Blog Tour & Review - Summer of Irreverence - The Rock Star by Cathrine Goldstein

Title: Summer of Irreverence
(The Rock Star)
Author: Catherine Goldstein

Publication Date: July 6th, 2015
Category/Genre: Adult Romance

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Straight-laced, veterinary surgeon, Summer Wynters is ready to break the rules. And who better to break them with than the most irreverent of all men, mega rock star Malcolm Angel? With one last summer free from work obligations, Summer moves to New York City, and at the coaxing of her friend, pretends to be a model so she can spend one wild night with Malcolm.

Rock star, Malcolm Angel, tortured by a dark past, may be the poet laureate of romance, but he, like science-minded Summer, has never believed in romantic love. How could he? With his history, he doesn’t deserve to be loved.

When Summer’s honesty, kindness, and exuberance for life changes his perspective, the two discover they are in deeper than either dreamed possible. But when Malcolm discovers Summer’s been perpetuating a lie, will he forgive her? Even if forgiveness is possible, can a man immune to love teach someone else to believe in it?

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I am a bestselling author, and a NYC girl at heart. I write “gritty romance,” in the genres of YA, NA; women’s fiction; and romance. I’m also the author of The Letting and The Coupling, books 1 and 2 of The Letting series. I began my career as an award-winning playwright, and I am a proud member of RWA, PAN. I have my BA in English and my MA in Theatre. 

I am a fan of Luna Bars, decaf coffee, yoga, Hemingway, and Bukowski—and the loves of my life are my husband and my two young girls.

To find out more about me; Summer of Irreverence, the first book in The New York Artists Series—standalone novels about strong, artistic men, and the smart, unexpected women they fall for; The Letting series; and what’s coming soon, please visit:www.CathrineGoldstein.com

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3.5 “Summer is the best season" Stars

I requested “Summer of Irreverence” expecting a steamy read about a rock star and a “normal” girl falling in love. I got a sweet romance book, instead, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t an enjoyable read.

Summer (the girl, not the season) is looking for a summer (the season, not the girl) adventure that will rock her world. After being in a relationship with a man who didn’t satisfy her needs, she’s ready to spend one night with someone who will make her forget her name. She doesn’t want commitment, she doesn’t even believe in love, but she wants great sex. Summer knows the perfect person for that: rock legend, Malcolm Angel. Her best friend is dating his manager, so it shouldn’t be too hard to meet Malcolm. All she’d have to do is make sure he notices her and likes what he sees enough to take her back to his hotel for one night. That’s why she pretends to be a model (like her best friend) instead of telling him the truth: she’s a veterinary surgeon.

Not that she needs to worry. Malcolm notices Summer the moment he spots her among the crowd; so I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care if she’s model, vet, doctor, lawyer or anything. He’s more than interested and more than willing to fulfill her wish: hot sex with no strings attached. Even though they’re both ready for it, a misunderstanding ends with Summer storming out of the hotel and Malcolm seeking her afterward. That’s when the almost one-night stand turns into weeks of flirting, bonding and friendship.

I personally appreciated how the author chose to have them become friends first, holding off the sex until the reader could believe there was more between them than just physical attraction. Since Malcolm had an adorable (aren’t they all?) dog and Summer loved animals, there were quite a few interesting and cute scenes with the three of them together.

I believed the sex happened exactly when it needed to. Not too early. Not too late. There was enough history between them to make it special and meaningful. I have to give them that – Malcolm and Summer definitely made a cute couple.

Another positive was the main character. Summer was a very likable MC, in my opinion. I loved how she took charge in tough situations and helped Malcolm when he needed most. There’s always a big chance I’ll like a character who loves animals, but Summer made it even easier to like her by acting like an independent woman.

Something I found myself thinking about when reading was that this book has a very “traditional” feel to it. Even though we’re talking about a romance between a woman who doesn’t believe in love, wants uncomplicated sex and falls for a rock star, the way the characters acted, talked and even felt screamed traditional values to me. If you’re into that, you’ll probably enjoy this book a whole lot.

