*BLOG TOUR* "Breaking Through The Wall" by Ashley Piscitelli!! & INTERVIEW!!

Breaking Through The Wall Blog Tour!

This is book 2 in the "Guarded Hearts" series by Ashley Piscitelli.

Buy links, blurb, and my review link  for Playing With Fire (Guarded Hearts #1) are below as well!

Blurb:

Jason Smith hated the whole idea of relationships and commitment. He got what he needed from girls but that’s where it ended. At least that was how it was supposed to be. After a traumatic event he gets involved with the one girl who could force him to change his ways. Will he be able to commit to her though? Or will he drive her away before he ever has the chance to have her?

Madison and Carter finally found happiness but their lives have just been turned upside down, by someone who refuses to go away. Can their relationship survive the tragedy and pain that he has caused? What if justice doesn’t always win, and the bad guys get away?

What do you do when your whole world is turned upside down? When everything comes crumbling down around you, will you have the will to fight and break down the wall?


My Thoughts:
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS OF PLAYING WITH FIRE

LOVED this one!! I definitely fell for Jason in Playing With Fire, and this book made my night! Really, I read it in a night, I couldn't put it down.. and then poof! I was done.. oops..

Jason has demons of his past that make him avoid any sort of commitment. That was, until he met Nicole. Nicole has gotten into his head, and he can't seem to get her out. Ever since their first encounter in Playing With Fire, much to Nicole's dismay, Jason has been avoiding her. But when everything with Maddy and Shithead (yes, I'm now refusing to even say his name) goes down, Jason and Nicole turn to each other for support.

"She wasn't the kind of girl that you had for only a night; she was the kind of girl who got under your skin and never left."

Still unsure of how far to let himself go, Jason drags Nicole along with his on again/off again mind. Boundaries are tested, people are hurt, and no matter where his head is, he always defaults to turning to Nicole. He tries to make it clear of what he wants, but always ends up getting sucked back to her.

"We have fun and it's all good, but I'm not your prince charming. If you want one of those, you're looking in the wrong place."

But this time does he push Nicole too far? Or does he finally give in to the feelings he knows are there, but has too much trouble facing? And will a SHOCKING (and I mean WTF ARE YOU SERIOUS!? type of shocking) discovery is made, can they move on and move past it?
AND WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH SHAWN!?
(and can someone make me stop writing like a TV announcer?! PLEASE?!)

"She had tears streaming down her face now, and all I wanted to do was pull her into my arms. I couldn't, though. I would never be able to deal with this."

The dynamic of this book was INSANE! It was amazing, we got more of Maddy and Carter, delved a bit deeper into Shawn. Maddy and Carter's story COMPLETELY continues into Breaking Through The Wall, even though it is technically "Jason's" book. Multiple characters tell this story, and it works.. SO well. There is drama on all ends, and I loved every second of it.

Also.. just gunna throw this out there.. CLIFF. HANGER. Sort of. A ton of stuff gets resolved, but there are still two major questions unanswered. I'm sure a lot of them will be resolved in Shawn's book. (which is coming out as soon as possible right? RIGHT?!!)



Interview with Ashley Piscitelli:

Hello Ashley! Thank you so much for taking your time to give an interview to I’ll Be Reading!

So, tell us a little bit about yourself…

            I live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with my husband, son, stepdaughter, and two dogs. This is my second book I have published and I am currently working on my third. On top of writing my third book I am a full time student, I’m pursuing my Education degree. Life is very hectic to say the least.

When did you first realize you wanted to write?

I always wrote when I was in high school. It was mostly poems and songs, but I started writing books just a couple months ago. I first started writing Playing With Fire in April and I can’t believe now I am publishing my second book!

What inspired you to write the Guarded Hearts Series?

My dreams actually inspired me to write this book. I kept having this one dream, which is actually a scene in Playing With Fire. For those that have read the book it is the scene where Madison goes to Carter’s house in the middle of the night. After a couple weeks I decided to write it down and then I couldn’t stop. Now my note pad on my phone is constantly being filled with new ideas.

Can you relate to your characters, anyone specifically?

I think I relate to them all in different ways. Carter’s brother in the book is based off of my husband. Many of the girls names/personalities are based off of my good friends. When my husband read the book he laughed because, “I made them talk like me.”

Which book of the series is your favorite so far?

Breaking Through The Wall is my favorite so far. I love the alpha male and Jason is the epitome of one. However Playing With Fire was my first so it will always be special to me.

Who is your favorite author/book?

My favorite author is Abbi Glines and my favorite books are her Fallen Too far, Never Too Far, and Forever Too Far. I definitely have a huge Rush crush!

Do you have any quirks that help you write? Music, snacks? What kind?

