Blog Tour, Excerpts and Review - Beautifully Awake by Riley Mackenzie

Title: Beautifully Awake

Author: Riley Mackenzie

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Release Date: October 2, 2013

Synopsis

Diagnosis: Sleep-running

Treatment: Truth

Prognosis: Beautifully Awake

Lili Porter hates the rain. Bad things happen in the rain. As a small town social worker dedicated to protecting children, she is forced to start over to escape her rural disaster. Determined to follow her father’s advice—head up and chin high—Lili finds herself in a new city, taking on a new system, this time healthcare. In doing so, she gets something she never expected, an intimate behind-the-scenes look at life in the hospital.

Lili learns that a surgeon’s hands have the power to heal more than physical wounds. And a prescription for truth can cure three years of sleep running and leave you beautifully awake.

Excerpt

He was already dressed for the OR in his scrubs, looking ... amazing. The beat beneath my chest started again and my mouth watered, as I not so subtly roamed his body with my hungry eyes. All I wanted was to feel his body against mine, get lost in where I ended and he began. It was all I’d ever want. Forever. I finally got what he meant every time he said mine. He was mine.

“See something you like?” He smirked.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Baby, if you don’t stop looking at me like that I’m never gonna get out of here.”

“Truth. Sounds perfect to me.” Now I smirked.

“Ahh fuck, you’re killing me. You know scrubs don’t hide a hard-on very well.”

I laughed. He had a point there.

Leaning down, he kissed my nose. “Text you in a bit, see how your day is going...” 

“K.”

ADD TO GOODREADS

Review

My rating = 4 stars

*ARC provided by the authors in exchange for my honest review

This is a wonderful debut book and start to the Beautifully Awake series by new writing duo, Riley Mackenzie. I must admit the blurb didn’t grab me or the title (too many books called Beautiful something or other) but once I started reading I was hooked. It was a fabulous contemporary/part erotic romance with a smouldering and dominant sexy male and a feisty and sassy female. But the smouldering and dominant sexy male was the winning factor for me and the reason my nose kept pressed to my kindle for the duration. Oh and what a duration!

Lili Porter left her hometown three years ago after a traumatic experience and moved to Philadelphia where she works as a case manager. She’s, as she calls it – sleep running – running from her past, her demons and herself. She loves the hustle and bustle of the busy hospital workload and changes of rotations each month brings her into contact with a different set of doctors, surgeons and work colleagues. She likes to keep her mind active so she won’t think back to that dark time. But then she meets the new Chief of Neurosurgery – Dr Chase Colton and let’s just say he is a man of many personas – my favourites being Dr Possessive, Dr Intense and Dr Sexy. She cannot believe the attraction she feels for this domineering man but his touch set her love button into overdrive! What was once so closed and securely shut, pushes her into a mass of feelings she didn’t think she ever could feel.

Dr Chase Colton was smoking hot. He was a man who knew what he wanted, how to go get it and he didn’t take no crap from anyone. He was the ultimate mighty alpha male who made others quake in their boots with just one look, one bark of an order. But underneath all this manliness and attitude was a man so lost, and so desperately seeking redemption but which he feels he does not deserve after what had happened in his past. But then he spots the case manager, Lilli, who he was going to chastise for her tardiness and missing the 6am round when she turns to him and he spots the blue eyes. His Blue….

Oh I am so freaking out but I loved this character, Chase. He was just perfect with his alpha aura and his tight ass in those scrubs. Rawr!

The secondary characters were also well developed such as Sierra, Lili’s best friend, who was fun and the kind of BFF we all should have. The way she just said as she saw it had me snorting into the kindle. I loved Guy, one of the docs on Lili’s rotation and who she had at one time considered having a fling with. He sounded delish and cracked me up with his flirtations and his “Hey there doll”. Ash, Chase’s best bud, was so cool and …yes another hottie! So glad to see he will be in the next book.

I liked that this was based in a hospital – yes we all like to fantasise about the hot surgeons in their scrubs and those clever hands! I think this was the first book in a long line for me that has featured a surgeon, so I liked it was a little different.

So if I liked the storyline and loved the characters why not a fantastic five rating? Well for me it was a little too long and a good claw back could have packed a bigger punch. I also was gritting my teeth a little at the epilogue which wasn’t really an epilogue for me and it felt a tad too rushed.

