Review: Tempted by Love (Montana Heat, #3) by Jennifer Ryan

Title: Tempted by Love (Montana Heat, #3) Author: Jennifer Ryan Publisher/Publication Date: Avon Books; August 21, 2018 Format/Source: Paperback; Publisher Genre: Contemporary Romance Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Goodreads Book Summary from Goodreads She was this Montana Man’s greatest temptation . . . Alina Cooke—little sister of his two best friends—is the last woman DEA agent Jay Bennett should be waking up next to on the day of her brother’s wedding. But their powerful attraction ignited a powder keg of desire, and their once simple friendship has just become impossibly complicated. Alina’s always been steady, focused, and lived on the safe side of life. Jay is totally devoted to his dangerous job. She knows a future with him will be filled with worry that one day he won’t come home. She’s done it with her brothers. She’s not sure she can face that uncertainty with the man she loves. Yet being in his arms is a bad idea they keep repeating, again and again. When Alina is run off the road, Jay fears his job has made her a target. But the threat in Alina’s life is closer than they think. As the enemy gets more ruthless, Alina proves she’s no easy target and Jay will do anything to bring them down. Because surviving and being together is the only thing that matters.  My Thoughts In Tempted by Love, Jennifer Ryan presents the story of Alina Cooke, a pharmacist, and Jay Bennett, a DEA agent. The actions of these two characters created the perfect recipe for an exciting contemporary romance novel with danger around every corner. I’ve read a couple of books by Jennifer Ryan, When It’s Right and At Wolf’s Ranch and have liked both of them. In the past, I’ve found the characters were really likable from the start, but in Tempted by Love, the characters had to grow on me. Initially, their fast moving physically charged relationship made it difficult for me to get engrossed in the story. There were moments when Alina was depicted as being a strong heroine, but she would go on to be too forgiving and caring about people even when they weren’t looking out for her best interest. And when Alina found herself in harrowing situations she made irrational decisions that resulted in more dangerous situations. And that’s what got me hooked—Alina and her affinity for danger. As for Jay, he initially appeared overprotective. Actually, the characteristics that I found bothersome at first, worked well as the action intensified and the story progressed. In the end, I liked Tempted by Love. I would recommend reading this book if you like contemporary romance novels riddled with heat and danger. Rating 3/5 I received a copy of this book from the publisher for this review.

Excerpt Reveal: To The Stars by Molly McAdams

We are so excited to bring you the Excerpt Reveal for Molly McAdams' TO THE STARS! TO THE STARS is a contemporary romance novel being published on February 9^th by HarperCollins’ William Morrow Impulse imprint and is the second novel in Molly’s Thatch Series! Pre-order this awesome book today!

    

Pre-Order Your Copy Today!

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 About TO THE STARS 

In the second book in New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Molly McAdams’ Thatch series, Knox Alexander must convince his long-time love Harlow Evans that they’re meant to be together.

He promised to wait for her.
She told him he was wasting his time.
Not waiting for him ended up being the biggest mistake of her life.

When they were younger, Knox Alexander swore to Harlow Evans that he would wait for her to turn eighteen so they could be together. But that was two and a half years away, and Harlow couldn’t ask him to give up all the fun and thrills of going away to college for her. As the years passed, Knox remained a constant in her life—whether she liked it or not—but when her eighteenth birthday came around, Harlow’s heart belonged to someone else.

Every day for the last four years, Harlow has been haunted by that fateful choice. And though he may appear unaffected by what happened in their past, Knox has always tried to fill the void Harlow left. But when he comes stumbling back into her life and refuses to leave, will Harlow finally let him into her heart…?

And don’t miss the first book in the Thatch Series…

LETTING GO

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Excerpt

Excerpt Reveal: To The Stars by Molly McAdams

https://www.scribd.com/doc/284191992/Excerpt-Reveal-To-The-Stars-by-Molly-McAdams

 About Molly McAdams 

Molly grew up in California but now lives in the oh-so-amazing state of Texas with her husband, daughter, and fur babies. When she's not diving into the world of her characters, some of her hobbies include hiking, snowboarding, traveling, and long walks on the beach … which roughly translates to being a homebody with her hubby and dishing out movie quotes. She has a weakness for crude-humored movies and fried pickles, and loves curling up in a fluffy comforter during a thunderstorm ... or under one in a bathtub if there are tornados. That way she can pretend they aren't really happening.      

