Friday, November 29, 2013

Blog Tour and #Giveaway: Bishop's Angel by Tory Richards



Bishop's Angel by Tory Richards

Description:


After ten years of sacrificing everything for his country as a Navy SEAL, Bishop is looking for salvation, and something more permanent in his life, something good. Angel, a pretty kindergarten teacher, thinks she's just what he needs. Their chemistry is instant, and explosive, only Bishop has trouble letting go of his commitment to his country. It's up to Angel to prove there's room for her in his life.











Excerpt:


“The police are on the way, ma’am. Where is the intruder now?” the operator asked.

Angel listened for a moment. “He’s still in the kitchen.”

“Is the intruder male?”

“No, no!” Angel said, and then quickly lowered her voice when she realized she’d spoken too loud. “I don’t know if it’s a woman or a man.” She’d been too afraid to look when she had the chance. Movement coming from the kitchen told her the intruder was still there, but for how long? She was crouched at the end of the couch, too afraid to turn around, frightened that at any moment she would be discovered. “Please hurry!”

“They’re on their way. Stay calm and—”

“I think he’s in the room with me!” Angel’s eyes rounded with fear when she sensed
someone moving up behind her.

“Ma’am stay on—”

Angel knew the intruder was behind her now. She stood up, whipped around, and slammed her phone into the side of his head with a piercing scream. All she could make out was a tall, dark outline.

“What the fuck—” a male voice boomed.

Angel let out another scream and slammed her hands against a massive chest, shoving him away from her as hard as she could. Her only thought was making it back upstairs to the safety of her room until the police arrived, but the second her palms landed on the man’s rock-hard chest she knew she was in trouble. He stumbled back but she had a feeling it was due more to her catching him by surprise than the force of her push.

She scooted around him but suddenly his hands were on her and for a moment they
struggled against each other. Angel was hyped up on adrenaline and a strong sense of survival, and she used her nails and teeth on the naked arms and powerful hands trying to subdue her. It gained her enough freedom to make it to the stairs but halfway up she found her ankle being grabbed, she fell, and then she was pinned beneath a heavy weight.

“No!” she cried out, struggling wildly against him. But she was no match for his superior
strength and the honed muscles she felt beneath her hands. In no time his hands had wrapped around her wrists, and she was pinned against the stairs.

“Who the hell are you?” he demanded, his face too close to hers.

“Who the hell are you?” Angel demanded right back, twisting beneath him. It was then she felt cool air in places that she shouldn’t, reminding her that all she had on was a thin nightshirt and a pair of bikini panties. Judging by the super hard pecks she felt pressed against her breasts; her shirt had come undone, too. An insane thought crossed her mind, why wasn’t he wearing a shirt? She wiggled wildly, unintentionally scraping her nipples across his flesh.

“Stop before you get hurt!” he warned. In an effort to subdue her, he pressed his body against hers.

“Then get off me!” Angel hissed, arching her body in an effort to dislodge him. His muscled thighs and powerful legs flexed against hers, easily holding hers still.

“Not until you tell me who you are,” he grated in a rough voice.

His warm breath slapped her in the face. “I live here,” Angel said without hesitation, glaring up into his shadowed face. She was aware there was no way he could see her because it was too dark.

“The hell you do.”

How did he know that? “The police are on their way so I suggest you let me up and get out of here.” Her energy was beginning to wane. He was too strong and big, and the longer they remained like that, the more she began to feel uncomfortable with their intimate proximity.

“Good. Then we can get to the bottom of this.”

That wasn’t the kind of response an intruder would make if he were caught in someone
else’s house. Maybe he was delusional or something. Angel decided to switch tactics.

“These stairs are hurting me,” she said weakly. Things grew still between them and she sensed his silent contemplation, as if he were wondering if he should believe her. She whimpered a little for good measure.

“Okay, I’m going to let you up, but don’t try anything stupid,” he warned.

The second he released her and lifted off her body, Angel got to her feet and dashed the rest of the way up the stairs.

“Son of a bitch!” he cursed behind her.

