Thursday, March 26, 2015

When The Chips Are Down by Beth Rinyu Blitz!

WTCAD - Banner

Title: When the Chips Are Down (Three of a Kind, #1)
Author: Beth Rinyu
Release Date: March 14, 2015
Genre: Contemporary Romance
goodreads     
  Blurb Melanie Hanson's life didn't go quite the way she had planned. Her cheating ex-husband traded her in for a newer model and she’s in over her head dealing with the drama that comes along with raising her twin teenage daughters. The last thing she is looking for or needs in her life is a man - or is it? Ben Wilder is the boy that Melanie loved to hate throughout high school, the boy that all the girls loved and the boy that didn't give Melanie the time of day, unless it was to tease her. When she runs into him once again she realizes...he’s not a boy anymore. Older and wiser, she’s determined not to fall for her secret crush from all those years ago. But sometimes our heart has different plans than our head. Will she finally get her happily ever after with the man she least expected to have it with? Take a humorous journey with Melanie and her daughters as their lives begin to parallel and they discover that although they may be separated by a generation their struggles are still the same.   promo1_beth (1)  
Now Available at: Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | iBooks


  Excerpt 
  I tried my best to ignore him, but I could feel his eyes settling on me. I took a deep breath when he got up and sat next to me. “Well, at least I know your real name now.” I shook my head, still trying to avoid eye contact. “So, how’s your ass doing?” “What!?” I finally turned my head and looked directly at him. “From your fall the other day.” I looked away. “Was I really that much of an ass to you during high school that you are still carrying a grudge all these years later?” “Don’t flatter yourself. It has nothing to do with you.” “Oh, okay. So, are you bitchy like this to every guy you come in contact with?” “Yeah, maybe I am! What’s it to you?” He held his hand up in defense. “Doesn’t matter to me one bit, sweetheart, but you’ve clearly been shafted by a guy a time or two to have an attitude like that. I mean, don’t get me wrong. The bitchy ones are better in bed with all that pent-up aggression.” He smirked and took a sip of his beer. “Oh, you are such a pig, you know that? You are the same arrogant ‘I’m so in love with myself’ jock you were back in school! Well, reality check. Despite the fact you may have never grown up, most women have. So your good looks, perfect body, and smooth talking will no longer work.” He chuckled loudly. “What’s so funny?” “I think you just admitted you thought I was good-looking and had a perfect body.” “No. That’s not what –” He had me feeling so flustered. “I meant MEN, in general!” “Whatever you say, princess.” “My name is Melanie! Oh, wait. Maybe you’ll remember Smellanie better!” His grin widened. “Ahhhh, now I remember you! You were that cute little blonde girl who used to sit in front of me in French class. You were the little goody two-shoes who always knew exactly how to respond in perfect French to the teacher, while the rest of us struggled to maintain a D average. You know you really didn’t smell, right? That was just a nickname for you.” “I know I never smelled, thank you very much!” “Well, Smellanie, can I say that you are just as cute now as you were back then?” “No, you may not!”  



  About the Author

beth 

  Ever since I can remember, I have always enjoyed Creative Writing. There was always something about being able to travel to a different place or become a different person with just the stroke of a pen - or in today's world a touch of the keyboard. I am the author of The Exception To The Rule, An Unplanned Lesson, An Unplanned Life and Drowning In Love, A Cry for Hope. and A Will To Change. My life is not as interesting as my books or the characters in them, but then again whose life is? I'm a mom of twin teenage boys, a crazy Border Collie and a cat with an identity crisis! I guess you can say writing is my form of Calgon! Thanks for taking the time to learn about my books and me! If you decide to read them (and I hope you do!) please be sure to go on and review it for me - yes, even if you don't like it!


 
love p

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

The Broken Series by Maegan Abel!

