Break by Amanda Stone Cover Reveal!!!

Break by USA Today Bestselling author Amanda Stone

A New Adult novel

Release Spring 2014

Cover Design by Sarah Hansen - Okay Creations http://www.okaycreations.com

 

 

There are paths we take in life that lead us to where we are supposed to be—where we are meant to be all along. I didn’t know that my journey, which had been filled with so much pain and so much all-consuming rage, would lead me to her.

She is my salvation. My undoing. My reason for breaking…

Storm Messer has just graduated college. But instead of spending the summer traveling, like she had intended, she finds herself dumped by her boyfriend and working for her parents at their family’s prestigious restaurant.

Ryker Noakes had every intention of going away to college until he lost the one person who kept him grounded. Now five years later he finds himself spending his days working as a mechanic, and his nights working off his aggression over things he cannot change as an underground MMA fighter.

Neither could have known that a chance meeting would spark up a friendship that would lead to an undeniable romance. But when they find out their pasts collide, it threatens to destroy any future they may have together.

Breaking isn’t always a bad thing. — As long as you have the right person to put you back together.

 

Teaser :

Ryker guided me backward, pushing me until my back was flush against the cool wood siding of the house. He leaned in closer, his scent engulfing me—consuming me. “Storm,” he huskily whispered. “Close your eyes.”

As if I had no control over myself, my body did as he commanded and my eyes drifted shut. I heard the creak of wood giving as he placed each of his hands on either side of my head. Even with my eyes closed I knew how close he was to me. His breaths were softly blowing against my lips. Out of habit, my tongue slipped from between my lips, moistening them in anticipation. I heard a low growl rumble up from Ryker’s chest and he placed forehead against mine.

“Ryke…” I began, but he silenced me by gently placing his finger against my lips.

“I don’t know why you fight this, Storm.” He huffed and pulled his face away from mine. “I know you feel it. You feel how right this is.” He tenderly grasped my chin in his hand, turning my head to the side, giving him better access to my neck. He ran his lips over my burning skin before placing a soft kiss where my shoulder and neck meet. My body shivered at his touch and he pulled away again. “You see, your body knows what it wants. Damn, Storm, even your heart knows what it wants. But you let your head get in the way of all that. You let your head lead you, and, baby, its leading you the wrong way.”

He leaned closer to my ear. “Just stop thinking. Stop thinking and feel. Feel how your breathing becomes erratic when I do this.” He ran his tongue along my earlobe. “Feel how your heart speeds up when I tell you how unbelievably sexy you are, and how you have me in pain just thinking about being inside you again.” He paused, and I stayed quiet, listening to his uneven breaths. “Feel how your skin tingles when I touch you.” He ran his hand down my side, his fingers leaving a trail of fire in their wake. “I do that to you. Me. Why fight this? Why fight something that feels so undeniably right? You know you want me,” he growled against my lips. “And deep down, you know you’re already mine.”

 

Song for the scene

 

About Amanda:

Amanda Stone is the author of the USA Today Bestselling book, Breathe into Me. She was born and raised in the foothills of eastern Kentucky. She loves being from, and living in, this beautiful state so much that she decided to move to a small little town that is—no pun intended—called, Lovely.

Amanda is currently living out her, happily ever after, with her reformed bad boy hubby, their two wild little kidlets, and a house full of critters. (Technically, its two dogs and a cat, but if it was up to her husband, those numbers would be drastically larger.)

 

Links:

Facebook: hhtp://facebook.com/amandastoneauthor

Twitter: @AmandaStone_x

Website: www.authoramandastone.com

Goodreads link for BREAK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20526357-break?from_search=true

Jennifer Armentrout Chapter Reveal for Be With Me

From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Wait for You

Do Teresa and Jase have a real shot at getting together or will life get in the way?

Teresa Hamilton is having a rough year—she's in love with her big brother's best friend, but he hasn't spoken to her since they shared a truly amazing, mind-blowing, life-changing kiss. Then she got out of a terrible relationship. Now an injury is threatening to end her dance career for good. It's time for plan B: college. And maybe she'll have a chance to convince Jase that what they have together is real.

