Category Archives: Blog Tour

Faded Perfection by Cassandra Giovanni Blog Tour

Seconds.
That’s all it takes to have everything ripped away from you.
No one knows this better than Adam Beckerson and River Ahlers.
Each is fighting a losing battle with the death of Bobby and the fallout it causes. Adam loses a brother; River her best friend.
And while Adam finds himself fading into the bottom of a bottle, River finds the only thing she can do is run away from everything– including Adam.

Sometimes when you lose everything, you lose yourself. The important part is finding your way back again.

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EXCERPT ONE
Someone had to do this, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be Adam. I breathed in and closed my eyes, only opening them as I exhaled and put one foot in front of the other. The key was hot from the heat of my body as it shook its way into the door knob. The metal clunked, and the wooden door swung open, leaving me staring at the empty room once filled with happiness. My eyes rushed over it as my mind flashed with memories, and my feet somehow continued in–all the way to Bobby’s bedroom door. My chest constricted and stars popped in my vision as I swung it open. I found myself blinking rapidly as my eyes wandered the room, stopping on the dresser where frames contained pictures of Adam and me, Bobby and me, the three of us, and then Tara and Bobby. My feet yet again propelled me forward, but I stopped as I breathed in, choking on the air.
My body warmed as my chin trembled and I breathed in again.
There it was again.
Bobby. The room smelled like him.
My eyelashes fluttered against my cheeks as the scent encircled me. Bath and Body Works’ Twilight Woods. The cologne we picked together when we were twelve. For fifteen years he’d worn it, even after Tara told him she hated it.
My eyes opened and moved to the hockey jersey hanging half out of a drawer–exactly where he left it that morning. My knees shook, and I found myself sitting on the bed staring at it. I reached forward, and the worn fabric embraced me as I brought it up to my chest. I pursed my lips together as the tears gathered and I pulled the jersey over my head, engulfing myself in his scent–it was embedded into this clothes despite constant washing. In my memories, his laughter carried through the room. It wasn’t the first time I wore one of his jerseys. I closed my eyes and curled into a ball on his bed.
“So you remember it too?” Bobby’s voice reached my ears, and the darkness behind my lids drifted away, parting until it was him and me in the tree house. I sat up on the bed, looking at him as he smirked at me from the edge of it. “See the thing is, I imagined it like this–you know? You practically naked;” his teeth ran over his bottom lip as his eyes ran up my legs, barely covered by my sleeping shorts. “in my jersey.”
He moved forward and his hand cupped my chin as his thumb caught a tear. “You weren’t crying in my fantasies, though. You cry so much now, Riv. I don’t want you to cry.”
I closed my eyes as my vision blurred from the weight of them, burdened by the false warmth of his touch.
“I’ve lost myself just as much as I’ve lost you,” I whispered, trying to memorize the feeling of his soft hands against my skin. So caring and loving when everything seemed so cold now. “All my dreams are shattered without you.”
Bobby’s hands reached for my face, turning it, so I was looking at him. He was beginning to waiver in and out, and panic burned its way up my throat.
He was going to leave.
But this was so real.
“Please don’t leave,” I said, and the tears and clenching of my throat made the words as physically painful as they were emotional.
“I thought all my dreams shattered when I found out Adam was with you–and it was over for me–that I didn’t have any more chances. My dreams realigned, though, Riv–they changed, refit into even better dreams. I expect you to do the same,” he said, and he was fading faster; his body just a wisp and his touch a mere warmth with nothing substantial behind it.
“But Adam–“
“You’ll figure out what to do, it might be hard, but in the end, it will work out. You and him are what’s left of me. Remember that. Together you make me whole,” he said, and his lips reached for my cheek, sending heat through my body as he disappeared.
“Bobby!” I yelled, and suddenly I was sitting straight up in the bed sobbing, the warmth of his lips against my cheek a stinging pain. I leaned back, pulling my knees to my chest and cried until the darkness consumed me.
This time, Bobby’s warmth didn’t return.
EXCERPT 2
 
