Tuesday, July 30, 2019

REVIEW: Drummer Girl by Ginger Smith



We're celebrating the release of DRUMMER GIRL by Ginger Scott! One-click your copy on all platforms today!


Drummer Girl by Ginger Scott
Mature YA/New Adult Contemporary Romance
Release day: July 30, 2019
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2KBZLLn

OUR REVIEW:

Shel: I don't think it's news to anyone who follows our blog that I consider Ginger Scott a friend of the blog. We 'met' online very early on in her Waiting on the Sidelines days and we've been following her  and reading her ever since (and are so glad so many of you are too!). So it's with pleasure that we heartily recommend Drummer Girl. Court: YES! Ginger Scott is a brilliant writer, and is an even better person and writes stories with so much heart and detail and obvious love for her characters that we have not been able to get enough ever since we first "met." 

Shel: This novel hits so many of our sweet spots: music and teen romance and it does so with an eye to staying very true to the teen experience. It's one of the things we admire about Ginger's writing--she just gets it when it comes to teen voices. Her characters never feel contrived or too young/old for the experiences they're having; they feel authentic. I often feel that I've taught students like her characters and I can definitely say that my students find her novels so appealing that oftentimes they borrow them, never to return them (*sobs*). Drummer Girl continues with that authentic feel with Ari and Jesse. There's that sometimes sweet, sometimes slightly tortured existence that comes right off the page. I love their whole romance--the awkward pauses and conversations to the first kiss and the spats and HEA--it all hits just the right note (that epilogue!!).  Along with that the parents, side characters, and other adults add drama and comedy at just the right spots. 

Court: YES! Yes! I really wasn't sure exactly what all of this book would entail...I just knew that it would be brilliant and slay my emotions...and it did. These characters blew my mind and at the same time sucked me into their world and still haven't let go. I loved the music, and their journey so much...and where they've been...I related to Ari and Jesse until I have a special place in my soul for these two...and have a good idea. 

Shel: And the whole music aspect of it is ....ahhhh....my kryptonite! I mean I married a musician/artist, so it's no wonder that I'd love this, right??!! Seeing a band take shape and experience gigs just makes you feel like you're a fly on the wall in the novel and I loved how Ginger captured those moments so much so that I may have mentioned to her that I would love to see minor characters get a book from this novel (*insert praying hands here*). Court: AMEN, sister. I agree, and my love for music and the creation of it from musicians who are so talented is my kryptonite too! Blend in some serious emotional and beautiful moments, and this book will stick with you forever! 

Shel: I sped through this novel because I couldn't put it down, even though I knew I'd hate myself for not savoring more. Grab this novel, y'all, and enjoy! Court: I KNOW! Definitely a re-read asap! 

BUY IT



Drummer Girl
A mature YA/New Adult contemporary rock star romance by Ginger Scott

Arizona Wakefield was a beat without a melody. Living a half-breathing life in a half-finished neighborhood with parents who always wore half-hearted smiles, the high school senior only had one thing that let her color outside her family’s perfectly drawn lines—her drums.

Jesse Barringer was a song without a chorus. The son of a washed-up rock star who’s also one hell of a deadbeat dad, he was given two things from his father—musical genius and a genetic link to the bipolar disorder that drives him mad.

One night in a garage at the end of a cul-de-sac in the middle of a bankrupt California neighborhood, Jesse’s melody found Arizona’s rhythm. An angry boy with storm-colored eyes found a blonde angel in Doc Martens with missing lines in her own story. Where her rhythm stopped, his words took over, and together, they wrote one hell of a story.

** Drummer Girl is a mature YA/New Adult romance that touches on mental health, drug abuse and includes mature sexual situations.