Jase Winstead has a huge secret that he's not telling anyone—especially not his best friend's incredibly beautiful sister. Even though he and Teresa shared the hottest kiss of his life, he knows that his responsibilities must take priority. He certainly doesn't have time for a relationship. But it doesn't help that all he can think about is kissing the one girl who could ruin everything for him.

As they're thrown together more and more, Jase and Teresa can't keep denying their feelings for each other. But a familiar danger looms and tragedy strikes. As the campus recovers, the star-crossed couple must decide what they're willing to risk to be together and what they're willing to lose if they're not. . . .

For a sneak peak of Be With Me just click the link : 

Be With Me - First Five Chapters  

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories...which explains her dismal grades in math. 

Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Pre-Order Links:

Amazon US

Barnes and Noble

You can find Jennifer at :

Website:  http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/jlarmentrout

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

J.Lynn Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/699143.J_Lynn

Jennifer L. Armentrout Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4476934.Jennifer_L_Armentrout

BE WITH ME Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17558817-be-with-me?ac=1

I have read almost every book Jennifer Armentrout has released and she never fails to keep you hooked until the very end.

Jennifer brings comedy, romance, danger and some of the hottest fictional men around to her books. 

Picking up a Jennifer Armentrout book is something you could never regret. 

Serena x

This blog tour was organized by 

Cloak and Dagger (THE IMA) by Nenia Campbell

"They plan to kill us both."

I came across Cloak and Dagger in a discussion on Goodreads, when someone recommend I read it. 

I shall have to thank them immensely! 

When we meet Christina Parker her main worries in life are getting through high school and trying to forget the mean things her mom says about her weight. 

Unbeknownst to Christina her dad has hacked into the files of an organization of mercenaries called the IMA. The IMA is so powerful even the government denies it exists. 

Thinking the IMA will come after them, Christina's parents leave her home alone under the pretense that they are going on a holiday.

Christina isn't so lucky.
Michael Boutilier is the best and always gets results. He kidnaps Christina from her family home and holds her hostage in a safe house for months. 

But even Michael is being tested by the IMA who believe he plans to take over and run the organization himself.

This book was beautiful. Christina wasn't a girl who was going to give up and even though she was scared she fought back against her captors even when the odds were stacked against her. It was a refreshing change from heroines who just hide in a corner until the storm passes.

Michael is one of the most intriguing characters i have read this year.

Yes, he's hot.

Yes, he has his softer moments.

But the reader never forgets what Michael is . A killer.

What I liked most about his relationship with Christina is you understand where it developed from and the author didn't make Christina try and justify Michael actions to the read. Christina knows what Michael is capable of and fears him along with her growing attraction to him. Understanding, that he is her best option to staying alive, but knowing she is alive only because he wishes it.

Michael also knows what he is. He isn't the torn soul trying to do good but keeps doing bad. He's an assassin and has killed men. There is blood on his hands and if he has to he will kill again without hesitation. 

Normally when reading a series i never go from one book to the next, as i feel it can make the two stories seem like one long never ending one. Saying this, i have already ordered the sequel Armed and Dangerous on paper back.

There are only two things i can really fault with this story.

1. It needs to be professionally edited. The story is let down slightly by the amount of spelling and grammar errors. 
2. The one things about the story that confused me is Christina saves her parents when they are trapped on an Island, but it doesn't tell you how Christinas parents escaped the Island. Michael and Christina escaped on one of the boats that Michael had to hot wire. So did her parents do the same?

Overall though this was an amazing story and one i can't wait to continue. I'm already dreading it ending and i have two more books in this series to read!!

 

 
I just want to leave you with some quotes i have saved from the book.

"There are two things about me you should know. 

Don't fight me, unless you're prepared to kill me.

And don't kiss me, unless you prepared to fuck me." - Michael

"Have you ever fired a gun before?" I queried already knowing what the answer would be. 

"No."

"Do you want to learn?"

"No."

"Let me rephrase that, then. You're going to learn."