Other than that I loved reading this and would definitely read it again. I need more Chase. Truth!  

Buy links

AMAZON US   AMAZON UK   KOBO   BARNES & NOBLE 

iBOOKS

Meet the Authors

Yep. That's an “s.” There are two of us!

We’re East coast girls separated by Long Island Sound who met in Physician Assistant School and have been besties ever since. We can safely say that thirteen miles of water does not get in the way because we talk or text, no exaggeration, at least 150 times a day. No, really, we do—about everything and nothing. Shockingly, we never (we mean never) run out of things to say. Umm, ever. We definitely laugh A LOT and we’re a tad sarcastic. And if we’re being totally honest, one or two people might have, on occasion, used our names and ‘dramatic’ in the same sentence. But it’s hard to trust the sources since they married us.

It only took twelve years, two husbands, five kids, two dogs, and a two-week vacation in Cape Cod later to decide the romance world needed a splash of medicine. Write what you know.

So you can easily find us at 4 o'clock on Bank Street beach with a glass of cold Prosecco brainstorming. And guaranteed if we bump into you, literally, it’s only because our iPhones are glued to our hands (totally out of our control) either writing or editing our next novel (and yes, it is possible to do from your iPhone, we mastered it … damn those straight quotations).

When we are not working on our book or reading the latest angsty romance on our kindles, you basically name it and we have it going on. Soccer, lacrosse, golf, swimming, dance, gymnastics, football, chess, baseball, basketball, skiing, ice skating, school, homework, and more school. 

Oh yeah, did we forget to mention our careers in medicine?

Needless to say, we realized fast that something had to go, so we opted for sleep. It’s completely overrated (yet so AMAZING) and delirium makes everything funnier. Good thing we share a brain and can pretty much complete each other’s sentences (definitely weird, we know), otherwise it might have taken us two years to write Beautifully Awake rather than one.

So that’s our story, who we are … just add AUTHORS to the list!

Connect with the Authors

FACEBOOK   WEBSITE   TWITTER   GOODREADS

Giveaway

Grand Prize: Kindle Paperwhite

(5) Signed Paperbacks of Beautifully Awake (US Only)

(5) $5 Starbuck's Gift Cards

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Promo, Review, Excerpt and Giveaway! - Reckless by Skye Jordan

Reckless

by 

Skye Jordan

GENRE: Erotic Contemporary Romance

PUBLISHER: Cygnet Books 

RELEASED: August 2013

SERIES: The Renegades, #1

SYNOPSIS:

A couture wedding dress designer to the rich and famous, Lexi LaCroix’s image means everything. But crossing paths with a sexier-than-sin, bad-boy biker makes Lexi realize how much living she’s sacrificed for her success and one touch is all it takes to threaten her carefully choreographed life. When that touch fills far more than just Lexi’s physical needs, she finds herself torn between the career she needs and the bad-boy she craves.

Jax Chamberlin gave up the superficial life of acting for the thrill of running his own stunt company years ago. But a recent betrayal proves he’s still too close to the limelight to find a woman who doesn’t plan to use him as a stepping-stone to success. When the charming and mysterious Lexi offers him a totally anonymous hook-up during an out of town trip, Jax accepts. Only Lexi is more sextacular than charming, and Jax wants more.

But Lexi’s got a major hang-up over his renegade lifestyle, and Jax isn’t willing to change his ways. Especially not when he discovers who she really is. Because if she finds out his connections could catapult her to the top of her career, he’s afraid the fantasy woman he’s falling for might just end up like all the other gold-diggers. And this time, it’s not just his bad-boy reputation at risk, but his heart, too.

“Hotter than hell and a lot more fun. Skye Jordan’s writing sizzles!”

–Elisabeth Naughton, New York Times bestselling author

~~~~~

ABOUT THE SERIES:

RECKLESS is the first book of a trilogy series: Renegades.

The rough and ready stuntmen of Renegades are experts in the fine art of death and destruction on the big screen. The best of the worst.

When it comes to tearing it down or blowing it up, no one can do it better, faster or with more flare than a Renegades’ bad-boy on a mission. When it comes to pleasing a women, no one can do it with more intensity or eroticism than that bad-boy with the need.

And while women come hot and fast for the sexy Renegades, holding on to the right woman may be the hardest stunt they've ever had to pull off.

