Archives

All posts for the month July, 2014

BLOG TOUR REVIEW: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover @colleenhoover @TheHotBed

Posted by Four Brits And A Book on July 31, 2014

Posted in: Blog Tour, Jo, Review. Leave a comment

Ugly Love
Colleen Hoover
Release date – 5th August, 2014
Blog tour host – The Hot Bed

Synopsis –
When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.

Goodreads

My review –
Woah now.

What happened there?

Colleen is my go-to writer. I don’t even need to read the synopsis to one-click that book. Ugly Love was a no-brainer. Forget sleep, forget dinner, forget the family – just read.

I stayed up until 2am because I HAD to finish this book. From the beginning and subsequently page after page, I got more involved and more immersed into the story of Miles and Tate. Having read all of Colleen Hoover’s work to date and loving each and every one of them, I knew this one would be no different. Her writing style is unique and second to none when it comes to an original story. You may think that due to her known flair of twisting a story around until it uncoils and hits you square in the face you can prepare for it but nothing readied me for the heart breaking, soul shaking moments in this book. Life can’t be that cruel, surely. Brace yourselves, another Original CoHo Special coming through. And this time, there were TEARS!

“God gives us the ugliness so we don’t take the beautiful things in life for granted.”

We have two different perspectives and two different points of view in Ugly Love. The past being from Miles Archer’s POV and the present being from Tate Collins’. We see Miles as a love struck 18 year-old on the cusp of adulthood about to start Pilot School yet making grown up decisions and seeing the world through young eyes. We follow his past story throughout Ugly Love and learn his reasons for being as he is in the present time. Graduate nurse, Tate gives us her voice and insight into the ‘now’ events between her and Miles. We see how she tries to understand him, his rules yet still push to break them and break into his heart and steal it the way he so easily captured hers.

“Love isn’t always pretty, Tate. Sometimes you spend all your time hoping it’ll eventually be something different. Something better. Then, before you know it, you’re back to square one, and you lost your heart somewhere along the way.”

It’s not an easy time for the two of them. With Miles’ apparent ignorance to their situation and Tate seemingly fighting for what is just a one-sided love they endure heated moments including sharing hurtful words and the most carnal of acts performed with such rawness that the pages almost burn from the intensity of the moment.

“I’m so terrified to lose him for good, so I sell myself short and take what I can from him, even though I know I deserve better.”

Ugly Love is unlike any of Colleen’s works in the sense that is a more mature and “adult” book but it no way deflected from the classic Hoover writing we know and love so well. The story has been written with such talent that even their “just sex” scenes were written with the care they deserved. She proves that the right words can be said without being too intense in order to get a point across.

“If I were capable of loving someone…it would be you.”

5 heart pounding, Miles High Club, stars!

EDIT: And the US book cover – *bursts into tears on sight*

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Purchase links –
Amazon UK
Amazon US

Connect with the author –
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

SNEAK PEEK: All For This (Here and Now #3) by Lexi Ryan @writerlexiryan

Posted by Four Brits And A Book on July 29, 2014

Posted in: Countdown, Jo, Sneak Peek. Leave a comment

Releasing August 4, 2014

New Adult Contemporary Romance

Pre-order NOW

**ALL FOR THIS is book three in the Here and Now series. It is not a stand-alone and it’s intended to be read after LOST IN ME and FALL TO YOU.**

What if you would never remember the day you made the most important decision of your life?

That’s what they’re telling me about the day of my accident—the day I put on Max’s ring and chose him over Nate. I’m counting on the wisdom behind a decision I don’t remember making.

Max is amazing—sexy, sweet, and kind. I was starting to believe happily-ever-after might be in my future after all. Then the unthinkable happened and my world imploded. If I’m going to make this work with Max, I need my missing memories, or at least answers from about those five days before my accident.

But what does my future hold if those answers aren’t anything like I imagined?

The following excerpt from ALL FOR THIS by its very nature contains spoilers for the first two books in the Here and Now series, LOST IN ME and FALL TO YOU. If you hate spoilers and haven’t read the first two books, I recommend you don’t read any further.