West’s lips parted, but he seemed at a loss for words. “You can’t not have friends– you’re so–“
“Nice, but driven and being driven tends to drive people away. In college I drove away all my friends by the end…except…” My voice faded, and I swallowed, glancing out at the dimly lit yard.
West reached across the table and put his hand over mine. “The tattoo?”
I bit my lip nodding.
He squeezed my hand and leaned back, his thumb drawing soft circles over my skin. “What about family? In my experience, they’re kind of hard to drive away.”
I scoffed, shaking my head as I looked down at our hands. “I see my dad once a week– he comes up on Saturdays, and we spend the day watching TV, having dinner and talking.”
“That sounds nice–so why do you seem so angry about it?” West’s voice was soft, his words said slowly, as if he was afraid to insult me.
I fought the urge to stand up and sit in his lap–to be in the warmth his smile sent me– to be wrapped in his natural happiness.
“My dad comes secretly. My mom and I… I’m not on good terms with her. I guess we were never on good terms but last year on Thanksgiving she crossed a line and I haven’t been able to get passed it,” I said, and my eyes moved up his hand to his arm spiraling with color –waves, koi fish, lotus and cherry blossoms. Mom would die if she saw him. If I was skanky, he was an absolute man-slut.
Jesse did say he’s a womanizer. And you’re a man-eater.
“Doesn’t agree with your choices?” West asked as he lifted his wine up to his thin, very kissable lips.
My chest rose as I nodded.
“Well, let’s say you’d probably go into shock if you met my family– blue collar, nose in the air, house on the vineyard people. Very un-tattooed.”
“And how do they take to–” I signaled to his arm and collarbone, my pulse hitching as he winked at me.
“You haven’t even seen them all,” he replied, and his eyes locked on mine, devious in their twinkle as if he knew I wanted to know where the others were. As if to say it’s only a matter of time.
I swallowed hard, looking down at my pasta.
“Let’s just say they got used to it…and my mom tries to think of it as art–my dad tries to think of it as proving I have a high pain tolerance and a talent with my hands.”
My eyes shot up at that, and he leaned back laughing. My face burned, and my mind raced to places it should definitely not be.
“Do you now?” I managed to stutter.
Flirt. You’re such a damn flirt.
I wasn’t sure if I was chastising him or myself in my head–or worse, neither.
He reached across the table and flipped my arm, running his fingertips up to the tattoo he gave me and traced its outline. The tingling started from somewhere other than my arm, and I bit hard on my cheek as he sat back, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Yeah,” I said as I leaned forward and grabbed my glass of wine. “You’re talented alright.”
 
Cassandra doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t writing. In fact, the first time she was published was when she was seven years old and won a contest to be published in an American Girl Doll novel. Since then Cassandra has written more novels than she can count and put just as many in the circular bin. Her personal goal with her writing is to show the reader the character’s stories through their dialogue and actions instead of just telling the reader what is happening. Besides being a writer, Cassandra is a professional photographer known for her automotive, nature and architectural shots. She is happily married to the man of her dreams and they live in the rolling hills of New England with their dogs, Bubski and Kanga.

Cassandra Giovanni is published by Show n’ot Tell Publishing based out of Connecticut, USA
 
Connect with Cassandra on Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter.  Learn more about her and her novels at her website, www.cgiovanniauthor.com and read the first ten chapters of each of her published novels through her Book Catalog.
Finding the Cure

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In Between the Seasons (The Fall Series #1)

Love Exactly
 Walking in the Shadows 

 

#REVIEW Ink Enduring (Montgomery Ink 5) by Carrie Ann Ryan #MONTGOMERYINK

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The Montgomery Ink series continues with a forbidden love between three friends and a past that they can’t escape.

Jake Gallagher knew from the moment he saw Maya that she was the one for him—it had the same breath-taking intensity as when he’d first set eyes on Border. Only life never turns out the way one plans, and now he’s falling for someone else…or at least he thinks he is.

Maya Montgomery never should have looked past the friendship she already had. Now that she has, she can’t stop thinking about Jake and what he means to her. When a mysterious stranger from Jake’s past shows up at their door, she’s forced to admit that if she doesn’t take the risk of a lifetime, she’ll regret it for the rest of her days.

