Thursday, July 3, 2014

Promo & Giveaway: Awakened by Virna DePaul


New York Times Bestseller Virna DePaul is excited for the release of the second book in her Belladonna Agency series, AWAKENED!


“Some Flowers Thrive Better in the Dark.”
“A captivating start to a fascinating new series with a hero who’s to die for!”
—-Nationally bestselling author Rhyannon Byrd





AWAKENED BY VIRNA DEPAUL
Belladonna Agency Book 2
July 1, 2014


Perfect for fans of J. R. Ward, Nalini Singh, and Lara Adrian, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Virna DePaul’s thrilling series of paranormal romances invites readers into a seductive and dangerous world where vampires secretly exist among the general population, while the FBI tries to keep the Rogues among them from preying on humans—for killing, for turning, for pleasure.

Ex-soldier Barrett Miles had no idea that vampires were real—until Belladonna recruits her to serve as a covert agent and infiltrate a murderous sex ring run by the most depraved of immortals, those who feed on the purity and blood of innocents. Their latest victim: a young girl whom Barrett promised to protect. She will be sold—unless Barrett can find her first. Forced to team up with her former lover, Nick Maltese, an undercover sniper, Barrett is caught between fulfilling her personal mission and shielding her heart from the man who betrayed her.

Nick’s hunting a new breed of vampires and harboring a terrible secret when Barrett finds him. Soon a seething underworld of strange desires threatens to engulf them all. Can he save the girl and reclaim Barrett’s heart? Nick knows he has only one chance to prove himself to her as the hunt begins—and their love forces them to embrace the darkest places in their souls.

Buy Links: Amazon, Kindle , Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, iTunes

AwakenedTeaser1
Excerpt


There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

A huge rush made her heart hammer because she knew he was speaking the truth. It hit her then. This was a man she could trust. She’d known she could trust him with Jane. Hell, with her life. Why couldn’t she trust him with her heart? With everything he’d just told her, including the fact that her friends might be—that they might be—

She closed her eyes, refusing to think that way.

The point was, life was crazy. To survive it, she had to grasp on to whatever she could regardless of the risk. That meant when she found a man who made her body sing when he touched her and her heart jump with joy just at the sound of his voice, she should grab him and hold tight rather than letting fear drive her away. “Now, I want you—” he started.

She threw herself at him, causing him to stumble slightly before he caught her. Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed him with a loud smack and hugged him firmly. “Thank you, Nick. Thank you for always being there for me.” The strong hands that encompassed her upper arms held her fast for an unbearable moment. Then his fin¬gers stroked her skin. Barrett wanted to melt. His head bent to hers, his gaze serious and intense.

There were no other words. Just a sensation of near¬ness that blew her mind. She swayed in his gentle grip, taking a half step forward to balance herself. The move brought her close to his thighs. Nick drew her even closer. His belt buckle—army issue, flat metal, pressed against her middle, bare under the loose top. Everything that rounded out his worn zipper said hello and got hard as she leaned into him.

The denim held the heat. She kicked off her slippers and stood on tiptoe to make the most of that fine erec¬tion. Nick pulled her against his chest, looking into her eyes one more time, sweeping her hair back over her shoulders, sliding a hand around the curve of her waist. Shamelessly, Barrett rubbed her breasts against him, her nipples instantly taut with the sensual friction.

Then he kissed her.


99 Cents until 7/4


TURNED BY VIRNA DEPAUL


Belladonna Agency Book 1


Welcome to a mesmerizing world where vampires hide among humans. This centuries-old species has its own rules, code of conduct, and taboos. Only the FBI knows that vampires exist—and although the Bureau agrees to keep their secret, it also plots to give humans the upper hand.
Turning mortals into vampires is forbidden. But there are creatures who refuse to play by the rules.

Ever since he was turned, FBI special agent Ty Duncan has had one mission: bring rogue vampires to justice. As a recruiter for Belladonna, a shadow agency formed to keep vampires in check, Ty must tap Ana Martin, a troubled ex–gang member and one of the few mortals who can infiltrate places that his kind and the law cannot. From their first encounter, Ty fights a hunger to make Ana his own.

When Ty claims to have information about Ana’s missing sister, Ana has no choice but to trust this captivating stranger who awakens her deepest desires. But as she and Ty climb the heights of pleasure and passion, an enemy is conspiring to destroy them both.

Can Ana help Ty find his humanity in a love that could heal them both, or will their passion lead them into a darkness impossible to escape?

Wordpress Buy Links: Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Amazon Audio, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, iTunes

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About Virna
Virna DePaul is a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of steamy, suspenseful fiction.  Whether it’s vampires, a Para-Ops team, hot cops or swoon-worthy identical twin brothers, her stories center around complex individuals willing to overcome incredible odds for love.

