*Grabby Hands* Blog Tour & Review - Tell Me That You're Mine by Victoria de La O

Title: Tell Me That You’re Mine

(Tell Me #3)

Author: Victorial De La O

Publisher: SMP Swerve

Release Date: August 29, 2017

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Ryan McCallister is ready to come home and put the heartbreak of his first love behind him. But when he returns after teaching abroad, the home he once knew isn’t quite ready for him. The woman Ryan once loved is living with his brother; his friends have moved on; and his new landlady, Eva Romero, seems determined not to like him.

But Ryan likes Eva. A lot.

It doesn’t matter that Eva has a six-year-old son and a troubled ex-husband; when Ryan’s with her, everything makes sense. Eva isn’t convinced she’s ready to take another chance on love, but Ryan’s determined to show her he’s worth the risk.

  

Goodreads

Available at:  Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble  |  Kobo  |  iTunes  |  Google Play

It’s feels like an eternity since I’ve been home. In reality, it’s only been a year.

My slow walk to the house is surreal. The lawn is as pristine as ever, each blade of grass shorn the same height by Jude’s meticulous mowing. The red geraniums I planted years ago are thriving. And the dent in the porch rail, caused by my foot accidentally connecting with the wood, is still visible. But I don’t remember the house being this uninspiring shade of blue, or the crack on the front stoop being this wide. This house, this city, used to be my whole world. It seemed a lot bigger then.

Discordance skitters over my spine: what should be familiar is foreign, relief mingles with anxiety. Time snaps and contracts as I knock on the front door, and suddenly it seems like an hour since I left. A nanosecond.

The door swings open, and the reason for my hasty departure is staring at me. She’s as pretty as I remember—maybe more, damn her. Green eyes that used to flutter when I kissed her, full lips that whispered confidences in my ear.

Now, her face is frozen in a hostess’ smile. Her fingers worry the bottom button of her pink cardigan and the threads begin to loosen. She doesn’t know what to do because she wasn’t expecting me. I guess it wasn’t nice showing up a day early.

“Ryan. You’re home.”

Home. Does she mean mine or hers?

I had almost forgotten what Lizzie’s voice sounded like, but its husky depth brings the memories of the six months we spent loving each other rushing back.

Well, I had been loving her. She’d been falling in love with my brother.

I wait for my heart to ache, but there’s only a small twinge. That’s a surprise. In my mind, this was all so much more dramatic and intense. Hard stares and pinched lips. A little social awkwardness seems so mundane by comparison.

And then the door swings open wider and Jude is there. My pulse stops—doesn’t slow, just ceases to exist for a second. Leave it to him to bring the fireworks.

Like the house, Jude seems smaller than I remember. Or maybe that’s because he has gone expressionless, his discomfort hard-crashing him. His hands dig into his pockets, searching for an anchor, pulling his shoulders into a hunch. It takes a lot to knock Jude off his game. Glad to see I can still have that effect on him.

When he opens his mouth, no sound comes out. It’s unusual for me to have to step up and be the better man when I’m around my big brother. But today is that day.

Copyright © 2017 Tell Me That You’re Mine by Victoria De La O

4 “More Ryan, thank you & please” Stars

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, Swerve!!!

Oh, yes, this is Ryan's story. And, oh, yes, I'm still so very much in love with this guy. And, oh, yes, he's fictional, but who cares?

I met Ryan McCallister last year when I read Victoria de La O's amazing debut, Tell Me How This Ends, and dude made me feel. If you haven't read that book yet, then I must warn you: this review might spoiler the ending of book 1, so go read that lesson on how to write love triangles and then come back to this review.

Warning:

Back to Ryan now. In Book #1, I rooted for him (and for his brother, but let's pretend that didn't happen, so we don't hurt his feelings), and I felt so bad for him in the end that I wanted to hug him and bring him home with me. But I couldn't because Ryan moved to the other side of the world.

