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28 August 2014

Blog Tour: Crossing the Ice by Jennifer Comeaux



Rating: 3.5 stars
Pub Date: August 3, 2014
Genre: new adult contemporary romance, sports
Format/Source: DRC, from the author
Status: Book 1 of the Ice series

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of the blog tour, which was organized & hosted by Itching for Books. The full tour schedule can be found HERE. Please go give my fellow tour hosts some love!


Summary:
Falling hard never felt so good.

Pair skaters Courtney and Mark have one shot left at their Olympic dream. They vow not to let anything get in their way, especially not Josh and Stephanie, the wealthy and talented brother and sister team.

The heart doesn’t always listen to reason, though...

The more time Courtney spends with sweet, shy Josh, the harder she falls for him. But they are on opposite sides of the competition, and their futures are headed in opposite directions. Will their friendship blossom into more or are their paths too different to cross?

Iron Pendulum release day blitz





Author: Megan Curd
Release Date: August 28, 2014
Genre: young adult sci-fi, steampunk
Status: book 2 in the Periodic trilogy

Summary: A month ago, Avery thought the world ended outside Dome Four. Thought she was one of the few of her kind. Thought the war that brought the human race to the brink of extinction was over.

But a month can change everything.

After fighting to escape a tyranny she didn't even know existed, Avery has had to come to grips with all the secrets she's uncovered. But more secrets continue to come to light, revealing how little of her world she truly knew. When evidence starts to show that Dome Four might be under siege, Avery knows what she must do.

Returning to the dome she longed to escape is a challenge for Avery, but now she knows there’s corruption lurking in the shadows. A massive steam shortage leaves half the dome without power, and people are falling ill. Dying.

And they’re blaming Avery.

A month can change everything. One more month could kill everyone. The clock is ticking.



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Avery's story starts with a Steel Lily!

Pub Date: August 12, 2013
Genre: young adult sci-fi, steampunk
Summary: AVERY PIKE is a commodity. No, more than a commodity. Her existence is guarded at all costs.

She’s a water Elementalist, the strongest of her dwindling kind. She creates steam to provide energy to fuel Dome Four: the only thing standing between humanity and an earth ravaged by World War III. No steam, no Dome. No Dome, no life.

Or so she thinks.

That is, until a mysterious man offers her a way out of having to donate steam. A way to escape the corrupt government of Dome Four. While the offer seems too good to be true, Avery is intrigued. But when she arrives to her new home, she realizes the grass isn’t any less dead on this side of the fence. Instead, the lies are just hidden better.

…Which means digging deeper.

When Avery enlists the help of her friends to uncover the truth, she learns that while some secrets are better left concealed, humankind was never meant to live in a cage. And when you can control the most sought after resource, you can learn to control anything…including the fate of your world.


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About the Author:
Megan Curd is a graduate of Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota. While having always enjoyed reading any books she could get her hands on, Megan didn’t begin writing until a friend encouraged her to do so while in college. 

When not writing, Megan enjoys spending time with her family and friends. Photography, traveling and snowboarding are hobbies she loves, and she doesn’t turn down the opportunity to play xBox with her brother and friends when it presents itself.

Megan currently resides in Ohio with her husband and son, where she is trying to convert them into Buckeye fans.


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Giveaway:
signed copy of Steel Lily + $5 gift card to Amazon, B&N or Starbucks

a Rafflecopter giveaway

27 August 2014

Waiting on Wednesday: As Long As You Love Me by Ann Aguirre


Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.


As Long As You Love Me
2B Trilogy #2
by Ann Aguirre
Coming September 30, 2014
Harlequin HQN


Summary:
Most people dream about getting out of Sharon, Nebraska, but after three years away, Lauren Barrett is coming home. She has her reasons: missing her family, losing her college scholarship. But then there's the reason Lauren can't admit to anyone: Rob Conrad, her best friend's older brother.

Football prowess and jaw-dropping good looks made Rob a star in high school. Out in the real world, his job and his relationships are going nowhere. He's the guy who women love and leave, not the one who makes them think of forever until Lauren comes back to town, bringing old feelings and new dreams with her.

Because the only thing more important than figuring out where you truly belong is finding the person you were meant to be with.

Why I want it:
I wasn't the biggest fan of Lauren's in I Want It That Way, but I do relate to her struggles in school and her subsequent move back home. I'm also intrigued by Rob, who is smaller than even a minor character. All we know about Rob is what Nadia tells us, but they don't have a strong brother/sister relationship so I am very much interested in hearing his story.

Why I think you should want it:
More and more excellent NA books are being published every day, and Ann Aguirre is certainly one of the best NA writers I've read. The 2B Trilogy contains everything you want out of a collegiate contemporary romance, but it's also unique and fresh. I was pleasantly surprised by much of I Want It That Way both in terms of plot and characterization, which is great when you do go into a romance novel expecting traditional romance. I think if readers want to believe in the validity of the new adult genre, the 2B Trilogy is a great place to start. There's a depth to the characters and a depth to the story that many critics of this new genre have been missing.

What's on your WoW this week? Share your picks and your thoughts on the 2B Trilogy or even just NA in general in the comments!
 

26 August 2014

I Want It That Way release day blitz

Today is the release of Ann Aguirre's sizzling and stunning new adult romance I Want It That Way, the first book in the 2B trilogy! I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of I Want It That Way, and trust me, you DO want it this way! I'll be posting my review later this week (and since I'll be seeing Ann on Thursday, there will be a giveaway involved!!), but right now, I'll just say that this is one of the books that has sold me on the validity of the new adult genre. This book is sexy, sweet, thoughtful, and really unique. I know I'm counting the days until book two, As Long As You Love Me, is released! Also, BACKSTREET BOY TITLES FOR THE WIN!! Seriously, the 90s teeny-bopper fangirl in me is squeeing because of the BSB song references, and the 26 year-old me is squeeing because Nadia and Ty's chemistry is insane! READ THIS BOOK!



