All posts by Angie J

Love me to Death – Sharlay

 

 

Title: Love Me To Death
Author: Sharlay
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
 Release Date: February 12, 2016
Blurb
Brennan Cole… Is a player. He sleeps with women at night and kicks them out of his bed by morning.

NO strings. NO attachments. And NO falling in love.But not even his good looks, hot body or sexy way with words can get him out of the eviction notice stuck on his door.

Desperate for money and running out of time he finds himself signing a contract for an acting job that is about to break every rule that he’s ever made…

Neddie Waters…

Is dying. With only a year left to live, falling in love is the last thing that she wants to do.

But with a mother desperate to see her find her one true love before her final days and an inability to say no to the one woman that she loves more than anything in the world, Neddie sets herself a simple task…

  1. Hire someone to play her ‘lover’.
  2. Don’t fall in love.

Easy…right?

Purchase Links
AMAZON US / UK

 

Excerpt

 

“Can I ask you a question?” she says as she leans back in the seat.I take her free hand and entwine it with mine. Placing both of our hands in my lap, I nod.

“You can ask me anything.”

She takes a deep breath as if she is suddenly nervous. “How do you do it? How do you love me knowing everything you do?”

She still doesn’t get it.

I stare at her for a moment before taking her glass out of her hand. I place both glasses in the little slots that were made for them and turn to her. “Come here,” I whisper. She slides toward me and I pull her onto my lap so she is straddling me. I wrap my arms around her waist and breathe her in for a moment. “What makes you love your parents, Ned?” I ask calmly. She looks puzzled and shakes her head.

“I don’t know,” she says shrugging her shoulders. “It comes naturally, I don’t have a reason … I just love them, I always have I guess.”

“That’s exactly the way I feel about you. I can’t explain the reason that I love you. It’s like asking me why I breathe … I do it to survive.”

She’s silent. Then she nods her head.

“I get it,” she whispers. “I just needed to know if you felt it too or whether I was going crazy.”

“You’re definitely going crazy, you’re just not going crazy by yourself,” I chuckle. She laughs.

“Well, misery loves company so why shouldn’t crazy,” she teases.

“Exactly.”

“Doesn’t it scare you?” she asks seriously.

“What?”

“Knowing it’s all going to come to an end,” she says sadly.

“It terrifies me,” I say honestly. “I hate that I never found you sooner but I’d hate it if I never found you at all.”

“Yeah,” she breathes.

“Are you scared?” I ask.

“Yes, not of dying but of knowing that I’ll never feel anything like this again.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I scoff.

“What?” she asks in confusion.

“Babe, do you honestly think that when I get to heaven I’m not coming to find you — well after I thank the big guy for letting me in of course. But after that, your ass better be prepared to spend an eternity with me because if I’m going to live forever then I’m going to spend every day of it seeing that smile.”

She kisses me. I love it when she kisses me first. I am so in love I should have my balls cut off.
Author Bio

 

 

Author of Romance Books with a twist…

Sharlay is a British author who released her first book, PRETEND in 2012 following it’s huge success after uploading it in draft form to the free and popular writing site, Wattpad. After the book received millions of views (to date the book has exceeded 9 million views) and became a finalist in the site’s annual contest, fans wanted to know where they could obtain the paperback and ebook version. This began Sharlay’s journey as a self published author.

Sharlay is also one of the very few authors with a single pen name. At heart she is a storyteller and loves to write in any genre but always loves to include an element of romance. Her books have fallen into the Young Adult and New Adult romance genre and will most definitely give you a HEA (Happily Ever After).

Sharlay loves her family, friends, amazing readers and God. She is extremely blessed and privileged to be living her dream!

When Sharlay is not busy talking to the characters inside her head then you can find her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or her website…talking about the characters inside her head with the awesome readers that she loves to connect with!

Author Links
GOODREADS
WEBSITE

Giveaway

A Woman’s Worth – Audra North

Title: A Woman’s Worth
Series: Close Quarters Book 1
Author: Audra North 
Genre: Erotic Romance
Release Date: February 9, 2016
Chantal Jones is going through a rough patch. A divorced single mother to two demanding boys, she’s constantly putting the needs of others before her own. She’s exhausted, and the only thing that fuels her fantasies these days is her sexy, off-limits boss, Ronan Nakata. 
Ronan has definitely noticed how attractive Chantal is, but he’s her employer and their relationship has to remain strictly professional. Besides, he isn’t looking for anything serious and the last thing he wants to do is get emotionally involved. 
But when a chance encounter in the company elevator leaves them both strung tight and wanting, taking it to the next level is seemingly inevitable. In such close quarters, will they be able to get their attraction out of their systems without losing their hearts?