EXCERPT:

Max

“How are you holding up? Did it go okay with Nate last night?”

She stiffens at his name. “He asked me to move to LA.”

Of course he did. “And what did you say?”

She blinks at me. “I’m not leaving New Hope. This is my home.”

“He wanted more than for you to move to LA.” I take a step closer. I need to touch her. I wonder if she knows she’s pulling away from me, if she can feel it like I can. It’s as if we’re connected by a thousand little threads like those in a woven rug and they’ve been breaking one at a time since the moment Nate came back into town. With every breath, I feel another thread snap. “He wanted you.”

She shrugs. “I’m already taken.”

I draw in a deep breath. She lifts her hand to my face and skims her fingers along my jaw.

I groan softly and slide my hand into her hair as I lower my mouth to hers. She’s soft and sweet, and I need more of her.

Taking a fistful of her skirt, I yank her dress up around her waist and find the cotton of her panties. She gasps, and I rub her through the fabric as her fingers curl into my back. My lips find her neck and the skin in the sensitive juncture of neck and shoulder.

“Max,” she says. But it’s not the normal breathy, needy whispering of my name. The word is a warning. A yield sign. “Max.”

My hand stills and I pull back to look into her eyes. I’m blindsided by the apology I see there. “Let’s move in together.”

“What?” She blinks at me. If she’s thinking I have the world’s worst timing with important proposals, she’s not wrong.

“We could rent out our apartments and use the money to rent a little place together. Someplace without those stairs that scare the living shit out of me every time I think of you climbing them. Someplace we can make our own.” I take her hand and squeeze. “You didn’t want to move in together last spring because you knew your mom would flip if you lived with a guy before marriage, but we’re not trying to maintain appearances anymore, are we?” She looks at the floor, and I tilt her chin back up so her eyes meet mine. “I could give two shits about appearances. I want to wake up with you in my arms, Hanna. I want to know I’m going to be right there when you need me, every time you need me. You and Claire are all that matter in my world. I want everything that matters to be what I come home to every night.”

“I’m sorry.” She steps back. “I just can’t. I’m too confused right now.”

My lungs burn as I fill them—it hurts to breathe in a world where Hanna isn’t mine.

“I know it’s not fair. And I want a future with you, but…”

“But you can’t stop thinking about him.”

“I can’t move in with you right now,” she says softly. “That wouldn’t be fair to either of us. It’s not that simple.”

“You keep saying that.”

I swallow back the rest of what I want to say right along with my anger, frustration, and the betrayal I’ve never allowed myself to feel. While I was waiting for her to take my ring, she was with another man, and I was never allowed to be angry because that man died and she needed to grieve.

I drag a hand through my hair and look at the ceiling. “Was it that simple when you made love to him?”

“Can we not do this?”

Torment is etched across her face, and I can’t stand to know I’m the one who put it there. I pull her against my chest.

“I won’t rush you, but remember something for me,” I whisper into her hair. “You put on my ring.”

About the Author

Once a college English professor, I now write full time. I live in rural Indiana, where, when I’m not writing, I get to hang out with my husband and two kids–a six-year-old boy and a two-year-old hellion, er, girl. Not surprisingly, reading and writing remain my favorite activities, though both come in bits and pieces these days, not the big hunks of time I enjoyed before I had children. When I’m feeling virtuous, I like to go running (I use that word liberally. I’m really, really slow) or do yoga. Don’t worry, I’m always careful to balance out such activities with a hearty serving of ice cream or a chocolate martini.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

REVIEW: Loving Cara (Love Under The Big Sky #1) by Kristen Proby @Handbagjunkie

Posted by Four Brits And A Book on July 29, 2014

Posted in: Jo, Review. Leave a comment

Loving Cara (Love Under The Big Sky #1) by Kristen Proby

Synopsis –
In this new Love Under the Big Sky series from a USA TODAY bestselling author, Cara agrees to tutor her former classmate’s nephew—and learns some lessons in love!

