Book Review: The Life Gift by T.R. Lykins

The Life Gift and book one, Last Heartbeat, are ON SALE throughout the tour.

The Life Gift Synopsis

**** This is a companion novel to Last Heartbeat ****

Kristen believed her parents were truly happy and wanted a marriage like theirs. She really didn’t know anything about their relationship until she was leaving for college. That’s when they dropped a heartbreaking bombshell on her.

They only stayed together to make her happy. Now, she thinks she is the reason for their unhappiness, can she trust love?

Does love even last anymore?

Her new college roommate, Alexia, changes her mind about love. Seeing how fast Alexia falls for her dreamy guy Phillip, and how fast that dreamy guy falls for Alexia, she then realizes that maybe love could happen in her life!

Now, Kristen has to change her ways and open her heart up for love. Can Kristen do that after watching her parents live a lie for so many years? Hoping she can find her true love and not get hurt, Kristen thinks she can find him out there somewhere, but where?

One tragic moment happens to her friend and it makes her realize that life could end in a blink of an eye. Kristen makes a life decision that affects her and her friends.

Can she go through it?

This gift is the greatest gift she can give to her best friend, Alexia. Nine months of her life is a long time to give up for your friend.

Will this sacrifice be truly appreciated and will Alexia be able to take care of her precious gift?

Purchase Links

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Book One Links

Kobo: Last Heartbeat ~  Amazon: Last Heartbeat ~ Barnes & Noble: Last Heartbeat

Review

As a read The Life Gift, I couldn't help but to admire Kristen for wanting to give her best friend the most precious gift someone could give. I think the overall concept of the story was great and I loved all of the characters. The story was very sweet and quick but I did find a few things that I did not like. 

In my opinion, Kristen was a bit forceful in trying to convince Alexia and Phillip to allow her to become their surrogate. She constantly asked them and pretty much wouldn't take no for an answer. I understand that she just wanted to do something nice that would give her best friend something she'd always wanted but I think Kristen was too pushy. It's a big decision and they deserved time to think about it. She just couldn't understand why they wouldn't want this.

I also think the writing of the book itself was a bit awkward. Some scenes seemed disjointed and cut off. Although a shorter novel, The Life Gift felt rushed and a lot of detail was left out. For a book about pregnancy and being a surrogate, not many details were given and the pregnancies themselves were rushed.

Overall, I really liked The Life Gift. I think it's a great uplifting story for someone considering becoming a surrogate or someone who is having difficulties becoming pregnant. However, there were some things that just made the book seem awkward which is why I'm giving this novel 3.5 stakes. 

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Blog Tour: Chains by Kelli Maine

BOOK INFO

Title: Chains: An MMA Romantic Suspense Novel

Author: Kelli Maine

Published: Sept. 22, 2014

Length: ~168 pages

SYNOPSIS

Chained To The Past. 

On the brink of going pro in MMA, Tyler Graves has defied his past—a past where going to jail for beating the hell out of his foster father took him away from the girl he loved and swore to protect, leaving her in the house of the man who abused them both. 

Chained To Regret. 

No matter how much time has passed, Danielle Debasco weighs on Ty’s mind and conscience. He was supposed to save her, instead he abandoned her. 

Chained To Love. 

To free Danny from the abusive man who still haunts her, Ty’s faced with sacrificing his future by finishing what he started four years ago—taking vengeance. But, this time will be different. This time he won’t stop until the horrors of their past are sealed not just in blood, but in death.

BUY LINKS

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WHAT I THOUGHT

Overall, I liked Chains but wasn't overall enthused. I think the novel has a lot of good points about it but there are also some that didn't make sense and caused the book to feel incomplete and just lacking in some way.

Tyler and Danny lived in the same abusive foster home as children and always had a close bond. Because of this bond and the abuse, the two hold onto one another and vow to never leave each other. Unfortunately, as Tyler turns 18 first he must leave and never comes back for Danny. In result, Danny suffers more abuse, soon runs away, and begins her downward spiral.

The overall concept of the novel sounded really great and when it's laid out simply the novel does still sound good. However, it is the details that make a story and the details in Chains didn't always add up:

Despite their vow and his knowledge of the abuse that Danny was facing, Tyler never went back for Danny. This never really made sense as even before Danny pops up in the novel she is seen in Tyler's thoughts. And when she does show up Tyler is overrun with guilt and the undying need to protect her. If he felt so strongly about her, why did he never go back for her?