That little problem is solved in Tell me That You're Mine (and the significance of the title for Ryan and everything that has happened to him since the first book just hit me right now, and my heart is breaking again *snifs*). Ryan is back, and he's even more adorable than I remembered him to be.

A little nerdy, a lot sexy and equal parts sweet and angst, Ryan won me over with each new page. The more I read about him, the more I remembered why I'd been torn between Ryan and his brother (Jude is normally more my book-boyfriend type, with all the brooding he does). Ryan got to me so many times in this book. Whenever he interacted with Jude, or helped Diego, or thought about his father. Thing is, NOT falling in love with Ryan is almost impossible.

So it wasn't much of a surprise that Eva couldn't resist him.

I have to say that my love for Eva came slowly. It took me more than I'm used to with Victoria de La O's characters to fully connect with her, which also suprised me because she's Latina, and I'm always happy to see Latinx representation in books.

I can't exactly point out why I didn't fall as madly in love with Eva as I did with Lizzie or Sam, from the previous books. Maybe the romance moved a little too fast. Maybe she was a little too closed off at first. But once I got to know Eva better, I could see why Ryan had fallen for her.

Eva was a strong woman in many senses. There was such a mature vibe to her that I sometimes forgot she wasn't even in her thirties. It had less to do with the fact that she had a six-year-old son, and more with the way she faced her problems. 

In a sense, I feel like I was Jude in regards to Evan and Ryan's relationship. 

I didn't initially think Eva was good enough for my precious Ryan, but once I saw who she was and how she treated the people around her, then I was all in. 

I think Eva's situation with her ex-husband was what did it for me. It was portrayed in a heartbreaking way because of how respectful the author was to these character and their history. It would've been so easy to turn her ex into a villain, but Victoria de La O once again showed me she was better than that. She made me feel for Eva, who was torn between helping the man she once loved and finding a place for her new love in a her messy life. She even made me feel for the ex. 

And as a I started falling for Eva, her relationship with Ryan started making more sense to me. I started smiling when they acted cute together, and anticipating their love scenes. It was a different experience from what I had with the first two books, but it was worth it. So, in the end, I was Jude again and gave Eva and Ryan my blessing.

Speaking of ending, fans of this series will love that special extra chapter that takes place in the future. No spoilers here, because you'll want to experience it the way I did, but I have to say that that extra chapter touched me deeply. For me, the Tell Me series ended with the thing that made it so special to start with: beautifully written characters showing the kind of emotion that left the pages of the book and tugged at my heart, giving me all the feels. I'm going to miss them, but I'm ready for whatever Victoria de La O comes up with next.

Victoria De La O is the award-winning and RITA®-nominated author of the Tell Me romance trilogy, including Tell Me How This Ends. A native of California’s Silicon Valley, she spends time hanging out with her family, arguing about films, and practicing Wonder Woman spins, She loves talking to readers, so find her at www.victoriadelao.com.

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Release Blitz with Excerpt and Review - Elliott Redeemed (Preload #2) by Scarlett Cole

Title: Elliott Redeemed

(Preload #2)

Author: Scarlett Cole

Publication date: August 29th, 2017

Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Swerve

 

A single mom and tortured musician find common ground in Scarlett Cole's Elliott Redeemed, the second standalone romance about the band Preload.

Elliott “Pyro” Dawson burns up the lead guitar like a legend. But the nickname Pyro isn’t just a clever play on words. It’s much darker. A past he's fought like hell to overcome.

Grocery store cashier Kendalee Walker is at her wits end and homeless. She's watched her fourteen-year-old son, Daniel, go so far off the rails, he can no longer see the tracks.

When the two are brought together, attraction flares, but can Elliott find the family he never had with the sexy woman and her son, or will he fall back on dangerous habits?

Buy Links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5UQK31

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/elliott-redeemed-scarlett-cole/1126791501

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781250132451

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/elliott-redeemed

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=l8MEDgAAQBAJ

When all the wood was finally stacked next to his clearing, Elliott dove into the lake to cool down. Excitement began to trickle through his veins. Once he was cool, he dried off a little and wandered into the house to get one of the now-cold beers and his box of supplies.