Chantal Jones was tired.
Work had eaten her up today. By the time she’d arrived at the elementary school to pick up Luke and Owen from their afterschool program, it had taken every last ounce of her control to keep from screaming when the instructor complained that her children had been shooting spitballs at the ceiling.
Their afterschool teacher had pursed his mouth and stared at her chest as he told her, “They will not be allowed to return to my classroom until I see a formal written apology for their behavior, Mrs. Jones.”
She’d had to fight the urge to punch him in the neck. Not because she thought he was lying about her kids. Chantal didn’t doubt her boys had been acting up. Ever since the divorce, they’d been behaving this way. But a writtenapology? This guy was the one who should be writing an apology to her. Making her boys write an apology meant more time out of her day, supervising their work, when she could have just as effectively dealt with their behavior by taking away a week of screen time.
Besides, the guy was a sleazy asshole who’d been ogling her breasts since the first day, and sometimes he liked to stand too close so his chest brushed hers. It made her cringe just to think of it.
Except this was the only program that offered care until six thirty, and even then she was sometimes late to pick them up. Even if she could manage the five o’clock pickup time for all the other programs, they were already two months into the semester. Too late to transfer the boys into another class, and they were too young to be at home alone.
Their teacher had her pinned to the proverbial wall and he knew it. Liked it, no doubt.
It made her feel even more alone and exhausted. The scolding she’d given the kids on the car ride home was weak. She was simply too tired, and they’d ignored her.
She pulled into the drive and parked the car, then glanced in the rearview mirror. “Remember to take your—”
Bang! Bang!
Both back doors slammed shut.
They’d jumped out, leaving their backpacks in the car, and were already running to the front door of the Victorian house where they lived.
Chantal sighed. She always loved her children, but from time to time, she really hated them too.
It was difficult not to fume as she’d walked down the driveway to check the mail. Several bills. A lingerie catalog.
“Yeah, right.” She snorted and flipped past it to find an envelope from the law firm she’d used for her divorce.
“Oh.” It came out as more of a squeak than an actual word. She broke the seal on the envelope and pulled out the document, reading only the first couple of lines before folding it and sticking it back into the stack of mail.
Her ten-year marriage was truly over.
The roller coaster of an emotional mess she’d been on lately plummeted, a fast and sickening drop she hadn’t seen coming. She uttered a prayer of thanks that the boys had already gone inside. If they’d seen the way she was having to fight back her tears right now, they would refuse to go to Mike’s this weekend. And if they refused, it would escalate into yet another shouting match with her sonofabitch ex-husband that would no doubt make her want to crawl into bed for days. As it was, she simply wiped her eyes, squared her shoulders, and headed into the house with what had to be the world’s craziest fake smile plastered on her face.
“Boys!” She could hear the electronic music from a game on the PlayStation coming from the next room. Chantal dropped her smile and rolled her eyes. There was a strict weekends-only rule for the stupid thing. Mike had bought it for them a couple of months before she’d found out about the affair, and she hated it for way too many reasons to count.
She slipped out of her shoes in front of the door and strode into the den, where the boys were standing with their faces in front of the TV, eyes glued to the screen. Without hesitation, she clicked the TV off and removed the cable from the console so they couldn’t play anymore.
“Hey!” Luke’s eyes were wide and angry, his wiry body stiff with rage. Chantal was about to remind them of the weekend rule when he threw his controller at her, the hard plastic connecting with her forearm. She screamed in pain, ducking her chin and jerking her arm up to cradle it against her chest.
Holy shit, that hurt.
“Mommy. Mommy, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Mommy, I didn’t mean to I was mad and it was an accident and I—” She looked up to see Luke standing inches from her, his face pinched in concern. He was already crying—worried, frustrated tears falling down his still-chubby cheeks.
Owen had backed up to the wall, staring wide-eyed at his mom and brother. Luke’s arms were extended, but he wasn’t quite touching her, as though he were afraid she might turn him away.
What the hell had happened to her family?
The anger fell away and she pulled Luke to her, hugging him tightly. “I forgive you, sweetie. I forgive you.”
He cried in earnest then, great sobs rolling out of his body as she cuddled him and her arm throbbed. She’d known he was having a hard time with the divorce. Luke had always been a hotbed of emotion, but instead of the intense joy he used to show so readily, this past year he’d been constantly lashing out with anger. And to top it all off, being a single mom meant she had to work to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, but it also meant there was no energy left for them when she got home from a long day.
God. How much longer could they go on like this?