When Tyler finds Danny he quickly discovers that she is now a drug addict and he decides that she will quit right then and there. Danny shows some symptoms of withdrawal for about a page and then that's it. What?!? I know I don't have any personal experience with people addicted to drugs but I don't think it's that easy for someone to simply say you're not doing drugs anymore and the person is miraculously sober. Danny's drug addiction is never really brought up again in terms of her wanting drugs again, actual rehab, or withdrawal symptoms. Also, if Tyler was so worried about Danny doing drugs again he shouldn't have moved them into their drug dealer brother's house.

The Baron Striker, the abusive father, has been stalking Danny since she ran away. And Tyler and Alex are being taunted by drawings assumed to have been left by Striker says he's coming for Danny. Ok. So why is Danny, who's supposed to be terrified for her life and sick about the abuse, seem to have little to no regard for her life or her brothers'. She leaves their sight and ignores their instructions multiple times throughout the novel. If it were me and some abusive man was stalking me and I had two men willing to protect me, I would never leave their side until the man was dead or in jail. 

And did no one think to call the police. I know, it wouldn't have made for an interesting story if the police caught up in the first chapter but seriously, they could have established some record of the abuse or stalking. Why is murdering him the only solution?

Overall, I think Chains could have been constructed or fleshed out better. Also, the comic book strips didn't really add anything to the story and I didn't think they were necessary. I found Tyler to be admirable because he wanted to save Danny but I think the way he went about it was all wrong. Danny, I didn't really like at all because she didn't seem to care about her own life or anyone else's. Another review stated that she was broken because of the abuse but hard and rough from living on the streets. I didn't get any of the hard and rough. All I saw was the broken Danny who couldn't really function in life without someone guiding her.

I give Chains 3 stakes 

ABOUT KELLI MAINE

Kelli Maine is the erotic romance author of USA Today Bestseller and #1 Nook book, Taken, and the Give & Take series, along with the Dolls & Doms novellas and Chains. She lives in Northeast Ohio with her husband and kids. When she's not writing, Kelli enjoys watching reality T.V., getting lost in random Wikipedia pages and searching online ads for vintage muscle cars.

