New Adult Christmas Blog Hop, Excerpt & Giveaways with Chanel Cleeton!!!

It's a New Adult Christmas! Thanks for joining us as we celebrate the holidays with thirteen New Adult authors. Check out every stop leading up to December 24 to get excerpts, exclusive content, and hopefully a cutie under the mistletoe! Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter to win a grand prize pack of an ebook from every author! Excerpt This scene takes place after the events in French Kissed… I woke late, the Paris sun shining through my bedroom window. I reached across the bed and found cool silk rather than Max’s warm body. I leaned over, glancing at the alarm clock, wincing slightly at the time. In my defense, he’d wanted to ring in Christmas last night in his own unique fashion, and I’d been more than happy to do my part. I figured I’d earned a lazy morning in bed…I just wished I had someone to keep me company. I threw on the cashmere robe at the foot of my bed, tying it tightly around my waist, and went off in search of my man. I reached the hallway and ran into Maggie. She grinned. “Merry Christmas.” “Merry Christmas,” I repeated, figuring I was going to have to start learning the American way of things. Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “I guess I don’t need to ask if you had a good night last night.” I could actually feel my cheeks flaming. It wasn’t lost on me that I could be…loud. I groaned. “Tell me you guys didn’t hear me having sex.” “We didn’t hear you having sex.” She grinned. “But if we did, then I just have to say, well-done, Max.” I fought to keep the smile off my face. She didn’t know the half of it. We’d been apart for weeks and he’d taken our reunion very seriously. “Although, Samir might have mentioned something about wanting to pour bleach in his ears.” I made a face at that. I didn’t blame him. If the roles had been reversed, I would have died if I’d heard my cousin having sex. “Where is Samir?” I asked, trying to change the subject. “I don’t know. I, uh, slept in, too.” I stifled a snort. I had a feeling I wasn’t the only one ringing in Christmas between the sheets. We walked down the long, marble hallway, headed toward the formal rooms. We froze at the sound in the entryway, voices reaching us. Max and Samir stood in front of the giant Christmas tree Maggie had convinced us to put up, their arms full of wrapped presents with giant bows. Some of the presents were beautiful—elegant paper that definitely looked professionally packaged, with easily recognizable paper in familiar store colors. Other presents had wrinkled edges, pockets of wrapping bunched at the sides, images of snowmen and candy canes on the paper. The sight of presents Max had so obviously wrapped brought a lump to my throat. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a family Christmas. Usually my parents just deposited some money in my account and called it my Christmas gift. But Max had clearly gone out—gone shopping—and then tried to wrap them himself. I loved him. So much. “Did you remember to put the tags from Santa on some of the gifts?” Max asked. Samir made a noise and muttered something in Arabic under his breath. Maggie grinned. “No.” Max glared at him. “You need to do some gifts from Santa. It’s tradition.” Samir looked like he was about to lose his patience. I had no clue how long they’d been up arranging gifts under the tree, just that it definitely hadn’t looked like this when we went to bed last night. More Arabic from Samir. My cousin had mellowed a lot since he and Maggie had gotten together, but he was a whole other beast from Max, but he didn’t do Christmas with his family, and the image of him celebrating a holiday he clearly knew nothing about was hilarious. He looked frustrated, and yet, by the impressive display of gifts that looked like they were for Maggie, I figured he’d tried his best. “How about the hot cocoa?” Max asked, his tone sounding equally frustrated. “Is it ready?” I snickered. Samir really looked like he was ready to lose it. We’d both grown up with chefs. I’d bet my favorite Birkin bag that he’d never made cocoa in his life. I figured we had thirty seconds before they noticed us standing there watching them because Maggie looked about ready to burst out laughing. “It’s ready,” Samir grumbled. “And the cookies for Santa are on a tray.” And just like that, Maggie’s eyes went from laughter to complete and total adoration. Yep. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to make her happy. Even if it meant giving her a traditional American Christmas when she was spending her holiday away from her family, with her half French, half Lebanese boyfriend who had never celebrated Christmas like this in his life, her best friend—and I’d totally own that up until Christmas Eve last night when Max had surprised me and given me the best present ever, I’d never been a big fan of the holidays—and her boyfriend’s best friend who seemed determined to single-handedly bring Christmas cheer to us all. And then the boys turned, and their gazes landed on us, and I watched as the two most important guys in my life gifted us with smiles that brought a lump to my throat. Yep. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. We went into their arms, Samir’s gaze on Maggie, Max’s arms around me, and everything else fell away. We spent the morning laughing, drinking cocoa and eating cookies, opening gift after gift, and when it was all said and done, and we all collapsed on the sofas, surrounded by crumpled wrapping paper and discarded bows, my gaze connected with Maggie’s across the room, and we both smiled and I knew—  Love was the greatest gift of all.  FRENCH KISSED BOOK SUMMARY On the surface, Fleur Marceaux has it all. If only the facade matched reality. With one year left at the International School in London, Fleur’s struggling to graduate, her love life is a mess, and she can’t stop thinking about Max, her ex-boyfriend’s best friend. But all that pales compared to the blackmailer determined to destroy her.  There’s a social hierarchy at the International School and Max Tucker is outside the velvet ropes. After watching Fleur break his friend’s heart, Max knows to stay away from trouble, despite the crush he’s had on her since freshman year. But when they’re partnered on a project, Max learns there’s more to Fleur than meets the eye, and she just might be worth the wild ride.  The more time they spend together, the further Max falls. And when a kiss awakens a passion Fleur never imagined, she’s unable to resist Max, who she had thought was all wrong for her but might be the only thing that’s right. But will he stand by her when her secrets are revealed? Don’t miss the final book in the International School series. This New Adult romance is recommended for readers 17 and up. BOOK LINKS Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22858376-french-kissed FRENCH KISSED (International School Book #3) Amazon: http://amzn.to/ZH8BeL Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1vlkljJ iBooks: http://bit.ly/1x2UaLu I SEE LONDON (International School Book #1) Amazon:  http://amzn.to/MpM27V Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1ibPGgh iBooks: http://bit.ly/1ewcogY LONDON FALLING (International School Book #2): Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1n6rvo2 Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/VxbiOd iBooks: http://bit.ly/1ziLXaq   AUTHOR INFORMATION Originally a Florida girl, CHANEL CLEETON moved to London where she received a bachelor’s degree from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Chanel fell in love with London and planned to stay there forever, until fate intervened on a Caribbean cruise and a fighter pilot with smooth dance moves swept her off her feet. Now, a happily ever after later, Chanel is living her next adventure in Asia. Law school made Chanel realize she’d rather spend her days writing sexy stories than in a courtroom, and she hasn’t looked back since. An avid reader and hopeless romantic, she’s happiest curled up with a book. She has a weakness for handbags, her three pups, and her fighter pilot husband.  She is the author of I SEE LONDON and LONDON FALLING, published by Harlequin HQN, the upcoming FRENCH KISSED, and FLIRTING WITH SCANDAL, the first book in a new three-book series to be released by Penguin/Berkley in 2015.  AUTHOR LINKS Website:   www.chanelcleeton.com Facebook:   www.facebook.com/authorchanelcleeton Twitter:   www.twitter.com/chanelcleeton Goodreads:   www.goodreads.com/chanelcleeton Newsletter:   www.chanelcleeton.com/mailing-list/ NEW ADULT CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY Rafflecopter Link CHANEL CLEETON’S A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS GIVEAWAY: 5 NA Contemporary Romance Ebooks a Rafflecopter giveaway 5 Adult Contemporary Romance Ebooks a Rafflecopter giveaway 4 YA Contemporary Ebooks a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Adult Christmas Blog Hop & Giveaway with Melissa West!!!