Josh King is an expert at running his family’s multi-million dollar ranch in Montana. (And all that outside manual labor has done wonders for sculpting his six-foot-three body, too.) But as sure footed as he is when it comes to the ranch, Josh doesn’t know anything about how to deal with an adolescent boy—so when his twelve-year-old nephew, Seth, is dropped off on his doorstep, looking scared and acting surly as hell, Josh knows he needs help in straightening him out.

Cara Donovan loves her quiet life as a teacher in her sleepy hometown, so she jumps at the chance to make a little money over the summer as a tutor. But when she learns she’ll be teaching Josh King’s nephew, Cara’s sweet summer job gets a little bit hotter. Cara tries to focus all her attention on tutoring Seth, but Josh proves to be a delicious distraction, while Josh’s memories of the shy girl he once teased in high school are nothing like the beautiful woman he’s facing now. Can he persuade her that there’s more between them than a summer fling?

Goodreads

My review –
Kristen Proby knows how to write!

She is perfect at writing HOT guys! She is amazing at writing a gripping storyline! She is supreme at writing your sweet, typical, insta-love story with a twist or two thrown in there for good measure kind of books!

I have read a lot of her books and devoured each one. This book, the first in a new series, is no different!

It didn’t take me long to attach myself to the story and engross myself completely into the lives and loves of Josh King and Cara Donovan.

They grew up together but didn’t really stay in touch despite both living and working in the same, small area of Montana. Their paths cross soon into the story and we are thrown head first into their relationship and I gobbled up every page! The story flowed seamlessly and I enjoyed reading the book from dual perspectives. It’s always good to get inside the head of the alpha male!!

Cara shows tough love and her inner strength is tested to the limits and Josh was there to be her knight in shining armour when she needed him the most. This catapulted them into their relationship and by the looks of things, it was a blessing in disguise. I loved their banter and the whole story was one big heart warming moment.

I read the book within a day and experienced many emotions. I felt sad for the back story to Josh’s nephew, Seth who was an integral part to the reunion of Cara and Josh and continued to be a constant feature in the story. I adored how Cara dealt with Seth and his problems and cried alongside the whole King family when things came to a head.

The conclusion to the story brought everything together perfectly and I am still smiling thinking about it 🙂

Thank you Kristen for another sweet and loving story; perfect for an afternoon read when you don’t want anything too dark or heavy!

My rating –
4 out of 5

Purchase links –
Amazon UK
Amazon US

Connect with Kristen –
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

RELEASE BLITZ: Lead (Stage Dive #3) by Kylie Scott @KylieScottbooks

Posted by Four Brits And A Book on July 29, 2014

Posted in: Jo, Release Day. Tagged: Kylie Scott, Rock Star, Stage Dive. Leave a comment

Stay up all night with the sexy rockers in Stage Dive, the epic New Adult series from New York Times bestselling author Kylie Scott, author of Lick and Play.

About Lead (Stage Drive #3):

As the lead singer of Stage Dive, Jimmy is used to getting whatever he wants, whenever he wants it, whether it’s booze, drugs, or women. However, when a PR disaster serves as a wake-up call about his life and lands him in rehab, he finds himself with Lena, a new assistant to keep him out of trouble.

Lena’s not willing to take any crap from the sexy rocker and is determined to keep their relationship completely professional, despite their sizzling chemistry. But when Jimmy pushes her too far and Lena leaves, he realizes that he may just have lost the best thing that ever happened to him.

Amazon // B&N // iTunes

The Stage Dive series by Kylie Scott:

Lick (Stage Dive #1): Amazon / B&N / Goodreads

Play (Stage Dive #2): Amazon / B&N / Goodreads

Deep (Stage Dive #4) available on January 6th, 2015: Amazon / B&N /Goodreads

Check out more of Kylie’s work:

The Flesh series

Colonist’s Wife

Heart’s A Mess

Excerpt:

“Lena, you seen my old black Led Zep shirt?”

“Nope.”