Border Gentry walked away without a second glance once because of what could happen if he let go, but now he’s back and ready to see what he’s missed. He’s been on the road a long time and has seen things no man should ever see, yet once he rediscovers the broody Jake and meets the inked and fierce Maya, they’re like a balm to his soul and he realizes what path his future should take.

It will take more than sizzling chemistry and a heat that never dies for the three of them to overcome their pasts. And when someone from the outside wants to stand in their way, it’s not only their hearts on the line…but also their lives.

kristis review

Received a copy of this book for my honest review

I have been waiting for Maya’s book forever it seems and I know I say this with every Montgomery Ink book, but I can’t help it they are that good!!!
I have loved Maya’s character since she was first introduced, take charge women who does what she loves and doesn’t take crap from anyone, what’s not to love. However I’ve also been waiting for this strong woman to show her vulnerable side and I’ve finally got it. Seeing her unsure and angsty is great, it shows that this superwoman is human too.
With Maya we’ve also seen her Best Friend Jake around. Hot, artistic, inked and bearded. Hmmm, soooo yummy!! He’s been by Maya’s side through thick and thin. The adopted Gallagher in the Montgomery family.
Now we are introduced to Border. Holy heck Border!! Big, protective, Border. He left town when he and Jake were young, even though they loved each other, because he thought he was protecting him. Now he’s back for Jake and he wants to know all about Maya!!
I feel so bad for Jake’s girl friend Holly, she was introduced in the last book, because she realizes that though she wants to love Jake they don’t belong together because Jake loves Maya and even though she hasn’t said or even shown it she loves him too. Holly needs a Montgomery or a Gallagher of her own!! Hint, hint!!
I love when Ryan writes about a triad, she does it so beautifully. You can really see the three separate couples becoming one. Jake and Maya, Jake and Border, and finally Border and Maya. They all have to find their way around the new dynamic of what each of their relationships are and also become one. They do it so well, not by hot heavy bedroom action, hello that helps, but by taking it day by day.
Jake realizing he’s not the brother looking in from the outside with his family is great and HELLO Gallagher Brothers, I can not wait to read more of each of you!!
Maya and Jake finally getting together after all these years makes all their friends say “About time!” Border coming in doesn’t take anything away from Maya and Jake story, it’s like he’s is what was missing; to quote Maya “He completes us”.
End in the the triad learns that for a future together they have to do more communicating and that is what any relationship needs to be able to go the distance.
I know I said it at beginning of this review but I’m going to say it again, I can not wait for Alex’s book!!
Oh, and more of those yummy Gallagher brothers!!!

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about the author

Carrie Ann Ryan

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan never thought she’d be a writer. Not really. No, she loved math and science and even went on to graduate school in chemistry. Yes, she read as a kid and devoured teen fiction and Harry Potter, but it wasn’t until someone handed her a romance book in her late teens that she realized that there was something out there just for her. When another author suggested she use the voices in her head for good and not evil, The Redwood Pack and all her other stories were born.

Carrie Ann is a bestselling author of over twenty novels and novellas and has so much more on her mind (and on her spreadsheets *grins*) that she isn’t planning on giving up her dream anytime soon

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#Review #Giveaway – Falling Stars (The B Side) by JL Brooks

 

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Drugs, Sex, & EDM

It had all the makings of a perfect plot, and for bestselling author Lila Keaton-it was a hedonistic past she kept hidden far away. Many nights were spent crossing the velvet rope, dancing until dawn and bedding one of the worlds biggest DJ’s, Hunter Michaels AKA Arial Assault.

When Lila’s agent uncovers her thrilling secret, it appears as if nothing is off limits when it comes to pitching the story, whether Lila wants to tell it or not. Despite knowing her reluctance is career suicide, she cannot bring herself to open her heart once more to the man who nearly destroyed it.

Given the opportunity to escape her predicament, Hunter attempts to reconcile the pain he has caused, and rekindle the passion that was abandoned long ago. When a series of events causes history to repeat itself, Lila sets off unaccompanied through out the west to test her boundaries with the sensual and surreal, and ultimately come face to face with the only thing that can keep her from falling.

