EXCERPT REVEAL: Young Love by Alyson Santos

Young Love by Alyson Santos releases on July 25th!
This sexy summer angsty read is sure to make you swoon!
Keep reading for an excerpt!

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Sometimes you need to let yourself fall…

Recently divorced Sienna Porter has the life she’s supposed to. A house, career, even a hot young contractor working upstairs to distract her. At thirty-eight, she’s entitled to a little fun (according to her best friend, anyway).

Pain, though— it’s so clever in the way it infects hope and poisons happiness.

Jace Beckett should be flying high. Talented, driven, and disciplined, he’s far beyond his twenty-three years. He’s used to the game, the attention his looks and highly-trained body get from women. Doesn’t mean he likes to play.

Doesn’t mean his own secrets aren’t intent on tearing him down.

It’s just a fling. Sexy. Temporary. It’s not supposed to last. It’s not supposed to transform into love. It’s certainly not supposed to become the air you breathe and everything worth fighting for.

EXCERPT:

His smile is patented Jace Beckett, but the rest? I forget all about my own drama.

“You okay?” I ask, pulling back and searching tired aqua eyes.

“Fine, yeah.” Another quick smile and he’s heading to the stairs. “Mind if I take a quick shower? I came right from work.”

“Of course.”

I follow his exhausted climb to my suite and watch as he fishes through a bag he brought. A bag? Who takes a suitcase to work?

“You sure everything’s okay?” I ask.

“Absolutely. I’ll just be a minute.”

There’s nothing sexy about watching the man you care about lie to you. This time when he strips and cleans up there are no games, no flirting glances from either of us. He’s focused, shoulders sagged, and I’m hurting for him. I only wait for a few minutes before I decide to distract myself by preparing food. I leave him to finish up and head down to the kitchen.

I’m chopping lettuce, veggies, and grilled chicken for a garden salad when he joins me, looking much more like the sexy, confident man I know.

“Looks great,” he says, moving behind me and slipping his arms around my waist. My body instinctively relaxes into his, my knife stalling on the cutting board. We’re so beautifully connected right now, so why is he lying to me?

I let go of the knife and turn so we’re facing each other, but his lips erase any chance of a confrontation. I weave my fingers through his damp hair to take in more. He hardens against me, and my hips respond with an agonizing jerk. His reaction intensifies, and soon we forget all about food and lies. We are hands and mouths and need, undulating in unison against the counter. I moan at the effect of his mouth on my neck, his hands running over my curves, god, my need to feel every line of his body. I push my hands over his ass, forcing our hips into perfect alignment.

“Dessert first?” he breathes against my ear.

“Yes, please.”

I pull off his shirt, suffering—savoring—the streams of tiny explosions firing through my body as I enjoy my favorite picture: Jace Beckett, bare, hungry, messy hair falling in his beautiful eyes, that guitar pick chain slightly askew against his tanned, hard chest. I could stare all day and never get enough. I reach for him with trembling fingers. If I touch him will he be real? But the heat radiating through my fingers is from skin not stone. His eyes close as he draws in a long breath.

“What’s really going on?” I whisper, tracing the stubble along his jaw.

I almost shudder when his eyes return to mine. “I’m scared, Sienna.”

Oh god. The glisten in his eyes is so painful. Something I never thought I’d see, never wanted to see. I’m filled with a sudden intense hatred for everything in this world that would hurt him.

“Please tell me.” I center his face with my palms, brushing lightly with my thumbs.

It’s right there. Whatever it is, is about to shatter my world too when—

“Oh my!”

Jace’s gaze locks on her first, and I twist my head back. Crap! As if I needed more reasons to resent my mother.

“We’re having a private conversation, Mom. Can you give us a second?”

Her brows lift, lips forming into a thin line. “I can see that. I’ll be in my room.”

Mortified, I’m almost afraid to face Jace again, but his face has come alive with humor when I finally turn back.

“Who would’ve thought it’d be your mom getting in our way?”

“I need her to go back to Florida,” I whisper because I’m still ten years old when she’s in the house.

His laugh, usually so soothing, shoots a wave of disappointment through me, regret for the moment we lost. It’s not the sex I miss, but the intimacy of the secret he’d been about to share. The opportunity is obviously gone when he backs away and pulls on his shirt. I study him for another second as he starts gathering utensils for dinner.

