Release Day Launch: A Lover's Lament {Review & Giveaway}

It’s the release day of A Lover’s Lament by KL Grayson & BT Urruela! I love this fantastic contemporary romance so much. Today, we have an excerpt and a fantastic giveaway, so be sure to check out all of the release day festivities!  

Goodreads

 About A Lover’s Lament:

In a matter of seconds my entire world changed, and it was in that moment that I stopped living and simply began to exist.

In my grief, I sent a letter to the first boy I ever loved. I hoped in writing it I’d find some peace from the nightmare I was living, some solace in my anger.

I didn’t expect him to write back. I wasn’t prepared for his words, and I certainly wasn’t ready for the impact this soldier would have on my life. A deep-rooted hate transformed into friendship, and then molded into a love like I’d never known before.

Sergeant Devin Ulysses Clay did what I couldn’t: he put the shattered pieces of my heart back together, restoring my faith in humanity and teaching me how to live again.

But now that I’m whole, I have a decision to make. Do I return to my life as I knew it and the fiancé I left behind, or do I walk away from it all for the only man to ever break my heart?

***

I’ve been living in hell, but you won’t hear me complain.

These men depend on me, as I do them, and this brotherhood is the only family I’ve ever known.

The Army saved me from a callous mother and a life on the wrong side of the tracks that was quickly spiraling out of control. So unlike most of the men in my platoon, going home wasn’t something I longed for.

I was content overseas, spending my days defending this country that gave me my life back. Fighting became my new normal … until her.

A letter from Katie Devora—a letter that I almost didn’t open. Her words put a fire back inside of me that I didn’t know I’d lost. She gave me hope during a time when I was fighting every day just to stay alive, and now it’s time I fight for her.
 

 Buy Links: 

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Globug's Review

I have been so anxious to read this book. I discovered BT Urruela the day Michael Stokes posted photos of BT on Twitter. One shot in particular that I refer to as the *Jesus pose brings so much beauty and strength to the image of a man that was once broken. When I heard about A Lover's Lament I was so excited to read it and hopeful for it's success.  

I'm happy to say that the book is just as moving as BT's photos. Right away I was captured by the characters. Katie, Devin, and Wyatt have been best friends since childhood but Katie and Devin found love as high-school sweethearts. There was always a bit of competition between the boys with Wyatt being the rich boy with a happy family life and Devin being poor with a very dysfunctional family. You can imagine which guy a father would want for his daughter.

After a short glimpse of the characters as teenagers in the prologue, chapter one jumps ahead ten years. Katie's Dad hung the moon in her world then he dies tragically knocking her world off it's axis.  Now having had her heart broken twice she lives a bitter life closed off to the people that love her. Then the one person that could mend her heart re-enters her life like fate decided to correct the path she had chosen.

This story is about the journey Devin and Katie have to take to get their second chance at love. It's painful at times when Devin reveals the truths that once led him to leave without a goodbye. I really love the story being told in dual POV. It may have been my imagination but I felt like the parts written in Devin's POV were penned by BT. They genuinely felt like what I would expect from a young soldier. I anticipated certain things to happen with Devin's character because of the author's history and it only added to the depth of emotion I felt. And if indeed Katie's POV was written by Grayson then I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