Bedding The Wrong Brother is a #1 Bestselling Contemporary Romance, and is followed by Bedding The Bad Boy. Her PNR series with Random House launched on April 1, 2014 with Turned. She loves to hear from readers at  www.virnadepaul.com
 
Find Virna Online


Ms. DePaul will be giving away two audio copies of Bedding the Wrong Brother and three copies of Bedding the Bad Boy. These are books one and two in the BEDDING THE BACHELOR series.



BEDDING THE WRONG BROTHER by Virna DePaul

Bedding the Bachelors, Book 1


Melina Parker prides herself on being a lady in public, but after she’s dumped yet again for being a lady in the bedroom, she’s ready to go back to school.

Determined to find her inner sex drive, she enlists her childhood friend Max Dalton, to tutor her after hours.

Instead, she ends up in the wrong bed and gets a message in passion from Max’s twin brother, Rhys Dalton, a man Melina’s always secretly wanted by never thought she could have.

FREE on digital until 7/16




BEDDING THE BAD BOY by Virna DePaul

Bedding the Bachelors, Book 2

This bad boy is ready to work some magic…


Identical twin and Las Vegas performer Max Dalton has always been the number one bad boy in his family, and he’s appreciated the women and fame that comes along with his reputation.

Grace Sinclair is on a mission when she comes to Vegas, one that involves asking Max, her best friend’s brother-in-law, to give her the pleasure no man’s ever been able to. She suspects Max has more layers than he lets people see, but she’s determined to keep her heart safe even as she offers him her body.

What neither of them plan on is love—or the triangle the media stirs up with Max’s blonde bombshell actress friend.

Will Grace see beyond Max’s bad boy façade long enough to trust him with her heart? And will Max figure out what he really wants before he loses the one woman who makes him believe in love again?


Enter to WIN below

   

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Interview, Review & Giveaway: Fireborn by Keri Arthur

UFI welcomes Author Keri Arthur. Thanks for Joining us!!

Visit yesterdays tour stop over at RAMBLINGS FROM THIS CHICK

Angels or Demons 
 
Depends on whether we’re talking good guys or bad. The former for good, the latter for bad. Although it would make a very cool story if the positions were reversed!

Vampires or Shifters 
 
Both? It’s rather mean to single one out over the other when they both have their good points and bad =)

Left or Right 
 
Depends on what we’re talking about!

Up or Down 
 
I’d have to say down, because I live in Australia and it is, after all, known as the land downunder

Pizza or Pasta 
 
Neither. I’m wheat free

Coffee or Tea 
 
Tea, always, and preferably green. Although I do have a lot of characters that drink coffee--particularly hazelnut coffee =) 

Coke or Pepsi 
 
Neither, because they both make me burp and that’s rather unpleasant. Besides, I’d rather drink water or tea!

YA or Adult 
 
Adult. There are some absolutely brilliant YA novels about, but I just prefer to read adult novels (I guess they can go to slightly darker/more erotic areas)

Knives or Guns 
 
As a former cook, I’d have to say knives!

Reading or Writing 
 
If I had to make the choice, then writing. I have too many stories running around in my head that need to get out!

Facebook or Twitter
 
Both! And for those looking for me, I can be found at:
Facebook - AuthorKeriArthur
Twitter - @kezarthur
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Keri Arthur, author of the New York Times bestselling Riley Jenson Guardian series, has now written more than twenty-eight novels. She’s received several nominations in the Best Contemporary Paranormal category of the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Awards and has won RT’s Career Achievement Award for urban fantasy. She lives with her daughter in Melbourne, Australia.


Find Keri and her books
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Fireborn
Souls of Fire #1
 From New York Times bestselling author Keri Arthur comes a brand new series featuring heroine Emberly Pearson—a phoenix capable of taking on human form, and cursed with the ability to foresee death…

Emberly has spent a good number of her many lives trying to save humans. So when her prophetic dreams reveal the death of Sam, a man she once loved, she does everything in her power to prevent that from happening. But in saving his life, she gets more than she bargained for.

Sam is working undercover for the Paranormal Investigations Team, and those who are trying to murder him are actually humans infected by a plague-like virus, the Crimson Death—a by-product of a failed government experiment that attempted to identify the enzymes that make vampires immortal. Now, all those infected must be eliminated.

But when Emberly’s boss is murdered and his irreplaceable research stolen, she needs to find the guilty party before she goes down in flames…
I have been a fan of Keri Arthur's work since I devoured her Riley Jenson series. FIREBORN is the first book in an all new series.

EMBERLY is an interesting character with an even more interesting background. Her being a phoenix was unique and I loved learning about her and her soul mate. I did find the whole soul mate but not love compatible thing a little complicated but it added a little bit of extra drama to the story and her sex life is definitely interesting because of it. The ex who Emberly loved and lost comes off as a bit of an asshole but as you get the back story all becomes clear. Neither of them can really be at fault for who they are and what they believe in. It seems as though they might be in each others lives for a long time to come so I am interested to see what comes of their new situation in future books. Then there is the new lover. He is pretty much a booty call but Emberly has to work closely with him to solve the mystery of the story and by the end they enter a whole new partnership together. Should be interesting.