“You sure?” His brows became one dark cranky line. The scratches on his face were healing well, thank goodness. Though it didn’t reduce my desire to throttle his mother on a daily basis.

“Yes. I haven’t seen it.”

Can’t find it anywhere…”

“And this is a surprise, how?” I slipped my hands into my back jean’s pockets. “Jimmy, you own more clothing than Cher, Brittney, and Elvis, put together. Things are bound to go missing.”

“Sure you haven’t seen it?”

“For goodness sake, what do you think, Jimmy? That I stole it to sleep in or something?” I laughed bitterly. Sure as hell, the truth deserved a good mocking. I’d sunk so despicably low.

I hadn’t even meant to steal the stupid thing, but the shirt had been mixed up with my laundry a few days ago. It’d been the first top I laid my hand on after stepping out of the shower, ready to go to bed. Without thought, I’d put it on and it’d been so soft, the scent of him lingering beneath the laundry detergent. Every night since, I’d found myself in it come bedtime. My shame knew no limits. And no, I still hadn’t quit. The words still hadn’t come even close to leaving my mouth.

He frowned. “No.”

“That I have some deep secret longing to feel close to you resulting in my stealing your shirt like
some creepy perv?”

“Course I don’t fucking think that,” he replied crankily, reaching up to grip the top of the doorframe. All of his bulging muscles stretched the arms of his white T-shirt in the nicest way. It was all I could do not to start drooling, my heart beat taking up residence somewhere down between my thighs. And who could blame it? Not me. Maybe if I got laid, this would go away and things would return to normal. It’d seemed safer to avoid rubbing up against any men just in case I got carried away and started dating again. This new situation, however, changed everything.

“Well, of course not! That would be crazy.” And wasn’t that the god’s honest truth? Cray-zeee. Lock me up and throw away the key because it wasn’t like I didn’t know better.

“Just can’t figure out where the hell it could be.”

Angels couldn’t have smiled as innocently. They might have tried, but they would have failed, the dirty-mouthed, winged, little liars. “Jimmy, I don’t know where it is. But I’ll look around for it later, okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, and then added as an afterthought, “and stop looking at me weird.”

“I’m not!”

About Kylie Scott:

Kylie is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and one delightful husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet.

Twitter | Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Goodreads | Website

BLOG TOUR: Evelyn by Tracie Podger @TRACIEPODGER

Posted by Four Brits And A Book on July 28, 2014

Posted in: Blog Tour, Giveaway, Jo, Release Day. Leave a comment

Title: Evelyn

Author: Tracie Podger

Release Date: July 28, 2014

Tour Hosted by: Passionate Promotions

~ The Background ~

Evelyn is a pivotal character in books 1 and 2 of the Fallen Angel Series. In books 1 and 2, readers learn a little of her background, how she met principal characters Robert Stone and his best friend Travis, and how she became such an integral part of their lives. But that is far from all there is to know about this wonderful character. She has her own story to tell, and it’s a powerful one.

If you’ve read the Fallen Angel series, you know that every character has secrets ~ sometimes bittersweet, sometimes utterly devastating, even tragic; and as their secrets unfold, the story deepens with a passionate intensity, weaving the characters’ lives together with bonds that cannot be broken. In every character’s life, choices must be made, and very often the past not only determines the choice, but produces its outcome, especially given the complexities of “family culture” explored in the Fallen Angel series.

In this novella, Evelyn tells her story, ultimately connecting it to the sequence of events as they unfold in Fallen Angel 1 and Fallen Angel 2. As you read it, it is easy to imagine sitting across a table in a quiet cafe’, sharing a bottle of chianti, listening as Evelyn tells her story, her way.

Contemporary romance for readers over the age 18. Although part of the 5* Fallen Angel Series, this novella can be read as a standalone.

~ The Synopsis ~

Evelyn was sixteen years old when she fell in love. She fell in love with a murderer.

Rocco has been sent from Italy to live with the Morietti family in Washington, DC, for his safety, for his protection. He hadn’t banked on meeting the beautiful, but young, Evelyn, the daughter of the man who has given him refuge. He hadn’t banked on falling in love.