 Exclusive Excerpt: I wake before the sun has checked in for the day and scan the tent, noting my men still sleeping heavily. My morning ritual, at least the days I have time to do it, requires a bit of privacy, and I make certain I have it before I begin. Most of these clowns will just jerk it from their cots in the middle of the night with the rest of us passed out around them. There’s always been something odd about that to me. On a regular basis, I've woken up to the sounds of heavy breathing and skin slapping skin, and it pisses me the fuck off. If I’m not dog-tired, they’ll get a boot heaved in their direction, aimed straight for the dick and with the express purpose of putting them out of business for a while. No, jackin’ the beanstalk in public isn’t for me. Unfortunately, that leaves only one other place to do it—the Drop Zone. Porta-shitters, as we like to call them, sit for weeks without being emptied and capture every bit of the sun’s heat. It’s like a fucking greenhouse in there, and one breath in that motherfucker while beating off and your dick is in full retreat. So there’s a trick to doing this just right; you have to prep him first. You get him up and going, and then you quickly finish in the shitter. For most of these guys, the bikini-clad chicks above their cots or the porno mags stashed in their bags are a necessity for a proper jerk-off, but I'm an imaginative guy. I close my eyes and my mind becomes like a time machine of fuck. Marilyn Monroe in Some Like it Hot ... bam! … cum everywhere. Farrah Fawcett in her iconic red swimsuit bent over the counter ... set the time machine and go. This time my mind goes for none other than Jackie O. She’s spread-eagle, with my tongue lightly flicking her throbbing clit while she's begging for my dick. And, of course, I’m making her call me Mr. President. I laugh at the last thought but notice it's at least gotten the job started. Since my dick is half-mast and ticking its way to full form, I slink my way to the tent’s entrance. Stepping out, I’m met by the sun creeping softly over the tops of the barriers, and I hurry toward the porta-shitters, positioned just past the Humvees in front of the eastern wall. This two-hundred-yard walk is the most important part of the process. You have to walk with speed but not urgency, in hopes that you don't attract attention from the few others also awake—all while the imagined porn still reels in your head. I manage to make it into the shitter undetected and quickly go to work on my shaft while my left hand pinches my nose like a vise and my eyes squeeze tightly shut. Only this time it isn’t someone famous that I picture. It’s Katie. Even as early as it is, the Drop Zone is like a sauna, and beads of sweat collect on my forehead. I try desperately to hold in my breath as the seconds tick down. Just as my lungs begin to demand air and my body stiffens, I toss my head back with a stifled groan. My body recovers from its high much quicker in this setting, but at least the job is done. Two weeks of combat stress gone, just like that.  

About the Authors:

  K.L. Grayson resides in a small town outside of St. Louis, MO. She is entertained daily by her extraordinary husband, who will forever inspire every good quality she writes in a man. Her entire life rests in the palms of six dirty little hands, and when the day is over and those pint-sized cherubs have been washed and tucked into bed, you can find her typing away furiously on her computer. She has a love for alpha-males, brownies, reading, tattoos, sunglasses, and happy endings…and not particularly in that order. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/KL-Grayson/1403900879892076?ref=hl Twitter: https://twitter.com

/authorklgrayson IG: @booksbyklgrayson  

 

Taylor Urruela was an infantryman in the US Army from August 2004 until February 2011. At the end of a year long tour in Baghdad, IQ, his vehicle was hit by two roadside bombs, which took his right leg below the knee and the life of his commander. He was awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds, an Army Commendation Medal and Combat Infantryman’s Badge. He medically retired from the Army in 2011 and moved to Tampa, FL where he currently works as a Director and Brand Ambassador of VETSports, a veteran community sports nonprofit he co-founded in 2012. He also conducts speaking engagements and he’s a personal trainer for Tampa Sports Academy. 

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BTUrruela?fref=ts Twitter: https://twitter.com/BTUArmy IG: @BTUrruela 

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Tattooed Emotions Release Day Launch

It’s release day for Alicia Rae’s Tattooed Emotions! We’re having a fantastic release day celebration for this amazing new contemporary romance. Alicia is sharing an excerpt with us to celebrate the release of her first book in the Tattooed Billionaire series. Check it all out!

Buy Links:

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READ A FREE SAMPLE 

Tattooed Emotions Synopsis:

Raelyn Jennings has survived the unthinkable. She’s been given a second chance to live, to breathe, to feel. Her ability to overcome such a traumatic hurdle has created armor around her heart. But beyond her shield is fear, a consuming deep one, of the unknown. Raelyn vows to herself that she’ll solely focus on the one constant in her life, her career as the CEO for a prestigious accounting firm.