He’s scared. I believed it fully in that moment. Now? He hides in plain sight like no one I’ve ever known. Another pang shoots through me.

“Jace… What you were saying before—”

He shakes his head. “It’s nothing. Want me to start the carrots?” When his back turns, I know he’s gone. I’ve lost, stuck once again with the version of Jace Beckett everyone gets. It’s not fair because he’s the only one who sees me. I try to muster anger at the injustice but he’s impossible to resent. I just end up smiling at the way he attacks the carrots and cucumbers.

“Those peelers are meant to glide over vegetables, not hack them to death.”

“What’s with this thing anyway? Don’t you have a normal peeler?”

“What’s a normal peeler?” I ask.

“I don’t know. The ones with the”—he waves his hands in an unhelpful demonstration—“the thing with the thing.”

“Ooh, right. The thing.”

He snorts and bumps my shoulder with his. “Sorry if I’m not a gourmet chef.”

“No one’s perfect.”

He hands me the shredded carrots to chop. “You pretty much are.”

“Me?” I choke out.

Zero: the number of times I ever thought that.

Zero: the number of times others have.

“Why are you so shocked by that?”

“Because! I…” …what? Just because.

That cucumber looks dangerous in his hand. Then again, I bet he knows how to kill someone with it.

“Do we need to have this discussion again?” he asks, jabbing it toward me.

“What discussion?”

He lowers the vegetable to a safer angle. “Sienna, you’re amazing. You are instinctively compassionate. It’s incredible the way you want to jump in and save everyone.”

“You’re one to talk,” I mutter.

He smiles. “And you’re so smart. You picked up the guitar, the karate stances, everything, so quickly. And your career? I couldn’t begin to figure out all those numbers and spreadsheets.” He shakes his head. “I have no idea what you see in me.”

I stare over at him in disbelief. “You’re joking, right?”

He shrinks a bit, smile growing at my animation.

“Unbelievable,” I say. “What I see in you? Do you honestly not understand what I see in you?”

I drop my knife and force him to face me again. “You...” My voice gets lost in his gaze. “You’re everything,” I whisper, pulling him in for a long kiss. He deepens it, and I know, I know, Jace Beckett will be the love of my life. No doubt, no turning back, and no choice left except to absorb the abject terror of that reality.

About the Author:

I’m a writer, musician, and cat lover. I also have an alternative music obsession. Seriously, it’s a real problem.

I write what needs to come out, whether it’s pain, tears, or laughter. I write people and relationships, about the beauty and horror of what we do to ourselves and each other. I write Love. Vengeance. Compassion. Cruelty. Trust. Betrayal. Forgiveness. Darkness, and the incredible way humans destroy and heal each other.

I like to eradicate barriers, refusing to be confined by the laws of physics or limitations of reality. I will befriend a vast population of possibilities and introduce them in ways that might surprise you.

Connect with Alyson!

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorAlySantos

Join her group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AlysBreakfastClub/

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2E57FWM

RELEASE DAY: Shane's Truth by V. F. Mason

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Falling in love was never part of the plan. 

Serena 

Living carelessly through life to dull my pain, I didn't pay attention to my father's threats.

When he had issued an ultimatum after yet another stunt, I thought he was joking.

Either work on the ranch in the middle of nowhere for the entire summer or lose any chance of making it as a fashion designer...

I had no choice but to agree. 

Determined to follow my dreams, I traveled to Texas with one goal in mind: to prove my father wrong. 

However, with all my planning, I didn't consider one thing. 

Him. 

  

Shane 

Leaving everything behind, I came here one year ago to find out the truth.

But I never expected for it to destroy so many lives. 

Leaving in the aftermath, I struggled to find myself in this new world I had created...

Until she showed up, bringing more added chaos with herself than it was humanly possible. 

Every part of me wanted to claim her, but succumbing to those desires was a big mistake.

We didn’t belong with each other, and I couldn’t help but feel she was hiding something.

But when did I listen to what was best?

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RSVP to V.F. Mason's Release Day Party HERE!

Party Time: 6:00pm to 9:00PM EDT

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Click HERE to enter the Release Day Giveaway!

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V.F.Mason always loved reading books and had quite a few fights with her mama over the genre she liked (romance, duh!) She studied filmmaking and thought that would feed her desire for stories, but that didn't happen.

Finally, when she was tired of all those voices in her head, she sat down and wrote a book. It was a huge decision to make and she thanks her friends and family for supporting her in it.