Audra North is the contemporary romance author of the Pushing the Boundaries series from Samhain and the Hard Driving series from St. Martin’s. Sign up for Audra North’s newsletter to get free books, extra scenes, and exclusive subscriber giveaways. You can also connect with Audra on her website, AudraNorth.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

 

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Unleashed – Callie Harper

 

 

 

Title: Unleashed: Hot Alpha Romance Volume Four
Author: Callie Harper
Genre: Hot Contemporary/New Adult Romance
Release Date: February 12, 2016
Blurb
The final installment of Unleashed. Bombs will be dropped.Declan

I don’t let things slip through my fingers. I clutch them to me fast and never let go. The more I desire something, the harder I drive to get it. I fight for what I want, and what I want is Kara Brooks.

She wants to run away. I don’t blame her. It’s probably the smart thing to do.

She can run, but she can’t hide.

I don’t know how this is all going to end. But I do know that sh*t is about to go down. And when it goes down, it’s going to go down big.

Kara

I’ve let him break my heart. Twice. The first time I was 18. Back then, I could blame him. I was just a kid and he played games with my heart.

Now, I have no one to blame but myself. Sometimes I think that’s what hurts the most. Other times, I know that’s not the worst. The worst pain of all comes from his betrayal.

I have to move on. I need to focus on getting my life back on track, setting out far, far away from Declan Hunt. During the daylight hours, I know I have plenty to keep me busy.

It’s the nights I’m worried about. How am I going to make it through all those long, dark hours when the memories of our scorching hot nights together are so close I can practically taste them? Every time I close my eyes, it’s his face I see, his fingers I feel, his heat making me quiver and moan. I should hate it, resent the power he still wields over me. Instead, I never want it to end.

NOTE: Unleashed is a four-volume story launching the Beg for It series about the hot, alpha males in Declan’s family and the battles they wage with the strong, sexy women who make them finally meet their match.

 

Purchase Links

 

AMAZON US / UK
Also Available

 

AMAZON US / UK

 

AMAZON US / UK

 

AMAZON US / UK
Author Bio

 

Callie Harper writes contemporary romances so hot they may melt your eReader. You’ve been warned! She is powered by coffee, wickedly sexy bad boys, and all things funny, intentional or otherwise. She is the author of OFF LIMITS and the BEG FOR IT series which starts with UNLEASHED, released in January and February 2016.

She lives in the gorgeous Bay Area with her family.

To get freebies and hear about new releases and sales, sign up for Callie’s newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/bHtVnT

Author Links

Pieces of Him by Alice Tribue

 

Title: Pieces of Him
Author: Alice Tribue
Genre: Contemporary Romance 
 Release Date: January 25, 2016
Blurb

 

You want the truth?The truth is there’ll never be enough time in the world to figure out how to go back.

I’ll never come up with a way to change the outcome.

The truth is I don’t need to hear I have a son.

I can’t deny it’s real because he’s the living, breathing proof my life is out of control.

But the truth is I love him.

The truth is it’s just him and me for the foreseeable future…

Until I met a girl who crossed my heart and changed it all.

Emelia was a bright star in my abandoned sky, and it would take a miracle to keep her there.

I’ll fight for miracles, though, because losing them would mean losing pieces of me.
Purchase Links
AMAZON US / UK
 angies review

 

 

I received this book from the author for an honest review.

I love Alice.  Her books always make me super anxiety filled and then super in happy love.  She has the ability to make you love and hate a character at the same time……..LOL  Skills people…she has mad writing skills!!

So Max is…well…uhm..he is a DOUCH! Period. The End.  He finds out that his hook up is knocked up and is not nice about it.  He doesn’t do relationships, feelings and especially doesn’t wanna do a baby or have baby mama drama.  However, Max gets all that and then some with the birth of his child.

Emelia is a woman on the run.  She is totally moving on with her life and running away from troubles past.  She moves in next door to Max.  The two form an unlikely friendship.  She being nice and him being a dick…..She helps Max be a better dad.  The two end up having this slow burn kind of a romance.  I mean you are hating Max and then thinking he is ok and then you get butterflies when he is around.

