BIG SHOT BY KIM KARR-RELEASE TOUR

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To believe one person can change your destiny sounds absurd. But it happened to me… twice.
 
Ten years ago I had no idea what I wanted out of life, until I met Hannah Michaels. She was a computer-engineering student ready to conquer the social media world, and I was smitten. Even though I knew she was taken, I had to have her.
 
Being the big shot that I was, I didn’t let her status stand in my way. It wasn’t long before my hands were on her thighs and my name a whisper on her lips. This smart, sexy girl inspired me to greatness, helped me grow into the kind of man I never knew I wanted to be. The man I am today.
 
Too bad I hadn’t grown fast enough to keep her.
 
Moving on wasn’t easy, but I knew I had to let her go. Eventually, I found someone to share my days and nights with, and together we had a daughter. My life was nearly perfect until my world turned upside down.
 
A single father has challenges, and one of those is learning how to calmly deal with your child coming home in tears. I had no idea the day I pounded on my daughter’s classmate’s door, Hannah would be the one standing on the other side.
 
The wild, burning desire that rushed through my veins was unwanted, and yet impossible to ignore. Letting her in meant so much more this time around. Guilt hit me like a hammer. I hated myself. I hated her. The problem was I really didn’t hate her—I wanted her more than ever.
 
But this time around, I can’t have her.
 
This time it’s my status that stands in our way—and going up against myself just might be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

I am not sure what I was expecting from this book, but I am positive I got so much more than I ever thought possible. There are books that an author writes that are their best. Jace and Hannah's story is, hands down, the best thing I have read by Kim Karr. Her other books are great, and i have enjoyed them all, but this is her best.

There was just something about this story, about Jace, Hannah, Scarlett and Jonah (and I am never going to be able to put it into words) that strikes that perfect emotional balance of the push of the new love, that isn't totally new, and the pull of the past, of what is comfortable and the struggle we all have in deciding how to honor the things in the past while moving forward and taking the things that are before us in our future.

That is a big part of what Jace struggles with. To go back to your first love, after losing a wife you genuinely loved, is it a betrayal? Does it cheapen the first love, the relationship with his late wife, or does it do neither of those things, because you can't redo the past. The fact that this is his challenge, that this is what he deals with, is in the blurb...but how he deals with it, and how emotionally it is written, well, that is something you have to read the book to experience.

You feel for Jace, you know how badly he wants to move on past his wife's death and how much he struggles with the idea that he wants to move on with his first love, Hannah. There are some beautiful scenes, including one with his closest friend, that really let you in to Jace, and to how he feels, and his struggle. The depth of the friendship that is revealed is amazing, and it is the moment where you really start to believe, as a reader, that Jace is going to start to understand that just because something is in the past doesn't mean it can't be in the future.

When Jace realizes that the past is in the past, and that everything that has happened to us previously leads us to where we are now, and that none of that cheapens the other things that have happened, it's beautiful, it made me teary, and as the blurb says, it had to happen for him and Hannah to have a chance.

The writing in this book is absolutely flawless. The balance of the past and the present, the flashbacks that let you get to know Jace and Hannah, and the present that allows you get to know the people they were, and the people they are now...and to see that they really are different. Both have had experiences that have challenged them, and have changed them.

There is, literally, nothing I would change about this book.

This book held me captive from the moment I started. My heart was in my throat and I couldn't read fast enough. This is an incredibly complicated second chance romance and I loved every moment I spent with these characters.

Having read Kim Karr's Sexy Jerk I was familiar with the character of Jace. I had an inkling into him, you could say. I wasn't sure what to think of him when I met him there but oh, I fell in love with him here. I fell hard and fast and he'll stay with me for a long time.

This story was told in such a perfect way. Hannah and Jace have a past, and the way the author gives us glimpses into their past and then gives us their present day story was incredibly well done. Sometimes flashbacks get in the way of the current story. This was just seamlessly done.

I felt for these characters and how they left things in the past. I read this biting my lip at times, holding my breath at others and wanting to cry. Seeing them come back together, in a very different set of circumstances was incredibly satisfying. They both came to this relationship with new baggage, adorable baggage at times, but baggage nonetheless, and I think it was handled brilliantly.

This book took me by complete surprise and it's one I know will stay with me for a long time. This was a heartachingly beautiful, and steamy, second chance romance. It is a standalone book and one I highly recommend.

 

 

 

 

*´¨✫) ¸.•´¸.•*´¨)✯ ¸.•*¨) ✮ (¸.•´✶ GET SEXY JERK FOR FREE! ★¨*.¸¸.*ˑ˞★
PURCHASE Big Shot through 7/30 and get Sexy Jerk included in your download for FREE!