EXCERPT:
Drummer Girl, Copyright Ginger Scott 2019

“That’s the first time I’ve played that song. I like it. We should add it to our set,” he says, pulling the strap from around his neck before setting his guitar at the foot of his bed. “What do you think?”
He twists so our knees are touching and our shoulders are squared.
“I think you’re a showoff, one. And two…I totally think we should close with that at our gig. People love retro shit like that at shows.” I don’t really know what people like at shows because the only kinds I’ve ever been to have been for high school marching nerds or jazz geeks. I probably don’t even deserve to utter the word gig yet. I’m a gig virgin. I do know movies, though, and if this life was a movie, our band would close with that.
Jesse’s eyes linger on my face, making me warm.
“Okay then,” he says, finally. “And I’m not a showoff.”
His lips pucker with his smirk and mine follow suit until a laugh seeps through.
“You so are!” I shove at him playfully, and his hands wrap around my wrists and shove back gently but don’t let go.
“No, I’m a great example. That’s a totally different thing,” he says, pulling me toward his chest until my fingertips meet the hard surface of his pecs under a well-worn white T-shirt.
“I’m pretty sure it’s just a synonym for showoff how you’re using it. In fact, now you’re just being arrogant!” I gripe back through laughter, a wry smile playing at one side of my mouth. Jesse remains quiet, though. His head leaned a tick to the right. My lips vibrate with this sudden change in atmosphere, and without even helping myself, I bite my bottom lip. There is just enough light in the room to see these small things we’re doing, these…signs. At least, I’m giving a sign. I hope I’m not imagining Jesse’s.
At least three full breaths pass between us without words. I count mine, and I guess how many he takes because really, I can’t see much beyond the dark centers of his eyes and the top curl of his lip. I wait for him. Even though I’m dizzy and happy and excited, I don’t want to be eager and desperate. I wait for him to move closer…to do something.
I wish for him.

“Would it be okay if I kissed you now?”






About the Author:



Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling and Goodreads Choice Award-nominated author of several young and new adult romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, The Girl I Was Before, Wild Reckless, Wicked Restless, In Your Dreams, The Hard Count, Hold My Breath, and A Boy Like You.

A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.

When she's not writing, the odds are high that she's somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork 'em, Devils).

Social Media Links:
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GingerScottAuthor
Twitter: @TheGingerScott
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/thegingerscott/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GingerScottAuthor
Google: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+GingerScottAuthor/posts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/GingerScott
Website: http://www.littlemisswrite.com

REVIEW: Say You Still Love Me by K.A. Tucker


BUY IT: Amazon

OUR REVIEW:

Shel: Say You Still Love Me is gonna take you back to your summer camp days, y'all. And for those of us who never went to summer camp days, it'll have you thinking that maybe that was a missed opportunity, especially once you get to know Piper and Kyle. Their slow burn-second chance at love romance was engaging with almost every other chapter flashing back to their first meeting and subsequent weeks at camp, falling in love and getting to know each other and chapters devoted to their here and now. Lest you think it's all a nostalgia filled sepia toned throw back, let me inform you that K.A. Tucker also gives her characters conflict and trouble in their adult lives too. It's most definitely a novel of our time--touching on class and privilege and sexism--while giving us a chance to understand and know the younger versions of Piper and Kyle and how that impacted the older version of who and what they are now.

Shel: Say You Love Me will be a hit for romance readers in the waning summer months of 2019. It's throwback to summer camp mixed with an interesting look at the characters in years later will make it hard to put down.

SYNOPSIS:

The bestselling author of The Simple Wild and Keep Her Safe and “master of steamy romance” (Kirkus Reviews) delivers a sizzling novel about an ambitious and high-powered executive who reconnects with her first love: the boy who broke her heart. 

Life is a mixed bag for Piper Calloway.

On the one hand, she’s a twenty-nine-year-old VP at her dad’s multibillion-dollar real estate development firm, and living the high single life with her two best friends in a swanky downtown penthouse. On the other hand, she’s considered a pair of sexy legs in a male-dominated world and constantly has to prove her worth. Plus she’s stuck seeing her narcissistic ex-fiancĂ©—a fellow VP—on the other side of her glass office wall every day.

Things get exponentially more complicated for Piper when she runs into Kyle Miller—the handsome new security guard at Calloway Group, and coincidentally the first love of her life.

The guy she hasn’t seen or heard from since they were summer camp counselors together. The guy from the wrong side of the tracks. The guy who apparently doesn’t even remember her name.

Piper may be a high-powered businesswoman now, but she soon realizes that her schoolgirl crush is still alive and strong, and crippling her concentration. What’s more, despite Kyle’s distant attitude, she’s convinced their reunion isn’t at all coincidental, and that his feelings for her still run deep. And she’s determined to make him admit to them, no matter the consequences.