The piano intro to “Pretending” started, and he laughed. Shuffle was reading his fucking mind.

He walked back to the fire pit and put the box down carefully on one of the Muskoka chairs nearby. He took a swig of beer, eyed his supplies, and ran his hand over the rough logs. He’d build a stack of pallets and logs similar to an inukshuk. The Inuit had used them as landmarks, and it would be one for him. It would mark home.

Elliott took his time sorting the logs into pairs of similar sizes and began to cautiously stack them. If they fell over too soon as they burned, it would ruin the effect, so he used some of the smaller pieces to build a frame to stop the logs from rolling. Periodically, he would lay a wooden pallet across the logs. When he’d used up his supplies, the structure was nearly as tall as he was. Need coursed through him. The matches were in the box, calling to him as they always did. The compulsion, the urges were so very strong. But giving into the gratification too soon ruined everything. By holding out, he could convince himself that he was the one in control. And, anyway, lighting it before it was truly dark would ruin the effect.

Forcing himself to put one foot in front of the other, he turned away and walked back into the house to make some supper. He cut up the pre-cooked chicken and served himself some of the ready-made sides he’d picked up at Loblaws, periodically looking out the window to check his structure. It would burn well, the pallets igniting faster than the logs, sending flames high into the air. Elliott took a step toward the door, desperate to strike the first match, but then turned back. He forced himself to grab a fork from the drawer, another beer from the fridge, and the plate from the counter, and wandered outside, taking a seat on the patio.

The sun went down as he ate his fill. Thoughts of Kendalee spending another night in the hospital eating takeout food kept going through his mind, and he wondered what she would think of him if she knew this was the reason he’d had to get out of Toronto for a couple of days.

Why did he think he was capable of helping Daniel when he couldn’t even stop himself? Daniel needed someone stronger than him. Someone who had enough self-control to take the extra few minutes to clean up the dirty dishes from dinner before stepping down toward the pier.

Elliott opened the box reverently, and pulled out his favorite lighter. He loved the sound it made as his thumb ran quickly over its rough surface. At his command, it came to life, a flame snapping high into the dark night. He grabbed four long matches and placed all four tips into the flame at once. They hissed to life, the smell of sulphur filling his nostrils, calming him as much as it excited him.

There was no way he’d ever be good enough for someone like Kendalee. He placed the first long match down in the corner of the fire pit, watching as the kindling took hold. He walked to the next corner and repeated the action, savoring the crackle and snap of the wood in the fire’s path. The heat began to lick at his skin, but he couldn’t step away. He would never be able to tell her why he understood Daniel, and that would always get in the way. He placed a match in the third corner and breathed deeply in a bid to control his heart rate. Moving quickly, he stepped to the fourth corner, but before he placed the match in the tinder, he ran it along the underside of his arm, pausing near his elbow. He grit his teeth tightly as the heat seared his skin. The bite of it cleared all thoughts from his head. Thoughts of the band, the tour, a small boy in the hospital, and a strawberry blonde he wanted to know better. None of them could compete with this.

Delicately, he placed the fourth match down and stepped back. The whole structure roared to life as flames climbed the wood.

Fire would always be his mistress. He didn’t have room for anyone else.

When all the wood was finally stacked next to his clearing, Elliott dove into the lake to cool down. Excitement began to trickle through his veins. Once he was cool, he dried off a little and wandered into the house to get one of the now-cold beers and his box of supplies.

The piano intro to “Pretending” started, and he laughed. Shuffle was reading his fucking mind.

He walked back to the fire pit and put the box down carefully on one of the Muskoka chairs nearby. He took a swig of beer, eyed his supplies, and ran his hand over the rough logs. He’d build a stack of pallets and logs similar to an inukshuk. The Inuit had used them as landmarks, and it would be one for him. It would mark home.

