Book Tour & Review: Under His Kilt by Melissa Blue

NOTE: I received a complimentary copy of Under His Kilt in return for my honest review. This does not in any way reflect upon my review. All thoughts/opinions of this novel are 100% my own.

Jocelyn Pearson is determined to spend her last month as a twenty-something doing everything she's too busy or scared to try. Her imagination runs wild and then fixates on Ian Baird. He'll be working at the Langston Museum for a short stint as a consulting curator. He's Scottish. He believes sex is fun to be had. He's the perfect choice for a fling. She only has to get him break his rule about sleeping with co-workers. Seducing a man was on her bucket list...

Ian is no one's fool and knows exactly what Jocelyn wants—him. If she didn't work for the Langston Museum, he'd be more than happy to oblige any and every fantasy she desired, but she's the curator. She's sweet, inexperienced and well liked by everyone including the museum owner and director. Ian can't risk losing such an important contact for his consulting business. Not even when everything within in him craves a taste of her.

When Jocelyn sets her sights on him, there's no way Ian can deny her. They agree their affair will end in thirty days. No emotions, no entanglements, just sex. The closer the end date looms, they start to question if it's possible to walk away. They'll either have to come to terms of what they've become or stick to their original agreement.

******************** Book Excerpt: And then a thought struck her sideways. A man who'd done all the things Ian had probably didn't need much goading to do what he clearly already wanted to do. All those moments where he'd been one muscle twitch from jumping hadn't been in her imagination. They both kept that boundary in place. What would happen if she tore it away? Ian couldn't cross a line that didn't exist. He'd built his career by being smart, courageous and certain. Not much changed his mind unless he wanted to be persuaded. And Ian wanted her. She was sure of it.

The thought sunk its teeth in. Her skin flushed and she did her best not to glance up with a grin that would look as mischievous as she felt. No, what she'd do next wasn't world domination. She just needed to make Ian lose control and break his goddamn rule. One, it seemed, he wanted to break anyway.

“I don't know what to do,” she said, trying for sex kitten and not sure if it was working. “What makes you pick up a woman in a bar?”

His white-gloved hands froze over the ritual ax, and something passed behind his gaze she couldn't describe much less distill into a single word. “She's attractive and breathing.”

She snorted and lost the hold on her sex kitten. “No really.”

He considered her again, sighing. “Do you plan to walk up to him?”

“Exactly.”

“Well, start with your walk. More leg and hip action. Not like those models who trot like horses. Sensual. Seductive. Understated. The kind of sway a man can imagine you being on top of him moving the same way.”

With a sly smile she stood. His gaze narrowed on her. She scrounged up every thought of being on top of a man, his cock sliding in and out, how it would feel rising up and down, his fingers gliding over her waist, up to her breasts and fixed those thoughts in her mind and walked toward him. She stopped a few feet from him and raised a brow. “Like that?”

His hands gripped the ax. “Passable, but now put that movement into thought and there in your gaze.”

She thought of Ian's fingers digging into her waist and holding her still so he could thrust into her. “Passable?”

He made a noncommittal noise. “Just like that, Lass.”

But he wasn't joking when he said it this time. Not with the way he spoke so softly, but a bit of a growl could be heard in the back of his throat. Her nipples hardened as though his voice was something tangible and could scrape against the sensitive tips. She had to swallow. “And then what?”

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My Rating: 4 stars out of 5

My Review:  Under His Kilt was everything an erotic novella should be. It was short, steamy, and had characters that are memorable. There was enough plot and character/romantic development to keep the story moving without coming across as stale, and unlike most books in this genre, the "fantasies" were not over the top. In fact, I could very well see a lot of women no matter what their age group being able to relate to Jocelyn. 

Under His Kilt is also an emotional roller coaster ride. You find yourself laughing with the characters, hating them, and rooting for them to find their happily-ever-after, whatever it may be. They are not perfect by any means, and could easily be your next-door-neighbor or even your best friend! 

Filled with humorous and witty dialog, and steamy bedroom scenes, Under His Kilt is sure to satisfy!