 

Author Bio

 

Alice Tribue lives with her husband and daughter in New Jersey. She has a bachelors degree in communications and is currently working on her masters degree. She spends most of her free time reading, writing, and when the weather permits lounging out on a beach.
Author Links

What the Bachelor Gets – Kristina Knight

Title: What The Bachelor Gets
Series: Billionaire Cowboys #1
Author: Kristina Knight
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: February 8, 2016
The Billionaire Cowboys trilogy by best-selling author Kristina Knight kicks off with a seductive story of long-simmering feelings and hot Vegas nights.
When Vegas Nightly names local property developer Gage Reeves as its sexiest bachelor, he’s barraged with a stream of showgirls, local socialites, and entertainers who all expect something from him. But all Gage wants is to make a success of his new luxury shopping development.
Enter Callie Holliday. Callie dreams of having the hottest day spa in Vegas, but she’s saddled with a bad location and an account balance full of zeroes. When she walks into a last-chance meeting with an angel investor and finds herself face to face with Gage, the childhood friend on whom she had a huge crush, she’s not sure his reputation is the right match for her business. But then he offers her a storefront in his new high-end retail complex, and she has to admit it’s a thoroughly tempting proposition. But feelings she thought were long buried threaten to turn their deal from strictly professional to decidedly personal.
It’s risky business gambling on love . . .

“Kristina Knight gets me hooked- What a great start to a sexy new series!”

“It’s impossible not to fall in love with a story by Kristina Knight. I felt right at home with these characters. Gage and Callie kept me on my toes!” ~USA Today Bestselling Author, Nikki Lynn Barrett


Standing still in an elevator really shouldn’t be this hard. The mirrored doors had swooshed closed about five seconds before. Callie stood beside him, leather attaché slung over her shoulder and hands clasped before her, watching the numbers count down, down, down.

Gage resisted the urge to pull at his tie. But counting down the numbers on the elevator screen wasn’t nearly as interesting as watching Callie.

He’d been watching her, goading her a little, since he’d realized it was her across the table from him and not a stranger. Not that he could call Callie a friend when he hadn’t spoken to her in ten years. She was an acquaintance. That was a good word.

The fact did nothing to temper his response to her. She’d heated up the office. Now she was turning the elevator into a veritable inferno. From the top of her oh-so-blonde head—had her hair always been this shimmery?—to the tips of her oh-so-red toenails, she made him want things.

Drinks on the beach. A quiet dinner by candlelight.

He’d never thought of her this way in the past. She was just Callie. The girl who helped him master calculus, cheered at his football games, and rode her favorite horse beside his lake on hot summer days. The gorgeous woman standing beside him was so different from the buddy he remembered.

The old Callie was smart and tenacious, which made the new Callie a good investment. The old Callie was dedicated to her work—another mark in New Callie’s favor. The biggest mark in her favor, though, was the empty space in his new development. A space that would be perfect for Callie’s business, while also filling a hole in his.

Plus, under the polish of her suit, he could still see his friend. The mistiness of her gaze when she talked about her parents leaving town, the fierce grip when she squeezed her hands together as she made her pitch.

“Have you been to a Rebels game since you got back?” he asked.

Small talk. He hated small talk.

“I’m not much for basketball.”

“It’s actually still football season, but the first preseason basketball games start in a couple weeks. We should catch a game sometime.”

Shut up, Gage. Just shut up. He didn’t ask business associates out. What the hell was wrong with him?

“Oh.”

“You love football.”

A smile spread across her face. “Mostly I loved the space that cheerleading took up in the ‘extracurricular’ column of my college applications.”

“Oh.” How had he never caught that she wasn’t into sports?

Better question: how had his radar missed Callie, in general, all those years ago?

Once upon a time, Kristina Knight spent her days running from car crash to fire to meetings with local police–no, she wasn’t a troublemaker, she was a journalist. Her career took her all over the United States, writing about everything from a serial killer’s capture to the National Finals Rodeo. Along the way, she found her very own Knight in Shining Cowboy Boots and an abiding love for romance novels. And just like the characters from her favorite books, she’s living her own happily ever after.
Kristina writes sassy contemporary romance novels; her books have appeared on Kindle Best Seller Lists. She loves hearing from readers, so drop her a line!