Favorite Author: Diana Gabaldon

Favorite Food: Japanese

Favorite Superhero: Spiderman

Favorite Place I've Been: Yucatan Peninsula

Writing Must Haves: Coffee and chocolate

Plotter or Pantser: Proud Pantser

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EXCERPT

“Did you ever try to find your mom?” Danny asked me. She’d insisted on coming downstairs for lunch the next day.
“Sip slow,” I told her, handing her a cup of chicken broth. “No. I never tried to find her.”
“Do you ever think about it?” she asked, taking a couple crackers out of the box I set on the table.
“No. She took off on me. I don’t want to force my way into someone’s life who doesn’t want me there.”
She made an, “Mmm,” sound, nodding and staring into her mug. “What about you?” I asked. “Have you talked to your mom?”
Danny was taken away. Her mom wanted her, but she couldn’t take care of her. When we were with Striker, she’d make wishes on stars and dandelion fuzz and birthday candles for her mom to take her back home, but her mom never got her shit together.
“A couple years ago,” Danny said, “Striker told me she overdosed.”
I put down the glass of water I’d poured her a bit too hard, with a thunk that echoed. “She’s dead?”
“That’s what he said.”
I watched her take a sip of her broth, hesitant to say what I was thinking. But it was Danny, and she’d have already thought it, too. “Was he lying?”
She shook her head. “I looked it up online at the library. Found her obituary. It didn’t mention a daughter.”
I sank into the chair beside her and took her hand. “You know what sucked the worst about my mom leaving me? She didn’t want to know me anymore. I mean, it was fucking shitty of her to abandon her kid, but after that, when I was alone at night in the dark I thought about how she didn’t know I liked to draw.”
“You lived to draw,” Danny said, squeezing my hand.
“Yeah, and she had no idea. She didn’t know that when she left the lady next door made me sleep on an old dog bed infested with fleas and sprayed me off with the hose instead of letting me shower.”
“How can people be so cruel? You were a little kid.”
“We were both little kids, Dan. People are fucking animals. They take care of their own and screw everyone else.”
“Not everybody,” she said.
I thought about Mike. “No, I guess not everybody. Most people.”
“I thought my mom wanted me,” she said. “I thought she’d try to get me back. When they took me away, she cried and promised she’d do everything she had to so we’d be together again.” She looked up at me with watery blue eyes. “She lied. She never tried to get me back.”
The pained expression on her face gripped me inside and twisted. I hated her mom. I hated Striker. I hated my own mom. How could they all do this to us? Then it hit me. I promised to go back for her, and I never did. Just like her mom.
I leaned forward, pressing her hand against my chest and my lips to her temple. “I want you, Danielle. I want you in my life. I always have. I was selfish and caught up in setting things right first, but I never forgot about you.”
She turned to me and stroked my cheek. Her eyes roamed my face, her sorrow of past memories gone. She watched her fingertips grazed my lips and lifted her eyes to mine, asking permission.
My heart drummed. I took her hand away and cupped her face, bringing her close enough to feel her breath on my cheek. I ran the tip of my nose up and down the ridge of hers before tilting her head and securing my lips against hers.
It was like breathing in life. Like I’d only been keeping myself alive with air in my lungs, food and water, but this—Danny in my arms with our lips seeking and discovering—this was really being alive. 
The tip of her tongue edged along my bottom lip and started a fire in my gut. I dropped my hands from her face and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her onto my lap. Our tongues darted in and out, shy and bold at the same time, learning the feel of each other. How could Danny—my Danny—still have part of her for me to discover?
The thought sent my mind south of her navel. Danny wasn’t the girl she used to be. If I were honest, I’d admit to myself that I’d noticed it when we were teenagers. She’d gotten hips and breasts and a firm, round ass. By the time she was fourteen, it was hard to look at her like she was the same little girl anymore. I never thought of her as a sister. Maybe if we’d lived in a house that was like an actual family instead of an abusive nightmare.
Sitting here with her ass pressed against my crotch and her lips and tongue slick and hot against mine, I was so fucking happy I’d never thought of her as my sister, or I’d be in for some serious guilt. There was no way I was turning back from being this close to her.
I wanted more.
I wanted closer.
I wanted inside her.
She parted her lips from mine, panting, and looked at me with hazy eyes. The last thing I wanted was to pressure her, scare her. “Should we stop?” I asked, hearing the deep rasp of lust in my voice.
She gazed into my eyes for a moment before shaking her head and falling back into our kiss.
I stood, picking her up in my arms, and carried her upstairs. In the bedroom, I laid her down on the bed and straddled her, sitting on my knees with my hands on either side of her head. “I need you to tell me if you don’t want to do this,” I said. “Or if you want me to stop.”
She gave me a sinful smile and looked up at me with those lusty, hooded eyes. “I’ve wanted this for as long as I knew what sex was, Tyler.” She ran her hands up my thighs. “I wanted this to take away what I didn’t want. To replace it with you. Someone who cared. Someone safe.”

Review: Out of Time by Donna Marie Oldfield

Title: Out of Time

Series: Out of Time #1

Author: Donna Marie Oldfield

Release Date: July 9, 2014

Description: 

A superhero novel 

Scarlett Shortt is just an average 18 year old until she wakes up in a strange world that is much darker than the one she knows. As she tries to discover where she is and how she got there, she’s taken in by a bunch of superheroes who claim to be her best friends. She soon learns she has powers too and the Scarlett of this reality is quite the force to be reckoned with. 

Follow Scarlett’s adventure as she struggles to master her powers and joins the group’s bid to make the world a better place. Along the way, she must battle other superpowered teens, strange robots, corrupt police and her feelings for her teammate Dylan. There's also the small matter of the power-crazed, evil Prime Minister who is desperate to capture the group and reshape the country in his own sinister image. Can they stop him? 

Out Of Time is a fun, action-packed adventure with humour and romance thrown into the mix. It is the first in a series of superhero books. 

Age: 11+

Review: Out of Time is a great read for anyone who loves superheros or super abilities. Admittedly, I haven' t read much in this genre but I loved this novel. I loved the dichotomy of the two universes Scarlett remembers and the one she is in now. And the mystery of which one is the right universe is one that kept me reading because I really wanted to know (and hoped she wouldn't) just pop back into her old, normal life. 

I think Scarlett handled her situation very well and I liked how it was different than a lot of other characters in modern literature. Scarlett doesn't simply except what the group is telling her and just shrug and say "oh ok" when they tell her she has super powers and she has a completely different life than what she remembers. She takes time to investigate what they're telling her first before she makes a decision and even then she is a bit skeptical. I feel that this is incredibly smart .

