TITLE: Laguna
Nights (Laguna Nights, 1)
AUTHOR:
Kaira Rouda
Adult
Contemporary Romance
Cover
designer: Okay Creations
Blurb:
Madison Alcott
left her Laguna Beach childhood in the past as soon as she could, never
imagining she’d be forced to return. Caring for her ill mother and holding down
a high-pressure position at the best resort in town, Madison’s life is as good
as it could ever be in Laguna Beach. And blissfully, nobody knows her as Holly
anymore, the name she used on television. Everything changes when her high
school boyfriend appears in the lobby. He was the reason she’d left Laguna in
the first place when he humiliated her on national television.
Josh Welsh’s star
has been dimming ever since he shot to fame as the high school heartthrob on the
reality TV series Laguna Nights. Hoping to reignite his career, he agreed to
host a travel show, with the first episode shooting in his old hometown of
Laguna Beach. Of all the negative scenarios associated with filming in Laguna,
Josh hadn’t calculated a run-in with Madison, or that the same deep connection
he felt for her in high school would still be there.
Madison and Josh’s
reality TV relationship exploded years ago but when the new series forces them
together, they must face Laguna Nights past and present.
Purchase Links
Excerpt:
“Hey Holly, it’s
Josh. I think we should talk. I can tell you’re still angry,” he said. And
despite herself, her heart thumped in her chest as she pictured his dimple, his
smile, his sparkling blue eyes. Stop it.
“Look Josh, my
name is Madison now, got it? I’m not that girl any more so there’s really
nothing to talk about,” she said. She realized she had begun pacing her office
and told herself to sit. She wasn’t about to let him get to her, not again, not
ever.
“Holly, I mean Madison, just meet me for coffee. I don’t have anything
going on today, and we could catch up. I don’t want it to be awkward all week,
you know?” he said. His voice was soft and calm, just like it had been on the
show, when he’d known he was being recorded by the little microphone they had
attached to their bodies every day of filming, anytime they weren’t at school it
seemed, as she thought about it now.
“I’m working,
Josh,” she said.
“I’m your
customer. I’m work,” he said.
Madison took a deep breath. “You’re a piece of
work. Meet me at Mosaic Bar and Grill, by the pool, in half an hour. But I’m
warning you Josh, I’m not the same person I was in high school.”
“Neither am I,
Holly, neither am I,” he said before hanging up.
“My name is
Madison now,” she said into the receiver, but all she heard was the dial tone.
She and her mom had agreed that she should go back to her given name as soon as
she started applying to colleges in the middle of her senior year. While many of
the “stars” of Laguna Nights like Josh already had offers from
high-profile colleges that wanted a dash of celebrity in their freshman class,
Madison hadn’t. And she had decided not to even mention her two seasons on the
show on any of her college applications.
For work
experience on her resume, she had listed helping her mom at the nail salon and
babysitting. She had used Madison on the applications, instead of her middle
name Holly that she’d gone by since she could remember. She’d been Holly on the
show and a name change further distanced herself from that poor girl in high
school. She had started her reinvention on paper before she could do it in real
life. She had been, like the rest of the cast members, under contract for the
whole year. Even after episode four aired the producers wouldn’t allow her to
break the contract, even as she grew heavier and more miserable with each
passing shoot, even as her humiliation played out on televisions across the
country.
Josh was and
always would be the one responsible for her pain and humiliation, she reminded
herself now, pulling on her jacket in case the ocean breeze had picked up. And
she would have one cup of coffee and tell him to leave her alone. This was her
new life and he would never be a part of it.
About
the Author:
Kaira
Rouda is an Amazon #1 bestselling, multiple award-winning author of three
women's fiction novels including HERE, HOME, HOPE, ALL THE DIFFERENCE and IN THE
MIRROR.
Tule Publishing Group's Southern Born imprint is
publishing her new contemporary romance series set on INDIGO ISLAND: WEEKEND
WITH THE TYCOON, Book 1; LINES IN THE SAND, Book 2; THE TROUBLE WITH CHRISTMAS, Book 3; and THE
BILLIONAIRE'S BID, Book 4. Three more books in the series will be out in
2015.
Her
nonfiction title, REAL YOU INCORPORATED: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs,
continues to inspire women internationally.
She
lives in Southern California with her husband and four almost-grown kids, and is
at work on her next novel. Connect with her on Twitter, @KairaRouda, and on
Facebook at Kaira Rouda Books. For more about Kaira and her books,
please visit wwww.KairaRouda.com.
Thank you so much for featuring Laguna Nights!! Happy summer! Happy reading! xo
ReplyDelete