With the amount of background and plot set up FIREBORN was a great start to the Souls of Fire series. I see lots of action, drama, and sexiness in our future. 

I gave it 4/5 stars  

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 
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US ONLY
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Stop by tomorrows tour stop over at A BOOK OBSESSION

Promo: Ever Mine by Eden Ashe

Excerpt: 
 
“Nathan? Are you alright? You look like you’re contemplating ways to kill me.”

He opened his eyes and glared at her, even as he let out a shuddering laugh. “No, Katenia,” he gritted out through clenched teeth. “Killing you is not what is on my mind. I thought you said we would be a bad idea?”

“I did,” she said, her beautiful face screwing up in confusion. “Pair-bonding between us would never work. Sex, however…sex is a very good idea.”

Nathan nodded once, finally understanding. Ignoring the honking of the line of cars behind him, he rolled up one shirtsleeve and pinched his arm.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice worried.

He barked out a laugh when the pain did nothing to wake him from whatever dream he’d landed in. “Testing myself.”

“Oh.” She sighed. “I don’t know what that means.”

“I don’t, either, but considering I am not certifiable enough to have sex with a fairy, the only other logical conclusion is I’m dreaming.”

“Oh,” she repeated, still sounding confused. “Are you dreaming?”

He sighed and shook his head, accepting the facts laid out before him. “No. My whole world view has just been altered, but unfortunately, I am not dreaming.”
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Convinced dragons have gotten a bad rep throughout time, and more than a little addicted to fairy tales and romance novels, Eden Ashe has decided to re-write history. In her version, the dragons are ancient warriors in tarnished armor, who not only deserve the girl in the end, but will fight forever for her.


Find Eden and her books
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Ever Mine
 Can a kidnapped fairy and a human find love despite all odds?

Nathan Alexander’s batty aunt has done it again. This time she’s sent him a rare plant he doesn’t want. Imagine his surprise when he finds a kidnapped fairy hidden within its leaves. As a man who heads a non-profit organization for abused women and children, Nathan makes it his mission to help her find her way home.

All her life Katenia was warned about the evilness of humans. Never was that proved more true than when she was kidnapped from her quiet valley home. Thrust into the human world, Katenia must fight her very instincts to trust Nathan if she ever hopes to return to her rightful place…and to her normal thumb-sized fairy form.

But with their lives in danger, finding home…and love…will be a journey worthy of a fairy tale.
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Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Guest Blog & Giveaway: Poison In the Blood by Robyn Bachar

UFI welcomes Author Robyn Bachar. Thanks for Joining us!!

Seer in the City

“The streets were dark and ominous, and the constant contact with the spells that crisscrossed the city irritated me. So many centuries of wards, blessings and powers knew what else piled on top of each other. The spells were a necessary evil, intended to guard magicians from the dangers created by living in such close quarters with the nonmagical majority, but knowing that did not make experiencing that magic less disagreeable. For me, traveling through London was like struggling through webs woven by enormous spiders, and each strand of magic tugged at me and muddled my perceptions.” 

Emily Black is a seer—the rarest breed of magician, and the only one in England. In the world of my Bad Witch books, a seer is a magician who can read magical auras and receive prophetic visions. Everyday life is difficult enough for Emily thanks to being bombarded by the energy of other magicians, but living in a city like London that is drenched in centuries of magic is torture.
What’s a girl to do?

The smart thing would be to retreat, but Emily never backs down from a challenge. Instead, she decides to use her seer abilities to fight crime. Or to solve a string of local murders, to be more specific. Emily joins forces with guardian Justine Dubois, and together they’ll change the face of magician society. (And along the way Emily helps Justine find her soul mate, because that’s how Emily rolls.)

I love writing Emily, and I hope that readers enjoy reading Poison in the Blood as much as I enjoyed writing it!
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Robyn Bachar was born and raised in Berwyn, Illinois, and loves all things related to Chicago, from the Cubs to the pizza. It seemed only natural to combine it with her love of fantasy, and tell stories of witches and vampires in the Chicagoland area. As a gamer, Robyn has spent many hours rolling dice, playing rock-paper-scissors and slaying creatures in MMPORGs.


Find Robyn and her books
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Poison In the Blood
Bad Witch: The Emily Chronicles #2
She is honey to his throat…but one sweet taste could part them forever…

Bad Witch: The Emily Chronicles, Book 2

Banished from home while her husband adjusts to life as an immortal, blood-drinking chronicler, Emily Black is homesick, heartsick and struggling under the constant sensory barrage of a city drenched in ancient magic. When an old friend asks for her aid in solving a string of murders, she welcomes the distraction, despite the danger.