Author: Ann Aguirre
Release Date: August 26, 2014
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Genre: new adult contemporary romance
Status: book 1 in the 2B trilogy

Summary: Nadia Conrad has big dreams, and she's determined to make them come true—for her parents' sake as well as her own. But between maintaining her college scholarship and working at the local day care to support herself, she barely has time to think, let alone date. Then she moves into a new apartment and meets the taciturn yet irresistible guy in 1B…

Daniel Tyler has grown up too fast. Becoming a single dad at twenty turned his life upside down—and brought him heartache he can't risk again. Now, as he raises his four-year-old son while balancing a full-time construction management job and night classes, a social life is out of the question. The last thing he wants is for four noisy students to move into the apartment upstairs. But one night, Nadia's and Ty's paths cross, and soon they can't stay away from each other.

The timing is all wrong—but love happens when it happens. And you can't know what you truly need until you stand to lose it.



Book Buy Links:

   

Teaser:


 Read the first chapter of I Want It That Way HERE!

Excerpt:
“Where are you from?”


Ah, an actual question. That means I can ask one back.


“Nebraska, toward the South Dakota and Wyoming side, if that helps.”


“I’ve never met anyone from there.”


Michigan was a long way from home. “I usually get ‘not in Nebraska anymore’ jokes, and then I have to decide if I’m going to remind them that’s Kansas or play along.”


“What do you usually do?”


“Play along.”


“You don’t like conflict, huh?” He sounded normal tonight, as if talking to me wasn’t an unpleasant chore anymore.


That was a relief since I’d come to look forward to these moments with him so much. More, maybe, than I’d like to admit.Right. Friends. I distracted myself by considering his question. “Not if it can be avoided. I’m not what you’d call pugnacious, no. But I like to think I don’t back off important issues. What about you?”


“No.” His voice was bleak and quiet. “I don’t. Even when I should.”


Wow, that took a dark turn.


If I could’ve jumped onto his patio without breaking an ankle or waking Sam, I’d have been down there like a shot. The distance between us seemed intolerable, and from the knot in my throat, I didn’t see how I could live another second without touching him, finding out if his hair was as soft as it looked or what he smelled like. I wanted him in a way I never had before.


In high school, I had a boyfriend who played basketball, and we broke up when I left the state. It was a rational decision, and I didn’t miss him that much once I was gone. My freshman year, I went out with a lot of different guys, one date here, two dates there, but I never clicked with anyone enough to focus on them. Sometimes there were hookups with no strings, no expectations. Classes, friends and work seemed a lot more important. The intensity of this attraction was foreign and frightening, if exhilarating. I might already be backing off if I had the faintest sense that Ty was jerking me around on purpose.


Wish he didn’t make me feel this way. It’d be so much simpler if I could friend-zone him.


I realized I still hadn’t touched his verbal grenade. “We all have things we’d do differently in hindsight.”


“What is it about you?” he asked in a wondering tone.


“Huh?”


“You make me…better. Calmer.”


“Like a sedative?” I snickered. It was the least sexy thing a guy had ever said to me, including a junior high squeeze who said my face wasn’t actually that bad.


He laughed, too, a sheepish sound. “I didn’t mean it like that. Just…I’m worried pretty much all the time that I’m dropping the ball somewhere, about to face-plant, but when I come out here and hear your voice, everything backs off like ten steps. I can breathe again.”




Check out books 2 and 3, 
coming soon to a bookstore near you!

Pub Date: September 30, 2014
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Genre: new adult contemporary romance
Summary: Most people dream about getting out of Sharon, Nebraska, but after three years away, Lauren Barrett is coming home. She has her reasons—missing her family, losing her college scholarship. But then there's the reason Lauren can't admit to anyone: Rob Conrad, her best friend's older brother.

Football prowess and jaw-dropping good looks made Rob a star in high school. Out in the real world, his job and his relationships are going nowhere. He's the guy who women love and leave, not the one who makes them think of forever—until Lauren comes back to town, bringing old feelings and new dreams with her.

Because the only thing more important than figuring out where you truly belong is finding the person you were meant to be with.


Pre-order links:
   



Pub Date: November 25, 2014
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Genre: new adult contemporary romance
Summary: Some people wait decades to meet their soul mate. Courtney Kaufman suspects she met hers in high school only to lose him at seventeen. Since then, Courtney's social life has been a series of meaningless encounters, though she's made a few close friends along the way. Especially her roommate Max Cooper, who oozes damaged bad-boy vibes from every pore.

Max knows about feeling lost and trying to move beyond the pain he's been on his own since he was sixteen. Now it's time to find out if he can ever go home again, and Courtney's the only one he trusts to go with him. But the trip to Providence could change everything because the more time he spends with Courtney, the harder it is to reconcile what he wants and what he thinks he deserves.

It started out so simple. One misfit helping another. Now Max will do anything to show Courtney that for every heart that's ever been broken, there's another that can make it complete.


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About the Author:
Ann Aguirre is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author and RITA winner with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. Ann likes books, emo music, action movies, and she writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens, published with Harlequin, Macmillan, and Penguin, among others.


Author Links:
   
    

Giveaway:
3 signed copies of I Want It That Way
3 winners

a Rafflecopter giveaway