy and danger blurring the lines between friend and foe, Finch must decide if those she loves are the ones she can trust, or if the greatest peril lurks closer to home than she could have ever imagined.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” I said, “the captain has advised me we’ll be making a precautionary landing.” The elderly woman started sobbing. The front of the plane yawed back and forth, the movement sharp, bouncing, and disorienting. When I glanced out the window, we were just breaking through the cloud cover, and the forested ground was rushing closer. I pointed out the exits and the escape path lighting, and then explained the brace position of crossing their arms, placing them on the seatback in front of them, and resting their foreheads on their wrists. “I’ll help you if you need me to,” said the man in 1A. I swallowed and felt the hot press of tears. “If I’m unable to, make sure it’s safe to open the door, and then get everyone out and away.” “I’ll do it. And I won’t leave you behind.” The plane groaned, the yawing becoming violent. We swayed back and forth so forcefully that I had to hold on to my shoulder harness to avoid being pitched sideways. The father and son yelled apologies and I love yous at one another. The elderly woman continued weeping. A businessman recited a Hail Mary. My lips trembled and I pressed them tightly together. “What’s your name?” I asked 1A. With a rumble, the landing gear extended. His eyes were blue, I realized. “Clay. Clay Gandy.” Clay in 1A. I almost laughed at the rhyme, but then the captain shouted, “Brace, brace, brace!” I repeated the command over and over until my voice was hoarse. I wanted to close my eyes but found I couldn’t. The plane jarred with the sound of snapping, the movement so wrenching it felt as if someone were trying to yank my bones from within my skin. We whipped to one side so quickly my neck cracked and my vision swam. Dark shadows rushed by the windows, and the splintering sound escalated. We hit the ground with such force the oxygen masks fell from the panels above the seats and the overhead bins burst open and spilled luggage into the aisle. Both passengers and metal screamed. There was a horrific grinding as the plane shuddered and bucked. Then the world exploded.

Emma Elliot first developed a love of suspense when she was six years old. She was hiding from her cousins and sister in a closet in her grandmother's house when she discovered a passageway, though not so secret, linking to another closet. She stumbled upon a stack of worn Bobbsey Twins mysteries in that seeming labyrinth, and she spent much of her childhood there, by choice, reading mystery novels by flashlight. Her love of reading and writing grew simultaneously. Soon she was creating her own variations of the stories she read and penning her own tales. Through bouts of working as a tutor, an editor, an apple- and peach-picker, a waitress, a dog walker, a nanny, a retail associate, and a reservationist at a ski resort, writing has remained her passion. She currently lives on the eastern seaboard and considers herself a wandering homebody. She travels often for work, which provides fodder for the imagination and plentiful hours to write her next novel while sitting in airports.  

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Review: Autumn Getaway

 

Title: Autumn Getaway (Seaons of Love, #1)
Author: Jennifer Gracen
Publication Date: March 27, 2014
Source: Booktrope Publishing
Summary (from Goodreads): Author Jennifer Gracen brings together a colorful cast of friends and family in Book One of the Seasons of Love series, AUTUMN GETAWAY. Newly divorced mom Lydia is just getting back on her feet. Her college roommate’s wedding promises a much-needed getaway weekend with old friends, at a beautiful manor in Connecticut. When she meets Sam, a handsome friend of the groom, she's nearly overwhelmed by a confusing mix of hope and trepidation. Their instant connection feels intensely real, to both of them, but the ink is barely dry on her divorce decree. It takes all her nerve, and more than a little prodding from her girlfriends, to convince Lydia to give her heart - and Sam - a chance. But when the magical weekend comes to a close, Sam must return to Chicago, while Lydia heads back to her complicated life and young son in New York. Can their newfound connection survive the trials of physical distance and years of emotional baggage?

Autumn Getaway is really a very sweet story about coping with loss, moving forward and finding love again.

I’ve always loved weddings. They’re just so full of love and promises of happily ever after—every girl’s dream, right? Just watching two people stand in front of their family and friends committing themselves to one another…well it’s a beautiful thing—made even better if the happy couple is gracious enough to host an open bar. Plus, scoping out the groomsmen and hot single men is definitely fun too.

I think anyone who has been through a divorce, or even a really horrible break up, because let’s face it, just because there might not have been an exchange of vows or rings doesn’t mean the relationship wasn’t any less real, can identify with Lydia’s character.

It’s scary to put yourself back out there after something has fallen apart—whether the breakup was your idea or not. Being able to put trust into another person again isn’t an easy thing to do, especially when you have other people to consider like Lydia did with her son.

The author just made this character so relatable, from her feelings of apprehension towards men, to the problems she had with her ex-husband, and even the issues she had with her son. I love that this was more of a “mature” audience book. And by that I mean it was about a character in her late 30’s who was starting over, not some 20-something. So many books that I’ve read are about the 20-somethings, it’s as if once we reach 30 and are single any potential of finding love and happiness has gone out the window—even in books!

The only thing that I had an issue with was the repetitiveness of Lydia’s divorce. Everyone that was close to Sam (the hero) had an issue with this and the same things were being said over and over again. And c’mon, it’s a freaking divorce, people! Half of marriages end in them. If everyone stopped dating divorced people, well there would soon be a lot of lonely beds out there. It just sort of irritated me how Sam’s family made it seem so much bigger than it actually was, like it was murder rather than the end of a marriage.

But that’s really the only problem I had. And I loved, absolutely loved, Lydia’s close group of friends. Especially Donna. She reminded me so much of my own friends with her opinions and no bullshit attitude and dirty comments. She was awesome. And drunk Kathryn? Adorable!

If you’re looking for a sweet read pick yourself up a copy of Autumn Getaway.