~~~~~

REVIEW:

My Rating = A sextextastic four!!

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for my honest review

This book landed on my kindle at the right time for me. I was in a haze of book hangover and needed something that would tickle my fantasy love button out of its doom. Oh WOW what a doom blaster this turned out to be!

Reckless is the first book in a new trilogy – Renegades by Skye Jordan. Three hot stories of hot stuntmen and up first is Jax Chamberlain.

Jax is now running his own stunt company after leaving his successful acting career a few years back in order to find more to his life that the frivolity acting entailed. But now he is finding a downfall to his new profession due to people, especially women using him as a means to something better. After losing a major stunt contract to one of his competitors after some whispered pillow talk, he is now done with the users and vows to stay away from them.

Lexi Lacroix is building her top end wedding gown business and is aiming to attract the high class clients so she puts her social life on hold. Her days and nights are all spent on developing her label and she’s now at a crucial point in her life that she cannot make any mistakes. But then she sees Jax at the airport on the way to sign up a business partnership in New York and starts something she will later realise can threaten everything she thought she wanted, yet give her the promise of something she needs.

I really loved the character development in this book and the relationship between Jax and Lexi. I must say the first half of the book was the winning half for me, especially the flirting by text at the airport (I need that app on my phone now!) and the sultry and sensual ‘sex in the dark’ interlude in the hotel. That was just off the hook and smoking hot!

In the second half of the book there were some instances I wanted to strangle the pair of them and shout ‘Just talk to each other!’ and ‘Tell him/her for Gawd’s sake!’ But that was all part of the ying and yang of a good storyline – the angst with the joy!

I loved the whole ‘opposites attract’ and the assumptions of who they thought each other were and stood for. Jax with his superhot sexy bod, his tattoos, his kick-ass bike but not giving off any vibes to his highbrow family connections. As for Lexi with her wanting to move as far away as she can from her poor and deprived upbringing to associating with the top class of society. Both coming from opposite ends of the social scale and not knowing until it was nearly too late before the balance was off kilter. Yeah I really liked that.

I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series and I believe Wes is up next and yes you can bet that sexy ass stuntman is going to be a thrill-a-page-turn! Wonderful start to a smoking series!

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BUY LINKS:

 Amazon: http://amzn.to/GAGLYP

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/174ya6I

Smashwords: http://ow.ly/oe4gd

All Romance eBooks: http://bit.ly/18S1u4e

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1bt76FS

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EXCERPT (SEXY)

            All the muscles of Jax’s rigid chest and abdomen pressed against her back. His hips rode hers a little high, even when she wore four-inch heels, making his erection curve into her lower spine, rub the top of her ass.

            He lowered his mouth to her ear. “Not one of your measurements was true.”

            She tightened her fists, digging her nails into her palms. “You sure didn’t fudge on yours.” God she needed him inside her so badly, she was trembling. “But I still feel the need to…verify.”

            “You’ll get your chance, baby, no worries there. But I don’t have time to fuck you properly right now and there is no way in the fiery pits of hell I’m going to rush a goddamned thing with a catch like you.”

            He had to be joking. His cock was a damn rod of burning steel. “Jax—“

            “Tell me why you lied, Lexi.”

            He released one of her breasts, his hand sliding down her abdomen. The touch of his fingers on her skin was electric. They slipped beneath the band of her skirt and Lexi’s breath caught. Muscles tightened with nerves and need. But he didn’t touch her. He took the edge of her underwear between two fingers and just slid the satin back and forth. Back and forth. Until she thought she’d go mad…waiting, wanting.

            She turned her head, her lips brushing the rough stubble on his jaw and whispered, “Touch me.”

            “I wouldn’t want to distract you from your answer. Truth, Lexi.”

            She groaned a breath. “The truth is that men are attracted to me for my…body.”

            She almost said looks, but amended at the last minute. She wasn’t ready to turn on the lights and give up everything. Wasn't ready to look this stranger in the eye and confront her reckless behavior.

            “You’re a handsome man, Jax…” She couldn't get a full sentence out without panting. “And in your business, you can’t tell me…you don’t know what it’s like to be seen only for what’s on the outside. Maybe, as a guy, it’s no big deal…but as a woman, it’s frustrating. And scary.