Elliott took his time sorting the logs into pairs of similar sizes and began to cautiously stack them. If they fell over too soon as they burned, it would ruin the effect, so he used some of the smaller pieces to build a frame to stop the logs from rolling. Periodically, he would lay a wooden pallet across the logs. When he’d used up his supplies, the structure was nearly as tall as he was. Need coursed through him. The matches were in the box, calling to him as they always did. The compulsion, the urges were so very strong. But giving into the gratification too soon ruined everything. By holding out, he could convince himself that he was the one in control. And, anyway, lighting it before it was truly dark would ruin the effect.

Forcing himself to put one foot in front of the other, he turned away and walked back into the house to make some supper. He cut up the pre-cooked chicken and served himself some of the ready-made sides he’d picked up at Loblaws, periodically looking out the window to check his structure. It would burn well, the pallets igniting faster than the logs, sending flames high into the air. Elliott took a step toward the door, desperate to strike the first match, but then turned back. He forced himself to grab a fork from the drawer, another beer from the fridge, and the plate from the counter, and wandered outside, taking a seat on the patio.

The sun went down as he ate his fill. Thoughts of Kendalee spending another night in the hospital eating takeout food kept going through his mind, and he wondered what she would think of him if she knew this was the reason he’d had to get out of Toronto for a couple of days.

Why did he think he was capable of helping Daniel when he couldn’t even stop himself? Daniel needed someone stronger than him. Someone who had enough self-control to take the extra few minutes to clean up the dirty dishes from dinner before stepping down toward the pier.

Elliott opened the box reverently, and pulled out his favorite lighter. He loved the sound it made as his thumb ran quickly over its rough surface. At his command, it came to life, a flame snapping high into the dark night. He grabbed four long matches and placed all four tips into the flame at once. They hissed to life, the smell of sulphur filling his nostrils, calming him as much as it excited him.

There was no way he’d ever be good enough for someone like Kendalee. He placed the first long match down in the corner of the fire pit, watching as the kindling took hold. He walked to the next corner and repeated the action, savoring the crackle and snap of the wood in the fire’s path. The heat began to lick at his skin, but he couldn’t step away. He would never be able to tell her why he understood Daniel, and that would always get in the way. He placed a match in the third corner and breathed deeply in a bid to control his heart rate. Moving quickly, he stepped to the fourth corner, but before he placed the match in the tinder, he ran it along the underside of his arm, pausing near his elbow. He grit his teeth tightly as the heat seared his skin. The bite of it cleared all thoughts from his head. Thoughts of the band, the tour, a small boy in the hospital, and a strawberry blonde he wanted to know better. None of them could compete with this.

Delicately, he placed the fourth match down and stepped back. The whole structure roared to life as flames climbed the wood.

Fire would always be his mistress. He didn’t have room for anyone else.

4 “Fire & Rock’n’Roll” Stars

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, Swerve!

Click here to read my full review.

Born in England, Scarlett Cole traveled the world, living in Japan and the United States before settling in Canada where she met her own personal hero – all six and a half feet of him. She now lives with her husband and children in Manchester, England where she's at work on her next book. She is the author of The Strongest Steel.

Website: http://www.scarlettcole.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsscarlettcole/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ItsScarlettCole

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scarlettcole/

Release & Review - Chasing Red (Red #1) by Isabelle Ronin

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Chasing Red
(Red #1)
Author: Isabelle Ronin
Release Date: September 5th, 2017

Age Category/ Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Find out why millions of readers love Chasing Red

Chasing Red is the Wattpad phenomenon with over 130 million reads, and one million reads each week. Revised and with new original content, it will be published in two volumes, Chasing Red and Always Red. New readers and fans alike will fall in love with Red and Caleb--over and over again.

HER HEART MIGHT BE THE ONE THING HE CAN'T WIN...
When cynical straight-A college student Veronica "Red" Strafford gets kicked out of her apartment, notorious basketball player Caleb Lockhart offers her a place to stay. Intensely drawn to her, Caleb wants something for the first time in his life. But Veronica's painful past makes trusting difficult, and her heart might just be the one thing Caleb can't win.