Another thing I enjoyed about Out of Time was that everything was explained very well. It wasn't left hanging out there about why/how they had powers and why they fight the prime minister. I also liked that each of the members of Scarlett's group has a distinct personality and role. Dylan, Jay, Lucy, and Neelam are not flat and just hanging around to fill up space, they serve a purpose. I also really liked the "bad" group of teens that they occasionally fight. because it adds to the plot and makes the story seem more interesting.

I really liked Out of Time and I cannot wait to read the next in the series and the prequel. I find the group of superpowered teens to be incredibly interesting and I'm interested in seeing what happens next. Although the description does say for ages 11+, I feel that all ages can read this and enjoy because age is not a predominant factor in the novel and it is not childish in any way. I give Out of Time 4 stakes.

*Description and Cover image taken from Amazon.com

Cover Reveal: Gears of Brass

A world like ours, but filled with gears of brass, where the beating heart is fueled by steam and the simplest creation is a complex clockwork device.  

Within this tome, you’ll find steampunk fairy tale re-tellings, as well as original stories that will send your gears turning.  

Welcome to the steampunk realm, with eleven authors guiding your path. 

GEARS OF BRASS is a steampunk anthology published through Curiosity Quills.  It will be available for purchase on November 10, 2014.  Within the pages, you’ll come across clockwork inventions and steampunk-ified fairy tale retellings.  Eleven authors will guide you through worlds filled with airships, top hats, and corsets.  

Meet the authors:

Jordan Elizabeth writes young adult fantasy for Curiosity Quills, including ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW which was published in October and the upcoming TREASURE DARKLY; she’s represented by the Belcastro Agency.

J. Million is the author of Last of the Giants and can always be found reading or writing. 

Lorna MacDonald Czarnota is a professional storyteller and author of several books including, Medieval Tales That Kids Can Read and Tell, Breadline Blue, Legends Lore and Secrets of Western New York, Wicked Niagara, Native American and Pioneer Sites of Upstate New York, and Dancing at the Crossroads: Stories and Activities for At-Risk Youth Programming.

SA Larsen is represented by Paula Munier of Talcott Notch Literary and is the author of published short stories, community-interest stories, and magazine articles focused on children. 

Grant Eagar is an Engineer who would take the tales he told his children at bed time, and transform them into fantasy stories. 

Clare Weze is the author of The House of Ash (forthcoming) and the co-author and editor of Cloudscapes over the Lune.

Eliza Tilton: gamer, writer and lover of dark chocolate; author of the YA Fantasy, BROKEN FOREST, published by Curiosity Quills Press.

Heather Talty's stories have been featured in Enchanted Conversation, as well as her own fractured fairy tale site, Mythopoetical (www.Beatrixcottonpants.com).

W.K. Pomeroy is a third generation writer who has published more than 70 short stories/articles/poems across many genres and styles, which now includes Steampunk.

Christine Baker is the author of Lana's End, The Guild of Dagda, and many more. 

Natalia Darcy: a bookilicious reader, tea drinker and Zumba aficionado who enjoys playing cards against humanity and washing her hair with ice cold water. 

You can get your steampunk fix before GEARS OF BRASS is released in November.  To enter for your chance to win a copy of GEARS OF BRASS, you will need to share the cover.  This can be on your blog, Facebook, Twitter… Each time you share the cover image, log it into Rafflecoper (#insert link) to record it.  It will give you more chances to win.  The drawing for the winner will be held on October 27^th.  

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Book Review: Stone by Rie Warren

Title: Stone, At Your Service 

Series: Carolina Bad Boys #1 

Author: Rie Warren

Publisher: Rie Warren

Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance

Page count: 290

Keywords: alpha male, mechanic, southern, humor

Date of release: September 25, 2014

List Price: $2.99

Preorder link: Amazon

Goodreads link

ASIN: B00MRPKWAY

ISBN: 978-1500744786

Blurb

Hell on wheels meets hell in high heels.

Bad boy mechanic Josh Stone likes to get his hands dirty any way he can—the filthier, the better. Ever since his wife walked out on him and their young son, he’s only had room in his heart for two loves: the kid and cars.

Roped into playing his best buddy’s gay boyfriend during a romance writers convention, the player meets the girl who’s gonna rock his world. Leelee Songchild. Shy, bashful, beautiful Leelee who blushes at the drop of a hat yet writes hardcore smut to rival Josh’s backlist of Penthouse Forum.