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LOVE ME LIKE YOU DO (A Love Me Series) BY: JAIME RUSSELL

 
 
BLOG TOUR
LOVE ME LIKE YOU DO (A Love Me Series)
BY: JAIME RUSSELL
RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 5TH

 

Abigail “Abby” Stephens grew up knowing her role. She would always be the ugly duckling or someone’s dirty little secret. She hides behind her computer screen playing her game. No one knew what she looked like just how
she played. Abby felt safe, secure and content on living this life, until him.
Cash Hawthorne was given the family business when his
parents were killed in a car accident. With the help of his sister, they run a successful hotel which is the premiere spot for weddings. Cash knew that marriage was not in the cards so he had the mentality of “Those who can, do and
those who can’t, teach,” that was until he met the one girl who broke through his walls.
Can Cash be the one to show her how beautiful and sexy she
is?
Can Abby be the one to show him what happens when love finds you?
Will they be able to overcome her abusive father and his
controlling sister?
Come along on this adventure with Abby, Cash and their band of misfits!

 

BUY LINK
 
 
 
“Why don’t we do something tomorrow night? Saturday night is a good night to party and since we are in our 30s, we will all be home by 11.”
I said that last part laughing and Rob joined in with me.
“So true so true baby girl. Now spill why you had a smile on
your face walking into your classroom and I get here, the smile is faded and you had this look of panic on your face.”
“You saw that did you?” He just nodded and waited for me to
continue. “I met this guy online in the gaming community. We have known each other for a year but more on a personal level the last few months. We have been emailing, Skyping, and text messaging each other a lot.”
“I see a but coming on or more to the story.”
“There is a but and a huge one at that! We started calling
on the phone when we are on breaks from work and at night. We just told one another that we like each other.”
“Has Abby decided to start dating? Oh, this is cause for
celebration.” Rob clapped his hands in excitement. He knows the hell I went through with all of the boys that I have been with and knows the toll it took on me.
“He lives in Florida and he doesn’t know what I look like.
What if he doesn’t like what he sees? What if he wants to make me his dirtylittle secret? What if I like him a lot and he breaks my heart?” I had tears coming down my face.
“I felt that same way when I met Aaron. We met online in the
same gaming community that you met Cash. I was terrified that he wouldn’t love me, break my heart, or even not feel the same way. I got over that in a hurry
because we all need to take a leap of faith in the love department.”  Aaron stood about 5’11 and wasn’t as muscular as Rob but he was well built. He had brown hair, hazel eyes, and a beard. I wasn’t a fan of beards but my God he made it look sexy. He was a doctor, an OB
GYN. He had funny stories about how his female patients would flirt with and ask him out on dates but when they saw Rob coming around and he told them that he was in a relationship with him, they were heartbroken. They were not upset about his lifestyle but the fact that he wouldn’t date them. Rob was doing well for himself.
“I am just an overweight girl who doesn’t deserve love and
is always going to be someone’s dirty little secret.”
Rob slammed his hand onto the table making me jump. “Why isit that you listen to all the people who are not worthy of you and ignore those who love you the most?”
“It is easier to listen to the negative than the positive.
The people who love me most will always say what I want to hear not what is true. Do you think I like being this way? Do you think I like doubting every man who comes into my life? Do you think I don’t want the husband, children,
and know the feeling of what true love is? Until you have been subjected to this way of thinking all your life, don’t get mad at me for feeling like this, Rob.”
“Honey, I am not mad at you but just disappointed. You are
so beautiful and sexy that any man,” I went to open my mouth to say something and he held up his hand, “who is deserving of you. I wish you could see it.
When you meet the man who is worthy of you, he will show you and you will believe it. I think you should keep getting to know Cash and see where things go. Keep an open mind. If all else fails, think “What would Rob say?” I am very
wise, just so you know. 
I laughed, “Wise huh, maybe a wise-ass.” He feigned shock by my words.
 
Jaime Russell loves to read and be sucked into a world that
she can only imagine. When Jaime isn’t reading she can be found playing World of Warcraft with her friends or working on a school assignment. Jaime is working on getting a degree in English so she can become an editor for otherIndie Authors. Jaime’s love for her family and their support has helped herachieve her dream of becoming an author.
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#WOTR #CoverReveal – Second Chances by Rebecca Brooke

wotr-attendingauthor

Second-Chances

Goodreads

Synopsis

Just another one night stand…

Ryann despised the thought, but it was the only one she could draw when she woke up in an empty bed. Tired of being let down by everyone she cared about–aside from her brother–Ryann begins taking her life back, pushing back at all the bad and ugly life tosses at her.

