REVIEW: Wait by A.L. Jackson

     

OUR REVIEW:

Court and I are in an interesting position since we've not read any of the other books in this series-- we don't have an history with these characters so we didn't have any preconceived notions about what should or would happen. I think this mostly works, except in the very beginning. For the first part of the novel I have to admit there was a lot of vague and dramatic references to things I didn't really understand; I didn't know enough about who Edie and Austin were to each other and I found it both frustrating and interesting. So, if you're like us and new to this series, I'd say that within pages/chapters of Edie and Austin finding each other again many of the things I didn't 'get' were explained and before I knew it I was so far into their romance that my earlier confusion/frustrations were gone.

Edie and Austin have got to be two of the most tortured twenty-somethings I've read in a while. Both of them had been through such horrifying experiences and it was only in finding and loving each other that either of them felt whole and healed...until it all fell apart again and again and again. A.L. Jackson had no qualms putting these two through the ringer. For Edie and Austin it was really a second chance at romance, it was more like a third or fourth chance and it's only through the grace of A.L. Jackson that Austin got it together enough (FINALLY) for these two to have a chance at the happiness that we saw glimmers of throughout the flashbacks and weeks they had in the present before things went very very wrong. 

I'm sure that fans of this series will love not only the story of Austin and Edie but they'll also love seeing the other members of Sunder too. And for those new to the series, I bet you'll want to go back and read all of the previous novels to fill in the gaps that we discovered in this one. 

From NYT & USA Today bestselling author comes a new Bleeding Stars stand-alone novel… She is his strength and he is her weakness. And this time he won’t let her go.   Edie Evans is gorgeous. Sexy. Kind. She’s also the definition of off-limits. But that didn't stop me from sneaking into her room to comfort her at night. But guys like me? We destroy everything, so it should have been no surprise when I destroyed us, too. The night I sent her running, I thought I’d never see her again. Until I saw her standing like a vision in the crowd.   Austin Stone is dangerous. Alluring. Tempting. He broke my heart and I refused to give him the chance to do it again. It’s been years since I’ve seen him, and now I can’t do anything but stare at the gorgeous, tattooed man playing onstage. I should run. I know I should. But like a fool, I run straight back to him. Our desire is overpowering. Our need unrelenting. She is my hope. He is my weakness. We should have known a passion this intense would burn us right into the ground.    

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"Meaningful. Mesmerizing. Magnificent...5 but should be 10 beautiful, broken, brilliant, and imperfectly perfect stars .” Karen, Bookalicious Babes Blog

"A beautifully written story about broken hearts and unshakable longing, about second chances and third chances and a whispered hope for a happily ever after. Intensely felt on every level, Edie and Austin’s story will own you." Vilma, Vilma’s Book Blog

“Beautiful. Sexy. Dripping with tenderness. I felt the emotion in this story all the way to my toes.” Mia Sheridan, NYT Bestselling Author

“6 Stars - ‪Wait is equally devastating and beautiful! A.L. Jackson has a way of pouring words onto a page that makes you crave every piece of a story.” Molly McAdams, NYT Bestselling Author‬       

 “Shit,” I hissed, bracing myself against the spray of the icy shards pelting from the shower head. I sucked in a breath, released it between clenched teeth, and forced myself fully under it. Head dropped and chest heaving as rivers of ice-cold water slicked down my shoulders and back. But it did nothing to lessen the need. Gave me no sanity or pacification. Because all I could think about was the girl on the other side of the door. My girl. In my bed. Wearing just her panties and my shirt. An angel I wanted to dirty. I always had. Love was messy like that. All of my restraint scattered. I gripped my cock. Squeezed the base. My mouth dropped open at the pressure of my hand against my rigid length. A fool thinking it might be enough. Shit. God, I was a bastard, but there was nothing I could do before I was giving in, leaning forward and bracketing my forearm above my head to hold my weight. Water pounded down on my head and back while I pounded my fist against my dick. Trying to keep silent when all I wanted was to moan, teeth digging into my bottom lip as I pictured the girl spread out for me. My breaths were coming short. Panted and hard. I gave into imagining the sounds she would make when I finally got to bury myself in her body. A soft, soft gasp. I slowed, trying to convince myself that throaty sound was all in my mind. Just another part of this fantasy. Until I heard the small thump against the wall. Shit. I mashed my eyes closed, like it might hide me. Conceal the depravity of my actions after I’d just been comforting her hours before. Heart thrashing, I turned and moved far enough to peek out the small section where the fabric shower curtain hadn’t been drawn fully closed. It was just a little sliver that left me exposed. But it was enough. When I peered out, I was looking right at my girl pressed up against the wall. She stared right back at me. And I wanted to be horrified, my mind scrambling to conjure every weak apology I could summon. Ready to fucking grovel to keep her from turning and running once again. Because that’s exactly what I expected her to do. But her expression…her expression clutched me in the center of the chest and sent what little brain function I had left stampeding south. Red, lush lips were parted, her hand pressed to her hollow of her throat, pupils dilated so big that her hooded, cerulean eyes appeared black. Needy breaths were coming at me from that sweet mouth like a goddamned freight train. Desire swelled in the confines of the too-tight room. Alive. She pressed deeper into the wall as if it might support her weakened knees. Head rocked back. Thighs squeezing together. Motherfuck. My hand shot to the shower wall to steady myself. “Warning you, Edie, you need to get out of here. Right now.”        