Introduction It's a New Adult Christmas! Thanks for joining us as we celebrate the holidays with thirteen New Adult authors. Check out every stop leading up to December 24 to get excerpts, exclusive content, and hopefully a cutie under the mistletoe! Be sure to enter the rafflecopter to win a grand prize pack of an ebook from every author! About Melissa West Melissa West writes heartfelt Southern romance and YA sci-fi romance, all with lots of kissing. Because who doesn’t like kissing? Her work is published by Entangled, Kensington, and Penguin. She lives outside of Atlanta, GA with her husband and two daughters and spends most of her time writing, reading, or fueling her writing addiction. Connect with Melissa: Website: www.melissawestauthor.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelissaWestAuthor Twitter: https://twitter.com/MB_West Newsletter: http://www.melissawestauthor.com/Newsletter.html Title: Pieces of Olivia (Charleston Haven, #1) Author:  Melissa West Publisher/Publication Date: Penguin/InterMix Books, July 15, 2014 Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance Amazon    Barnes & Noble     Google Book Summary from Goodreads Olivia Warren used to be a normal girl with a bright future. But on one fated night, everything changed. Hiding the scars of her past up her sleeves, Olivia transfers her enrollment from Columbia University to The College of Charleston, determined to pursue her own dreams for the first time in her life. She intends to allow herself a bit of alone time to heal... that is, until she meets Preston. Preston is best friends with her roommate, completely hot, and off-limits. But the chemistry between them is instantaneous—and as the pair begins to spend more time with one another, their feelings for each other build into something undeniable, something powerful enough to heal Olivia’s deepest scars. Olivia tries to put her own past behind her and trust Preston, but she discovers that his past might be more present than she ever bargained for… Holiday scene from PIECES OF OLIVIA: “Rose Campbell.” “Rose, it’s me. Rose?” I called through the noise. “Can you hear me? Where are you?” “It’s two days before Christmas, Olive. Where do you think I am? I’m in hell with my family. Can’t you hear them in the background?” she shouted over the wails of a baby. I smiled. “Oh, well, I can let you go if you—” “Hang up this phone and I will ban you from my practice. You’ll give me an excuse to slip out for a bit. Hold on.” I heard her mute her cell and then a moment later she returned. “I have five minutes before my ridiculous daughter-in-law seeks me out.” “I didn’t know you had a son, Rose.” “I have two sons and two horrifying daughter-in-laws. One would think God would’ve granted me a reprieve after the first, but no. The second is worse!” I burst out laughing. “Ah, you know you love them. I can hear it in your voice.” She sighed. “It’s true. But they’re marks against my sanity, and you know how closely I value   my mind. Now, tell me, how is Westlake?” “It’s . . . nice,” I said. “My parents have been really supportive, which is unusual.” “Or perhaps they have always been supportive and you are only now seeing it.” I thought about it. “Maybe.” “Have you looked at the last photo?” “No. I’m afraid to do it here. I’m afraid my mom would walk in and see me crying. I don’t want her to worry, ya know?” “Let me tell you something, Olive. She is a mother. Worrying is what we do. You could say nothing and she will worry. You could say everything and she will worry. You have to face that photo at some point.” “Oh, don’t I know it, but I plan to go kicking and screaming.” Just then my door burst open and my youngest niece, Everett, toddled in. My eldest sister, Cameron, had three children, all of them named something crazy. Brick, Talen, and Everett. A boy and two girls, all of them bound to hate her for naming them such stupid names, but they were all adorable, especially Everett. She came over to me and dropped a chubby handful of Goldfish onto my bed. “I share,” she said. I giggled. “I can see that.” “Olive, dear, I’m being summoned, and it sounds like you are as well. I expect another update just after the holiday and then I’ll see you back in my office the Monday you return.” “Yes, ma’am.” “Oh, and Olive?” “Yes?” “Merry Christmas. I hope you find peace this holiday.” I swallowed. Her words were more touching than anything she had ever said to me. I’d known Rose for several months now, and while I felt close to her, I never really thought she felt that same closeness to me until that moment. “Thank you. Merry Christmas.” I scooped Everett into my arms and started down the stairs when my phone buzzed. I turned back and tilted my head so I could read the text. Preston: What would you want for Christmas if you could get anything in the world? I thought about the question. In that moment, what would I want? My gut reaction was that Trisha could still be alive. That they could all still be alive. But for once, I allowed myself one selfish wish, something only for me, something that celebrated my life now in the present. The life that I was living. I typed my answer over to him: You. Preston: I hoped you would say that. And then the doorbell rang. I glanced down at my phone, my heartbeat kicking up. Surely not. He couldn’t. It was two days before Christmas. I told myself that it was one of Mom’s friends or one of the kids, but I couldn’t keep myself from running out into the hallway and down the stairs, Everett giggling in my arms the whole way. I stopped in the foyer as my mom was opening the door and then he was there, staring at me with those ocean eyes that made everything in my world right again. I set Everett down, tears pricking my eyes, and started for him, fighting to keep myself from running. I crashed into his arms, and it was like coming up for air. Everything my body needed was suddenly right there in front of me. “I’m sorry to just show up,” he said into my hair. “But I couldn’t wait another day. I couldn’t wait another second.” Giveaway Rafflecopter Giveaway Follow the link to find out more information about Melissa West's latest release,  Miles from Kara (Charleston Haven, #2)