Ryder knew the moment he left Ryann alone in bed he’d made a mistake. Running and hiding from his family for years, Ryder didn’t want to pull her into that life. She deserved more than constantly moving from place to place.

Ryann just can’t push again. Life is winning and she just wants to lay down and give up. Now, she must make a decision: to run from the truth, or step up and admit what she’s known all along. And Ryder… nine months later and he can’t get Ryann out of his head. He wants her more than he wants to run.

But there’s a terrible truth he has to face: it might be too late for Ryann to give Ryder his second chance.

Second-Chances-Full-Wrap

The Series

Ryder

AMAZON

About the Author

Rebecca lives near the shore towns of New Jersey, with her husband and two kids. When she’s not writing she loves reading and watching SOA and TrueBlood.

Website * Facebook * Twitter

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Storm by Alyssa Rose Ivy

Storm (The Empire Chronicles, #5)

synopsis

Underneath our greatest flaws lie our greatest strengths.

Jared barely has time to process the revelation that his mother is a witch before his life is once again turned upside down. He wakes up in a time and place he thought he had left behind with no clue how to get out. When Vera shows up the stakes are even higher.

Racing to find a way back to reality and to fix mistakes, both must face new truths about their identities, and what they are made of.

*New Adult Paranormal Romance*

TBR

Goodreads

Buy Links

Amazon

angies-review

 

I received this book from the author for an honest review.

I get so excited when I get receive a book form Alyssa.  Unfortunately I was super busy with work, holidays and then sick kiddos so when I finally got the chance to sit down and read Jared, I devoured him in one sitting!!  This book I was really excited to read because of all the new information we got abut Jared and his heritage in the last book…….HELLO A Warlock!!

So this book was not really what I was expecting.  Jared and Vera get stuck in a Veil AKA Witch Alternative Universe kinda thing.  Jared has no clue how or why he is stuck and how to get out.  We soon learn that Levi and Allie’s meeting maybe at stake if they don’t get out and get out quick. The book had a different look at how Levi and Allie meet plus we get to see Good Old Evil Witch Tiffany doing what she does best….ruining lives.

What I liked about the book best was seeing Jared and Vera working as a team totally.  They finally admit their love for each other which is a good thing since they are mated according to her family.  I also loved seeing a grown up Jared.  He now realizes how important every little detail in his life is and how one little thing can change it all.

 

 

about the author

Alyssa Rose Ivy is the bestselling author of more than twenty-five novels with over half a million books sold worldwide. She loves to weave stories with romance and humor, and she is best known for writing about college boys with wings and skinny dipping. After surviving law school and earning her masters in library science, she turned back to her creative side and decided to write. Although raised in the New York area, she fell in love with the South after moving to New Orleans for college. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two young children, and she can usually be found with a cup of coffee in her hand.

 

 

Guest Post -Why We Read Romance – by Jade C. Jamison

Jade bio pic

Twinsie Favorite Author Jade Jamison stopped by the write a quick Guest Spotlight on Why We Read Romance……so with out further ado…….Take it away Hottie!

Why We Read Romance

Last fall, I informally surveyed my readers.  I’d been told for ages that I needed to know my demographic and, for purposes of marketing, I decided to ask readers to voluntarily answer some questions anonymously.  I knew, long before reading the answers, that my main readers were female and most likely between the ages of twenty and fifty.

Well, I might have been a little off on the ages (my main readers are over 25 and don’t stop till their sixties), but I was right about the gender—not a single male completed the survey.  I know I do have one or two male readers; I know they exist because I chat with them online on occasion, just like I do my female readers.  But it’s no secret that the main demographic for romance novels is women.

One of the questions on my survey, an optional question, asked why my readers read.  I received responses that were no surprise:  people read to escape everyday life or to try to figure out something about their own situations by reading how a character solved his or her own issues.  What I should have asked was why my readers chose specifically to read romance, but between their answers and my own know-how, I can tell you the main reasons why we read romance.  Which reasons are yours?