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  A.L. Jackson is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. She writes emotional, sexy, heart-filled stories about boys who usually like to be a little bit bad. Her bestselling series include THE REGRET SERIES, CLOSER TO YOU, as well as the newest BLEEDING STARS novels. Watch for the next installments, WAIT and STAY, coming in 2016. If she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the pool with her family, sipping cocktails with her friends, or of course with her nose buried in a book. Be sure not to miss new releases and sales from A.L. Jackson - Sign up to receive her newsletter http://bit.ly/NewsFromALJackson or text “jackson” to 96000 to receive short but sweet updates on all the important news.

Connect with A.L. Jackson online:www.aljacksonauthor.com Snapchat: aljacksonauthor

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COVER REVEAL: Watching the Sky by J.B. Hartnett

New from J.B. Hartnett!

Watching the Sky Cry is an beautifully written,

emotional story releasing Fall 2016!

Add to your TBR at: http://bit.ly/2bCJnat

Blurb

Ten years is a long time when you’re thirty-two. We’d seen our share of ups and downs, but I could honestly say, they were mostly up. That’s the thing about happiness though. It lulls you into a false sense of security.

Neither one of us ever thought we’d ever be touched by crippling loss or immeasurable grief. But not all stories have a happy ending, and I knew, better than anyone, that sometimes, one of you won’t make it till the end. One of you has to go first. And one of you will be left behind to pick up the pieces.

That one is me.

But starting over isn’t what I thought it would be. I need escape from the memories that plague me, remind me. So I went back to where it all began. To the town where I was born. To the place whose beauty could pierce my pain. Where I experienced my first kiss, where I fell in love, where a man was my earth. And I…

I was his sky.

About the Author:

Julie is a southern California native, a fan of a really good story (preferably a romance with a happily ever after), really good pie (preferably pumpkin)and copious amounts of coffee (preferably Folgers).

She has always enjoyed writing and at one time thought she might be a singer/songwriter. The 'writer' part is that one that stuck.

Julie is obsessed with Pi...the equation and the food. She's allergic to cats, cantaloupe and hates mushrooms. So if you ever want to give her a gift, those are out for sure.

She currently lives with her romance hero husband and two boys in Melbourne, Australia.

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COVER REVEAL: Womanizer by Katy Evans

Womanizer by Katy Evans

Series: Manwhore #5 Release Date: December 5^th, 2016 Genre: Contemporary Romance

   

Synopsis:

You've seen the headlines: Womanizing billionaire player! Watch out! Stay away!

We were just two strangers. Facing a forbidden attraction, a chemical connection. Neither of us expected or wanted it to amount to more. But I had never been drawn to a guy the way I was drawn to this one: my brother's best friend, and CEO of the company where I interned.

Even knowing I should stay away, I proved to be too human, after all. The chemistry was amazing. The laughs were incredible. I opened up to him in more ways than I'd opened up to anyone before. But sex was as far as I'd go. Just sex because he was too irresistible. Just sex because I wouldn't be falling for him. Just sex because I'd leave in three months, and I'd like for my brother not to kill me, and for nobody to find out he was my wicked little secret. He wasn't the One. He was just a womanizer. But for a time, he would be mine.

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About the Author:

Katy Evans grew up with books and book-boyfriends until she found a real sexy boyfriend to love. They married and are now hard at work on their own happily ever after. Katy loves her family and friends, and she also loves reading, walking, baking, and being consumed by her characters until she reaches “The End.” Which is, hopefully, only the beginning…

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NEW: Long Shot by Kayti McGee

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Blurb:

Meredith definitely drank too much last night. Why on earth else would she have woken up without her purse, and the distinct memory of giving her number to a stripper? So gross.

The good news is, she never has to see him again. Except to get her purse. And to discover she did another terrible, horrible, very bad thing while drunk- she accidentally became a professional penis photographer.

Rob wishes more people would believe him when he says he truly is stripping his way through journalism school. It's the only way Millennials can afford school with no student loans. When Meredith quite literally stumbles across his path, he's super smitten. Sadly, she is less so once she sobers up.