They said she was going to be my ruin...then let her ruin me. 

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon

2 “Color me disappointed” Stars

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, Sourcebooks Casablanca!

I'm definitely one of those New Adult fans saddened by the fact that the genre didn't stick. Sure there was that BOOM a few years ago, but traditional publishers seem to avoid NA books at all costs, and it's been hard to even find self-published material lately.

So I was intrigued when I saw Chasing Red on NetGalley.

A Wattpad phenomenon, Chasing Red promises exactly what I look for in NA books: college kids falling in love and lots of drama. The problem was I didn't like the drama and I didn't fall in love with the characters.

Told from the POV of both main characters, Caleb and Veronica, the book simply lacked any wow factor for me. Caleb's POV chapters were a little better than Veronica's, but not good enough to impress me. As to Veronica, I simply didn't care for her that much. I couldn't connect with them, which means the book didn't have much of a chance of intriguing me.

I was mainly disappointed because the premise in itself usually hooks me. I'm a sucker for "the girl in trouble goes to live with bad boy and they fall in love" kind of story, but the lack of chemistry between Caleb and Veronica, the stilted dialogue, and my lack of connection with the characters kept me from fully enganging with the story.

No matter how hungry I was for another college romance book, Chasing Red didn't do it for me.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

Book Blitz with Giveaway - Coletti Warlords by Gail Koger

Title: Game On Askole

(Coletti Warlords #7)

Author: Gail Koger

Genre: SciFi Romance

Tihar travels to Earth to find and claim a Jones female. He knows they are fearless, psychic warriors, and talented in bed sport. Ten minutes after meeting Sarah, Tihar knows the feisty little human is the one he has been searching for. Now he must convince Sarah that she's meant to be his. He thinks Earth girls are easy. he’s about to learn that messing with a Jones female is never a good idea.

The first time Sarah sees Tihar, she's a wee bit freaked out. The Askole warrior has tentacles, snakelike features, and black, armored-plated skin. Even weirder, she finds him strangely attractive. Tihar's torso is sculpted perfection and his black scales are actually kind of sexy. Who knew challenging Tihar to combat would start the Askole mating dance?

As the two grow closer, their romance comes to a screeching halt when Askole rebels attack Tihar's home world. He tells Sarah she is his heart's destiny and that he will love her to the end of time, then he abruptly severs their mental bond and disappears. Sarah's left reeling from shock, but she's a Jones and isn't about to let a galactic war stop her from hunting down her mate. Can the two of them find their way back into each other’s arms?

Publisher's Note: The first half of Game On Askole is a prequel to Vexing Voss, and the second part moves forward three years.

Goodreads * Amazon

Wulf and the Bounty Hunter

Coletti Warlords Book #6

Wulf knows Yakira is his soulmate. Now he just needs to convince her. But with intergalactic terrorists on Yakira’s trail, there’s little time for romance. What’s a hot-blooded Coletti warlord to do?

Yakira feels safe and cherished with Wulf, but he is a Coletti--the ultimate predator with a taste for blood, a passion for battle, and the need to control everything in his life. The big question is: how does she make Wulf understand she’s a powerful psychic with kick-ass bionic limbs and quite capable of taking care of herself?

Goodreads * Amazon

Just Desserts

Coletti Warlords Book #5

Kaylee knew being a Coletti Warlord's mate wasn't going to be easy. Not only was Talree downright scary, he had a bossy streak a mile long and collected enemies like most men collected lovers. But while Kaylee's life might not be perfect, Talree truly loved her.

Flash forward nine months to a very pregnant, insanely hormonal and cranky as hell Kaylee. If the pregnancy wasn't enough to drive her crazy, Talree's enemies are tap dancing on her last nerve. The Shani Queen Mother, a psychotic alien with a bone to grind against Talree, decided she wanted the planet Tartum--a barren piece of crap loaded with Ditrum crystals, and part of the Coletti Empire. Her master plan? Kidnap Kaylee and hold her for ransom. If the Overlord refused to give Tartum to the Queen Mother, she would feed Kaylee and her son to the Tai-Kok.