Oh, very quickly, one aside—while I think we all might like the occasional romance with a dark ending, by its very definition, romance novels don’t necessarily have to have a happily ever after (HEA), but they should have an ending that is hopeful (whether that’s an ending with a HEA, HFN—happy for now, or just hopeful in general).  And now, without further ado, a few reasons why we read romance:

  1. We read romance to escape. No, this doesn’t mean we’re unhappy with our relationships, but maybe we have stuff going on in our lives that we need a little time away from.  Perhaps we have a job we dislike or our kids are struggling in school.  We know we need to solve these problems and we want to, but it’s neither productive nor healthy to think and stress about our problems 24/7.  In fact, it’s sometimes easier to solve problems when we’ve had a break from worrying about them.  Think about it—how good are you going to be at solving that problem at work tomorrow morning if you can’t sleep because that’s all you’ve thought about?  But, if you pick up that romance novel that has you instead fretting over a fictional character’s relationship, you can go to sleep with lighter thoughts and maybe get a good night’s sleep, allowing you to tackle that work problem fresh as a daisy in the AM…unless, of course, you stayed up all night reading.  (Be sure to set healthy limits!)
  2. We read for hope. Sometimes our own lives will get us down.  There’s no getting around it.  We all have a few dark moments in our existence.  We might have a time when we don’t have any hope for our future and just can’t find it within ourselves to try…but then, we pick up a book, and it gives us hope.  After all, if Brad and Valerie can make it through their tough times, maybe there’s hope for us, right?  Even when your future seems bleakest, reading a romance novel will help you see a little beacon of hope on the horizon.
    On top of that, think of it this way:  my life might suck right now, but compared to everything the protagonist is experiencing in the romance novel I’m reading?  I’ve got it easy…and I’m not thinking about all the crap in my life when I’m reading about what’s going on in her life.
  3. We read to find solutions for our own problems. Yes, we can find solutions in other types of fiction as well, but what makes romance unique is its focus on relationships, and very often, romance is written for women, with women in mind, and by women, so even though reading John Grisham’s Rogue Lawyer kept me on the edge of my seat, intrigued me, and had me wondering what happened next, nothing that occurred in between the front and back covers helped me solve my own real-life problems.
    But a story about a woman balancing being a mom and finding the love of her life, or a couple struggling to seeing eye to eye, or a gal trying to find peace at work—those are things I can relate to, and sometimes reading how a character resolves her problems will give me an idea of how to take care of some of my own issues.
  4. We read for ideas about how to handle our own intimate relationships. Most everyone will have problems with their partner once in a while.  Part of being human is learning to deal with those kinds of difficulties and grow or learn from them.  Sometimes, we’ll seek advice from a trusted friend about how to deal with a situation involving our partner, but those people we trust are not always the best at giving advice, because they’re on our side!  And let’s face it—they are usually only hearing one side of the story.  And, once in a while, one of our problems might be too embarrassing to share—even with a trusted confidante!  Reading a romance novel will sometimes help you see your situation and give you ideas about how to handle it, and it does so without judging you or your situation.
  5. It spices up our lives! I can’t tell you how many of my readers have told me that devouring romance novels (especially steamy ones) has helped revamp their sex lives.  You love your husband and always will, but after being together a while and dealing with bills, kids, and other stressors together, finding romance again or feeling aroused with each other becomes a little harder.  “Not tonight, dear” goes on for more and more nights as time goes on.  We get in a rut as things grow familiar.
    Women aren’t typically visual creatures when it comes to our imaginations.  Unlike most men who find porn or sexy pictures arousing, women usually tend to need to find stimulation in their minds—and reading can do that.  Whereas a man can look at a few sexy pics and be raring to go, the same thing happens to a lot of women reading a steamy love story.  That hot couple getting it on in her most recent romance read translates into the need to jump her husband’s bones that night at bedtime.  Reading sexy books can help reignite that spark, creating a win-win for a loving couple who hasn’t experienced passion in a while.

So…the next time someone looks down their nose at you for reading romance, you can tell them that it helps with your outlook on life (saving you from hours and hours of therapy, not to mention the cost), not to mention the strength of your marriage.  There aren’t many other hobbies that’ll do that, but I think it’s safe to say that reading is a healthy pastime, especially when considering so many alternatives.  That said, pick up your next hot read and start flipping those pages!

 When Jade C. Jamison’s not reading, she’s been known to write a romance novel or two herself.  You can visit her at www.jadecjamison.com.