Lately I have gotten into listening to music while I write. I usually get my best story ideas when I am driving in my car and singing along to the music. I listen to all kinds of music; my husband actually says my iPhone is schizophrenic.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

My guilty pleasure is dessert. I love it all, especially anything chocolate.

What’s up next for you?

I am working on a new stand alone book and I have actually included a sneak peek at the end of Breaking Through The Wall. After that I am going to be writing the third book in the Guarded Hearts Series. This will be Shawn’s book and I am really excited for it!

Any advice for aspiring authors?

Be prepared to work for it. It is not as easy as some people assume, and you need to be patient. Also I think one of the things that have helped me is building great relationships with the bloggers.

Teasers!! 

Breaking Through The Wall Playlist:

Nickelback - Shaking Hands

The Band Perry - Better Dig Two  

Christina Aguilera, Mya, Pink, Lil’ Kim - Lady Marmalade

Zedd Featuring Foxes - Clarity  

Hinder – Better Than Me

Rascal Flatts - God Blessed The Broken Road  

Demi Lovato – In Case

The Band Perry - Done.

Nickelback - Something In Your Mouth

Kelly Clarkson – Low

O-town – I Showed Her

Victoria Justice – Gold

Lee Brice – Hard to Love

Eminem - Superman

Hunter Hayes - Storm Warning

Nickelback – Saving Me

Papa Roach – Scars

The Black Keys – Lonely Boy

Justin Timberlake – Chop Me Up

Rihanna Featuring Ne-yo – Hate That I Love You

Maroon 5 – One More Night

Kelly Clarkson – Because Of You

Breaking Through The Wall Links:

Amazon Link
Barnes & Noble Link

Blog Tour Giveaway Rafflecopter!! 

ENTER HERE!!

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Playing With Fire (Guarded Hearts #1)

MY REVIEW

Playing With Fire Blurb:

"Madison Stevens has had a shitty life, her mother died at the age four and her father has always blamed her for it. She went through the foster system and is now attending college. Her boyfriend Chris is not willing to share Madison with anyone, not even her friends.

Her first day at college she meets Carter James, who makes her want everything she never thought she could have. She knows that she should ignore her feelings for Carter, but it's not as easy as it sounds.

As Carter and Madison begin to fall in love, they face many obstacles. Their biggest one is Chris who is not going to let her go easily.

Playing with Fire will be the first book in a three book series. It is about the obstacles that stand in your way on the path to love. It tests the characters strength and commitment to each other on every level from old boyfriend/girlfriends, to insecurities, and throws a little violence and scheming into the mix.

"Chris was like fire. It was pretty to look at but if you got too close you got burnt, and if it wasn’t controlled it would destroy everything in its path. Doing what I was about to do with Carter was dangerous, but what can I say I never had parents to warn me not to play with fire."

**Playing With Fire is for mature audiences only—strong language, and explicit sexual content are apparent.**"

Playing With Fire Links:
Playing With Fire is on sale for $1.99 during the blog tour! 

Amazon Link

Barnes & Noble Link

Goodreads Link

My Review

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Author Bio and Links

My name is Ashley Piscitelli. I live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with my husband, two kids, and two dogs. On top of starting a writing career, I am a full-time student and a full-time mom. I love spending time with my kids, although I have to hide away with the computer from them when I am writing! I love being active and being outdoors.

I have always been passionate about writing. I wrote this book in about three months. I love reading romance books! I feel like being able to lose yourself in a book is one of the more exciting aspects. The books I love to read and write will be ones that make you feel for the characters. You should have an opinion on every character in a book whether you love them, hate them, or think they are up to something.

I have always thought that the most important critic is your reader, so I would love to hear from you. If you read the book and loved it or hated it, tell me. As long as it is in a constructive way, I will always answer and interact with you. I want my fans to be open & talk to me what they want for the characters in the story, and what they would  like to see happen.

I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Please visit my facebook page at:

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAshleyPiscitelli

You can also email me your thoughts or questions at:

ashleypiscitelliauthor@gmail.com

You can also follow me on twitter at: 

@AshPiscAuthor

*BLOG TOUR* "Conquer" by M. S. Willis Plus Review & Interview!!

Buy Links for Control & Conflict:

Conflict Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Control Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

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Blurb

***Content Warning - This is a new adult fiction with mature themes. It contains graphic sexual situations, mature language and explicit description of sexual violence.***

Conquer is the third book in the Control series. This description contains spoilers for those who have not read books one and two in the series, entitled Control and Conflict.

Private Investigator, Paige Stone’s world was shattered when she learned truths about her past. Following her discovery, Paige is forced into a situation where she needs to accept that, although a person can control their mind and body, the circumstances of their lives are far outside their grasp. As Paige struggles with coming to terms about events in her life, she is also put through the harrowing task of learning when to fight and when to let go.