Angel slammed and locked her bedroom door in his face. She didn’t know what she hoped to accomplish, except to get away from him until the police arrived. What was taking them so long? She ran to one of the windows and opened it. Maybe she could push out a screen and—

Without warning her bedroom door was kicked in. She screamed and made a beeline for her connecting bathroom.

“Oh, no, you don’t.”

A muscular arm wrapped around Angel’s waist and she was lifted off her feet. “Let me go!” She wiggled and kicked, very much aware that her butt was against a very intimate part of his body. Burning heat replaced the fear flowing through her blood because his cock wasn’t as flaccid as it should have been.

“Look,” he slammed her down onto the bed and for the second time she found herself
pinned beneath his superior strength. “Before this goes any further I think we need to talk.”

“You can talk to the police,” she panted, twisting beneath him.

“I intend to,” he said without hesitation. There was a confidence in his tone that surprised her.

Without warning, he reached up and turned on the reading light at the head of the bed. How did he know that was there? Meeting eyes the color of blue topaz, everything in Angel froze, including her breath. Oh God, I know those eyes! She didn’t know the man personally, but she knew of him from the pictures on the fireplace mantle downstairs. He was Diana’s older brother, and Navy SEAL Bishop Strong. Suddenly everything made perfect sense.

After six years, he’d finally come home!


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About the Author:

Tory Richards is a grandma who likes to read and write smut. Born in Maine, she's spent most of her life in Florida. She's been a writer since the dawn of ages,(1965),and did it for many years before getting discovered by her daughter and niece. They encouraged Tory to submit to a publisher, and that book, Cupid's Arrow written under her real name, was on the publisher's best sellers list for two months!

Tory retired from Disney, and today she resides with her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren, where she spends her time between family, four cats, and writing. 


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Thursday, November 28, 2013

Holiday Party Blog Tour & #Giveaway! On 11/29 BISHOP'S ANGEL by Tory Richards



Holiday Party Blog Tour & Giveaway!

On November 29th, the Holiday Party Blog Tour will be celebrating 
BISHOP'S ANGEL by Tory Richards
on the following blogs, be sure to check out each stop and enter to win!


This Holiday Party Blog tour is being run in conjunction with the 
Check out the entire schedule of the 18 Holiday Party Blog Tour stops HERE.

Join the party and win from a prize pool of over 1,500 books and prizes by these generous authors!

Holiday Party Blog Tour is being coordinated by I ♥ Bookie Nookie on 

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: Better by S. Walden



Better by S. Walden

Description:


Their relationship has been exposed, and now their lives are changed forever.

For Cadence Miller, the fast track to adulthood proves intimidating and frustrating. She’s a little girl lost—abandoned by her parents and uncertain of her future. She doesn’t think she “fits” anywhere. She’s eighteen. She wants to be older. And the result is both comical and heartbreaking.

Mark Connelly will do anything to provide Cadence a stable, loving home—to be her protector. But he’s just as broken and lost, and his heart won’t let go of his past so easily. He knows he must share his secret with Cadence. And he hopes his revelation won't tear them apart. He hopes it will draw them closer, and make their love better.

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Review:

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If GOOD had me conflicted, BETTER had me downright pulling my hair out.













In GOOD, we experience the love affair between Cadence and her high school math teacher, Mr. Connelly (Mark).  GOOD didn't hold back any punches and I felt completely torn—I fell in love even as certain things about their story made me question my sanity for being so intoxicated by their forbidden love!  It's no happily ever after either, people find out and Cadence and Mark's world comes crashing to a halt.

So you’d think: okay, they’ve essentially hit rock bottom and now BETTER is just about the journey back up, right?  Well, not exactly.  S. Walden doesn’t let you off that easy.  She’s going to show you all the frustrating nuances of a relationship with an 11-year age gap, particularly when one of the individuals is still growing into an adult.  The story is told in third-person perspective with alternating views, not my personal favorite narrative, but I thought it was done well.

The first half of BETTER felt like a soft, diluted version of how life might be for Cadence and Mark.  It was the day-to-day issues of a girl who is suddenly disowned by her family and the man who loves her trying to support and take care of her through it.