 

#WOTR #ReleaseDay – Love Rekindled by Michelle Lynn

wotr-attendingauthor

 

 

 

 
Love Rekindled (Love Surfaced Series, Book
2) 
SYNOPSIS:
Taylor Delaney is the love of my life.
She’s also the one I’ve hurt the most.
Two years ago, I made a disastrous mistake.
One I’m not sure I can make amends from.
But I have to try, because I’m nothing without her.
Brad Ashby’s here, in my hometown, asking for a second chance.
All those unresolved feelings for him have resurfaced.
Not that they ever went away.
I know I should run him out of the town, but I can’t.
He needs to know that I wasn’t the only one who was deceived.
Even if we gave our relationship another try, how can we rebuild what’s been destroyed? If we weren’t strong enough then, what makes us strong enough now?
** CAN BE READ AS A STANDALONE. **
 
Purchase Links:
  
Excerpt:
 
She pulls out of her parking space, and my heart constricts as I watch her drive away from me again. I should duck down so she doesn’t see me, but my eyes won’t veer from her. The beat-up Jetta passes and my stomach clenches. My hand itches to yank the car handle open. My feet beg to disobey and run to her. I don’t have to, because she slams on the breaks and her eyes are locked on mine. Hope pours from mine while hers fume with anger.
 
She throws the car into park, thrusts the door open, and stomps directly to my door.
 
She bangs on the window and I jump. “Why are you here?” she screams through the pane.
 
As I lower the window, the smell of jasmine breezes in. Her perfume still has the capacity to calm me.
 
“Hey, Taylor.”
 
“Don’t ‘Hey’ me. Why are you here?” Her voice is sharp and cold, and nothing like I remember. Not sure why I wouldn’t expect less though.
 
“I thought we could talk.” My fingers move to the knob of my stereo to turn down the music.
 
“There’s nothing to talk about. Leave.”
 
She turns and walks back to her car.
 
I exit my truck and wrap my fingers around her wrist to stop her. She yanks it out of my grip.
“Don’t ever touch me,” she seethes, and I hold my hands up in the air.
 
“Taylor,” I whisper, and she twists around. The look of fury heavy in her eyes.
 
She ignores the fact that I’m talking and climbs back into her car. I try to slide through the sliver of the open door, but she squeezes me out and the door rattles shut.
 
I knock on the window, but she shifts the car into drive. Her hesitation as she sits and studies the steering wheel, tells me my cause isn’t lost. Maybe I have a chance. I knock again, softer this time. Her tear-filled eyes look up at me through the dirty glass, and my heart breaks for what I’ve done. If I affect her this much two years later, how bad did I destroy her then?
 
“Please,” I beg, and she closes her eyes. I watch her shallow breathing falter.
 
As though she had a lapse of judgment, she shakes her head and the pain in her eyes disappears, returning to resentment once more. “Go back to your fiancée, Brad.” 
 
Her tires squeal before the rubber catches pavement. Within a minute, she’s left me—again.
 
“Fuck!” I lift my leg in the air as my toes ignite with heat. She fucking rolled over my foot.
 
The pain in my foot is nothing compared to the pain in my heart as I watch her taillights disappear around the corner.



 

 
 
 
 
 
Love Surfaced (Love Surfaced Series, Book 1)
Synopsis:
 
The equations are simple.
Piper Ashby + Brad Ashby = Twin Siblings
Brad Ashby + Tanner McCain = Best Friends
Piper Ashby + Tanner McCain = Off limits
Tanner and I abided by the rules. We stayed on our
designated sides of the relationship circle.
Ignoring swarming butterflies.
Brushing off skipped heartbeats.
Settling on lingering stares.
Here’s the secret … a hand extended over that invisible line once, exponentially changing the equation. I was convinced we could make our relationship work until Tanner broke the trust he embedded in me from the age of seven.
One deceit of mega proportions and the relationship we built for that short month vanished. I swore never to speak to him again and it’s worked. Until now—two years later, when my brother’s wedding places me face-to-face with the best man—Tanner McCain.
Leaving one equation to be solved. Can love surface twice?
PURCHASE LINKS:
 
 AMAZON * Amazon UK *  Amazon CA 
B & N * iBooks * KOBO *  
 
 
 
 
AUTHOR BIO:
 
USA Today Bestselling author, Michelle Lynn moved around the Midwest most of her life, transferring
from school to school before settling down in the outskirts of Chicago ten
years ago, where she now resides with her husband and two kids.  She developed a love of reading at a young age, which helped lay the foundation for her passion to write.   With the encouragement of her family, she finally sat down and wrote one of the many stories that have been floating around in her head. When she isn’t reading or writing, she can be found playing with her kids, talking to her mom on the phone, or hanging out with her family
and friends.  But after chasing around twin preschoolers all day, she always cherishes her relaxation time after putting the kids to bed.
 
MEDIA LINKS:
Twitter: @michellelynnbks