Broken Series Banner


Title: Broken Series 
Author: Maegan Abel 
Book Blitz: March 23 – 25, 2015 
Hosted by: SBB Promotions

Perfectly Broken (Book One)

add-to-goodreads-button31
   
   Perfectly Broken Cover  
  Synopsis

Zane Tishler moved in with his brother after his nightmare divorce to find that his brother had taken in a “stray”, a punk chick with a bad attitude. Liliosa Cortez found a place to start over in a city built for hiding. But when her roommate’s brother moved in she pegged him for a pretty boy with enough baggage to fill a semi and major hostility toward women. But now, after two years, Lili and Zane have become best friends and the perfect “wingmen.” They’ve developed a system for tagging and bagging tourists. No strings attached. They are partners in crime who have managed to have the time of their lives in the City of Sin.
Life would be perfect if they could keep it this way, but a new player in the game makes both Lili and Zane face the feelings they had not been prepared to notice. What happens when dangerous shadows from a forgotten past find their way into the neon spotlights? What happens when the fuse is lit on all those emotions they have deeply buried?
Can they survive the explosion or will the backlash tear them and everyone they love apart?
When two pasts become one present in the searing Nevada heat…
When two realities collide under the lights of Vegas…
When two lives are threatened due to secrets and lies…
What do you do when you find out your perfect world is Perfectly Broken?


Free Teaser
Buy Links copy
amazon-logo-80x80BN-LOGO-80x80 Kobo buy 80x80 apple ibooks 80x80
 
perfectly-broken-teaser-3
YoutTube

 
Review

So, let me go ahead and put this out there-- I read this book in less that 24 hours.

I'm typically a fairly quick reader, but this book- I just did not want to put it down! There was so much angst and so much need to know what was going to happen next! It wasn't too angsty, but it was just enough to have me on the edge of my seat and ready to get to the next page.

Ugh, I just want to shake Zane and Lili, sometimes! Shake them together, shake them individually, just shake shake shake! These two are so perfect for each other. They understand one another, they have been there for one another, and the other can fill that void each one seems to have.

Zane has been broken in the past. His first love, his high school sweetheart, broke his heart into a million pieces, multiple times. If it were just Zane's heart she broke, he may have been able to get past it but she had to do even worse. She lied, cheated, deceived, and destroyed him. So did his ex-best friend. Zane became the Dad he didn't have to be and it's been the light of his life. Connor is his world, and he'll do anything for that little boy. You gotta love a man who is such a caring, loving father!

Lili has a past she's running from. She's escaped to Vegas and has started to build a life for herself here. Ever since she left home, Lili has been on the run, trying to stay away from whatever made her run in the first place. She's never really put down roots because she's afraid to get tied down in one place. But, then she met Tish. Tish took her in when she had nothing and has been her protector ever since. I love the relationship between Lili and Tish. It's so comforting to see a strong friendship between a man and a woman without it developing into something more. Sometimes it's just great to see a solid friendship! Not to mention, when Zane starts acting crazy, Tish can get his brother in line! Lili is great at keeping everyone at a distance, but once she's joined in on the little family she, Tish, Zane, and Kas create... she's having a hard time keeping her shield up.

So, something pretty major happens in the book that is really intense. First, it makes you really worried about Lili. Then, it makes you super ticked off at Zane. Next, it makes you feel a little compassion for Zane. Then it makes you feel super worried again, and lastly it leaves you crazy with what's happened. This is the best way I can describe it without spoilers, so it may be better for you to just go ahead and snatch this book up so you can see what I'm talking about! Either way, without knowing the details, know that the broken pieces of Lili and the broken pieces of Zane go perfectly together to make something really beautiful!!

Read it, and read it soon!


Unforgivably Broken (Book Two) Unforgivable Broken Cover  
Synopsis

It took a near-tragedy for Zane and Lili to admit their feelings for one another. If they could survive that explosion, wading through the debris left behind should be a breeze, right?
Lili has spent years hiding from her past. Now, she's being forced to admit her mistakes and make a decision. Can she conquer her demons head-on, or will she remain by Zane's side while he fights his own?
Zane learned early in life that charm and deception are easier than hard truths. Sometimes, old habits die hard. When his past mistakes start making continuous reappearances, he is faced with some of the most crucial decisions he's ever made.
When you have secrets, they can rip ragged holes in the ties that bind even the strongest relationships.
What do you do when you realize you're unforgivably broken?

UB Teaser 4
Buy Links copy
amazon-logo-80x80 Kobo buy 80x80
 
Review
SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ BOOK!!!!!!!!



So, we were left with a pretty intense cliffhanger on Perfectly Broken and got to re-cap/find out what had happened at the end of Book 1, beginning of Book 2! Intense!! Megan Abel definitely has a way of keeping us on our toes!