When she is not writing, she can be found with her friends doing all sorts of crazy things or reading recent romance books that were written by her favorite authors.

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I get so excited when I see a VF Mason book coming out! This book had like this perfect combination of an ex-football player turned cowboy… I mean, HELLOOOO double fantasies! Plus Shane is just a great character! It should be without saying with his combination but he’s so swoonable which could be more from how sweet he is. He’s just so dedicated and loyal to those he cares about. He wasn’t a typical alpha that we get in all the usual books lately, Shane stands above and beyond all the others!

Serena was so fun… I wasn’t sure if I was going to like her at first. She just seemed so spoiled and shallow. It took some time but I finally got to see some fire in her veins! I love that she is sent to a ranch to work as a housekeeper and doesn’t even know how to wash a dish! She was just so privileged with her designer clothes and Louboutin’s! She came out flinging her spunky attitude around. It’s no surprise that Shane fell for her. They had some major instantaneous chemistry that rocked them both!

Shane’s Truth ended up having more mystery and intrigue than I would have guessed in the beginning. VF Mason wrote a perfect romance book! It had that bit of mystery and intrigue I talked about earlier, but there was also heat, and flirty, fun banter, as well as some hidden life lessons for us all. Mason writes this book so you can’t help but like her characters… Shane and Serena grow up and learn so much from each other. They are both very human, which makes VF Mason’s story super consuming!

I received an ARC of this series with the hope that I will leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that... my opinions.

 

BLOG TOUR: STUBBORN AS A MULE by Juliette Poe

 

STUBBORN AS A MULE

The Sex and Sweet Tea Series

by Juliette Poe

Release Day – July 20

 

Down in Whynot, NC, there are three things that hold true: 1) life moves just a little bit slower, 2) family means everything, and 3) you don’t mess with history.

When his family decides to sell a home that’s been part of their history for over a century, Lowe Mancinkus is madder than a hornet. To add insult to injury, the woman who purchased it is some fancy pants, city girl looking to fix it up and sell it off. Doesn’t matter that she’s sexy as hell or that just being near her gets his blood racing like never before. That home belongs to his family, or at least it did until she came to town.

Well that just won’t do, now will it?

From the moment that she laid eyes on the historical home in rural North Carolina, Melinda Rothschild knew Mainer House was something special. The perfect escape from life in New York City, Melinda signed the papers and set to work restoring the house to its natural beauty. That is until an angry Lowe showed up on her doorstep one day. With a scowl on his handsome, chiseled face. And a shotgun in his strong, muscular arms.

Is it getting hot in here?

Melinda’s about to get a lesson on life in the south, but Lowe is about to learn a lesson of his own – this city girl doesn’t back down from a fight.

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Google Play | Kobo

 

 

Juliette Poe is the sweet and swoony alter ego of New York Times Best Selling author, Sawyer Bennett.

A fun-loving southern girl, Juliette knows the allure of sweet tea, small towns, and long summer nights, that some of the best dates end sitting on the front porch swing, and that family is top priority. She brings love in the south to life in her debut series, Sex & Sweet Tea.

When Juliette isn’t delivering the sweetest kind of romance, she’s teaching her southern belle daughter the fine art of fishing, the importance of wearing Chucks, and the endless possibilities of a vivid imagination.

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Oh man, I don’t think I could love this little sweet town of Whynot more than I do after Stubborn as a Mule. I mean, just being able to see everyone and catch up is perfect but learning more of Lowe and Melinda couldn’t be any sweeter (Yes! Irony)! I love me some enemies to lover’s books! And Lowe is one mad hatter! I get it, being mad that some New Yorker comes waltzing in and takes over his childhood home… the home that has been in his family since it was built. I mean, I can’t get over his antics. Wow, he’s quite the guy isn’t he!!

I just adore every single thing about this book and this series so far right down to the cover on the front! The people in this book make you want to move to Whynot and say you’re a long lost relative… they are just adorable! I’m not sure if I need some of Pap’s advice or if I want to sit out in a boat with Lowe watching the lanterns float in the sky. Southern men do it right!

Y’all this book is a PERFECT summer, beachy read! It’s light and funny, sexy and hot, but totally sweet and a little more angsty than I expected. Juliette Poe aka Sawyer Bennett is at the top of her game! Her writing is completely flawless!

I received an ARC of this book with the hope that I will leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that... my opinions.