Strong-willed and arrogant, Daemon Pierce agrees to help Paige on her hunt for Chris. As Daemon instructs her how to fight with both body and mind, he breaks down the final walls she has built around her heart.

Paige and Daemon’s emotional journey concludes as they learn the meaning of love and forgiveness, and ultimately...surrender.

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My Thoughts

WARNING: REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM CONTROL & CONFLICT

Conquer picks up directly where Conflict leaves off. Paige is still attempting to come to terms with everything she has learned about Daemon, and Chris is still on the loose. Struggling with Daemon seems to big her biggest issue though, having to learn to trust him again. Not only must she trust Daemon with her heart, but she also needs to trust him to be on her side with everything Chris related. 

" 'What if I lose you again, Daemon?'

'Fate doesn't have that in store for us, Paige. It brought you to me as a little annoying kid, all pigtails and big words, and it delivered you back to me as the most beautiful woman I have ever imagined could exist.' "

With Chris still raising all kinds of insane hell, Daemon makes it his mission to keep Paige safe, and teach her how to stay safe if he isn't around. He tests her physically and emotionally throughout the entire book, much like Buddy did when they were younger.

"I'm distant because I'm scared shitless of being left broken by life. I'm scared of, once again, being shown, in no uncertain terms, that my life is not within my own control!"

 Paige starts off a strong woman, but realizes quickly that she has room to become even stronger, and lets Daemon help her with (mostly) open arms.. except when it comes to evil zombie clowns, and 80's music. But no matter how strong Paige is, no matter how much Paige and Daemon have grown together and individually, nothing can fully prepare them for everything that happens in their story.

"Hatred, anger, abuse; those three things have spread into each of out lives, like a disease that slowly infected every person it contacted."

God I love this series, and I love love LOVED the conclusion to Paige and Daemon's story. As usual M. S. Willis has given us an amazing, well written, suck-you-in, fall-in-love-with-everyone-involved book. It had me laughing, crying, and gasping throughout. She has a way of writing that actually makes you feel like you are involved, feel like you are standing along side these characters and watching them grow. Every.. single.. one of them grows. What I think I loved most about Conquered were the times where we read Daemon's POV. It was so well done, they were the exact times where I would find myself wondering what he was thinking, what he was doing. Perfect. So Perfect.

I can't wait for the next two books in this series to come out! We are getting Alex's story (Captured), and Annie's story (Changed). I fell in love with them in these books, and can NOT wait to see more of them.

Favorite Quote:

"Forever used to feel like a long time; but then this girl walked back into my life, one I'd dreamed of and carried with me from the moment I'd thought I lost her. Suddenly forever could never be long enough."

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INTERVIEW WITH M. S. WILLIS!!

Hello Melissa! Thank you so much for taking your time to give an interview to I’ll Be Reading! I’ve absolutely loved this series, so I am very excited to hear your thoughts!!

So, tell us a little bit about yourself..

I’m a native Floridian who is a mother to three wonderful kids.  I write in my spare time and I also love to play music.  I’m a nature enthusiast and spend a lot of time outdoors.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always loved to write but I could never find the time when my children were young.  Now that they are older, I have more time to devote to writing. 

What inspired you to write the Control Series?

The underlying theme of strength, determination and redemption has played a role somehow in my life.  The idea for the series started with an idea of how to express that theme and the story seemed to create itself in my mind.  It was my hope to inspire others by telling a story of how people can survive even the worst traumas and reminding them that they are not alone in their struggle.

Can you relate to your characters?

Yes…actually, very much so.  Paige is loosely based on myself in my twenties.  I’ve always been headstrong and had to learn a lot of tough lessons as I went along.  LOL.

Where did the idea of the Dragonfly Necklace come from?

When I was little, my mother told me that if I saw a dragonfly, it meant that a loved one who’d passed on was coming back to check on me.  Since then, the symbol has come to represent not only family, but the qualities of ones I have lost.  For the purposes of the book, the dragonfly represents strength and the ability to overcome, but also, that people are not alone.

What’s the hardest part for you while writing?

The emotional scenes are always the hardest.  When I’m writing, I try to place myself in the shoes of the character and really feel the emotions that particular person is feeling.  There have been many days where my family and friends knew I was writing a tough scene just because of the grumpy look on my face. J

Which book in the series is your personal favorite?

My personal favorite in the series is Conquer, I enjoyed finally bringing these characters to the light at the end of the tunnel.  I knew where they would end up the entire time I wrote the series, but to be able to finally lead them through it was fun and satisfying.  I’m also looking forward to writing Annie’s book.  It will be the most difficult to write, but I believe it could be the most inspiring as well.

Which genres do you mainly read, favorite books?