Monday, July 22, 2019

COVER REVEAL: Fighting Absolution by Kate McCarthy

FA - CR banner.jpg
Fighting Absolution by Kate McCarthy
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publishing date: September 10, 2019
Fighting Absolution Ebook Final.jpeg
At fifteen, Jamie Murphy finds herself broken and alone, convinced she doesn't need anyone.
Until she does.
Bear is the boy behind the fence, the one who was there for her when no one else was.
Until he's not.
Left with nothing, Jamie joins the army hoping it will give her purpose. The last thing she expects is the best friend from her past to reappear in the dusty plains of a war-torn country. No longer the boy she once knew, Bear is now a man: big, bearded, and SAS—one of the army’s elite.
Soon Jamie finds herself not only fighting against her enemies, but her feelings for a man who left her once before. Can she risk losing him all over again?
Fighting Absolution is a friends to lovers romance and features characters from Fighting Redemption, but is written as a standalone.
FA FB_IG Cover Reveal 2.jpeg
Pre-order your copy today!
Amazon Worldwide: mybook.to/FightingAbsolution
Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2NZNUco
FA Instagram Cover Reveal 3.jpg
About Kate: Kate McCarthy is a USA Today Bestselling author who resides in Brisbane, Australia, a city in the
state of Queensland where she works full time on her writing.
She has two children, two dogs, and a pile of friends and family dotted all over the world that help
keep her sane.
When she's not busy running after naughty kids, filthy dogs, and writing books, you can find her
curled up in bed in the early hours of the morning reading new books and re-reading old favourites.
Connect with Kate:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KateMcCarthyAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KMacinOz
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorkatemccarthy/
Website: https://katemccarthy.net/

Thursday, July 18, 2019

REVIEW: Filthy Vows by Alessandra Torre



Shel: Y'all.
Filthy Vows is bringing me back. Waaaaaay back to the early days of Blindfolded Innocence and the early days of the blog and the wild wild west days of the new romance community. This novel brought me back to the days when the couples were young and their sex lives were hot af and writers held nothing back--everything was fair game. And shocking to no one, I loved it. Court: Girl, I feel you so much...and Alessandra Torre is the queen. She made this story so much more than I was expecting (I mean, I thought she would, but I obviously couldn't know exactly how it would go!) and I loved it so much!

Shel: I loved the sexy bits but even more than that I loved the story of Elle and Easton's romance. I really enjoyed the chase--how they caught each other's attention and then kept it. Their interactions were fun, funny, and threw me back to the days of being single in college. And then when they married, I truly enjoyed how honest their struggle was--while their particular struggle was a little atypical because of what happened job-wise to Easton early on, in many ways it wasn't and that's what I think made them easy to relate to. Many of us in our early twenties have the desire for the luxuries and the Instagram perfection we see in the world and yet we are working with a budget that doesn't allow for those things. Instead of being public about those hardships, many times we put on the pretty face, swallow our struggles and fears, and keep going--which is what I saw with Elle and Easton and I just found it so real and honest. The love they exhibited was just so lovely to read and it made me invested in how they'd work through things and while the emphasis in this novel was definitely about how certain fantasies would play out, Alessandra Torre just announced that she's writing a second book and I hope that she goes into some of their other struggles a bit more, in addition to exploring more of their fantasies. I think this couple has a lot to offer in the way they trust each other and are cheering each other on and I'm interested in how Alessandra sees their future.

Court: ME TOO! Their story is so funny, but heart wrenching at the same time...but navigating it with them and seeing if they'll continue to cling to one another or not is such a real life thing that it blew me away. I loved the journey we went on with them, but I also liked that we didn't stay in the past too much. We got right into the thick of it, and Alessandra's writing is witty and funny, and beautiful and really made these characters stick out in my mind where I'm still thinking about them.I relate to their struggles while at the same time getting the fantasy that we (and apparently Elle) came for. 

Shel: In addition to the strong main characters, I fell in love with Chelsea and Aaron. If I had a magic fairy wand and could get even more books out of this series, I'd love to get to know them better and see how each of these characters get to their HEAs. They were interesting and funny and down to earth--much like Elle and Easton. Court: I think we can hope a lot for that! I love how unapologetically herself Chelsea is, and Aaron would have his hands full but I think he and we would enjoy the ride!  

