Saturday, November 30, 2013

*US ONLY SIGNED PAPERBACK HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY*


How this is going to work:

SEVEN INTERNATIONAL FLASH GIVEAWAYS:
One Daily from December 1st - 7th on I'll Be Reading's Facebook page
www.facebook.com/illbereading

ONE HUGE US ONLY RAFFLECOPTER:
Running December 1st - 15th
See below!

**UPDATE**
Extra Flash Giveaways have been added from the 7-15!!

Good luck <3<3
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PLEASE NOTE: THIS RAFFLECOPTER IS FOR US RESIDENTS ONLY


a Rafflecopter giveaway



AMAZING Donations from:
M. S. Willis, Katy Evans, Cassia Leo, Brenda Rothert, Dawn Martens, Chantal Fernando, Sarah Daltry, Pete Clark, Liz King, K. A. Robinson, Jessica Sorensen, Michelle Lynn, Michelle Grey, K. Larsen, S. E. Hall, Mimi Strong, Hilary Storm, Sydney Logan, Jodie Beau, Genna Rulon, K. M. Scott, Kelly Gendron, Riley Mackenzie, Chelsea Camaron, Jessie Lane, Ashley Piscitelli, Nikki Godwin, Rachael Brownell, Chrissy Anderson, Rachel Rawlings, L. A. Remenicky, Melissa Phillips, Kim Carmichael, Kara Leigh Miller, Jax Jillian, R. L. Griffin, Juli Alexander, Lisa Fisher, A. C. Wilson, & Karen E. Martin


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*BLOG TOUR* "Remy" by Katy Evans


Book Title: Remy
Author: Katy Evans
Date of Publication: November 26, 2013
Publisher: Gallery Books
Blog Tour Hosted by: The SUBClub Books

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Underground fighter Remington Tate is a mystery, even to himself. His mind is dark and light, complex and enlightening. At times his actions and moods are carefully measured, and at others, they spin out of control.

Through it all, there's been one constant: wanting, needing, loving, and protecting Brooke Dumas. This is his story; from the first moment he laid eyes on her and knew, without a doubt, she would be the realest thing he's ever had to fight for.

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My Thoughts

I'm writing this review, even though I really don't want to. Because writing this, means it's over. It means I've read book #3, the end of Remy and Brooke's story. It means that I actually need to let their story go, until I read it again.

Up until now, "Real" had been my #1 book, the first book I recommend to anyone who will listen. And I will still continue to tell everyone to read "Real", because after "Real" comes "Mine, and after "Mine" comes "Remy", and "Remy" is now, hands down, my favorite book in this series so far.

In "Remy", every situation that we've read in books 1 & 2, that left us wondering 'hmm.. I wonder what Remy is thinking', or 'I wonder what Remy is doing', is answered. It is shown through the eyes of our broken, bi-polar, sweet, insecure, loving Remy. The book goes back and forth between present (wedding time), and past (everything that we fell in love with Remy because of). It takes us through his first thoughts, his manic episodes, and his present.

"She will never understand how much I crave her to touch me. Not only sexually. Her touch does crazy shit to me. I'm sick for it. I'm... sick.
Fuck me. She's so beautiful and I'm so broken."

My heart broke over and over again reading everything that Remy was thinking. If it was possible for me to adore him even more, I do. When we first met him, we saw a badass. A fighter. A man who always got what he wanted. Then over the course of these books, we see the sweet side, the loving side, the insecure side. We see Remy, and his real side. But we also see his broken side, and his sick side. Hearing that from his view, was my favorite part of this book. Knowing what he was really going through, things we thought he missed and forgotten during episodes, and the toll it really took on his mind and body, was sad and heartbreaking, yet beautiful.

"My head betrays me half the time. One day, it tells me I am god. The other, it tells me that I not only rule hell, but I invented it."

On top of all of this, we also see the daddy side. The new father love, that makes your heart swell with all things Remy.

"He's the most perfect thing I've ever done in my life. I never thought I'd have something like him. Now my life revolves around this dimpled squirrel, who pukes on all of my fucking t-shirts, and my Brooke."

Books always take an effect on me. I end up having dreams involving characters, or can't get certain scenes out of my head for months after reading. Sometimes the "what if's" rule my mind, or I sit there wanting to shake an authors hand because of a twist I actually didn't see coming. But I never thought I would be this upset for part of a series to end. Usually, when a story ends, I smile, look back on the books, remember the beginning, and how much I loved them, and move on, knowing I could always re-read them later if I wanted. But for Brooke and Remy's story, knowing I can just re-read them later, doesn't feel like enough. I actually felt a significant loss at the end of "Remy", and that has never happened to me before. I stopped myself before the last chapter, and gave it a day, because I didn't want to let go. It took me over a week to even sit down to write this review, because it really meant it was over. Call it a "book-hangover", call it "Marisa-is-too-in-love-with-Remy-to-be-considered-sane", call it whatever you want. But I know I will not be able to get their story, or Remy (obviously), to leave my mind for a long, long time.