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TO THE STARS Goodreads ** Molly McAdams Goodreads

 

Release Day Blitz & Excerpt: The Laws of Seduction by Gwen Jones

Title:  The Laws of Seduction (A French Kiss Novel) Author:  Gwen Jones Publisher/Publication Date:  Avon Impulse, November 18, 2014 Genre: Contemporary Romance About the Book        When Rex Renaud, the COO of Mercier Shipping, is arrested for a crime he didn't commit, he knows he'll need a miracle to clear his name … and sassy lawyer Charlotte Andreko is the perfect woman for the job. Charlotte has built her career defending pro bono clients against womanizers like Rex Renaud, and she'd much rather let him sweat it out in a jail cell than defend him in court. Yet Rex swears he's been set up, and when he offers her a shocking sum of money in exchange for her legal counsel, the financial security is too tempting to resist. The court dubs Rex a serious flight risk—how many people have their own jet?—and he's released on one condition: Charlotte's his new jailer, and he's stuck with her until his arraignment. But when a bomb threat sends Rex and Charlotte on the run, neither is prepared for the explosive chemistry and red-hot passion that flare between them as they hunt for the truth about his arrest. - See more at: http://www.avonromance.com/book/gwen-jones-the-laws-of-seduction#sthash.DMeJRhWU.dpuf Buy Links Avon      Amazon     Google     iTunes Chapter One Alpha Nailed Center City District Police Headquarters Philadelphia Monday, September 29 11:35 p.m. In her fifteen years as an attorney Charlotte had never let anyone throw her off her game, and she wasn’t about to let it happen now. So why was she shaking in her Louboutins? “Put your briefcase and purse on the belt, keys in the tray, and step through,” the officer said, waving her into the metal detector. She complied, cold washing through her as the gate behind her clanged shut. She glanced over her shoulder, thinking how much better she liked it when her interpretation of bar remained singular. “Name . . . ?” asked the other cop at the desk. “Charlotte Andreko.” He ran down the list, checking her off, then held out his hand, waggling it. “Photo ID and attorney card.” She grabbed her purse from the other side of the metal detector and dug into it, producing both. After the officer examined them he sat back with a smirk. “So you’re here for that Frenchie dude, huh? What’s he—some kinda big deal?” She eyed him coolly, hefting her briefcase from the belt. “They’re all just clients to me.” “That so.” He dropped his gaze, fingering her IDs. “How come he don’t have to sit in a cell? Why’d he get a private room?” Why are you scoping my legs, you big douche? “It’s your jail. Why’d you give him one?” He cocked a brow. “You’re pretty sassy, ain’t you?” “And you’re wasting my time,” she said, swiping back her IDs. God, times like these I really hate men. “Are you going to let me through or what?” He didn’t answer. He just leered at her with that simpering grin as he handed her a visitor’s badge, reaching back to open the next gate. “Thank you.” She clipped it on, following the other cop to one more door at the other side of a vestibule. “It’s late,” the officer said, pressing a code into a keypad, “so we can’t give you much time.”  “I won’t need much.” After all, how long would it take to say, No fucking way. “Then just ring the buzzer by the door when you’re ready to leave.” When he opened it and she stepped in, her breath immediately caught at the sight of the man behind it. She clutched her briefcase, so tightly she could feel the blood rushing from her fingers. “Bonsoir, Mademoiselle Andreko,” Rex Renaud said. Even with his large body cramped behind a metal table, the Mercier Shipping COO never looked more imposing, and in spite of his circumstances, never more elegant. The last time they met it’d been in Boston, negotiating the separation terms of his company’s lone female captain, Dani Lloyd, who had recently become Marcel Mercier’s wife. But with his cashmere Kiton bespoke now replaced by Gucci black tie, he struck an odd contrast in that concrete room, yet still exuding a coiled and barely contained strength. He folded his arms across his chest as his black eyes fixed on hers, Charlotte getting the distinct impression he more or less regarded her as cornered prey. All at once the door behind her slammed shut and her heart beat so violently she nearly called the officer back. Instead she planted her heels and forced herself to focus, staring the Frenchman down. “All right, I’m here,” she said en français. “Not that I know why.” “J’ai oublié que tu avez parlé ma langue,” he said. “But we’ll keep to English so there’s no mistaking my meaning.” His immaculate patent-leather shoe nudged the chair opposite. “Have a seat, s’il vous plaît.” He tsked. “I mean—please,” he added, smiling brilliantly. If there was anything she remembered about Rex Renaud—which was nearly everything because he wasn’t easy to forget—it was how lethally he wielded his physicality. How he worked those inky eyes, jet-black hair, and Greek-statue handsomeness into a kind of immobilizing presence, leaving her weak in the knees every time his gaze locked on hers. Which meant she needed to work twice as hard to keep her wits sharp enough to match his, as no way would she allow him the upper hand. Yet even though he was in jail, even with him jammed behind that metal table, and herself looming over him, it was still a battle. Because with every advantage on her side he still dominated the room, the situation, the very airspace between them, so much so that Charlotte had to curl her hand around the back of the chair to steady herself. Too much coffee today, she reasoned. That’s all it is. Even though she knew that didn’t even figure. He nudged the chair again, his collar opened where his bow tie had been, his only concession to the situation. “Please sit. You heard the flic. We haven’t much time.” “We haven’t any time at all.” She steeled herself. “It’s not like we have anything to discuss.” “Non?” His gaze offered her a challenge. “Then why did you come?” She smiled, with delicious, malicious intent. She waited a long time to wound him—and all men like him who dismissed women so easily—and as swiftly and as deeply as she could. “Maybe for the pleasure of seeing you behind bars.” “Really,” he said, his eyes darkening as he drew closer.  “Though the idea of pleasuring you does hold a certain appeal.” Heat streaked through her as she slammed her briefcase atop the table. “Then take a good look, because my watching you rot in here is about as close as you’ll ever be to getting me off.” He sat back, amused. “The lady finds her bliss in the strangest places. Though if watching people in pain is your thing, I am acquainted with a few gentlemen who’d pay you a nice piece of change to put all that aggression to use.” He cast her a glance that near stripped the clothes from her body. “I believe all you’ll need is a good deal of leather and some rather kinky boots.” Her jaw dropped. “Are you—you—” She waved her hand in front of her. “Me? Why non. I do like a bit of spark in my women, but I always prefer it on top.” His eyes hooded. “Metaphorically speaking, that is.” “You bastard piece of shit,” she uttered, pressing her knuckles to the worn steel. “I had to be out of my mind to come here when it’s clear you’re guilty of everything you’re accused of.” “And what’s that?” he said, rising. “I’d love to hear it out of your mouth.” “Of sexual assault,” she spit out. “Of everything vile and sick and violent that men and their disgusting appetites are capable.” “Oh, how right you are, mon amie. How truly loathsome we are. Repulsive animals.” He leaned in, so closely she could feel his breath on her cheek, his eyes malevolent and cold. “Men are indeed beasts, always stooping to the lowest common denominator. Using brutality to get what they want, pugnacious and vicious to the end. Unlike women, who’ve crawled out of the swamp and up the evolutionary ladder to become so much more ruthlessly efficient. Who needs fists when you have feminine wiles?” He leaned in even closer. “Why shed blood when you can suck out a man’s soul.” “What do you want from me?” she said, backing away. “Why would you ask me to defend you, knowing what I think of men like you?” “Because I believe you’ll want to,” he said, his eyes bleeding candor and reason and some indefinable quality she found, God help her, unable to resist. “After you hear what I have to say.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ About the Author Gwen Jones is a mentor and instructor in Western Connecticut State University’s Master in Creative and Professional Writing program, and an Assistant Professor of English at Mercer County College, in West Windsor, NJ. Her work has appeared in Writer’s Digest, The Kelsey Review, and The Connecticut River Review, and she is the author of the HarperCollins Avon FRENCH KISS series, Wanted: Wife, Kiss Me, Captain, and The Laws of Seduction. A writer of women’s fiction and romance, she lives with her husband, Frank, near Trenton, New Jersey. Website     Facebook     Twitter     See all titles