The writing (show vs telling, voice and POV) still needed a lot of work. There’s a specific scene later on (won’t tell because of spoilers) that would normally make me cry, but I felt disconnected because of the excessive telling. Plus, there were more than a few times when I’d had to go back a few pages to remember whose POV it was. Writing dual POV is tough, so the voices need to be very clear in order for readers to be able to distinguish them.

Other than maybe another round of edits, I thought this was quite entertaining. If you like sweet romances, then there’s a good chance you’ll like this one, too.

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*Grabby Hands* - Blog Book Blitz - Rising Tides by Katy Haye

Title: Rising Tides 
Author: Katy Hayes

Publication Date: June 24th, 2016

Category/Genre: Young Adult Post-Apocalyptic
Publisher: Plumshine Books

The truth won’t stay submerged forever

City is the last civilised place left on a drowned Earth, a floating town built from metal and plastic from the Time Before. It’s the only home doctor's daughter Libby Marchmont has ever known or wanted – until her father helps the wrong patient and she's forced to flee.

Cosimo came to City for one reason. Then he should have vanished back to his people on the Wastes. But what about his promise to Libby’s father?

Stranded in the middle of the sea, can the two enemies learn to trust each other? And can they survive long enough to uncover the truth: City isn’t the safe haven Libby always believed it to be …

Early reviews:

Readers’ Favourite described Rising Tides as: “a compelling read [with] cool and ingenious concepts, a captivating plot [and] vivid and engaging characters”.

Kelly St. Clare at YA Books Central called Rising Tides “a gem of the YA genre."

Get your copy for just 99c/p this week only (Also on Kindle Unlimited).

Katy Haye spends as much time as possible in either her own or someone else's imaginary worlds. She has a fearsome green tea habit, a partiality for dark chocolate brazils and a fascination with the science of storytelling.

When not lost in a good book, Katy may be found on her allotment growing veg and keeping hens in order to maximise her chances of survival in the event of a zombie apocalypse or similar catastrophe (admittedly, this would not help if the entire country flooded...).

Author Links:
   

Your survival kit is as follows:
1. An Amazon voucher for £10/$15US/$20CAN, AUS, NZ. Load up your Kindle with books to read, while shops remain.
2. A solar charger so when the national grid fails you can still read your books.
3. A mirror. When you are stranded in the open sea you can signal for help by reflecting the sun's light. Alternatively, if you have no wish to be rescued because you still have reading to do, flip the mirror over to depict the slogan, "Go away I'm reading."
4. Ribbon bookmark. If all your books have been washed away by the rising seas, this can be rolled up and packed into the neck of a cut-open bottle and will double-up as a water filter. Note: this will not desalinate salt water, sorry.
5. A bag to put the last of your belongings into. DO NOT LEAVE THIS BEHIND.

ENTER HERE!

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*Grabby Hands* - Blog Tour & Promo - Black Five by J. Lynn Bailey

Title: Black Five
Author: J. Lynn Bailey

Publication Date: November 17th, 2015

Publisher: Poorhouse Publishing

No one ever accused Penelope Jackson of being normal, nor did they suspect the dark secret she kept. A dangerous web of deceit and secrecy unravels when news of a stranger’s death puts Penn on a collision course with the very person she’s been hiding from her whole life. Her fragile world is shaken to its core with the sudden arrival of Vacavious and she soon discovers the bizarre and magical world surrounding her seemingly ordinary life.

No one is who they claim to be, including those closest to Penn. A mysterious security detail emerges from the shadows scrambling to protect her as powerful forces await the fall of her protective veil on her eighteenth birthday. 

Penn prepares to fight against unseen evils before it’s too late. The world of Nighmerianotte and its population depends on her survival, for she is the Sanguine, the Black Five.

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Buy Link: Amazon

Here are some facts about Mason

1. Mason is a small town located just a one hundred miles south of the Oregon border. It’s nestled among the redwood trees, on California’s North Coast. The map, in the front of Black Five, is Mason, California. But what some people don’t know is that Mason is actually the town of Ferndale.