Damien Heathman’s unrelenting determination has made him a powerful, respected man. He’s sexy and confident and utterly breathtaking. His dominance and strength is evident in every purposeful stride, every meaningful look, and every soft caress. 

Raelyn has worked with Damien’s company, Heathman Enterprises, for many years, but they’ve never crossed paths—until now. 

Damien’s presence fills a room. He steals Raelyn’s breath and sparks her broken heart back to life. Once Damien sets eyes on Raelyn, there is no turning back. He wants her, and he’ll stop at nothing to have her. Not even the dark secrets hidden behind his tattoos will stand in his way. 

The chemistry is undeniable. The passion is palpable.

Can Damien convince Raelyn that he is worth the risk? Or will Raelyn allow her past to control her future, feeling the chance of another heartache is too great to bear?

 Goodreads

       


Exclusive Excerpt: Damien lightly laid me on the bed, removed my towel, and tucked me beneath the sheets. “Do you need anything? Water, saltines, anything?” Concern filled his features once again. “No.” I smiled. “I’m fine. Just tired.” He nodded his acknowledgment, and then he walked to the bathroom door while pulling his soaking wet shirt from his back. He tossed it on the chair, every muscle flexing with his movements. I might have been tired, but that didn’t stop me from being stunned into silence as my body flamed to life at the sight of his bare torso. My greedy eyes traveled from one end of his shoulder to the other, drinking in the beauty of his ink. Without glancing at me, he sauntered over to his dresser to pull out a dark-colored shirt. “Don’t,” I whispered, feeling my heart stop beating in my chest. It destroyed me a little every time he concealed this part of himself from me. I knew something awful had happened to Damien and that he didn’t want to talk about it, but him hiding it from me hurt beyond any other physical pain I’d ever experienced. His arms paused midair, and he gazed over his shoulder. From his side profile, I saw the instant his body tensed, and his jaw clenched. “Please…” I swallowed thickly and dug for courage. “You want me to stay. And I want to lie with you…with nothing between us.” I realized I was being unfair, but I was that desperate. A visible tremor shook through him. It felt as though an eternity had passed before he spoke, “Don’t touch them.” My heart swelled within its confined space. He was going to trust me. “I won’t,” I breathed in relief. “I promise.” “Don’t ever break a promise to me, Raelyn.” He slowly lowered his arms and pivoted to face me. “So, don’t make one if you can’t keep it.” “I keep my promises,” I vowed with the utmost sincerity. “As do I. Always.” His voice was reverent.  


 Alicia Rae Bio: Alicia Rae is a Contemporary Romance Author who lives in Dekalb, Illinois, with her husband and three beautiful boys. Alicia has a passion for reading all types of romance, writing to bring a story to life, and photography. Thank you to my dear sister, Kels, who showed me a few years ago how much I truly missed reading. And to my loving husband, for not throwing away my Nook, and planting the seed of writing in my mind. I am forever grateful. Xo Readers, words cannot thank you enough for supporting me along this incredible journey. I hope you enjoy my novels as much as I do writing them. I thank each and every one of you. Believe in yourself and follow your dreams...

Links: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Author Goodreads

Enter Alicia’s Giveaway:

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Release Day Launch: The Affiliate by K.A. Linde

Today is release day for K.A. Linde’s The Affiliate! I am so excited about this new young adult fantasy! Grab your copy and check out the excerpt and giveaway K.A. is sharing with us!!

The Affiliate Synopsis:

On the day of her Presenting, in front of the entire Byern Court, seventeen-year-old Cyrene Strohm's lifelong plans come to fruition when she's chosen as an Affiliate to the Queen.

Or so she thinks. When Cyrene receives a mysterious letter and an unreadable book, she finds nothing is as it seems. Thrust into a world of dangerous political intrigue and deadly magic, Cyrene's position only grows more treacherous when she finds herself drawn to the one man she can never have...

King Edric himself.

Cyrene must decide if love is truly worth the price of freedom. Find out in this first book in USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde’s new Ascension series.