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Click HERE to enter the Release Day Giveaway from Author Kim Karr!

 

Kim Karr is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author.
 
She grew up in Rochester, NY and now lives in Florida with her husband and four kids. She's always had a love for reading books and writing. Being an English major in college, she wanted to teach at the college level but that was not to be. She went on to receive an MBA and became a project manager until quitting to raise her family. Kim currently works part-time with her husband and recently decided to embrace one of her biggest passions--writing.
 
Kim wears a lot of hats! Writer, book-lover, wife, soccer-mom, taxi driver, and the all around go-to person of her family. However, she always finds time to read. One of her favorite family outings was taking her kids when they were little to the bookstore or the library. Today, Kim's oldest child is seventeen and no longer goes with her on these, now rare and infrequent, outings. She finds that she doesn't need to go on them anymore because she has the greatest device ever invented--a Kindle.
 
Kim likes to believe in soul mates, kindred spirits, true friends, and Happily-Ever-Afters. She loves to drink champagne, listen to music, and hopes to always stay young at heart.

 

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STAR STRUCK BY LAURELIN PAIGE-RELEASE BLITZ

Star Struck, a sexy, standalone from New York Times Bestseller Laurelin Paige is live!

 

She uses her fame as a wall around her heart, and only he can tear it down.

Seth Rafferty knows Heather Wainwright’s type.

Demanding. Check.

Self-important. Check.

Leggy and blonde. Yeah, he knows the drill.

He’s been a Hollywood production designer far too long to have patience for A-listers with a superior attitude. Beautiful women with a chip on their shoulder are a dime a dozen.

Which is why his obsession with Heather makes no sense. Nothing about her is attractive.

Except the vulnerability under the sass. The honesty under the attitude.

So when wrap-party flirting gets carried away, Seth doesn’t stop it from turning into a sizzling night of passion. Too late, he realizes, one night isn’t going to get her out of his system.

On to plan B: uncover the real woman under the diva.

Soon Heather will find out that Seth isn’t just a simple carpenter she can use and lose without consequences. He’ll play the part of the builder, but it’s her walls he intends to break down.

Star Struck is a reissue of one of Laurelin Paige’s first books, but you can’t tell. There was some re-editing done, and while I had read this book previously, there wasn’t really anything that stood out as a major change in the story.

Laurelin is a favorite of mine, because of books like this. The story is so good, so perfect, and grips you so completely, you are not able to put it down. You don’t want to put it down. You want to know what happens next, and then you are sad when you are done. But, isn’t that what you want from a story? A book you can’t put down, that captures your heart and your mind, and then stays with you long after you have finished it? If you answered yes, this book (or anything written by Laurelin Paige) is a book you are going to want to read.

More.

Than.

Once.

Heather is cold, calculating, closed off, and as her inner dialog shows, at times, a bitch.

Heather should be difficult to like, and she should be the kind of heroine that makes you put down the book because you can’t connect with her. But she isn’t. Instead, she is one of the most relateable female characters I have ever read.

She is all of us.

Does she handle her insecurities in a way that makes her come across as someone awful? Yes, but haven’t we all? Don’t we all have a moment in which we were mean to someone, or less nice in a situation than we should have been, not because of the person, but because of a trigger the situation brought up in us? I know I have. And, this is Heather. She isn’t awful. She wants to be liked, appreciated, and loved. But, she thinks her past makes her unworthy of this…so instead of opening herself up to people, she is closed at the beginning of any relationship. She assumes that people won’t see her value, so instead of showing them the great person she is, she starts relationships as the person they won’t like, with the assumption they will end up feeling that way about her eventually, so she may as well save them the trouble.

Seth almost plays along with her, he doesn’t like her at the beginning, he finds her awful. But he wants her. This leads to some of the hottest angry sex EVER. Seriously, ever. It’s possible I have never read hotter angry sex. If I have, my brain exploded and I don’t remember it.

And, then it isn’t hate at all. It’s genuine attraction, and a desire to get to know one another, and a connection that is so much more than they ever thought they would have. The ending, after “the fight” is perfect, it comes full circle, and it shows not only how close they each have become as they joke about the things that were points of contention at the beginning, but how close they are, and how much they have come to realize they each mean to the other.

Then, you get their story, their connection. You see that, above all else, they really do like one another and there are things about them, about their past, that allows them to not only relate to one another, but to understand.