You can Purchase your very own copy of Under His Kilt from: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, SmashWords,  Kobo & Other retailers

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GIVEAWAY! 

 Rafflecopter Giveaway ($25.00 Amazon or B&N Gift Card)

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You can follow the tour HERE.

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About the Author:

Melissa Blue's writing career started on a typewriter one month after her son was born. This would have been an idyllic situation for a writer if it had been 1985, not 2004. Eventually she upgraded to a computer. She's still typing away on the same computer, making imaginary people fall in love.

 Want to learn more? You can find out via: The Author's Website, Blog, Facebook or Twitter

 This awesome tour was hosted by:

Review: Forever: A Seaside Novella (Seaside #3.5) by Rachel Van Dyken

From Goodreads.com Men fall hard. Rock stars? Fall the hardest.

This is the conclusion to Alec and Nat's story.

I breathed in and out for a few seconds as I waited at the end of the aisle. It felt like I was standing overlooking the edge of a cliff, and the minute I saw my future wife, I was going to freefall.

The music started.

Shit, I was seriously going to pass out.

People stood, Demetri nodded his head and patted me on the back.

And then I saw her.

It was like seeing her for the first time all over again. Memories of meeting her that first day of school had me grinning from ear to ear. The local girl, who didn’t even know who I was the first time she saw me, fell for me. And in return, gave me her heart for safekeeping. I ached to touch her as she walked slowly down the aisle. Her brown eyes met mine. And I lost it. Every single fear that I was holding on to snapped.

Forget drugs.

Forget needing to calm down.

I couldn’t stop my heart from beating out of my chest, and I didn’t want to. I just wanted to touch her, to tell her how pretty she was in her white dress. I wanted to promise her forever, I wanted to be her eternity.

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 My Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Whenever I pick up a Seaside Novel, it is like coming home. Seriously. It feels like I know Nat and Alec, Demetri and Alyssa.. Hell it even feels like I know Jameyson. I've laughed with them. I've cried with them. And now.. I get to celebrate with them.

Forever is everything you've come to expect from Rachel and her Seaside series. It's witty, its funny, it makes you smile, and it makes you cry. One of the things I love most about Rachel is her ability to draw you in, to make you actually feel like you are a part of the story, and Forever, even though it is a novella, did not leave me with the disappointed feeling a lot of novellas do. It was the perfect amount of detail and flow to allow the reader to be a part of the celebration of Nat & Alec. 

My one and only complaint is that this is labeled as the end of Alec and Nat's story.. how can it be the end? *cries* I need to know what happens next (especially in one certain area that I don't want to give away in case some people still haven't read the other books). 

A quick and easy read (seriously, even though its a novella I read it in a couple hours, I couldn't put it down), Forever, is certain not to disappoint! And if, like me, you're already a Rachel fan... well then Seaside will (hopefully) tide you over under the release of Fall (coming Spring 2014).

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Forever: A Seaside Novella is available from Amazon.com

Review: Danger in Amish Country by Marta Perry, Diane Burke & Kit Wilkinson

From Goodreads.com Fall from Grace by Marta Perry

When one of her students witnesses a crime, Sara Esch gets too close to the truth, and widower Caleb King must risk it all for the woman who's taught him to love again. 

Dangerous Homecoming by Diane Burke

Katie Lapp needs her childhood friend Joshua Miller more than ever when someone threatens her late husband's farm. Can Joshua protect her even if it endangers his heart?

Return to Willow Trace by Kit Wilkinson

A series of accidents has startled their Plain community and leads Lydia Stoltz to Joseph Yoder, the man who once broke her heart. At every turn, it seems their shared past holds the key to their future.

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 My Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Danger in Amish Country is a wonderful collection of three short stories by three talented authors. Within each story, you found that the characters were well developed, and the plot (while different in each), kept you glued to the pages until the very end. I loved the perfect blend of suspense, mystery, danger and romance, add in the setting of Amish country and it was absolutely perfect! 

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Danger in Amish Country is available for pre-order from Amazon.com

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of Danger in Amish Country in return for my honest review. This does not in any way reflect upon my review. All thoughts/opinions of this novel are 100% my own.