"You think you fucking know me? I'm an assassin. I kill people for a living. Good people, bad people, it makes no difference to me as long as I get paid." I spoke slowly, giving each word time to sink in. "And that girl you just sold out? She's the only thing in this world that makes me even remotely human."

"You told me you loved me." 

I shook my head. "I said emotions make people weak, too. Fucking look at me now. Look at you. Look what love gave us. You're worth ten of me."

"If you care about him, and yourself, you'll let him go. Some people...Truly aren't meant to be together."

The Light of the World by Tara Brown

Light series book 1

To be honest, i don't know where to start with this one.
For me, it was bad. I only made it to chapter 6 and then gave up.

We are introduced to Rayne at the start of the book who is starting college against her hippie mothers wishes. 
Due to her mothers beliefs Rayne doesn't smoke, drink and has been warned to stay away from boys.

When Rayne first arrives at college her mothers senses a bad aura so goes around cleansing the halls and gets other students to meditate, which i thought was quite entertaining. Rayne also meets her room-mate (who's name i can't remember) who the author repeatedly refers to being a body double of Blair from Gossip Girl. Which is why i most likely can't remember the characters real name. Fair enough mentioning the similarity the character has to an actress, but within 6 chapters this is mentioned at least once in every chapter. The room-mate often being referred to as 'Gossip Girl' or 'Blair Waldorf's stuntwomen' for me it was just a little OTT. 

One of the characters that i loved was Michelle. Rayne knew Michelle from high school but back then she was known as Michael before her sex change. I have never come across this in a book before so really liked this idea in the book. However, Michelle's outrageous antics and hilarious behavior still wasn't enough for me to continue this story.

Some of the main points i have regarding the problems of this story are :

1. Rayne meets a boy (can't remember if his name had been mentioned by chapter 6, or if again i have just forgotten it) she falls in love at first sight but holds back because something tells her he's dangerous, and whenever he is around she gets pains in her stomach. I understand that this is something that was going to be developed more in the book, but seemed like a weak reason. 
2. Chapter 5, Rayne is still a virgin, has no plans to lose her virginity, but because she keeps pushing the guy away and is quite mean to him when he is trying to help her - especially when she gets herself plastered in a club. She is feeling bad about herself because of a run in with said guy. Then Chapter 6 hits, Rayne is no longer a virgin and has not only slept with one guy but seems to be getting a few notches on her own bed post. (WTF! moment)
3. It is then stated that the guy she lost her virginity to - a character we haven't met previously - has been attacked. Her mother calls her as she can sense something has changed in Rayne, but without picking up on the sex thing she says she knows Rayne has eaten meat.

Overall, it felt like two different stories that had been plastered together. I actually though i had missed a chapter and back tracked, but i hadn't.
Rayne is very determined in what she wants at college as it is the first time she has been away from her over-protective mother, and without warning that all changes without any build up.
I get the feeling that this is something the author started writing, stopped for a while and then went back to it, but without re-reading what she had already written, as the characters personalities just seem to change like it's a different book being written. 

I'm not even going to give this one star, as i think that is too much for this.

Loki's Daughters by Delle Jacobs

 It was love, if ever she had seen it.

This was another one that had been sitting on my kindle for some time.
After finally deciding to read it, i am disappointed i didn't do so earlier.

At the beginning we meet the celtic woman Arienh. She has assumed the position a man would normally have in her small village after all the men have died. Most due to raids by the vikings, including her own brother, father, her sister was raped by a viking and her other brother was taken by the vikings as a slave.

Understandably, Arienh has a deep hatred for the vikings. Expect one who she couldn't forget. One that frightful night her brother was killed and her sister was taken against her will, a viking chased Arienh, and if it hadn't been for a young viking boy hiding her and leading the Norse man astray she would have most likely suffered the same fate as her sister.

Then one day Arienh is going to the stones she stumbles across a viking, in her panic she stabs him and runs away. After discussing it with the woman of the village they give Arienh the task of going back and making sure the viking is dead and if not, to kill him.