            “We had such a good thing going with the texts…I didn't want that to change. It was nice to feel attractive before you knew my body.”

      “Sweet,” he murmured. His hips rocked against her backside. His erection, so wickedly erotic, so deliciously hot and thick, made her body crave in a way she’d forgotten she could. Her sex softened. Opened.

            Lexi arched into one of his slow rocks forward, pressing the indention between the cheeks of her ass against his jean-covered cock. Jax dropped his chin to her shoulder and breathed out hard. The hand in her hair tightened into a fist as he growled through his teeth. His other hand released the band of her panties and slid across her stomach, a hot, solid weight.

            “I’m going to ease your ache, Lexi.” He bit her earlobe gently. Soothed the spot with his lips. “But I don’t have a lot of time, so tell me what kind of release you want. Hard and fast? Fast and deep?”

            She didn't want to think. Didn’t want to talk. Sure as hell didn't want to tell him what to do. She just wanted him to do what men did and quell this excruciating need. Besides, she couldn't think straight. She was floating. Drifting in and electric storm cloud.

            Lexi reached back, ran her fingers through his hair, as soft and thick as it looked. “What’s the difference?”

            Jax’s hand stopped moving along her belly.

            Lexi rose from her heavenly void wondering if she’d done something wrong. “What?”

            “Does that mean you don’t care? Or were you asking?”

            Growing frustrated, she leaned her head back, stretched to press her mouth to his neck. His skin was hot, the muscle beneath supple. And, oh, he tasted good. Clean. Male. “Aren’t they all the same? I’m dying here.”

            A low, rough laugh rumbled in his throat and shivered beneath Lexi’s lips. He pressed a hand to her jaw and lifted her face to cover her mouth with his. And, oh, his lips were full and warm. He used them to savor hers, sucking and sliding. His tongue eased into her mouth in slow circles. By the time it met hers in slow, erotic, sexual strokes, Lexi was breathless.

            When he pulled his mouth from hers to whisper, “Hold still,” Lexi realized she was rubbing her ass restlessly against his erection. “I’m going to give you hard and fast to relieve you. We’ve got all night to explore the many different kinds or orgasms that exist. And no, baby, they’re not all the same.”

            He lowered his mouth to the base of her neck and tightened the arm around her waist, pulling her so hard against his body she felt every beat of his heart against her shoulder blade. The hand at her stomach slid beneath the waistband of her panties, and Lexi tried to wiggle into his touch, but couldn’t. Then he eased the need by pushing his hand low. She gasped in surprise and excitement. At the feel of having a man’s hand between her legs. A real man. The kind of man who made her hot and wet and needy. The kind of man who wasn’t afraid to take charge or give real pleasure.

            The kind of man who could bring her entire business down around her knees.

            The kind of man she should absolutely not be having sex with.

            She covered his hand with hers. His wrist was thick, his forearm muscled. His intense strength suddenly, overwhelmingly evident. A shot of excited lust burned through her body.

            “You like it?” he asked, voice rough. “Or you want me to stop?”

            “Love it.” Lexi’s eyes closed. Head fell forward. She swallowed, the only thing keeping her from pushing his hand between her legs and using it to cut this wild need was her own mortification of doing so. “More. Please.”

            Instead of giving her more, Jax turned his hand over, took hers and guided it back to the door handle. “Hold on, baby. You’re gonna need it.”

~~~~~

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 Skye Jordan

Sometimes fun, sometimes naughty. Always romantic.

I am a USA Today Bestselling Author writing under the pseudonym Skye Jordan for my more … sexually heated … works.

My Skye Jordan novels are all about enjoying that little wild streak we all have, but probably don’t let out often enough. About those fantasies we usually don’t get the opportunity to indulge. About stretching limits, checking out the dark side, playing naughty and maybe even acting a little wicked. They’re about escape and fun and pleasure and romance.

And, yes, even love. Because even as Skye Jordan I’m just a happily ever after kinda gal. (Or, in some cases, happily for the foreseeable future.)

Website: http://skyejordanauthor.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SkyeJordanAuthor

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Skye_Jordan

~~~~~

To celebrate the release of this fabulous read and to give you the chance to have your very own copy - all you need to do is leave a comment about why you would like to read this book. That's it! As simple as that. 