The only problem is his hands are tied. Josh can’t stab his old friend/fake lover in the back even though all he wants to do is take luscious Leelee to bed, and maybe, love her. When the truth comes out, all hell breaks loose. 

Too bad romance is just for books.

What I Thought

Stone was something that I was pleasantly surprised at. I loved getting an inside look into a convention as I've never been able to go to one and have always been interested in what goes on. 

I loved Josh Stone and his incredible loyalty to his friends and family. He is what pretty much everyone would describe as an alpha male yet he is willing to pose as a gay man for his best friend's career. Even when he becomes attracted to another writer at the convention he still tries his best to keep up the facade. I think that Josh is incredibly honorable and it's evident through his love and care for his son, his devotion to his mother and best friend, and his protection of Leelee. 

The convention itself was fantastically depicted and I wish I was right there in with all of the authors. It seemed, to me, that the authors were so specific in their character, that they represented their genres so well that they had to be, at least, loosely based on real authors. I couldn't help but be curious as to who was what author. 

I also loved seeing their personalities come through so much. It was refreshing to see supporting characters that aren't flat or only in the novel for a short amount of time. The authors at the convention played a significant role and added much to the setting and plot. I don't think the book would have been nearly the same if they weren't there. 

The relationship between Josh and Leelee is sweet and realistic. I appreciate relationships in books that happen slowly and naturally because not that many people fall in love over night or at one glance. Their relationship had it's ups and downs due to him pretending to be gay and her trust issues.

I think it was the little things that made the book. The calls that Josh makes to his son, the book model competition, and the actions from Josh's employees at the garage added small details that made for a well-rounded novel. 

I even loved Leelee's relationship with Stone's son because it showed a love and a bond between a potential stepparent that is not usually seen. Step parents are usually portrayed as evil or dismissive but Leelee really loves Josh's son. 

I loved Stone and I cannot wait to read the sequel because I really want to read more of this story and see the characters again. I give Stone 4 stakes. 

Excerpt

Her arms curving above her head as she stretched and did that feline thing I liked, Leelee said, “You know, you are so cute, Josh.” 

Cute. My grin grew dangerous. The atmosphere charged as her eyes strayed to my mouth and stayed there. Her breath deepened, her cheeks heated. 

She’d eat those words later, with my cock in her mouth.

And she did. Not long after the kid had passed out cold for the night, she found me in the living room. “Still got that hat, Stone?”

“Why? You got plans for me, babe?” My hard-on formed in anticipation as I sat on the couch.

Leelee lifted off her t-shirt, slipped out of the sweats, and let her hair down. Completely utterly fuckably naked, she stood several steps away, moving her hips in a suggestive dance. “I think I wanna go for a ride.”

“Hat’s in the hall closet,” I croaked. 

“Don’t move.”

I watched her ass swish-sway away, in complete agony as my cock lengthened down the inseam of my jeans.

On her return, she wore my fedora at a sexy angle. She leaned over me so I could take long hard draws on her nipples while she drew my erection slowly out of my jeans. 

My aching length pumped in her enclosed fist. “Fuuuck, Leelee.”

She put the hat on my head, lowering to her knees between my spread thighs.  Her mouth engulfed me in one swift, wet move. All the muscles in my body screamed with pressure. 

Her mouth worked me to the breaking point, fingers ripping at the buttons of my shirt and pulling it open. I shrugged it off, one hand guiding the back of her head up and down. 

Rigid, slick, shiny swollen, my cock slapped my stomach when she released it. 

I pulled her onto my lap and thrust into her hot sheath without warning. I swallowed her yell with my mouth and grunted, “Josh Stone. At your service, babe.”

Author Bio

Rie is the badass, sassafras author of Sugar Daddy and the Don’t Tell series–a breakthrough trilogy that crosses traditional publishing boundaries beginning with In His Command. Her latest endeavor, the Carolina Bad Boys series, is fun, hot, and southern-sexy. 

A Yankee transplant who has traveled the world, Rie started out a writer—causing her college professor to blush over her erotic poetry without one ounce of shame. Not much has changed. She swapped pen for paintbrushes and followed her other love during her twenties. From art school to marriage to children and many a wild and wonderful journey in between, Rie has come home to her calling. Her work has been called edgy, daring, and some of the sexiest smut around. 

You can connect with Rie via the social media hangouts listed on her website. She is represented by Saritza Hernandez, Corvisiero Literary Agency. 

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Interview with Felicity Heaton, author of The Eternal Mates series

I got the chance to interview the wonderful author Felicity Heaton about her writing, The Eternal Mates series, and the newly released Tempted by a Rogue Prince.

Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:

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With the new surge in popularity of paranormal and paranormal romance books, how do you feel that your books compete/compare to others in the genre?

I like to think they stand out. I do my best to write fascinating new worlds and give readers a really rich and detailed world that they can picture in their minds, and I do the same with my characters too. I always set out to write a different take on the usual paranormal species, adding a few twists of my own to keep them fresh and new. I work hard to avoid writing anything like other authors and love to give readers something different, and that’s why I added dark elves to my list of paranormal species last year, giving my readers something fresh to read about that hadn’t been done in paranormal romance before I launched the Eternal Mates series.

What specific type of “monsters” are you the most interested in writing or reading about? e.g. vampires, demons, incubi, angels.

It really varies depending on what I’m writing. The Eternal Mates series that we’re talking about in this interview is packed with all of those species you mentioned as examples. It has sexy dark elves who are the forefathers of vampires, incubi and succubi, witches and sorcerers, fallen angels and angels, demons and hunters, and almost every type of shifter you can imagine, whether that’s dragons, cats, wolves, or bears. I really love that huge world of creatures in this series as it adds so much interest to each book and each new character. I get to write so many new takes on species. I love having that whole smorgasbord of species available to me, and I think I’m the same when I read books. I like to mix and match between shifters, vampires, angels, demons, fae. You name it, I’ll read it and I probably write it.

Dark elves are my current favourite. They were lacking in the world of paranormal romance, with little or no presence at all in the genre when I introduced them with the first book in my Eternal Mates series, Kissed by a Dark Prince, in Nov 2013. I’ve put a whole new spin on them in my series and it’s great to see that my readers enjoy what I’ve done with them.

Why paranormal romance instead of “normal” romance and what first caught your attention about the genre? 

The big appeal of paranormal romance to me is the possibilities are endless and if you set your mind to it, you can create something unique that stands out from the other books out there. You can make whole worlds of your own and pull readers into those worlds. Plus, I find the characters in paranormal romance are often more detailed, more real, and ones who will stay with you and make you care about them.

I was drawn to the genre because of my love of everything that goes bump in the night that I’ve had since I was very young. I was always reading books about vampires, monsters and witches as a young child, and as I grew, I continued to read about fantasy worlds. I loved the adventure and the escape that a more fantasy based world provided. Again, perhaps it was the fact that the possibilities seem endless in paranormal romance. Anything goes!

Who is your favorite character in the Eternal Mates series or in Tempted by a Rogue Prince?

Vail is by far my favourite character in the series and he’s also the hero in Tempted by a Rogue Prince. Since beginning the Eternal Mates series with Kissed by a Dark Prince in November 2013, I have fallen deeply in love with Vail. He’s broken and tormented by the things he has done, but not beyond redemption. I’ve been looking forward to writing this book and giving him a brighter future with his fated mate, setting him on the path towards being healed and leading a normal life again. Writing his book really was everything I had expected it to be—a very emotional journey. He made me cry a few times, and readers have blamed me for a tissue shortage in their houses because of this book. Now, I’m looking forward to catching up with him in future books in the Eternal Mates series.

If you could rewrite one of your books in the Eternal Mates series now, would you change a major aspect in any of them or about any of the characters?

No. I wouldn’t change a thing about the series, the characters or the books. I absolutely love this world that I’m writing and I feel the characters in it are rich with detail and that makes them very real, just like the world. I’m really enjoying writing these books and these characters. I feel it’s my best series so far and I’m so in love with it, and so are my readers, that I’m writing four new books for it right now that I’ll be releasing one after the other close together in the New Year to give readers a huge fix!

In most romances the hero and heroine always seem to be perfectly matched even if they can’t see it in the beginning. How do you create the personalities of two people who will fit together without making one seem weak and just an add-on? Do you find it easier to create a male of female character?

In most of my romances, it’s more like the hero and heroine balance each other in some way. They tend to be quite opposite to each other, and as they come to know each other, they find they actually balance each other out. Light to darkness. Darkness to light. They help each other through their struggles and it brings them together. I write strong heroes and even stronger heroines, but while their personalities might clash, they always find a way to fit together, without losing those vital parts of themselves or compromising in any way that might dramatically change them. The heroines remain strong, despite the fact that I write a lot of very alpha heroes. If anyone changes during the course of the story, it’s often the hero. He tends to discover more about himself and that will change a person, and he also tends to be the one who opens himself up to his feelings, but I do have heroines who take the same journey too.