As you know from the beginning, Seth is not entirely truthful with Heather about who he is, and what he does for a living. But, this turns out to be ok. Well, maybe not ok, but you understand it. I have, usually, a hard time with the books in which one of the characters lies to the other through a majority of the book, as I have a hard time believing the authenticity of the relationship. But, in a wonderful way Ms. Paige makes this work. The writing, and the plotting of the story, are perfect and are done in such a way where his lies are almost necessary. And, what is the best is that they both realize this at the end. They really would not be where they are now if not for the fabrications at the beginning. I also think it matters that they are older characters, as this is a life realization that comes, I think, not only with finding someone who really supports you, but also with the realization that the opinions of others aren't always the most important things in life. This is a realization, I am guessing, that is even tougher when you make your living, as Heather does, in an industry that is all about the perceptions of others and how much they like what you do, who you are, and who they think you are.

Is this an endorsement of the plot based on a lie? No, LOL, as I am still not their biggest fan…but it is me saying that, for Heather and Seth, the lies at the beginning of the relationship made it possible for them to have any kind of relationship at all, as the people they are would not have connected without them.

Heather and Seth are going to stick with you, as they have a romance you can connect with, that you relate to, as more than just characters on the page. Obviously, I recommend this book.

Wow. Wow. Wow. So, this is a reprint of one of Ms. Paige's books but it is not one I had read before. Holy hotness, I'm not sure how I missed this one but I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it now!

From the moment the book begins I was prepared to dislike Heather...but I never did. Her attitude and diva sense are a coping mechanism for her and one I completely understood. I think we all know someone who can be a bit prickly, and if you don't know someone like that chances are YOU are like that. So Heather is an incredibly easy character to relate to.

Seth is sexy as hell right from the start. I'm not going to lie, his profession fascinated me. I just loved everything about it. He's a man who can work with his hands and I love that. But he's also the man who can give Heather exactly what she needs so I loved him for that too. Now, I don't love that he initially lied. I'm just not a fan of that in books-but it made sense here. The profession that these two are in almost calls for it, forcing the reader to look past the lies and into the truth of the character.

The steam between these two is undeniable. Right from the very start you feel it from these characters and when they finally do come together? Holy hell. Their sexy times were wicked hot and I loved every minute of them.

The pacing of this book is perfect and the writing is sharp as always. I do have to note that I loved the professions of these characters, and I loved how the author brought us into their world. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

Read Today!

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2eGumc2

Amazon International: myBook.to/StarStruckLP

iBooks: https://goo.gl/SQiLdD

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Google Play: http://bit.ly/StarStruckGP

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About Laurelin Paige:

 

USA Today and New York Times Bestselling Author Laurelin Paige is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however. When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, or dreaming of Michael Fassbender. She's also a proud member of Mensa International though she doesn't do anything with the organization except use it as material for her bio. She is represented by Rebecca Friedman.

Connect with Laurelin:

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

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2knJOrx

Twitter: @LaurelinPaige

Facebook Fan Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/HudsonPierce/

Never miss an update! Subscribe to Laurelin's mailing list: http://www.subscribepage.com/StarStruck

Website: www.laurelinpaige.com

READY TO RUN BY LAUREN LAYNE-EXCERPT REVEAL

A reality TV producer falling for her would-be star: 

a Montana heartthrob who wants nothing to do with the show.

READY TO RUN

I Do, I Don't #1

Lauren Layne

Releasing Aug 22, 2017

Loveswept

The Bachelor meets The Runaway Bride in this addictive romance novel about a reality TV producer falling for her would-be star: a Montana heartthrob who wants nothing to do with the show.

Jordan Carpenter thinks she’s finally found the perfect candidate for Jilted, a new dating show about runaway grooms: Luke Elliott, a playboy firefighter who’s left not one but three brides at the altar. The only problem? Luke refuses to answer Jordan’s emails or return her calls. Which is how she ends up on a flight to Montana to recruit him in person. It’s not Manhattan but at least the locals in Lucky Hollow seem friendly . . . except for Luke, who’s more intense—and way hotter—than the slick womanizer Jordan expected.

Eager to put the past behind him, Luke has zero intention of following this gorgeous, fast-talking city girl back to New York. But before he can send her packing, Jordan’s everywhere: at his favorite bar, the county fair, even his exes’ book club. Annoyingly, everyone in Lucky Hollow seems to like her—and deep down, she’s starting to grow on him too. But the more he fights her constant pestering, the more Luke finds himself wishing that Jordan would kick off her high heels and make herself comfortable in his arms.

PRE-ORDER TODAY!

Damn. Charlie hadn’t been lying about the hot blonde.

The woman walking straight toward him was all tight jeans, high heels, and confi-dence. And hot. Very, very hot.

Charlie muttered something admiring under his breath, and Luke’s gaze flicked to the man beside the woman. Tried to place him. Couldn’t.

Not too many guys around here who wore light-purple shirts and white pants with the same easy comfort that Lucky Hollow residents wore jeans and flannel.