 Buy Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Itunes   

 Exclusive Excerpt:

“I see the way you look at her, Edric. Your eyes follow her, you dance the longest dances with her, and now, you’re sending her presents. I’ve known you too long not to know that this is unlike you. You’re not Kael. You don’t fraternize with the Affiliates who parade themselves in front of you, hoping for a scrap of your time. Yet here you are with this Cyrene. What is she to you?” Daufina asked.

At her question, Edric paced the long room. She watched him through the silence and wondered what he was thinking.

“You told me once that you would inform me if you wanted to take a mistress—”

“I do not want to take a mistress,” Edric snapped.

Daufina straightened in surprise. He never raised his voice with her.

“I apologize,” he said with a sigh. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Just talk to me.”

“Would you believe me if I said that I didn’t want anything to do with her?” His eyes were pleading.

“No,” Daufina admitted.

“No,” he agreed. “No, I wouldn’t either. I keep telling myself that I’m acting like a fool, Daufina, but then I see her again.” He stroked his chin as he tried to find the words. “She has this pull. When I’m with her, the throne slips away, and I’m just a man with a beautiful woman. It both intrigues and terrifies me.” He splayed his hands before him. “I can never be anything but the king…but when I’m with her, I want to be.”

 K.A. Linde Bio: USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde is the author of The Affiliate, the first book in the Ascension Series. As a military brat, she traveled the world with her family, imaginary friends, and ever-increasing supply of books. She has spent much of her life dreaming up new worlds and characters and forcing them into uncomfortable, usually life-threatening scenarios. After graduating from the University of Georgia with a masters degree in political science, she began spending every waking hour putting those characters onto paper. When not writing, she spends her time dancing, collecting paperbacks in the hopes of filling a Beauty and the Beast style library one day, traveling to visit her friends who live all over the country, and still reading anything she can get her hands on. She currently resides in North Carolina with her husband and two puppies, Lucy and Riker, where she is hard at work on her next novel.
 Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest  

 Enter K.A. Linde’s fantastic giveaway! 

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BURYING WATER Release Day Launch

 

We are so excited to be a part of the Release Day Launch for K.A. Tucker's BURYING WATER! 

BURYING WATER is a New Adult Romantic Suspense novel, published by Simon & Schuster and it will Blow. You. Away! Check out the excerpt, teasers, and giveaway then run--don't walk--to your nearest retailer!

 

Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo ** IndieBound

About BURYING WATER:

The top-selling, beloved indie author of Ten Tiny Breaths returns with a new romance about a young woman who loses her memory—and the man who knows that the only way to protect her is to stay away.

Left for dead in the fields of rural Oregon, a young woman defies all odds and survives—but she awakens with no idea who she is, or what happened to her. Refusing to answer to “Jane Doe” for another day, the woman renames herself “Water” for the tiny, hidden marking on her body—the only clue to her past. Taken in by old Ginny Fitzgerald, a crotchety but kind lady living on a nearby horse farm, Water slowly begins building a new life. But as she attempts to piece together the fleeting slivers of her memory, more questions emerge: Who is the next-door neighbor, quietly toiling under the hood of his Barracuda? Why won’t Ginny let him step foot on her property? And why does Water feel she recognizes him?

Twenty-four-year-old Jesse Welles doesn’t know how long it will be before Water gets her memory back. For her sake, Jesse hopes the answer is never. He knows that she’ll stay so much safer—and happier—that way. And that’s why, as hard as it is, he needs to keep his distance. Because getting too close could flood her with realities better left buried.

The trouble is, water always seems to find its way to the surface.

  

Globug's Review

So I had heard rumor that Burying Water was going to be quite different from what I'm use to reading from Tucker. Of course that made me even more excited to read it. 

The first thing I noticed was that the story line was darker than what I was expecting. In the prologue which you can read below, Jesse Welles is desperate to find Alex but at the same time he would rather not find her out in the middle of no where. His worst nightmare comes true when he finds Alex beaten and left for dead and he knows who did it and why. At least he knows part of the reason. 