How hard is it to love the daughter of the man who holds your fate in his hands? And once you fall, how hard is it to keep your love a secret? Which is the greater threat to them both, to keep their secret, or to admit and fight for each other?

Evelyn and Rocco are forced to accept a life of secret meetings, lies, love and loss. Few relationships can survive it, and not every romance has a happy ending. But if there is a chance……. is it not worth a try?

This is the story of young love, of dreams and hopes for a future not possible. This is the story of Evelyn.

~ A Teaser ~

“I need to get you home, Evelyn, it’s getting late,” he said, softly.

“I don’t have a curfew, Rocco,” I protested.

“No, but if we stay here any longer, I’m going to do something we both might regret.”

He might as well have just stabbed me in the heart. I closed my eyes and let my forehead fall to his chest. Why would he regret this? I moved away from him, pulled my hand free of his and turned to walk back the way we came. He didn’t follow me immediately but it wasn’t long before I heard his footsteps. I arrived back at the car and waited for him to unlock the door, open it and I climbed in without looking at him. We drove the short distance home without speaking. As the car pulled to a stop I reached for the door handle. I felt his hand on my thigh and I stilled.

“Wait, you misunderstand me,” he said.

“What do I misunderstand, Rocco? You kiss me like you mean it. You tell me ‘soon’ and leave me for days on end. You play me like I have no feelings,” I replied, my voice rising in anger.

“Oh, I mean it, Evelyn. Every second your mouth is mine don’t you think I want more, don’t you think I want to throw you down and take you there and then? I want your body, I want every inch of you. I want to taste you, to fuck you. I want to own you. I want to be your first.”

“Then why don’t you?” I whispered.

“Because your father would kill me.”

~ Reviewer Comments ~

Add Evelyn to Goodreads

~ About Tracie Podger ~

Tracie Podger currently lives in Kent, UK with her husband and a rather obnoxious cat called George. She’s a Padi Scuba Diving Instructor with a passion for writing. Tracie has been fortunate to have dived some of the wonderful oceans of the world where she can indulge in another hobby, underwater photography. She likes getting up close and personal with sharks.

Tracie wishes to thank you for giving your time to read her books and hopes you enjoy them as much as she loves writing them. If you would like to know more, please feel free to contact her, she would love to hear from you.

~ Connect with Tracie and Fallen Angel Fans on Social Media ~

Twitter (@Tracie Podger)

Facebook (Tracie Podger, Author)

FallenAngelsFanPage (Facebook Fallen Angel Series Fan Page)

Website (www.TraciePodger.com)

~ Discover The Fallen Angel Series ~

Available in ebook and paperback….

Fallen Angel, Part I

On the first day of her holiday to Washington, DC, Brooke Stiles meets Robert Stone.

Dark eyed, damaged and dangerous – Stone has never had a normal relationship for fear of his past being exposed. Not knowing how to respect nor love, he struggles with his feelings for a woman who makes him question everything that he is.

Brooke falls in love with him and as their relationship grows she learns who he really is. Her future is set. She is to heal her man and mend his broken soul. But can she do the one thing that he asks?

This is a story of an ordinary woman who falls in love with an extraordinary man and has to discover whether she is strong enough to forgive him his past.

Fallen Angel, Part II

When Brooke Stiles had said, “It was in a small room in an office block in Washington, DC, that my life changed, forever,” she had no idea of the enormity of that statement. Just a few short months ago, Brooke, had lived a quiet suburban life in the UK. She now owns a closet of clothes she could only dream about and has been swept off her feet by trouble with a capital T. Once Robert Stone came to terms with the fact that he was in love with Brooke, he knew he could never let her go. Not letting her go means introducing her to his life, past and present. However, when Robert’s past and present collide, Brooke does the one thing that Robert begs her not to. Does it change her? Has that light that he sees in her eyes been extinguished? This is a story of an ordinary girl who finds the strength to become the extraordinary woman, and keeps her promise to the man she owes her existence to.

~ Buying Links ~

Evelyn