Shel: Filthy Vows was the perfect weekend read. It was interesting and sexy and while it had a completely concluded ending, I'm so very eager to see what Alessandra Torre cooks up in the next book she writes with them....and fingers crossed she writes another one or two after that with these characters (I can't help it--it was such a fun read!). Court: It is. I absolutely devoured it...and I cannot wait for more. AND when you get it on the zon, there is a link at the end for a sneak peek into the first chapter of the next one and it is absolutely amazing! My jaw even dropped, y'all. 

Synopsis


Would you tell your husband everything?

Every torrid thought?
Every twisted fantasy?
The forbidden images that slink into your mind in your most vulnerable moments?

I shouldn't have. I hesitated to. But I did.

And my husband? He gave them all to me.


Amazon Purchase Link: https://smarturl.it/FilthyVows

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2ZvSHTU







About the Author



Alessandra Torre is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author of twenty-one novels. Torre has been featured in such publications as Elle and Elle UK, as well as guest-blogged for the Huffington Post and RT Book Reviews. She is also the Bedroom Blogger for Cosmopolitan.com.

In addition to writing, Alessandra is the creator of Alessandra Torre Ink, a website, community, and online school for aspiring authors.

Learn more about Alessandra on her website at www.alessandratorre.com, or you can find her on Twitter (@ReadAlessandra) or her Facebook fanpage.


Connect with Alessandra




Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2s4U9NI







Tuesday, July 9, 2019

REVIEW: The Other Side by Kim Holden

We're celebrating the release of The Other Side by Kim Holden! One-Click your copy today!


Title: The Other Side
Author: Kim Holden
Release Date: Coming Soon!
Genre: Young Adult, Coming of Age

OUR REVIEW:

We fell in love with Kim Holden after reading Bright Side--a novel that, for me, will always be associated with a time when I experienced some significant loss and needed that book to remind me of some things. We reunited with Holden's characters in Gus and now we're here with her latest, a novel that will, like her others, remind you of the important things in life.

The Other Side is an emotional, character driven novel that focuses on Toby and his incredibly hard life. The more you read and get to know him, the more you want to hug him, shelter him, and help him. You also want to throttle almost every adult who has spent any significant time with him because HOW DARE THEY?! Ugh. 

This novel isn't an easy read, y'all. It's filled with some really hard scenes--scenes that'll make you dislike the human race at times, scenes that will make you feel with a depth and intensity that will bring tears to your eyes. That being noted, this novel is also filled with hope; hope that is seen only sparingly at first and then gaining more page time as the novel progresses. It's this sense of hope that not only Toby needed, but we did too. 

While this novel does have romance, it's Toby's journey through the last half of his senior year of high school (and the things that led up to that year) that is the focus of this novel. I'd say it's more general fiction, at least for the majority of it, with a very strong subplot that features the love story of Toby and Alice. Not sure if that matters to anyone but I thought it was something to note. 

At some point, I'd like to add more about this novel to our review...or maybe just discuss it more on social media? I think there are some very important aspects of this novel that need to be shared and discussed, but I also think I'd spoil too much if I talked about it here. Just know that I'm so glad that Kim Holden decided to share these characters with the world and I hope lots of people read it and discuss it and for those who are unfamiliar with the plight of Toby, I hope they'll consider it a point of reference, something to think about, and to maybe use Alice's as a possible example (in the likely event that one is needed).


Synopsis:
Denver, Colorado
1987

There are two sides to every story.
The surface reality that’s presented to the world.
And then there’s the other side.
The real one.
The one that matters.

Seventeen-year-old, self-proclaimed asshole, Toby Page, is alone.
No friends.
No family.
He trades maintenance work in exchange for room and board.
Every day he fights demons no one else can see.
Every day he wants to give up.
But he can’t.
Not yet.

When Alice Eliot moves in downstairs, she offers Toby some light in his dark world.
At a crossroads and barely hanging on, it’s hard to have perspective.
It’s difficult to see your own worth when you’re the villain in your story.
Luckily for Toby, Alice brings things out in him that no one else ever has.