THROWING HEAT by Jennifer Seasons World Series Giveaway Blitz

 Welcome to the THROWING HEAT World Series Giveaway Blitz. Do you like sexy baseball players and steamy contemporary romance novels? Check out the blurb for Throwing Heat by Jennifer Seasons, the final book in A Diamonds and Dugouts series below. Also, enter for a chance to win the first two books in the series.   Title: Throwing Heat (A Diamonds and Dugouts Novel) Author: Jennifer Seasons Publisher/Publication Date: Avon Impulse, October 15, 2013 Fiction / Romance / Contemporary About the book:   With the World Series just around the corner, fans of baseball and steamy romances alike will LOVE Jennifer Seasons final installment in the Diamonds and Dugouts series, THROWING HEAT (available now, Avon Impulse, e-book ISBN: 9780062271488, $1.99). The team’s own World Series may be on the horizon, but with a second chance at love at his fingertips, there’s more at stake for sexy pitcher Peter Kowalskin than just the game! Fans have been eagerly awaiting Peter and Leslie’s story, and there’s no denying the passion between this combustible pair. Filled with playful antics, steamy scenes, and an exhilarating love story, THROWING HEAT slides into home as the final fiery romance of the Diamonds and Dugouts series—one worthy of a World Series win.   Rafflecopter Giveaway Click on the link below to enter for a chance to win the first two books in the Diamonds and Dugouts Series: Stealing Home and Playing the Field.   a Rafflecopter giveaway Thank you to Jennifer Seasons and HarperCollins for including Reading on the Rocks as a Participant in the Throwing Heat World Series Giveaway Blitz.