She thinks Kaylee will beg for mercy. Boy, is the alien bitch in for a surprise. She's about to meet a woman suffering from hormone overload and a serious lack of chocolate. The only one begging for mercy will be the Queen Mother.

Goodreads * Amazon

Reality Bites

Coletti Warlords Book #4

Bree never thought her dimwit act, military grade mace, cattle prod, or dumping a ton of stinky manure on Jaylan's head would encourage his pursuit. Who knew a Coletti warlord would think being zapped with a cattle prod as foreplay? Or that a clever opponent only heightened his enjoyment of the chase?

The chase comes to an abrupt halt when the Tai-Kok attack Tucson, forcing Bree to team up with the Coletti warlord to stop them. Suddenly plucked from Earth by a crazed Tai-Kok commander, Jaylan and Bree find themselves stranded on a hostile alien world, and being tracked by a deadly Askole assassin. Neither of them expected to find love.

Goodreads * Amazon

Vexing Voss

Coletti Warlords Book #3

For Voss, a Coletti Warlord, conquering the universe is a piece of cake. After all, he's a master of psychic seduction; no one can resist him when he sets his mind to it.

Zoey Jones is determined to find her mother's killer. Surrendering to a fierce Coletti warrior is the last thing on her mind. When Voss is determined to make Zoey his mate, she unleashes her own brand of whoop-ass to discourage his pursuit. When her clever disguises, skunk perfume, stun gun, and smoke bombs fail to stop the ruthless warlord, she's forced to negotiate her surrender: she would mate with him if he would help her find her mother's killer.

To Zoey's surprise, Voss agrees, and the hunt is on. Their quest to bring the villain to justice leads to unlikely alliances in an interplanetary war, and more surprisingly, to love.

Goodreads * Amazon

***Note- the first two books are not available for purchase at this time! The publisher went out of business and the author is fighting to get her rights back to sell the books!

Just My Luck

Coletti Warlords #1

Kaylee Jones is a trouble magnet. Chaos and disaster are her faithful companions. She belongs to the thin blue line protecting Earth from the Tai-Kok, alien predators who consider our world an all-you-can-eat banquet. 

Her crappy luck puts her on the alien freaks- most wanted list and lands her in one of their prison cells. Her roommate? A very hungry vampire. Okay, Talree's really a Coletti Warlord who decides to make her his mate. Kaylee's definitely not willing but isn't strong enough to fight him off and now he owns her mind, body and soul. 

She'll admit the sex is hot and the bossy jerk has agreed to save Earth from annihilation. The bad news is, Warlords aren't benevolent do-gooder types and there is a price for his help: the women of Earth. 

And the really bad news is, Talrees' low-down conniving brother, Malik, has joined forces with the alien freaks and now Kaylee and Talree have to stop them from destroying both their worlds.

Goodreads

The Warlord's Comeuppance

Coletti Warlords #2

Stealing from a warlord and giving him the one finger salute as I made my getaway was not the brightest thing I’d ever done. Okay, it was an incredibly stupid stunt.

Did I mention that this particular Coletti warlord is the most feared in the entire galaxy? That Zarek’s the ultimate predator and even the other warlords are scared spitless of him? That he never ever stops until he either captures or kills his prey?

Yeah, I have the big, bad after me and all because of one little finger. Okay and a Ditrim crystal the size of my fist. Am I worried? Of course, only an idiot doesn’t fear a very angry Coletti warlord. But, I am very good at what I do. Bad news is, so is Zarek.

Goodreads

I was a 9-1-1 dispatcher and to keep insanity at bay, I took up writing. Not to worry. The insanity isn't catching - much. Other than the addiction to chocolate and the twitch in my left eye, I'm good.

I made the Night Owl's Awesome Paranormal Romance Authors List.

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