As the two sides of Toby’s story are revealed, and the full reality comes into view, truth is gained.
Improbable alliances prove that kindness is fundamentally human.
Unlikely heroes emerge.

The question is, Will it all be enough to save him?




About the Author:

Some of my favorite things: reading, writing, the two coolest guys on the planet (my husband and son), my bicycle (my husband built it for me), Facebook (I'm fairly certain it's an addiction at this point), iced coffee (hazelnut), and music (LOVE Sunset Sons, the 1975, Dredg, the xx, Balance and Composure, Teenage Bottlerocket, and 30 Seconds to Mars). I also love dreaming, which brings me to my next point. I have one bit of advice for anyone reading this ... follow your dreams. It's never too late. Get started today ... heck get started RIGHT NOW! I wanted to write a book 20 years ago. Instead I waited. And waited. I should've been writing. But I didn't. I don't do regrets, because the past is just that, the past. But let me tell you there's nothing in the world like achieving something you've dreamt about for years and years. So, get started. Make your dreams reality. 

I love to hear from other readers. Send me a message or find me on Facebook (https://facebook.com/kimholdenauthor) and tell me what's up in your reading world.

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

COVER REVEAL: Filthy Vows by Alessandra Torre



Release Date: July 18, 2019

Cover Design: Sommer Stein - Perfect Pear Creative Covers


Synopsis



Would you tell your husband everything?

Every torrid thought?
Every twisted fantasy?
The forbidden images that slink into your mind in your most vulnerable moments?

I shouldn't have. I hesitated to. But I did. 

And my husband? He gave them all to me.


Preorder on Amazon: https://smarturl.it/FilthyVows

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2ZvSHTU





About the Author



Alessandra Torre is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels. Torre has been featured in such publications as Elle and Elle UK, as well as guest-blogged for the Huffington Post and RT Book Reviews. She is also the Bedroom Blogger for Cosmopolitan.com.

In addition to writing, Alessandra is the creator of Alessandra Torre Ink, a website, community, and online school for aspiring authors.

Learn more about Alessandra on her website at www.alessandratorre.com, or you can find her on Twitter (@ReadAlessandra) or her Facebook fanpage.


Connect with Alessandra




Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2s4U9NI







Monday, July 1, 2019

COVER REVEAL: The Guy on the Right Side by Kate Stewart

Check out this amazing cover for The Guy on the Right by Kate Stewart! Don't forget to add it to your TBR!


Contemporary Romance/Romantic Dramedy
Stand Alone
Designer: Q Design
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2LyFdTR


Blurb:
Strike One-My mother named me Theodore after her favorite chipmunk.

Not cool, Mom.

I‘ve spent most of my life answering to Teddy, because I couldn’t make Theo work.

Except for here. College. The place where all bets are off, and I’ve managed to redeem myself.
There’s only one problem, my new roommate, Troy, is football royalty and looks like he stepped off the set of an Abercrombie shoot.

Doesn’t matter, I cook a mean breakfast for his panty parade, and we get along well.
And anyway, this year I got the girl. And she’s perfect.

That’s right. Theodore Houseman, former band geek, now marching band rock star has finally landed the girl of his dreams.

Everything is perfect.

That is, until Troy takes a good look at her.

I’m not going down without a fight. As a matter of fact, I’m not going down at all. As glorious as these days may be for my all-star roommate, Laney is my end game.

I may not know much about play strategy, but I’ve been the good guy my whole life. I’ve been listening and I know exactly what women want. Framed in a picture standing next to me, Troy may seem like Mr. Perfect, but he’s underestimating the guy on the right.

Spoiler alert: In this story, the underdog is going to win.


About the Author:

A Texas native, Kate Stewart lives in North Carolina with her husband, Nick, and her naughty beagle, Sadie. She pens messy, sexy, angst-filled contemporary romance as well as romantic comedy and erotic suspense because it's what she loves as a reader. Kate is a lover of all things '80s and '90s, especially John Hughes films and rap. She dabbles a little in photography, can knit a simple stitch scarf for necessity, and on occasion, does very well at whiskey.

Contact Kate- Email-authorkatestewart@gmail.com

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