I find it easier to write the hero. It’s normally the hero who comes to me first and tells me more about the story I’m going to write for him. He’s often the central focus of the book. That isn’t to say that the heroine is doing nothing and has no role in the book. She normally has her own agenda and her own story happening in tandem with the hero, it’s just that main arc of the story is the hero’s.

Are any aspects from Tempted by a Rogue Prince or any of your novels inspired by your own life, even in the little details?

No, not at all. I would probably lead a dark and frightening life if there were. I suppose in a manner of speaking Rosalind, the heroine, and her desire to do good in the world and not take lives, in any form, whether they’re the smallest or the biggest creatures, or even nature, is reflective of myself. I can’t kill anything. I feel as guilty as she does if I do accidentally kill something… even if it’s an ant!

Tempted by a Rogue Prince (Eternal Mates Paranormal Romance Series Book 3) Released Aug. 6, 2014

An elf prince on the verge of losing himself to the darkness, Vail is maddened by the forty-two centuries he was under the control of a witch and forced to war with his brother. Now, he roams Hell seeking an escape from his terrible past and the heads of all who bear magic. When demons of the Fifth Realm capture him, he sees a chance to end his existence, but when he wakes in a cell to a beautiful female, he finds not death but his only shot at salvation—his true fated mate. 

Captured by the enemy of the Third Realm when the war ended, Rosalind has spent months in the cells of the Fifth Realm with her magic bound, forced to heal the new king’s demon warriors, and haunted by the lives she has taken. When she’s brought to heal an unconscious man, she discovers her only hope of escape has come in the form of her worst nightmare and the first part of a prediction that might spell her doom—a devastatingly handsome and dangerous dark elf prince. 

Unwilling to fall under the control of anyone ever again, Vail must escape before the Fifth King can use him as a pawn in a deadly game of revenge, but he cannot leave without Rosalind, the woman who looks at him with dark desire in her stunning eyes and awakens a fierce hunger in his heart. A witch who drives him mad with need even as the darkness within whispers she will enslave him too. 

Can Rosalind escape her fate as they embark on a journey fraught with danger and resist the temptation of her rogue elf prince? And can Vail overcome the memories that madden him in order to seize his chance for salvation and the heart of his fated female forever? 

Paranormal Romance Books in the Eternal Mates Series 

Kissed by a Dark Prince 

Claimed by a Demon King 

Tempted by a Rogue Prince 

Hunted by a Jaguar - coming in 2015

Book Review: Beneath the Mask by Meghan March

Synopsis

My name is Charlotte Agoston, and I’m a runner. Not the ‘let’s go for a jog and slap a 26.2 sticker on your bumper’ kind of runner; I’m the kind of runner who takes off when her father is staring down the barrel of a guilty verdict that carries a 175-year sentence for perpetrating the largest fraud in the history of the world. That’s right. Bernie Madoff was an amateur compared to Alistair Agoston.

Faced with living under a cloud of suspicion and constant questioning by the FBI, I ran. I’m making a new life in New Orleans as Charlie Stone. I traded my future in New York high finance for tattoos, booze, a few friends who don’t ask questions, and one giant mutt named Huckleberry Finn. Everything is simple and uncomplicated until Simon Duchesne—former hotshot Navy fighter pilot, NOLA’s favorite son, city councilman, and rumored congressional hopeful—walks into my life.

The flashing cameras he attracts threaten to expose everything I’m hiding, but I can’t seem to stay away. Why are the most dangerous ideas always the most seductive?

In trying to get lost, I found myself. And then I found Simon. He loves me, and he doesn’t even know my real name. I’m going to break his heart, but mine will shatter right along with it. This is our story.

Will we be strong enough to face the consequences of revealing what’s beneath this mask?

Book Link

Review

Beneath the Mask is probably one of the best books that I have read this year. I love books that have some type of mystery or tension in them and this one definitely does. It involves Charlotte or Charlie creating an alternative life for herself after her father is convicted fraud and stealing billions of dollars from innocent people. I admired her for declaring that she would never use her financial knowledge and education to harm other people.

Charlie is one of my favorite characters that I've read in a while. She has completely transformed herself in a short period of time and despite her upbringing she is a genuine and kind person. She went from a sheltered and controlled upper class child to a tattooed, independent woman with an attitude. She is in hiding from the FBI who suspect  that she was involved with her father's actions.