I felt like people were too easy on Cadence and Mark.  Everyone told Cadence how wrong her parents were for how they reacted.  I’m not saying Mr. Miller wasn’t wrong for hitting his daughter – of COURSE he was.  But at the same time, I thought it seemed unrealistic how everyone, even adults, were so quick to find fault with her parents without mentioning Cadence or Mark's mistakes.  I mean, let’s think about this.  Cadence’s whole life she has followed all the rules.  Then within a two year span she tries cocaine, robs a convenience store, spends 10 months in juvenile detention, and has an affair with her high school math teacher.   I can sort of see why the Millers would overreact when finding out the latest in a series of questionable decisions!  I was just a little surprised because it appeared so black and white in BETTER —the parents were wrong, they were bad parents, they never tried to reconcile, end of story.  

I also found myself getting angry at Cadence for all of her self-centered, immature actions.  But then, it finally hit me.  Of course she’s an immature girl.  This isn’t the author being easy on her, this is Ms. Walden showing all of Cadence—flaws included.  She is immature and young and inexperienced and she makes so many mistakes.  But that is what Mark signed up for and he either loves her in spite of it or he hits the road.

My favorite part of the story by far was the huge fight between Mark and Cadence when Cadence found out Mark’s secret.  


Mark’s anger was hideous and ugly and cruel.  But I thought it was so honest and raw and it gave me back that gritty, torn feeling I’d loved so much in GOOD.  And it broke Cadence.  It really broke her.  And I loved that because it should break her.  What girl could hear those things and not be devastated.  But then, she got angry.  I’m not talking yell and scream and fight it out angry, I’m talking never get over it angry.  

It got to a point where I felt like the only reason Cadence stayed with Mark was because she had nowhere else to go.  When Avery confronted Cadence about the fact that eventually she had to forgive Mark or they’d end up breaking up, Cadence’s biggest fear seemed to be who was going to take care of her if they broke up.  He’s not supposed to be her dad, he’s her boyfriend!  Doesn’t she see this?  Why is this not a bigger problem in the story that Cadence feels this way?  And Mark was a saint while Cadence worked through her anger.  A true saint! Mark revealed some pretty upsetting life experiences and Cadence never had to show him any support simply because she was mad about the lie and his subsequent explosion.  And when she’s still whining over it 2 months later and telling Mark she thinks it's irreparable, I’m just thinking, then leave already!  He’s paying for your school and being patient while you work through your anger and you’re just going to torture him forever?  

Through all of this—Cadence is also desperately trying to decide what she believes in God and her faith.  She’s trying to objectively evaluate all the things her parents taught her with what she has seen and learned on her own.  Rather than believe what her parents believe, or what Mark believes, she looks inside and around herself and makes her own decisions about what she believes to be true.  I thought Cadence handled this soul-searching much better and more maturely than she did her relationship with Mark.

All things considered, I thought the author did a really good job of writing a challenging story.  It was difficult to read at times because I was so frustrated with the characters; at times I felt indifferent and other times ready to throttle someone, but it also felt like a choice.  A choice to write not the most easily digestible story, but a story that makes you think and evaluate your own comfort zones.  I struggled with the story a lot, and certainly more than GOOD which I thought was beautifully conflicting, but I also appreciated it.  I give BETTER 3.5 stubborn stars.  

**Copy provided by the author/publisher for an honest review.

**Reviewed by preppea on I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews.

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About the Author:

S. Walden used to teach English before making the best decision of her life by becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Georgia with her very supportive husband who prefers physics textbooks over fiction and has a difficult time understanding why her characters must have personality flaws. She is wary of small children, so she has a Westie instead. Her dreams include raising chickens and owning and operating a beachside inn on the Gulf Coast (chickens included). When she's not writing, she's thinking about it.

She loves her fans and loves to hear from them. Email her at swaldenauthor@hotmail.com and follow her blog at http://swaldenauthor.blogspot.com where you can get up-to-date information on her current projects.

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