My oooonly hope, is that maybe we will get a little bit more or Brooke and Remy in "Ripped" (Pandora's Story, April 2014), and "Raw" (Melanie's story, September 2014)..
Please Katy Evans? Please? just a little bit..

Favorite Quote:

"I want her to get it. I want her to get me."

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Hey! I’m Katy Evans and I love family, books, life, and love. I’m married with two children and three dogs and spend my time baking, walking, writing, reading, and taking care of my family. Thank you for spending your time with me and picking up my story. I hope you had an amazing time with it, like I did. If you’d like to know more about books in progress, look me up on the Internet, I’d love to hear from you!



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*COVER REVEAL* "Because Of Ellison" by M. S. Willis




At nineteen years old, Hunter McCormick is a hard partying genius who has it all; wealth, good looks, a fast car and a hot girlfriend. Life couldn’t get any better.

Tired of his carefree behavior, Hunter’s parents send him to live an impoverished life in Florida for three months to straighten out his priorities. Hunter is determined to serve his sentence and get back to his privileged life; but then he is assaulted by a beautiful blonde wearing cut off shorts and a bikini top. She is snarky, she is rude, and she pisses him off like no other woman could.Polar opposites of each other, when Hunter meets Ellison James, the gloves come off. What begins as a love-hate relationship of harmless pranks and insulting banter turns into a love affair so intense, Hunter’s life is changed forever.

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I approached Ellison and we stood nose to nose and chest to chest because I’d walked up so close. She craned her neck to look up at me and I raised my hands to smooth down her arms. But I couldn’t touch her. I held my hands at her shoulders and I looked down at her longingly, but I just couldn’t push past the thin, invisible force that seemed to surround her. I didn’t want to be like Finn. I didn’t want to push myself on her when she was already upset about something else. It wasn’t fair to her. The energy from her body brushed across my palms and I felt twisted up inside because I couldn’t actually touch her.

She blinked slowly and the blue was shining in contrast with her red-rimmed eyes. I could smell the beer on her and she swayed slightly. “Please don’t, Hunter. Please don’t make this harder.” Her voice was a breathy whisper and I closed my eyes in reaction to it. I wanted to do more than touch her. I wanted to sweep her up in my arms and cradle her to me. I wanted to hold her until all the pain and worry left her body. I wanted to tell her I’d take care of her, I’d cherish her, I’d…that, in reality, I’d end up leaving her.

I’d never felt pain before like I did at that moment. It tore at me. Physical pain shot through my body and my chest tightened. But I pulled my hands back to myself. I protected her heart by not touching her.

For once, I was trying not to be the selfish bastard I knew I was.

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M.S. Willis is a romance novelist whose debut novel, Control, was released in 2013.  Although currently writing in the romance genre, Willis has plans to expand her literary pursuits into multiple genres and has no fear conquering difficult subject matters in her writing.  Willis is a native Floridian who is also a photographer and musician.  When not absorbing herself in written, visual or musical expression, Willis is an adrenaline junkie, a ‘closet’ video game enthusiast, and an avid outdoors person and nature lover.

Visit M.S. Willis on her author page:  www.facebook.com/mswillisbooks



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Friday, November 29, 2013

*BLITZ* "Shard Of My Heart" by Nicole Andrews Moore








When I took the vows for better or worse, I meant them. Then I started to wonder if there was a limit as to how much worse I was supposed to endure. Am I supposed to stay if worse means that me and my daughter are in danger? What if the worse was because of a mental illness? When is enough simply too much?

This is a different kind of love story. Read Nina’s journals for a tale of hope, strength of spirit, and unconditional love.