Can he trick her into dating him? Can she trick her mother into thinking she has a respectable job?

And can anyone recover once the internet picks up their story? It's a long shot for both of them.

Check out the entire series!

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About the Author:

Kayti McGee is a former Kansas Citian who now follows the Royals from Colorado. Besides writing, her hobbies include travel, cooking, and all thing Whovian. She also writes as the latter half of Laurelin McGee. Like her co-author Laurelin Paige, she joined Mensa for no other reason than to make her bio more interesting.

Author Links:

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REVIEW: Author Anonymous by E.K. Blair

Shel: This true story as told to E.K. Blair is absolutely, 100 % intense--it evoked many strong emotions. MANY STRONG EMOTIONS. Maybe even violent emotions? Yes. I think so. I think I'd characterize my emotional state of mind at several point as violent. Court: And she had me scared to death of what was going to happen, that I was a mess the entire time! 

Shel: Here's some truth, y'all:

Shel: When we were selected to review this book we agreed to not post spoilers, so there will be a lot of vague references and teeth gnashing about "things". Message us if you have questions--we love messages and questions so hit us up.

Shel: Those strong emotions I referenced a few sentences ago? Those are all E.K. Blair--she wrote the hell out of this book (though full disclosure: the first pages were a little jarring). The way she described and fleshed out the details of this book caused me some real distress which I know might be a weird thing to say in a review but I guess my point is that had she written the story of 'author anonymous' ( aka Tori ) in any other way I may have put it down after the first instance of me being pissed at Tori. But no, I had to see how things were going to play out and what the resolution would be and I know this has everything to do with E.K. Blair's ability to draw me into a character and situation and despite it being distasteful, I wouldn't put it down until I read every word. So if you read this E.K. Blair, please understand that any not so nice thing I say here is not about the writing at all. Court: Right...there have been warning after warning that we won't be liking our main heroine/character. She's done some bad things. Bad enough things she wanted to tell the story, but let someone else write it down and unleash it to the world. And the result is brilliant. But, oh such the turmoil on our...and don't forget "Tori's" heart! 

Shel: Violent?
Teeth gnashing?
Pissed off?
Not nice things?

Yes.

Shel: Tori pissed me off. A lot. Watching her make bad decision after bad decision was infuriating and maddening and even now as I think about all the dumb shit she did I still get angry. My husband keeps asking me why I'm making deep loud sighs--it's this book, I swear, it had me so anxious and pissed. I'm actually sitting here typing and shaking my head just thinking about the choices Tori made and how little sympathy I had for her. That being said, I feel like an asshole for saying assholish things about a real person--who am I to judge, right? And I know it must've been really painful to share the trainwreck of her life to anyone who reads this book, so as I think about Tori and what happened, I also try to remember that there's a real person behind all of this. A real person I hope to fuck has healed and moved on from the shitstorm that was this part of her life--though if the ending is any indication I don't know how much hope I have. Court: Dude...that is the most intriguing part. That I couldn't look away from the train wreck, because it IS someone's real life. I can't imagine laying bear my deepest darkest secrets, but I have mad respect for this person for putting it out there and being honest even when it hurts. It made for great storytelling, and just whoa. We can't get too much more into than that, but read it, read it, read it, read it...please! 

Shel: Here are the positives I can walk away with:

1) After reading this and seeing how excruciatingly painful it was for all parties involved, I can firmly say that I will use this as a learning experience and I gained some interesting insights. No joke--I have often wondered the whys and the hows of this particular situation and how the people involved feel about it and even though this is just one perspective, it helped enlighten me and confirm that I'll avoid being in anything close to Tori's situation like it's the plague. Court: Hah! I think that is the understatement of the century, but no doubt a truth. The story evoked so many emotions in us, so much on the broad spectrum of everything - and especially loved the way the book world was described (fun!). Just whoa to everything we read, and this is one that'll stick with you forever. 

Shel: 2) Brooke and Landon, while not perfect, were people I constantly cheered for. Court: ME TOO!

Shel: Would I recommend this? If you're a fan of E.K. Blair and you like to read things that evoke a strong, possibly angry, emotions then yes, I think you will have an interesting and intense reading experience with Author Anonymous. Court: I'd say interesting and intense are just the tip of the iceberg, and E.K. Blair knocked this one out of the park! 

SYNOPSIS:
GOODREADS: info here
A TRUE STORY told through the voice of New York Times Bestselling author E.K. Blair.

She’s an author.
She’s a mother.
She’s a wife.
She’s a fraud. 

A woman marked and bound by her own deceit, this is the astounding tale of how one choice knocked her world from its axis forcing her to battle through a year of scandal and betrayal, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. 

This is an intoxicatingly risqué stand-alone true story tangled in lust, heartbreak, and contrition.