Moving on... OMG, Zane! How do you not love a man who will take a bullet for you? But, as we learn more and more about Zane-- that's just who he is. He is a protector, and he will protect what is his and who he cares about, no matter what the price.

Lili tries to stay fearlessly independent while taking into consideration Zane's feelings. She's never been in a relationship before, much less one with someone who is as protective as Zane. Lili fights against the restraints her relationship with Zane presses on her, but then backs off a little when she realizes why Zane is fighting so strongly to protect her.

So much happens in this book. There are a lot of new updates with Adam, Lizzie, Conner, and of course Zane and Lili. Adam continues to be a jerk on the loose, leaving Lili more jumpy and terrified than we've ever seen her. She almost seems like a completely different character to me. Lizzie continues to use and make poor choices, earning some pretty severe consequences for those behaviors. Conner has some major changes in his life, both good and bad. Zane is dealing with a lot. He's dealing with all of the things mentioned above, and basically becoming a full-time Dad for the first time in his life. On top of that, he's dealing with the emotions of being in love and in a new relationship. And of course, it's not just any relationship. It's a relationship with Lili, that has her own demons to deal with.





Then, there's Lili. After everything that happened with Adam, Lili has been forced to acknowledge and go back to her past, to her real life. She has to go back to her family and the life that she ran away from. This will prove to be one of the hardest things Lili has ever had to do, but she'll be able to do it- with her new family by her side.

At the end of Unforgivably Broken, there's another MAJOR cliffhanger. I am STILL mad at Maegan Abel for doing this to me. I mean, SERIOUSLY?! Ah. This is the only reason this isn't a 5 star book for me. Maybe I should've been prepared, maybe I should've known ahead of time, but that is a SERIOUS cliffhanger and I am dreading however long this wait is going to be until the next book begins and this cliffhanger is resolved! After reading this series, you fall in love with these characters, you get invested and then ...this happens! It's got to end up better that it's portrayed at the end of this book, it's got to!


Broken Holidays (Book two and half)

 
add-to-goodreads-button31
 
Broken holidays Cover
 
Synopsis

Before Perfectly Broken, before a beautiful relationship can start, the bond that solidifies who Lili and Zane are together must form. Beginnings are always the first step in building something stunning, something undeniably perfect…

The first holiday…

Things are tense between Zane, Lili, and Tish. They’re all still adapting to living in the house, Zane’s divorce has just been finalized, and he’s pissed off at the world. A bright light, however, shines in his world of darkness. Will the person he's hated since their first meeting be the one to help him turn things around?

The second holiday…

One year later, we find a much more settled family. Zane and Lili are falling into a pattern, learning to trust and lean on one another, but one wrong move, just the tiniest of slips, could ruin what is finally feeling solid for the both of them.

The beginning of tradition…

New Year’s Eve brings a fresh start, a chance to wipe the slate clean and begin again. Knowing your history, and where you come from, might be all that keeps you going when your whole world falls apart.
The strength of the holidays, family, new beginnings, and acceptance, is how their broken pieces begin to glue themselves back together again, if only for a little while…



amazon-logo-80x80 BN-LOGO-80x80 Kobo buy 80x80 apple ibooks 80x80
 
Review
Ah, this book. It was good. Let me say that at the beginning. What would've made it ten times better was if this book was listed as Book 1.5 versus 2.5 because I was thinking this book would be a follow up to book 2 (Unforgivably Broken), but it was actually a book that took place earlier on in the story line. I'm definitely glad I read it, but I am SO wishing I would've read it before reading Unforgivably because I finished Unforgivably DESPERATE for the next book in the series and was so let down that this book was from farther back in the story line, instead of a next step!

What I did love most about this book was New Years. I love the tradition Zane and Lili create, as friends, for New Years. Broken Holidays really shows the development of the friendship between Zane and Lili, which I really love reading about. I find that the best lovers are also best friends, too so I like to read how they become that way.

This was a short read, but I was glad about that. Sometimes I feel frustrated when I'm reading a book in a series that's pretty short, but that's all we really needed for this part of the story. I think I would've been thinking it was drawn out if it ended up being longer than it was.