I remember when I met Shane.  He was several years younger than I was, but he seemed much more together, and so much more mature than my almost ex-husband.  Here was a man who had a career.  Shane had been in the same field for ten years, employed by the same company that entire time.  He owned his home and drove a nice new truck.  As a neighbor, I had watched him maintain his lawn, service his vehicle, do all those things that men were supposed to do.  Even the interior of the residence was neat, despite having two really lazy roommates.  
We dated for a while growing closer and closer.  Finally, he made some admissions that touched my cold, brittle heart…
Shane: No one knows me as well as you do.  No one has ever been allowed to get this close.
It was such an honor, and soon I was so crazy in love that I knew...I knew nothing could tear us apart.  For a while, it seemed that we were destined to be together, forever.  He made me feel safe and loved.  Every moment spent together was incredibly special.  That’s why I vividly recall one night when we were alone in the house and Shane was walking around without a shirt on.  He loved showing off his muscular physique.  Honestly, I loved seeing it, loved touching his bare skin.  In that moment, he leaned his back against the counter and faced me.  Without thinking, I walked into his open arms, inhaled his scent to imprint it upon my soul, and kissed the broken heart tribal tattoo on his chest.
Shane: Are you trying to heal my broken heart?
Shaking my head, I responded.
me: Nope.  Just loving you.
Shane: Good.  It can’t be fixed.
He looked down and instead of wrapping me up in those muscular arms and pulling me closer to his washboard abs and ample pecs, he stiffened and stood straight.  
Shane: Sometimes, I think you are only attracted to me because you want to fix me.
His demeanor had me tensing up.  Somehow, I knew what I said next was going to be really important.  Shaking my head, I found the words I sought.
me: Baby, until I got to know you, I didn’t even know you were broken.
That softened him.  My words worked.  They were magic.  He admired my ability to communicate, to speak eloquently, and to make an impact through simple speech.  Words did not come easily for him.
He held me close.  Bending his head, his chin in my hair, he finally spoke what was clearly bothering him.
Shane: You make me want to be a better man, but I don’t want to change.  What are we going to do about that?
With my chin on his chest, staring up into his pained eyes, I told him the truth.  There was only one way I knew to make this work.
me: I’m going to love you through it.  No matter what, I promise I’ll love you the best I can with all that I am.
I meant it, too.  
Must be he liked my response because within seconds, his lips closed the distance to mine.  That kiss.  That love.  
That was five years ago.
Life has changed, much different from what I knew...all because I said, ‘I do.’





Nicole has lived in Charlotte, North Carolina for the past twelve years and now...she lives in secrecy in another state.
  Her journey of elf-discovery and recovery has barely begun and she faces it with her head held high, her shoulders back, a smile on her face, and hope in her heart. Every day of her life seems to bring new adventures, some bigger, better, shinier and prettier than others. 

For fun, she spends time with those she cares about, cooks, reads, writes, and especially lives to travel. The current travel goal: visit every Margaritaville. Three down! (Eleven to go?)

In May, Nicki started the blog Stories and Swag to promote authors. Several months later, she started Stories and Swag Tours, a blog tour company offering cover reveals, release blitzes, release parties on Facebook, and blog tours. In addition, she started Dominatrix Publishing, a boutique publishing company, to help other authors achieve publishing success.

Her writing can also be found on Shine, where she is a Shine Parenting Guru and an award winning Yahoo! Contributor on YourWisdom as the relationship and dating expert. In addition, she has been published by McClatchy News in their syndicated papers. 

Her books can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple, and Smashwords in ebook, paperback, and even some audiobooks.




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*RELEASE DAY* "Little Drummer Boy" by Sydney Logan

It's release day for Sydney Logan's latest holiday short story, "The Little Drummer Boy!"
 
It’s Christmas Eve, and Justin Banks is on the hunt for a last-minute gift for his wife, Megan. With the help of a homeless man and the beat of a drum, Justin stumbles upon the one thing Megan has always wanted. The one thing money can’t buy. It's amazing what we can hear if we just take a moment and really listen.

Rum pum pum pum.
It’s faint, but it’s there. A quiet, rhythmic beat that blends into the night. How this old man heard the sound is beyond me. “You hear it, don’t you?”
With a nod, I look around, hoping to find the source of the sound. The man points toward the coffee shop’s covered alleyway.

“Back there,” he says.

The carolers begin their rendition of “O Holy Night,” and once again, I hear the “rum pum pum pum” coming from the darkness.

Intrigued, I step away from the old man and walk slowly toward the alley. Each step brings me closer to the beat, until finally, I see a little boy, nestled in the corner. His only light comes from a lantern, and a snare drum rests in his lap. The drum is scarred and the strap is frayed, but it’s obviously his most prized possession.
Probably his only possession.
Does he live here? In this filthy alley? And where are his parents?  
His clothes are dirty and ragged, and the faded blue jacket he wears is about three sizes too big.
“Shall I play for you?” he whispers.



Sydney Logan holds a Master's degree in Elementary Education and lives in East Tennessee. With the 2012 release of her novel, Lessons Learned, she made the transition from bookworm to author. Her second book, Mountain Charm, was released in 2013. She is also the author of three short stories. When she isn't writing, Sydney enjoys playing piano and relaxing on her porch with her wonderful husband and their very spoiled cat.



 

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