Because of her life in hiding, Charlie is reluctant to get involved in a relationship with Simon who just so happened to be a high profiled councilman and possible future congressman. Simon is determined to become seriously involved with Charlie and not just have casual sex which is what she wants. 

I loved that Charlie simultaneously hid herself and freed herself with her tattoos. They served a purpose and really meant something. I liked that she really thought about what was important and would memorialize it on her body, especially when she got the abstract fireworks tattooed after her date with Simon.

After a lot of ups and downs, Charlie finally admits that she belongs with Simon and she risks her security and seclusion to be with him. I loved that despite the secrets between them, Simon is eventually able to get over it and support Charlie when she detained by the FBI. 

New Orleans is my favorite city that I have ever visited and I am so happy that this book was based in there. Just the city itself exudes an air of mystery and wonder. The entire city has a feel about it that is unlike any other. 

Overall, Beneath the Mask is one of my favorite novels of the year. I really admire Charlie for trying to right her father's wrongs. I also really loved Charlie and Simon's relationship. They are ridiculously and perfectly imperfect. They have issues and some secrets but they genuinely love and support each other. I give this novel 5 stakes and I would absolutely love a sequel.

Excerpt

Backing me into a corner, he trapped me in the circle of his arms, much like he had earlier at the gate. I reached up and laid my palms against his chest, tracing the compass inked on his pectoral muscle with my index finger. Our skin didn’t touch anywhere else, but mine prickled with the need to feel him against me. I leaned closer, but he grasped my shoulders, effectively holding me back.

I looked up questioningly.

 “You left me a message, then slammed a gate in my face, then you strip in front of me, and invite me to go skinny dipping. I can’t keep up with you. I need to know what the hell is going on here before it goes any further.”

I sagged back against the edge of the pool, letting the concrete lip dig into my spine. So much for my hastily constructed plan. An experienced seductress I was not. He must have read the defeat in my expression because he said, “I’m not saying I’m not interested. Hell, I’m buck ass naked, and I can’t exactly hide that I want you. But I need to know ... why now? What changed?”

I stared down at the water, wishing fleetingly that the pool lights were on so I’d know for certain that he still did, in fact, want me. But given the leap I’d taken by stripping naked in front of him, I suppose I owed him at least some sort of an explanation.

“I decided that, for tonight, I didn’t care that you’re you and I’m me. I decided to take a risk and see what happened.” My answer was vague and without substance, but I hoped it would be enough. Heat pulsed between my legs and my nipples beaded almost painfully. I wanted him. Now.

But he didn’t relent. “It doesn’t matter who I am or who you are. Tonight or any other night. We’re just people.”

I held in a snort. Barely. He wouldn’t be in this pool if he knew who I really was. I was poison to someone like him. To everyone.

Simon tilted my chin up, forcing me to meet his eyes. “If I fuck you tonight, are you going to throw me out on my ass as soon as we’re done and never call me again?”

I bit my lip. Damn. He should be a freaking interrogator instead of a politician. But I wasn’t going to lie to him. At least not about this. “Probably.”

He released my chin and backed away. “Then, no.” He shook his head. “This isn’t happening. Not tonight.” He turned and made his way to the stairs. I caught a flash of his pale, muscular ass as he climbed out of the pool. I looked down at the water, hot humiliation filling me. What the hell am I doing? I sank farther beneath the surface, up to my chin. I needed to be covered. I heard the rustle of clothes and wondered how he was drying off without a towel. But I didn’t look up to assuage my curiosity. I’d given in to curiosity once already tonight, and this was where it landed me. In a pool of my own shame.

He cleared his throat, and I finally looked up. He was wearing his tux pants, and the shirt was partially buttoned. He held his soaked white undershirt in his hand. One question answered.

His hazel eyes drilled into me. “You have my number. Call me when you want more than a quick fuck.”

And then he was gone.

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Author Bio & Links

Meghan March is a Michigan native who has spent a good portion of her life buried in a book. Case in point: she read the entire romance section of her small town public library by age fourteen. Even after growing up (sort of) and getting a law degree, she never lost her passion for a great story, twisty plot, epic romance, and amazing characters. When she’s not writing, she’s probably reading, target shooting, drooling over fast cars, playing with her crazy mutt, or hanging with her very own sexy bad boy.

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Giveaway

The author is giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card and a signed paperback of BTM

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Let me know what you think of Beneath the Mask and the amazing trailer.