ARC Review: Tempted in the Tropics by Tracy March

Title:  Tempted in the Tropics (A Suddenly Smitten Novel) Author:  Tracy March Publisher/Publication Date:  Entangled Bliss, September 9, 2013 Format/Source:  E-ARC, Publisher   Amazon | B&N | Kobo Books   Book Summary   The only thing they agree on is the sultry heat between them.   Nothing’s more important to Paige Ellerbee than her struggling bakery, Sweet Bee’s. When Lane Anderson, the temporary new doctor hot enough to rival McDreamy, moves in next door, though, she’s sure things are looking up. Until he threatens her business in their first conversation.    Lane just wants to practice medicine responsibly—not argue with the flighty bakery owner next door. But when he finds himself traveling down to the Caribbean to play guitar for Paige’s best friend’s wedding, suddenly the sight of the blonde in a bikini eclipses the fact they can’t agree on anything. And as their vacation romance grows, his reservations about starting something after getting burned by love are washed away like sand on the beach.    But once Paige and Lane land back home, will these polar opposites be able to forgive their feud and find lasting love?

 

My Thoughts

Tempted in the Tropics by Tracy March is a quick enjoyable read. The physical attraction between Dr. Lane Anderson & Paige was instantaneous. And yes there was growing tension between them because he was hampering her business. As a result of this tension, they maintained control over their feelings for one another—that is--until--they arrived in St. Lucia and the fun and excitement began. At that point in time, I couldn’t put the book down as Paige & Lane engaged in a no strings attached relationship, which didn’t always go as planned. Needless to say the heat was turned up a notch & there were bits of humor interspersed throughout as they found themselves in one humorous predicament after another.

I recommend reading Tempted in the Tropics. It’s a fun contemporary romance novel filled with magical treats, vivid details, heartfelt moments, and unexpected surprises.

Rating 4/5

I received an e-arc of Tempted in the Tropics from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, Thank You.

ARC Review: Flirting with Danger by Claire Baxter

 

Title: Flirting with Danger   Author: Claire Baxter Publisher/Publication Date: Entangled Bliss, September 9, 2013 Format/Source: E-ARC, Publisher Genre: Contemporary Romance Amazon| B&N| Kobo Books   Synopsis   To be together is dangerous. To stay apart is impossible. Firefighter Jasmine Mackinnon has always just been one of the guys. So no one’s more shocked than she is to find herself kissing fellow firefighter and all-around sinfully handsome playboy Aaron Parkes after a friend’s wedding. Jasmine knows she can’t risk an emotional connection with a colleague—a potentially dangerous entanglement when fighting fires together—and nothing's more important to her than her job. Aaron never noticed how beautiful Jasmine was until he saw her out of her firefighter duds, but there’s something about the fiery woman that tempts him. Though he knows pursuing a real relationship is out of the question for a serial dater like him, when their casual flirtation builds into something more serious, it's not just their jobs or their safety on the line. It's their hearts.

My Thoughts

 

Flirting with Danger by Claire Baxter is another great book published by Entangled Bliss. I simply love that the story was emotionally engaging. Flirting with Danger was the perfect title for this novel. Jasmine & Aaron were two people, firefighters, who were dealing with fears. Both Aaron and Jasmine had pasts that made them hesitant to get involved in a serious relationship. One had the fear of commitment; whereas, the other had the fear of being hurt. As the story unfolded, they began to tread dangerous waters as they considered putting "their hearts" on the line.

I have read several books with the recurring theme of a bridesmaid and their romantic interest instead of the central focus being on the bride and groom, and amazingly each story has been unique. This holds true with Flirting with Danger. I can honestly say that I enjoyed this book and the ideas that were conveyed throughout, such as the importance of falling in love with someone’s inner beauty, dealing with fears related to past experiences, and taking chances.

I adored the characterization of Jasmine. Although, her friends and family  seemed eager for her to take a chance at love again, she didn’t need a man to define who she was. She was strong-willed, independent, and not willing to be second best. And as for Aaron, he was known for being a dangerous player; yet, surprisingly he had admirable qualities.

So to answer the predominant question, would I recommend Flirting with Danger by Claire Baxter? Absolutely, positively, unequivocally---yes, I would definitely recommend this book.

Rating 4.5/5

I received an E-ARC of Flirting with Danger from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, thank you.