Justine Dubois is grateful for a seer’s help, and more understanding than anyone of Emily’s plight. As a guardian, Justine commands respect; as a woman, her magic is considered inferior. Together, they are determined to prove their worth to London’s magicians, starting with solving these murders—with maybe a bit of matchmaking on the side.

Long before he met his soul mate, Michael Black made a commitment to join the Order of St. Jerome. He will live forever, forced to watch the woman he loves age and die. As Emily hunts the murderer, Michael struggles to protect her. But if he loses control of his hunger, the greatest threat to her safety could be Michael himself.

Warning: Contains tortured soul mates, scheming faeries, vampire debauchery, deadly parasols, illicit blood-drinker relations, and adorable plot moppets.
Amazon Barnes & Noble Samhain Publishing Kobo All Romance eBooks
 
Readers can receive 30% off the ebook of Poison in the Blood from the Samhain Store by using the coupon code POISON14 at checkout.
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Tour Wide
a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Releases 6/29-7/5


Tue July 1
 Bloodshifted (Edie Spence #5) by Cassie Alexander
 Dream Boy by Madelyn Rosenberg, Mary Crockett
 Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch
Premonitions by Jamie Schultz 
 Some Fine Day by Kat Ross    
 Unwept (The Nightbirds #1) by Tracy Hickman, Laura Hickman 

Happy Reading!

Monday, June 30, 2014

Early Review: Cold Hard Secret by Sierra Dean

Cold Hard Secret
Author:Sierra Dean
Release Date: July 1, 2014
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
ASIN:   B00IF33NAS
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Author
The Secret’s out, and heads will roll.

Ever since her near-death experience at the hands of the villainous Dr. Kesteral, Secret McQueen hasn’t been the same. As in damaged almost beyond repair. But as usual, Secret has no time to lick her wounds.

Armed to the fangs, she and Desmond embark on a whirlwind quest for revenge that takes them to the sewers of Paris to put an end to Alexandre Peyton. Instead, it’s almost the end of them, and before she can stop him, Peyton rips the veil off her deepest secret.

The devil’s not through muddling up the details, either. An eye-opening confab with Sig in the Big Apple leaves her wondering if she’s ever been in control of her own life at all. Plus, a cryptic postcard sends her racing back to her Manitoba hometown, fearing for her grandmere.

With the Council holding the power of life and death over her head, Secret’s circle of friends is shrinking, while the pool of enemies looking for payback is widening like a pool of her own blood.

Warning: Contains the least romantic Paris getaway in history and an unstoppable hybrid with an impossible choice to make between two men who’ve been to hell and back for her

COLD HARD SECRET has a TON of action in it. It starts with action and ends with action. There is constant moving with no time for rest. Enemies die, a lot is revealed including who exactly Sig is to Secret. It was not the news she wanted to hear.

Secret is still having a hard time with what happened to her in SECRET UNLEASHED. Her relationship with both Desmond and Holden are suffering due to it but they are both very much trying to be there for her. Good news for those that don't care for the Secret tug of war, the love triangle comes to an end. I would like to say I am surprised by Secrets choice but I'm really not. I saw her final choice from the beginning of the series. 

We see a lot of our favorite characters in COLD HARD SECRET. The plot was pulled in many different direction but Sierra made the transitions smooth and made it easy for us to fall into each scene. Be prepared, COLD HARD SECRET ends on a huge cliffhanger. In case you didn't know, book 8 A SECRET TO DIE FOR is the last book for this series. I will miss it but I am excited to see how everything will end.

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Week in Review: 6/22-6/28


Books I've Bought/received



Books I've Read

Wicked Magic by Madeline Pryce
Nights End by Yasmine Galenorn
Blade Song by J.C. Daniels
Night Blade by J.C. Daniels
Broken Blade  by J.C. Daniels
Silver Wolf Clan by Tera Shanley
The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Reviews Posted

Quick Thought Reviews
Scala by Christina Bauer
The Revealed by Jessica Hickman
Contact Laurisa White Reyes
Past My Defenses by Wendy Sparrow


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* New Releases for the week. Was there anything you were looking forward to reading?

* Monday- Guest Blog & Giveaway for Bitter Fruits by Sarah Daltry

* Tuesday- Guest Blog & Giveaway for Allegiance by Susannah Sandling

* Wednesday- Guest Blog & Giveaway for Past My Defenses by Wendy Sparrow

* Thursday- Guest Blog & Giveaway for Queen of Wands by Katee Robert

* Friday: Interview for Beyond The Horizon by Wanda Kay Fittro

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* Did you know you can follow UFI on these other sites?

You can also add me (as in Stacy) to your friends on these sites if you're on them.
 
 * I love comments so if you see something you like (or not) please comment away and let me know.