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kellys review

Falling Stars consumed me, tore my heart up, turns wickedly hot, then all of a sudden I am left here with my mouth wide open. I did not see this happening. There is a crazy turn of events that occur throughout this entire book. This book is intense, gritty, and stays with you. I cannot get it out of my head! Such a book hangover!

So, I will tell you a little about the story but not much detail because I absolutely cannot give anything away. Lila is an author and is at a crossroads. She can’t write and is handing in her resignation. Hunter comes rushing back into her life but she has many reservations as they have a deep, dark, dirty, and loud past together. Their past is incredibly intense. Lots of music, drugs, and alcohol. Then Grant gets put in the mix. He protects Lila and gives her what she thinks she needs. When things seem to be too good, they usually are. This is one instance in the book that catches you by surprise. Things get so crazy (in the best way possible). I totally felt like I was going to get the happily ever after that most people crave. But out of nowhere this twisted, contorted, bombshell gets tossed in the mix and you are in an entirely different world. I thought it was over but was far from it. I never seen this coming! When you read this, you will know exactly what I am talking about.

“Love grows in waves the way bass grows in waves, and just like bass, sometimes you have to step back from the speaker to really feel it.”

“I never realized what kind of power I had in my hands. I misused it, took it for granted, and now that it’s gone, I wonder if I will ever get it back. And if I do, can I be trusted not to do the same thing again? Words are like drugs, they have the power to harm and to heal. Build empires or destroy lives. Who am I without them?” I didn’t want a response. I knew life would go on, one foot in front of the other.”

“In the morning, everything looked different. The magic was gone, and it was time to go home. My memories are different than most. When I think back upon the scene, I do not see stars. There is only a fragment of space in which we ruled the night and held on for as long as the ride would allow. Some of us made it, and many fell behind.”

I could go on and on with favorite parts of the book but then what would the fun in that be? If you want to experience all the feels…then this is the book for you. Not your typical happily ever after but not everyone’s happily ever after is the same. And this one is perfect!

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JL Brooks is a former columnist turned novelist. What started as a bet changed her entire course in life. With a passion for adventure, she believes everyone has a story to tell. Chances are she will try to convince you to tell yours.

 

Title:  Falling Stars (The B Side)

Author:  JL Brooks

Publication date:  March 16, 2016

Model:  Jase Dan

Photographer:  Scott Hoover

 

 

 

 

#Review – Fractured Palace by RJ Loom – Blog Tour – #WOTR Attending Author

Title: Fractured Palace

Author: R.J. Loom

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Standalone

Release Date: March 22, 2016 

They say home is where the heart is. 

Ashton Roberts never understood that saying. Heart couldn’t be found anywhere in the rundown bungalow she grew up in. It also couldn’t be found in the luxury estate she moved into when her mother married her stepfather. 

All Ashton wants is to get her degree, meet Mr. Right and find the happy stable life she never had. But when life constantly throws her curve balls, she begins to wonder if it really is just a pipe dream.

Until she runs into her former neighbor, Reed Collins.

As a child, Reed had always been Ashton’s silent protector. As an adult, he is everything she has ever dreamed of in a man. If only he didn’t keep her at arms length. But as things heat up, guards drop and secrets are revealed which toss Ash back into the turmoil surrounding a tragic event from her youth. 

Will Ashton let her past fracture the perfect picture of her future? Or will the meaning of loyalty, family and love be redefined?

After laying out rugs and putting away towels she began a battle with the packaging for the shower curtain rings. The plastic was sealed on all sides and no amount of tugging or biting at the edges would tear it open. She growled in frustration.

“Uh…Ash?” Reed chuckled from his bedroom. “You okay in there?”

Great. He heard her. “Yeah,” she called out. “I just can’t get this package open. Do you have any scissors?”

“Hang on…”

Ashton continued her fight then hissed as the plastic edge sliced into her thumb.

Reed appeared in the doorway and held out his hand. “Give it here.”

Happy to get rid of the stupid package, she tossed it to him, then stuck her thumb in her mouth to suck away the sting. As he began to struggle with the container, his eyes lowered to her mouth. They lingered there for a moment before he lifted them to meet her own. “Are you all right?”