I read all different genres and especially love paranormal and suspense.  I have many favorite series including The Graveyard Queen series by Amanda Stevens, the Captive series by CJ Roberts and The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop (this also happens to be the series that made me fall in love with the name Daemon.)

What’s the biggest compliment you could receive as an author?

That I inspired a reader.  I had a story to tell with these books that carried an underlying message.  When I heard someone had not only picked up on it, but also was strengthened by it, it meant a lot.

Do you have any quirks that help you write? Music, snacks? What kind?

Games on my phone.  I couldn’t tell you how many hours I spent playing solitaire and Minion Rush while writing.  I try to keep my mind busy on games while I think up exactly how a scene is going to play out.  So far, it’s worked!

What was your favorite book as a child?

Where the Sidewalks Ends and Where the Wild Things Are were my two favorites.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Video games.  I’ll admit it, I’ve amassed quite the collection over the years and its not something a lot of people would guess when they met me.  But yeah, I’m definitely the one yelling at the screen and throwing a small fit when I lose. LOL.

What’s up next for you?

I have a darker novel, ‘Madeleine Abducted” coming out in October 2013 and another, more inspiring novel, ‘Because of Ellison’ being released on January 14, 2014. 

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

My only advice is that they should have as much fun writing as they can!  Also, they should never give up.  Take bad reviews and learn from them and take pride in the good ones!

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Excerpt

Pulling me to the center of the ring, Daemon stood as his eyes raked over my body.  I felt heated from his gaze and my eyes flicked to ‘Joe and the Gang’ to see if they had taken notice.  All four men stood silently smoking their cigarettes, paying apt attention to what was about to go down in the ring.  I looked back to Daemon and noticed a crooked grin peeking out from the corner of his sculpted lips.  “You ready for this, Damsel?”  I nodded hesitantly in response.  “Good.  Now, I want to see what those ninja skills of yours can do for you.  You stand there, and I’ll attack.  Show me how you would normally defend yourself, okay?”

“Fine, Daemon.  However, I can’t promise I won’t hurt you in the process, so don’t blame me if you leave this place limping.  In fact, you might want to put on a cup or something to protect your manhood, because I would hate….Ahhhhh!”   Before I could finish my sentence, Daemon lunged forward, managing to grip both my wrists.  He tugged me forward, while at the same time placing his foot in front of my feet, tripping me as I tried to steady myself.  I went forward into the mat as Daemon brought my arms to my back and locked them to the middle of my spine with one hand.  His other hand came down between my shoulder blades as he straddled my lower half, using his weight to hold me in place.  Joe and the Gang instantly broke out into hoots of laughter and I turned my head to see them slapping their knees and each other’s backs.  My mouth was forced open into an ‘O’ from the mat pushing up against my cheek. 

Daemon leaned forward, his mouth softly brushing against my ear as he spoke, “Your first mistake, Damsel, is that you talk too much.  While you’re busy distracting yourself with your own voice, your opponent will be watching and waiting for the moment when you let down your guard.”  His voice lowered an octave and seductive tendrils dripped from his words as he said, “If I wanted to, I could take you from behind right here and right now, and there’s not a damn thing you could do about it.”   His teeth nipped at my earlobe causing an involuntary pull within my core and a whimper to escape my lips.  I believe drool may have dribbled a little from the corner of my mouth, causing Daemon to chuckle wickedly.  “Keep that up and I might be asking our audience to give us some time alone.” 

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Author Bio:

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

Find her on GoodReads here:  www.goodreads.com/book/show/17912005-control

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Cover Artist Bio: Jason L. Lee

Jason L Lee is a Florida Native. The arts have always been a big part of his life. Science, nature, and spirituality have been inspirations to him. He started displaying his work in 1993. In 1996 he started to venture from drawing & photography into acrylic painting. This led to painting live with local bands starting in 1998. His paintings are now created mainly at home. He uses a combination of impressionistic and illustrative painting techniques to create fantastical imagery. He is currently a Scenic Artist working for The Nassal Company and Co-Founder of the Arts Hub Organization.

www.facebook.com/JasonLLee

www.facebook.com/JasonLLeeArt

www.twitter.com/JasonlLee8

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Dragonfly Necklace Creator:  Verita Bolin

  I started making jewelry in the 80's. In middle school I sold bracelets. In 2004 I started selling my jewels to the public.  I went to The William Holland School of Lapidary Arts to learn stone identification, wire wrapping, and chain making. In 2009 I met Jason L Lee, an artist and curator.  He liked my jewelry and invited me to display in Creative Spirit Art Gallery, at 1^st Friday Art Strolls and on Orange Ave.  I have a company with my mother, Tita. We set up all over Florida, have an Etsy store, and Facebook page. People around the country own my jewelry.

facebook.com/VeritasWearableTreasures

VeritasTreasures.Etsy.com