Review: The Tenth Circle by Jon Land

From Goodreads.com FBlaine McCracken races to stop terrorists from unleashing an ancient weapon of unimaginable power at the president’s State of the Union speech

Blaine McCracken pulled off the impossible on a mission in Iran, but his work has just begun. Returning to the US, he faces another terrible threat in the form of Reverend Jeremiah Rule, whose hateful rhetoric has inflamed half the world, resulting in a series of devastating terrorist attacks. But Rule isn’t acting alone. A shadowy cabal is pulling his strings, unaware that they are creating a monster who will soon spin free of their control.

Finding himself a wanted man, McCracken must draw on skills and allies both old and new to get to the heart of a plot aimed at unleashing no less than the tenth circle of hell. A desperate chase takes him into the past, where the answers he needs are hidden amid two of history’s greatest puzzles: the lost colony of Roanoke and the Mary Celeste. As the clock ticks down to an unthinkable maelstrom, McCracken and his trusty sidekick, Johnny Wareagle, must save the United States from a war the country didn’t know it was fighting, and that it may well lose.

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 My Rating: 1 star out of 5

The premise of this novel hooked me right off the bat. I LOVE novels that fall into this genre because they are always so fast paced that I find myself sucked in from page one, and oftentimes lose sleep trying to finish.

Unfortunately, that was not the case for The Tenth Circle. The story rarely seemed to move forward, choosing instead to fill chapters with "back-story" that took away from the overall plot instead of adding to it. The author also seemed to love ending chapters on what would have been a "cliff-hanger" which would have been awesome, if he didn't wait so long to reveal what had happened/been seen. By the time it was revealed, I had forgotten what had lead up to it to begin with. 

With many of the scenes completely unbelievable, it was hard to take most of this book seriously. In fact, I found myself rolling my eyes several times thinking to myself "yeah right" as I tried to get through all 100 chapters. Instead of the page gripping two days I expected to finish this book in, it was closer to a week of "must finish this for my review". 

This is one of the few books I would NOT recommend. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of The Tenth Circle in return for my honest review. This does not in any way reflect upon my review. All thoughts/opinions of this novel are 100% my own.

Review: Snowblind by Christopher Golden

From Goodreads.com The small New England town of Coventry had weathered a thousand blizzards...but never one like this. Icy figures danced in the wind and gazed through children's windows with soul-chilling eyes. People wandered into the whiteout and were never seen again. Families were torn apart, and the town would never be the same.

Now, as a new storm approaches twelve years later, the folks of Coventry are haunted by the memories of that dreadful blizzard and those who were lost in the snow. Photographer Jake Schapiro mourns his little brother, Isaac, even as---tonight---another little boy is missing. Mechanic and part-time thief Doug Manning's life has been forever scarred by the mysterious death of his wife, Cherie, and now he’s starting over with another woman and more ambitious crimes. Police detective Joe Keenan has never been the same since that night, when he failed to save the life of a young boy . . . and the boy’s father vanished in the storm only feet away. And all the way on the other side of the country, Miri Ristani receives a phone call . . . from a man who died twelve years ago.

As old ghosts trickle back, this new storm will prove to be even more terrifying than the last.

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 My Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

OH.MY.GOD. This book! This is one of the rare combinations of subtlety (where they don't need blood and guts or mangled body parts to tell the story) and immediate action (seriously.. it picks up during the "first killer" blizzard and just goes on from there). This book would appeal to those readers that like both "thriller" and "horror" novels. 

The characters are written in such a way that they are realistic and relate-able (even if you only get to know a few of them really well). You find yourself rooting for them, even while thinking they could very well be your neighbors. You worried with them, you cheered with them.. hell you even cried with them. This book had everything! 

Overall, I found myself shivering at some parts, desperately hoping for no snow in others (although I live in New Jersey where snow is common), and fervently wishing there will be another novel after this one (oh.. that ending! It left me clicking my kindle and cursing.. in a good way... when I realized there was no more to this one). 