She removed her thumb from her mouth and inspected it for any bleeding. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she dismissed, tucking her hand in her back pocket of her jeans as if she could hide the fact she was just sucking her thumb.

Fortunately, her slight embarrassment was short lived. With one last hard tug, the package popped open and shower curtains rings flew everywhere. They ricocheted off of the medicine cabinet, sink and walls before scattering all over the floor and in the bathtub. But it was the one ominous plop which came from behind her that was cause for concern. Reed must have heard it at the same time because he stepped forward just as she turned. A lone chrome shower curtain ring sparkled back at them from the bottom of the toilet.

Ashton swung her head around and locked eyes with Reed in alarm. “Injured,” she called out, thrusting her hand in the air as if she were holding up a free pass.

“Oh yeah?” Reed chuckled and raised a brow.

“Yeah.” She nodded solemnly, cradling her hand to her chest. The small, barely visible slice in her thumb had suddenly and conveniently become a grave situation. “I could contract MRSA or some other nasty infection.”

His eyes flicked down to her hands then back up to meet her gaze. “Well, we wouldn’t want that.”

“No, we wouldn’t,” she agreed, narrowing her eyes as a smile slowly crept across his face. The smile would not have been worrisome had it been a regular smile. No, this smile should have warned her to take a step back. Instead, she got lost in the way it reached his eyes and showed off his white, almost perfectly straight teeth.

“Good thing your other hand is fine,” he pointed out just as he lunged forward to try to grab her wrist.

“No!” She squealed, jumping out of the way.

He laughed and pushed one of his shirt sleeves up. “I’m kidding, Ash. I wouldn’t do that.” Shaking his head, he turned back to the toilet. “I’m going in.”

Ashton watched from the safety of the doorway as Reed swooped in to retrieve the shower curtain ring. He tossed it into the sink then washed it and his hands, going all the way up to his elbows. After he was done, he flicked water at her then grabbed a towel.

Reed’s eyes met hers as he dried his hands. Their laughter died off and silence stretched between them. Eventually, he cleared his throat and averted his gaze to the floor. A crease formed between his brows and she wondered what he could possibly be thinking.

“Ash …,” he began and lifted his eyes back to hers. In that brief moment, Ashton’s heart beat faster and she swore she felt some kind of connection with Reed she had never felt before. She wondered if it was her imagination or simply anticipation for what he was about to say. Most likely, it was a combination of both.

“Jackpot!” Danny announced from the bedroom, shattering the moment. “I found Reed’s spank bank!”

In spite of the horrible timing, Ashton could not help but burst out laughing. Reed groaned and stepped toward where she stood in the doorway. They both looked over to find Danny with a huge grin on his face as he held up a couple copies of some car magazine.

She shook her head and turned back to Reed. “You share a gene pool with that one.”

“Yeah,” he said, running a hand over the back of his head before he looked back over toward his room. “Hey, Danny. Why don’t you go outside, dig a hole, jump into it and bury yourself,” Reed suggested as if it were a great idea.

This only made Danny laugh harder.  

“I’m just messing with him, Ash,” Reed murmured in her ear before he stepped passed her.

She knew he had been but her curiosity over what he had been about to say made her reach out to grab his arm to stop him. “Wait, what were you about to say in there,” she asked, inclining her back toward the bathroom.

His eyes shifted from the bathroom over to meet hers. He smiled but it was nothing like the smile he wore only a few minutes earlier. This one was weak at best. “Oh…nothing important,” he said with a shake of his head. Hooking a thumb over his shoulder, he took a step back. “I better get back to this so I have a bed to sleep in tonight.”

“Okay.” Ashton released his arm and watched as he walked back into his room.

kellys review

Oh my gods! Wow! Put your pajamas on, get your tissues, and settle in for the long haul. This is not a story that you can just pick up and put down whenever you get tired, need to eat, or even go to the bathroom. This is a story of love, sacrifice, and finding one’s self. Perfectly flawed fairytale!