Giveaway competition will run from 8am Monday 14th October to 5pm Sunday 20th October 2013 (GMT)

There will be 2 ebooks to give away so that's two winners!

Winners will be chosen by random.org

Just do it and......

GOOD LUCK!

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Review and re-read - Strings by Kendall Grey

Strings by Kendall Grey

My rating = A womancock shaking five!!

The Blurb

WARNING: STRINGS is not suitable for slut shamers, uptight stone throwers, Holier-Than-Thou prudes, humorless virgins, persons with chronic neck or back pain, pearl-clutching bitties, those who disparage crude humor or vulgarity in their many forms, closed-minded people with sticks up their asses, or anyone under the age of 18. The vile, base language and shocking, unholy sexual acts contained herein are not condoned by anyone with a lick of sense and should certainly not be reproduced without proper training and protection. The potty-mouthed and perpetually horny "heroine" (the term is used loosely) of this book does not resemble a normal, well-adjusted, or remotely believable person in any way, shape, or form. The author acknowledges that the characters in this book are shallow and two-dimensional; the plot is both ridiculous and insipid. She makes no apologies for any of it.

* Readers are strongly advised to wear latex gloves whilst reading to minimize contamination risks.

Free-spirited musician Letty Dillinger adheres to a strict, “no strings attached” policy when it comes to men. After a wild night of unabashed sex in a fancy hotel room, she never expects to see the adventurous stud she dubs “Shades” again. When her all-girl rock trio books a tour at the last minute as the opening act for their archenemies, Letty’s shocked to discover she knows the competition’s new lead singer. Intimately. Shades is no longer a one-night stand. Now he’s the guy she has to one-up on stage every night for the sake of her career.

Sharing close quarters on a bus with her sexy nemesis and his bad-boy buddies puts Letty’s Golden Rule to the test. On this tour, guitar strings aren’t the only things being played. And when heartstrings are pulled too hard, they’re bound to snap sooner or later.

~~~~~~~~~~

My Review

This book comes with a warning so hell yeah it’s a book definitely for me! I first read this book back in May and I loved it. With the release of the next book, Beats, imminent, I thought I'd just do a quick scan through to re-acquaint myself with Killer Buzz Float and all. Well that was stupid because I got hooked in and had to read all of it again. It is testament to how effin good this book was as my original rating stuck. A high five sistahs!

Letty is the singer in the female rock group, Cherry Buzz Float, along with the drummer Jinx and the guitarist Kate. However things have not been happening for the band recently so Letty, on her birthday, takes herself to a bar with her last couple of dollars to cheer herself up. It’s here she meets the sexy guy who she names “Shades” and ends up doing mighty obscene things to in a posh hotel. It was a ‘one night only, no strings attached’ sex fest!

“All I want for my birthday is to get fucked unconscious with no strings attached.” 

“What a coincidence, I’ve got a big dick, a bar tab, and the local cab company’s number on speed dial.”

Letty is not one for being shy at coming forward and as she would never see this guy again, she truly went for it – including the strap on! Oh my word it was off the freaking charts and set the WTFery standards for the rest of the book!

The next day the group’s manager Jillian tells the girls they are to go on tour with Killer Dixon – the rock group who kind of have a history with Cherry Buzz Float and not a good one for Kate! With the two bands on a tour bus what would you expect? Yes you got it – extreme behaviours of groupies, sex, bodily fluids in all the wrong place (or is that the right places?), squirting (!), multiple orgasmic screaming and a little rock tour in between. But for Letty she gets the shock of her life as guess who is the new singer in Killer Dixon? Yup – that be Shades aka Todd Armstrong – the guy she had been up close and personal the night before with!

It was wonderfully vulgar and extreme but absolutely hilarious. There was also definitely a romance intertwined in all the excesses unfolding and a gorgeous HEA. So no cliff-hanger but a good foot holding for another book to carry on and focus on the other members of the band. 

This book is off the charts, over the top, raunchy and panting sex fest! I really cannot describe in words what can encompass what it is, as it just leaves you speechless. It is definitely, DEFINITELY NOT for the weak hearted or puritan. So if you are looking for happy- clappy, nicer than nice, kissy wissy love story – please just leave now. Move along now – nothing for you here. BUT if you want a book that hits you in the face with its out and out extreme sex and rock and roll that shocks the eff out of you, then this is for you. 

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