This is one of those stories that has picked a perfect "Snow filled" release date of January 2014!

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Snowblind is available for pre-order from Amazon.com
  

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of Snowblind in return for my honest review. This does not in any way reflect upon my review. All thoughts/opinions of this novel are 100% my own.

Sneak Peek: No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean

Title: No Good Duke Goes Unpunished 

Author: Sarah MacLean

Event organized by:  Tasty Tours

Book Description:

A rogue ruined...
He is the Killer Duke, accused of murdering Mara Lowe on the eve of her wedding. With no memory of that fateful night, Temple has reigned over the darkest of London’s corners for twelve years, wealthy and powerful, but beyond redemption. Until one night, Mara resurfaces, offering the one thing he’s dreamed of...absolution.

A lady returned...
Mara planned never to return to the world from which she’d run, but when her brother falls deep into debt at Temple’s exclusive casino, she has no choice but to offer Temple a trade that ends in her returning to society and proving to the world what only she knows...that he is no killer.

A scandal revealed...
It’s a fine trade, until Temple realizes that the lady-and her past-are more than they appear. It will take every bit of his strength to resist the pull of this mysterious, maddening woman who seems willing to risk everything for honor . . . and to keep from putting himself on the line for love

Book Excerpt: 

TEMPLE

Whitefawn Abbey, Devonshire

November 1819

He woke with a splitting head and a hard cock.

            The situation was not uncommon. He had, after all, woken each day for more than half a decade with one of the items in question, and on more mornings than he could count with both.

            William Harrow, Marquess of Chapin and heir to the dukedom of Lamont was wealthy, titled, privileged and` handsome—and a young man blessed with those traits rarely wanted for anything relating to wine or women.

            So it was that on this morning, he did not fret. Knowing (as skilled drinkers do) that the splitting head would dissipate by midday, he moved to cure the other affliction and, without opening his eyes, reached for the female no doubt nearby.

            Except, she wasn’t.

            Instead of a handful of warm, willing flesh, William came up with a handful of unsatisfying pillow.

            He opened his eyes, the bright light of the Devonshire sun assaulting his senses and emphasizing the thundering in his head.

He cursed. He draped one forearm over his closed eyes, sunlight burning red behind the lids, and took a deep breath.

Daylight was the fastest way to ruin a morning.

            Likely, it was for the best that the woman from the previous evening had disappeared, though the memory of lovely lush breasts, a mane of auburn curls and a mouth made for sin did bring with it a wave of regret.

            She had been gorgeous.

            And in bed—

            In bed she’d been—

            He stilled.

He couldn’t remember.

            Surely he hadn’t had that much drink. Had he? She’d been tall and full of curves, made just the way he liked his women, a match for the height and breadth that was too often his curse when it came to women. He did not like feeling like he might crush a girl.

And she’d had smile that made him think of innocence and sin all at once. She’d refused to tell him her name . . . refused to hear his . . .

            Utter perfection.

            And her eyes—he’d never seen eyes like hers, one the blue of the summer sea, and one just on the edge of green. He’d spent too long looking at those eyes, fascinated by them, wide and welcoming.

            They’d crept through the kitchens and up the servants’ stairs to his room, she’d poured him a scotch . . .

            And that was all he remembered.

            Good Lord. He had to stop drinking.

            Just as soon as today was over. He would need drink to survive his father’s wedding day—the day William gained his fourth stepmother. Younger than all the others. Younger than him.

            And very very rich.    

            Not that he’d met her, this paragon of brideliness. He’d meet her at the ceremony and not before, just as he’d done the other three. And then, once the familial coffers had been once again filled, he would leave. Back to Oxford, having done his duty and played the role of doting son. Back to the glorious, libidinal life that belonged to the heir to the dukedom, filled with drink and dice and women and not a worry in the world.

            Back to the life he adored.

            But tonight, he would honor his father and greet his new mother and pretend that he cared for the sake of propriety. And perhaps, after he was done playing the role of heir, he’d seek out the playful young thing from the gardens and do his best to recall the events of the night before.