But Arienh isn't like the vikings and refuses to kill him. What she doesn't know is that the viking who she is sheltering in her cottage until he has healed is the viking that saved her all those years ago. Ronan has come back for Arienh, the celtic girl he could never forget. He wants to bring his family to these lands and make a home there. But even when the truth is found Arienh, can't trust the vikings for the memories that others have caused her. However, Ronan isn't going to give up to easily. He will prove to the women of the village and Arienh that his men can be trusted and he won't back down until Arienh is his wife.

This was a beautifully written story. The characters fitted each other well and the story continued at a good pace, never too slow or too rushed. The author didn't overload you with Norse history but gave you just enough information to understand the world they book was set in.

Tragically Flawed by A.M. Hargrove

I read roughly just over half of this book then stopped.
The story itself wasn't bad, but there was nothing really keeping my attention.
I was continuing to read just because i had started it, not because i wanted to know what was going to happen to the characters.
In truth it just felt like something i have read over and over again.
A girl who has been hurt in the past, therefore she doesn't really trust anyone, specifically men. Then she meets a man who is going to change that, but he has his own past to deal with, so to some extent they heal each other, yada yada yada.
If you're going to write a story where the plot is popular amongst other books then you have to do something to make your book stand out.

For me this just didn't do it.

I actually started this review with three stars and ended it with 2.





                                                     

The Assassin's Curse and The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke

 

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The Assassins Curse

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan. But that only prompts the scorned clan to send an assassin after her. And when Ananna faces him down one night, armed with magic she doesn’t really know how to use, she accidentally activates a curse binding them together.

To break the curse, Ananna and the assassin must complete three impossible tasks—all while grappling with evil wizards, floating islands, haughty manticores, runaway nobility, strange magic, and the growing romantic tension between them.

I recently bought 'The Assassin's Curse' because I was getting a bit tired of reading the same genres, so decided to try something a bit different. It was a wonderful surprise of a book. I literally couldn't put it down and read it along with the sequel in a few days.

Straight away we meet Ananna and i was instantly sorry for her. She was being forced into an arranged marriage by her pirate parents to the son of other pirates to make an alliance.

The thing i loved most about Ananna is that she isn't a girl who is going to let someone else control her life. Which is why she high-tails it on a camel before she can be married off.

The grooms family however, are too happy about this embarrassment and hire an assassin to find Ananna and kill her. This is how Naji is brought into her life.

While he is attempting to kill her she happens to save him life. Putting him in her debt and them both on a journey to break Naji's curse. For if Ananna tries to leave Naji or even puts herself in harms way, it causes Naji unbearable pain. 

Not only is Naji a great character, but the relationship between him and Ananna is brilliant.  He is more than over -protective of her - even going so far as not let her have a weapon - and sometimes you feel it isn't just because of the curse and his worry of being in pain if something should happen to her.

"Give me your sword." 

He slapped the camel's thigh to get it moving again. "Absolutely not."

We continue with these characters in 'A Pirate's Wish.' Ananna knows not without any doubt that she is in love with Naji. But he is an assassin who is forbidden to love. And he does blood magic. Magic she has been told is dangerous. But they still need to break his curse. 

The story continues to take them to dangerous lands and not only is their lives being intrusted to others but their trust in each other is tested. 

Naji and Ananna's relationship is a lot more deeper in this book. Both wanting what they can't have and to some extent not even sure of what each other wants.

Ananna constantly surprises Naji. She trusts easily and always seems to bring out a side in people and creatures that he never thought possible. 

"I think...I think you're beautiful."

 His face didn't move. "I thought you don't trust beautiful people."

"Not beautiful like that. I mean...I don't ever want to stop looking at you."

The conversations they had and they way they acted with each other was the perfect love/hate relationship that had me in stitches most of the time. 

"For Kaol's sake, Naji, I ain't gonna call down the Otherworld. I just want you to leave me alone!" I whipped my knife at him without thinking. He slid away in a blink. The knife thrummed into the wall.

"That was unnecessary." He said.

"Get out!"

Overall, i think both books were very well written. The characters captivated you right from the start. One of the things i like most about the main book was that it started right in the action. You weren't reading three stories waiting for the plot to begin. Brilliant books, top of my favorites list.

5stars!!!