2. I grew up in Fortuna, California (Lake Providence, in the book) right across the river from Ferndale.

3. The Milk Can game is an actual tradition started in 1945. It takes place every September between our two towns. Many of the shenanigans mentioned in the book actually took place. And really, between Ferndale and Fortuna—we’re all really good friends. But come Milk Can time—it’s an all out war! Not really, but kinda. ( ;

4. For a brief moment, my mother and I lived on Bunny Street in Santa Maria, CA. And maggots actually came out of our carpet! It was at that point my mother said, “We’re out of here!”

5. I was raised by a single mother, a Marine. She’s tiny but she is mighty! I used the relationship with my mother and I to write the relationship between Penn and Jo. And that was easy to write because their love (our love) is so natural. When I wrote the letter from Penelope’s father, I wasn’t sure how to write that part because I wasn’t raised with a father. I used the love between my husband and my daughter (and the feelings as parent myself) to create that picture. Some parts were pretty tough to write—and hard to see the computer screen because of the snot that was slung!

6. When I first wrote Black Five, Amy wasn’t included. I have a dear friend whose son was diagnosed with cancer at four years old. Five years later, a local girl was diagnosed with cancer at just three years old. That really affected me.  I wanted to demonstrate how precious life is, while raising awareness about childhood cancer. I wanted to show the sadness, the heartbreak because this awful disease is taking our children far to young.

I am a HUGE supporter of St. Jude’s, St. Baldrick’s and Cookies for Kids Cancer and that is where my support and donations go, solely. I am happy to report that the young boy, now 11, is in remission and the little girl is cancer free.

I'm a mother of two beautiful children and a wife to an adorably supportive husband. Seriously, he's adorable and tall. Really tall; he's my high school sweetheart. I'm also a mother of two fur children who are extremely needy, Leo and Vinni.

I live with my family in a small town tucked away in the redwood forest located on California's northern coast. 

I'm quite boring. But in case you're wondering, you can see what my loves, my loathes and things you may not know about me by clicking the menu above.

Author Links:

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*Grabby Hands* Cover Reveal - This is Me by C.E. Wilson

Title: This is Me

Author: C.E. Wilson

Publication Date: August 11th, 2016

Category/Genre: New Adult Romance

Ready to see the beautiful cover?

A-SIST

Anthropomorphic Sentient Individualized Servile uniT

Rogan is a robot. More specifically, he is an Asist – a personalized humanoid servant that provides protection, assistance, and companionship for a lonely young woman living on her own in the city. Chloe is trying to get her big break, singing at bars and clubs all over the city at night while she pays the bills as a substitute teacher during the day. Ever since she activated him many months ago, Rogan has been her beautiful, dependable, obedient, dead-eyed security blanket.

One morning she is shocked when he disobeys a direct command in an attempt to please her and his dull artificial eyes flash a hint of something new. Is this the result of the adaptive Asist servility programming or is Rogan actually thinking? Can a robot think? Can a robot feel?

As Chloe struggles with these thoughts she is blindsided by the singular Niven Adams, a handsome, confident man with the voice of an angel who is everything she’s ever wanted in a boyfriend. He’s the perfect guy for her, except for one problem. Niven doesn’t approve of Asists and takes an immediate dislike to Rogan. As Niven charms his way deeper and deeper into Chloe’s heart, Rogan tries to convince her that he is more than a mass-produced disposable servant.

With Rogan doing everything in his power to prove that his thoughts and feelings are real and Niven trying to persuade her to abandon her robot and have a normal human relationship, Chloe is trapped between the two things that mean the most to her. Does she embrace her relationship with the blond newcomer, or face that her Asist’s feelings may be more than features of his programming?

What really makes a person a person?

Is it a ticking muscle inside their chest, or is it something more?

C.E. Wilson is currently living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband, beautiful daughter, a chubby beagle and two cats. They are all the loves of her life. When she’s not writing young adult fantasy novels, she enjoys writing short stories on her Deviant Art page. She loves to write stories involving giants and little people (also known as GT) and she can't decide what she loves more: horror movies or shoujo manga. She has a bachelor's degree in English Education so she has a soft spot for older literature authors including John Milton, William Shakespeare, and stories such as Paradise Lost and Beowolf. On a side note, nothing helps her to write more than drinking good beer and watching The Twilight Zone.

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