            Thank Heaven for country estates and well-attended nuptials. There wasn’t a female in creation who could resist the sexual lure of a wedding, and because of that, William had a great affinity for holy matrimony.

            How lucky that his father had such a knack for it.

            He grinned and stretched wide in the bed, throwing one arm wide across the cool linen sheets.

            Cold linen sheets.

            Cold wet linen sheets.

            What in hell?

            His eyes flew open.

            It was only then that he realized it wasn’t his room.

            It wasn’t his bed.

            And the red wash across the bedsheets, dampening his fingers with its sticky residue, was not his blood.

            Before he could speak, or move, or understand, the door to the strange bedchamber opened and a maid appeared, fresh-faced and eager.

            There were a dozen different things that could have gone through his mind at that moment . . . a hundred of them. And yet, in the fleeting seconds between the young maid’s entrance and her notice of him, William thought of only one thing—that he was about to ruin the poor girl’s life.

            He knew, without doubt, that she would never again casually open a door, or spread sheets across a bed, or bask in the rare, bright sunlight of a Devonshire winter morning without remembering this moment.

            A moment he could not change.

He did not speak when she noticed him, nor when she froze in place, nor when she went deathly pale and her brown eyes—funny that he noticed their color—went wide with first recognition and then horror.

Nor did he speak when she opened her mouth and screamed. No doubt he would have done the same, had he been in her position.

It was only when she was through with that first, ear-shattering shriek—the one that brought footmen and maids and wedding guests and his father running—that he spoke, taking the quiet moment before the coming storm to ask, “Where am I?”

The maid simply stared, dumbstruck.

He made to move from the bed, the sheets falling to his waist, stopping short as he realized his clothes were nowhere in sight.

He was naked. In a bed that was not his own.

And he was covered in blood.

He met the maid’s horrified gaze again, and when he spoke, the words came out young and full of something he would later identify as fear. “Whose bed is this?”

Remarkably, she found her answer without stuttering. “Miss Lowe.”

Miss Mara Lowe, daughter of a wealthy financier, with a dowry large enough to catch a duke.

Miss Mara Lowe, soon-to-be the Duchess of Lamont.

His future stepmother.

You can purchase this book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BAM or Indie

GIVEAWAY! 

Copy of A ROUGE BY ANY OTHER NAME & ONE GOOD EARL DESERVES A LOVER, Book One and Two of the Rules of Scoundrels Series

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About the Author: Sarah MacLean grew up in Rhode Island, obsessed with historical romance and bemoaning the fact that she was born far too late for her own season. Her love of all things historical helped to earn her degrees from Smith College and Harvard University before she finally set pen to paper and wrote her first book.

Sarah now lives in New York City with her husband, their dog, and a ridiculously large collection of romance novels. She loves to hear from readers. 

You can learn more about this author by visiting: Her Website,  Twitter or Facebook 

Review: Cold Mourning by Brenda Chapman

From Goodreads.com It's a week before Christmas when wealthy businessman Tom Underwood disappears into thin air -- with more than enough people wanting him dead.

New police recruit Kala Stonechild, who has left her northern Ontario detachment to join a specialized Ottawa crime unit, is tasked with returning Underwood home in time for the holidays. Stonechild, who is from a First Nations reserve, is a lone wolf who is used to surviving on her wits. Her new boss, Detective Jacques Rouleau, has his hands full controlling her, his team, and an investigation that keeps threatening to go off track.

Old betrayals and complicated family relationships brutally collide when love turns to hate and murder stalks a family.

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 My Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Although this book is full of compelling characters, and has an intriguing story-line to boot, I felt that overall, this novel fell a bit flat. There was a definite lack of "flow" to this story which made it hard to get sucked into. There was little differentiating between characters/topics which sometimes made it a bit hard to follow. 

I have to give the author credit where it is due however - she gave you a lot of "possible murders" and even I had a hard time guessing who the real culprit was!

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Cold Mourning is available from Amazon.com
 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of Cold Mourning in return for my honest review. This does not in any way reflect upon my review. All thoughts/opinions of this novel are 100% my own.