We start the story off with Ashton. She is at a party and has to make a split decision to call her stepdad to pick her up. After she is picked and is gearing for an arguement they go look for her mother. She is dead. Ashton feels like she has been through it all. She has had a shabby home and upbringing, watched a string of boyfriends come in and out of her home, and was in the middle of her mother’s addictions. Her mother cleaned up, married her stepdad, and things went well until her mother relapsed and ended up dead. It was a devastating time but her stepdad continued to support Ashton. Ashton always knew what she didn’t want and worked incredibly hard to do everything in her power not to end up like her mother. Only this didn’t work out to her advantage. She constantly fell into bad relationships but the one thing that always seemed to help was her old friend, Reed. He always seemed to be there when she needed him. This goes back as far as her being 5. They used to be neighbors and Reed, along with his mother and brother, helped look after Ashton when she was in a bad spot at home. They would lose touch due to their age differences but he always popped up when she needed him most. Everything moves along and you just know this is going to work but Reed is beating himself up about something. Some terrible secret, some darkness, that he just can’t shake. This is where I leave you to find out the rest of the story. The twists and turns you are about to embark on cannot be given in a review. The only way to find out is to experience the emotions that both of these characters deal with. New love, turmoil, guilt, what-if’s….If you want it, this story has got it!

“It was all Ashton wanted, to be happy . She wanted the fairy tale with a Prince Charming, palaces and happy endings. Unfortunately, all she seemed to get was the part of damsel in distress. And it sucked.”

“So you’re the ‘Expect nothing from me. I get bored easily, guy’?” Reed chuckled and shook his head. “No, Ash. I’m just a guy who hasn’t found the girl I want to shape my world around. Simple as that.” Her brows pulled together in a frown. It was a sweet sentiment but something didn’t sit well with her. “Reed, you shouldn’t have to change for anyone.” His lips tilted up in a half grin. “I know. It’s the willingness that would be telling. And the right girl, would be willing to shape her world to include me in it too.”“Good answer, Mr. Collins,” she teased, even though she may have slightly melted on the inside.”

“My point is you cannot assume the motivations of others. You can judge but you have no idea what pushes people to make decisions that are unlawful or immoral. Sometimes , they may feel it is their only option.”

Perfectly flawed! This is an incredible journey to follow. Once I started reading I could NOT put the book down. It is exhausting chasing after fairy tales that don’t exist…but their fairytale is incredibly different and soooooo worth the read. If you have made it this far into my review I am not exactly sure what you are waiting for…you want a sweet love story? Go somewhere else. You want an emotional feelcoaster that is witty, funny, but also enough to break your heart and put it back together??? This is the story you NEED! A MUST READ!

R.J. Loom was born and raised along the shores of Lake Erie in Ohio, where she still resides with her husband, two children and two spoiled dogs. She loves books, music, travel and anyone with a great sense of humor. When she’s not writing, she can be found with her nose in a book, looking for more books to add to her “to-be-read” pile or spending time with her family.

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Falling Stars-The B Side Blog Tour by JLBrooks

Title:  Falling Stars

Author:  JL Brooks

Publication date:  March 16, 2016

Model:  Jase Dean

Photographer:  Scott Hoover

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Drugs, Sex, & EDM

It had all the makings of a perfect plot, and for bestselling author Lila Keaton-it was a hedonistic past she kept hidden far away. Many nights were spent crossing the velvet rope, dancing until dawn and bedding one of the worlds biggest DJ’s, Hunter Michaels AKA Arial Assault.

When Lila’s agent uncovers her thrilling secret, it appears as if nothing is off limits when it comes to pitching the story, whether Lila wants to tell it or not. Despite knowing her reluctance is career suicide, she cannot bring herself to open her heart once more to the man who nearly destroyed it.

Given the opportunity to escape her predicament, Hunter attempts to reconcile the pain he has caused, and rekindle the passion that was abandoned long ago. When a series of events causes history to repeat itself, Lila sets off unaccompanied through out the west to test her boundaries with the sensual and surreal, and ultimately come face to face with the only thing that can keep her from falling.

Add to GoodReads

JLFallingStarsBookCover6x9_BW_340-updated