The second thing that made this story so different is how Tucker tells the story from alternating perspectives. But even more than that, Jesse's POV is told from the past and Jane Doe/ Water's POV is told from the present. The story progresses to the point where past and present collide. I actually enjoyed the back and forth between Then and Now. I think it could've been confusing if the author hadn't done it so well and it was different from the books I've read where parts are written as memories or flashbacks. 

Jane Doe wakes in the hospital with no memory of who she is or how she sustained her injuries. There's also the risk that who ever tried to kill her may come after her if it's discovered that she didn't die. During her recovery Jane Doe bonds with her doctor and her family. Then a true kinship is formed with a grumpy old lady that ends up in the hospital bed next to Jane. I loved the relationship that grows between Jane and old lady Ginny. They have history in common but Ginny rarely tells anyone the story of her past. She happens to be the good doctor's neighbor though which makes it a perfect arrangement for Jane to live with Ginny while trying to start a new life until she can remember her old one. Dr. Alwood and her family become an essential part of Jane's life. It was so special to watch Jane help Ginny overcome her past and start enjoying life again as well.

The one link Jane has to her old life is a small tattoo symbol for water. She takes on the name Water and gets a job. When the Dr's son Jesse starts visiting she's drawn to him like she's met him before. She has no idea what secrets Jesse and his family are keeping. The suspense builds until a fateful day takes Water to the same tattoo parlor where she got the water symbol. She gets her true identity but not her memories, a blessing and a curse. 

I thought the story was going to be about burying the girl Water after she gets her memory back and in a way I guess it is. But there's so much more that you get from this story about love and survival that makes the title cool as heck and adds to the impact of the story. I was really happy with the happy ending.

 Enjoy reading the prologue of Burying Water and then enter the GIVEAWAY that follows it.

BURYING WATER Excerpt:

Prologue

Jesse

Now

This can’t be real . . . This can’t be real . . . This can’t be real . . .

The words cycle round and round in my mind like the wheels on my speeding ’Cuda as its ass-end slips and slides over the gravel and ice. This car is hard to handle on the best of days, built front-heavy and overloaded with horsepower. I’m going to put myself into one of these damn trees if I don’t slow down.

I jam my foot against the gas pedal.

I can’t slow down now.

Not until I know that Boone was wrong about what he claims to have overheard. His Russian is mediocre at best. I’ll give anything for him to be wrong about this.

My gut clenches as my car skids around another turn,the cone shape of Black Butte looming like a monstrous shadow ahead of me in the pre-dawn light. The snowy tire tracks framed by my headlights might not even be the right ones, but they’re wide like Viktor’s Hummer and they’re sure as hell the only ones down this old, deserted logging road. No one comes out here in January.

The line of trees marking the dead end comes up on me before I expect it. I slam on my brakes, sending my car sliding sideways toward the old totem pole. It’s still sliding when I cut the rumbling engine, throw open the door, and jump out, fumbling with my flashlight. It takes three hard presses with my shaking hands to get the light to hold.

I begin searching the ground. The mess of tread marks tells me that someone pulled a U-turn. The footprints tell me that more than one person got out. And when I see the half-finished cigarette butt with that weird alphabet on the filter, I know Boone wasn’t wrong.

“Alex!” My echo answers once . . . twice . . . before the vast wilderness swallows up my desperate cry. With frantic passes of my flashlight, my knuckles white against its body, I search the area until I spot the sets of footprints that lead off the old, narrow road and into the trees.

Frigid fingers curl around my heart.

Darting back to my car, I snatch the old red-and-blue plaid wool blanket that she loves so much from the backseat. Ice-cold snow packs into the sides of my sneakers as I chase the trail past the line of trees and into the barren field ahead, my blood rushing through my ears the only sound I process.

The only sign of life.

Raw fear numbs my senses, the Pacific Northwest winter numbs my body, but I push forward because if . . .