Overall, I think this was a good read. It was great if nothing else, to keep reading and keep developing my love for Zane, Lili, Tish and the family. Now, GIVE ME SILENTLY BROKEN, Please Ms. Abel!!!


 
Author Bio Trans

Maegan Abel Author

Maegan despises writing about herself in the third person. She also hates touting her accomplishments like she thinks she’s really done anything special…
Now that we got that out of the way, I’ll tell you what you need to know. I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I went back to school in my late twenties and studied Stage Production Technology. I now work full-time in the alterations shop of a major department store and part-time backstage in the various theatres around the area.
I’ve been an avid reader from a very young age and the top goal on my list of things to accomplish in my life was to write and publish a book. During the summer of 2013, while working backstage on The Lion King, I read eleven books in four weeks. I read my first New Adult book and was introduced to a genre I felt I could totally relate to. The idea for Perfectly Broken and the character of Lili was born backstage during that time.

Author links trans
facebook twitter goodreads Amazon
SBB Promotions Logo small copy

Friday, March 20, 2015

When the Chips are Down by Beth Rinyu!


Time to pick up your copy of When The Chips Are Down by Beth Rinyu!



Purchase Links:

US: Amazon
UK: Amazon UK
Australia: Amazon Australia




Beth Rinyu has done it again! Another wonderfully written book with a story that will keep you turning page after page.

To begin, let me say-- thank you! I received an ARC of When the Chips are Down in exchange for an honest review. I am happy to read and review anything you write, Beth Rinyu!

This is the story of a divorced Mom who's found real love when she wasn't looking for it and who's raising two twin teenage girls with their own life and love struggles. This book is real life. That's one of my favorite things about it. There are so many romance novels out there that are FABULOUS, don't get me wrong- but realistic? Not so much. This is a book that could seriously be about you, your neighbor down the street, or that crazy best friend of yours.

I loved that this book looked at multiple parts of this family. There were so many good characters in this story. We've got the star of the show, Melanie, who is so easily relatable.

Then there's that jerk of an ex-husband who everyone loves to hate (let's just be honest here), along with his twenty-something-purchased-perky new bride.



Next comes Gia and Carrie, who are so different but so similar at the same time. I love that you get to read about their life, the struggles each one of them face as they go through those dreaded high school years, but also their hope for the future.

Then there's the boys.... we've got Jason, Daniel, and Cam.

Jason-- I mean, seriously? How could you not love him?


After Jason finally gets rid of that horrible girl he's been spending time with, he finally sees the light! He sees that he deserves WAY better and he won't settle for anything less. He's crazy about Carrie, sweet and kind, loving and honest. He even stands up for and protects Carrie's sister, just as strongly as he would Carrie-- how can you not love that?

Daniel comes into Gia's life right when she needs someone the most. Poor Gia. I hate high school kids. They can be so vicious. Gia falls victim to horrible bullying at school, just for doing something right and taking care of herself and her heart. Daniel is the light in the dark for her, the friend when she had none left.

Except for Cam. We didn't get to see much about Cam, which is probably my biggest regret for this book. What we did see, though? Love! I think Cam could be an exceptional character. I'm really hoping he plays a bigger role in the next books...


And, of course, we can't mention Cam without mentioning his mother. Ah! Everyone needs a Jodi in their life!! That one best friend who will drop everything and be there for you, with a shovel or whatever she needs to make you laugh or smile! Jodi is that friend. 



Last, but most certainly not least is one particular brovarie! Enter, Ben. Ben Wilder-- fellow high school student that Smellanie loved to hate. Now, they are both grown up, both adults with children and relationships that didn't quite work out. Both have had some serious hurt in their life and are a little wary to move forward. As the months go on, Melanie develops from this angry, bitter divorcee who owns a Bridal salon to a woman who is looking forward to the future, a woman who believes in love again, and thinks she's found it with Ben. Ben just has to work through his past and try to come out on the other side towards Melanie... 


Overall, I really enjoyed this book!! It was a 4- 4 1/2 star book for me! The only things keeping it from a 5 for me was: I wanted more Cam (I think Cam and Gia would be cute together!), I was left wanting with Carrie and Jason, and just wanted a little bit more to Melanie and Ben. Alas, I'm PRAYING one of those things will be remedied with Two of Hearts coming out this summer!!! Hurry up, summer!! Can't wait to read it :)