The beam of light passes over a still form lying facedown in the snow. I’d recognize that pink coat and platinum-blond hair of hers anywhere; the sparkly blue dress that she hates so much looks like a heap of sapphires against a white canvas.

My heart freezes.

“Alex.” It’s barely a whisper. I’m unable to produce more, my lungs giving up on me. I run, stumbling through the foot of snow until I’m on my knees and crawling forward to close the distance. A distance of no more than ten feet and yet one that seems like miles.

There’s no mistaking the spray of crimson freckling the snow around her head. Or that most of her long hair is now dark and matted. Or that her silver stockings are torn and stained red, and a pool of blood has formed where her dress barely covers her thighs. Plenty of footprints mark the ground around her. He must have been here for a while.

I know that there are rules to follow, steps to make sure that I don’t cause her further harm. But I ignore them because the sinking feeling in my stomach tells me I can’t possibly hurt her more than he already has. I nestle her head with one hand while I slide the other under her shoulder. I roll her over.

Cold shock knocks the wind out of me.

I’ve never seen anybody look like this.

I scoop her limp body into my arms, cradling the once beautiful face that I’ve seen in every light—rage to ecstasy and the full gamut in between—yet is now unrecognizable. Placing two blood-coated fingers over her throat, I wait. Nothing.

A light pinch against her lifeless wrist.Nothing.

Maybe a pulse does exist but it’s hidden, masked by my own racing one.

Then again, by the look of her, likely not.

One . . . two . . . three . . . plump, serene snowflakes begin floating down from the unseen sky above. Soon, they will converge and cover the tracks, the blood. The evidence.Mother Nature’s own blanket to hide the unsightly blemish in her yard.

“I’m so sorry.” I don’t try to restrain the hot tears as they roll down my cheeks to land on her mangled lips—lips I had stolen plenty of kisses from, back when I was too stupid to realize how dangerous that really was. This is my fault. She had warned me. If I had just listened, had stayed away from her, had not told her how I felt . . .

 . . . had not fallen wildly in love with her.

I lean down to steal a kiss even now, the coppery taste of her blood mixing with my salty tears. “I’m so damn sorry. I should never have even looked your way,” I manage to get out around my sobs, tucking the blanket she loved to curl up in over her.

An almost inaudible gasp slips out. A slight breeze against my mouth more than anything else.

My lungs freeze, my eyes glued to her, afraid to hope. “Alex?” Is it possible?

A moment later, a second gasp—a wet, rattling sound—escapes.

She’s not dead.

Not yet, anyway.

About the Author:

Born in small-town Ontario, K.A. Tucker published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She is a voracious reader, and currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.        

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Release Day Blast + Giveaway: Make It Right (Bowler University #2) by Megan Erickson

YAY! It's release day for book 2 in the Bowler University series by Megan Erickson! I, for one, am VERY excited to share this with you today because I loved Make It Count and had the opportunity to read Make It Right and Loved it too! Is it possible to love a sequel MORE than the original? Yep! Check out the release day goodies below and don't forget to enter the Giveaway! Thanks for stopping by today. -Hootie

Title: Make it Right (Bowler University #2)
Author: Megan Erickson
Age: NA
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: William Morrow Impulse

Max Payton lives by two rules:

Size and strength win any fight, and never show weakness.

When a rash of assaults sends Bowler University for a tail spin, Max volunteers to help teach a self-defense class. One of the other instructors is the beautiful pixie-faced girl he keeps butting heads with…and who challenges everything he thought he knew. 

Lea Travers avoids guys like Max - cocky jocks who assume she's fragile because of a disability caused by a childhood accident. She likes to be in control, and something about being with Max makes her feel anything but. But during the moments he lets his guard down, Lea sees a soul as broken inside as she is outside. Trusting him is a whole other problem...

When the assaults ramp up and hit close to home, Lea and Max must learn, before it’s too late, that true strength can come from vulnerability…and giving in to trust is sometimes the only way to make things right.