No doubt about it—neither was from around here. Not by a long shot.

The man was a half step behind the woman, and Luke assessed that the woman was calling the shots.

His eyes narrowed as he realized that she hadn’t once wavered in her approach.

She knew what she was after:

Him.

She got closer and Luke saw that the face matched the body. Wide blue eyes, full lips, sassy shoulder-length blond hair that was just tousled enough to make a man wonder how it had gotten that way—to want to be the one to muss it.

Her gaze flicked over him, and Charlie whistled and muttered under his breath. “She just checked you out, man.”

She had indeed, but Luke was far from flattered. It hadn’t been the assessment of a woman checking out a man so much as a predator evaluating its prey.

As though she was evaluating him for . . . something.

Blondie stopped in front of him, and the second her blue eyes locked on his, Luke felt a little jolt of awareness and was irrationally annoyed. It had been a long time since he’d been quite so aware of a woman.

Once, he’d enjoyed the feeling—sexual chemistry was almost the perfect combination of pain and pleasure. A subtle punch in the gut that you wanted to experience again and again.

These days, though, he was having a hard time getting past the pain part. The shitty parts had outweighed the good parts just one time too many. Now he mostly settled for casual hookups with a divorcée a few towns over who was even less interested in commitment than Luke was.

He had zero use for attraction to a pretty, bold woman in high heels.

Luke noticed that for a sheer moment she had a slightly off-balance look, as though she too had felt the annoying zip of arousal when their eyes met, but she recovered quick-ly.

Pasting a sunny, generic smile on her face, she stuck out her right hand. “Luke Elliott. I’m Jordan Carpenter. This is my colleague, Simon Nash.”

Good manners had him setting down his equipment and extending his own right hand toward hers even as his brain caught on her name. Familiar, and . . .

Shit. Shit!

He managed to stop from jerking his hand back, but just barely. Instead, he gritted his teeth, gave her hand a perfunctory shake, and then fixed her with a glare. “You’re wasting your time, Ms. Carpenter. And mine.”

Blue eyes narrowed. “Aha. So you did get my emails.”

Those. The voicemails. The letters.

“Sure,” he said with a nod, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Just like I suspect you got the message that I didn’t want to be a part of your show.”

Charlie looked from the woman to Luke and back again. “Show?”

Ryan ambled over, his shit-eating grin telling Luke that this damn woman had already spilled the beans on why she was here. “Luke’s gonna be a national heartthrob.”

“International,” said the blond guy in the purple shirt.

Jordan Carpenter didn’t look at her companion, but all three firefighters did.

The other man gave the sort of easy smile that probably had him making friends easily. Luke didn’t want a new friend.

Especially not one who wanted to use his shitty romantic past for the sake of TV ratings.

Lauren Layne is the New York Times bestselling author of romantic comedies. She lives in New York City with her husband.

A former e-commerce and web marketing manager from Seattle, Lauren relocated to New York City in 2011 to pursue a full-time writing career. She signed with her agent in 2012, and her first book was published in summer of 2013. Since then, she's written over two dozen books, hitting the USA TODAY, New York Times, iBooks, and Amazon bestseller lists.

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ONE NIGHT BY ALEATHA ROMIG-COVER REVEAL

 

A sweet, fun, and sexy stand-alone romance from New York Times bestselling author Aleatha Romig.

One night to remember Is that too much to desire? One night for fun, passion, and a chance to remember what it’s like to be a woman. I’m not looking for love. There’s a man in my life who loves me with all his heart. He has beautiful blue eyes, is three feet tall, and calls me mommy. He’s my whole world and I’m his. Fate stole his daddy way too soon. What would happen if I allowed fate another chance, just for one night? One night to help a friend Why did I agree to this? Blind dates are disasters. If I weren't helping the friend of a friend, I wouldn't go. I’m not looking for romance, love, or even a one-night stand. After all, the man my friend knew is gone. I’m no longer the hockey star known for his "pep" on the ice and in the sack. I have a new life, and a new career—a new passion. I’m not looking for more. When the blind date is a bust, could fate change everything? One night doesn’t end with a kiss—it begins with one. Be ready to laugh, cry, and fall head over heels as you meet Leatha, the lighter side of Aleatha in this new sweet and sexy stand-alone romance, ONE NIGHT.

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PRE-ORDER NOW!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | iBooks

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Aleatha Romig is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author who lives in Indiana, USA. She grew up in Mishawaka, graduated from Indiana University, and is currently living south of Indianapolis. Aleatha has raised three children with her high school sweetheart and husband of nearly thirty years. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she's not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns, she likes to spend her time a with her family and friends. Her other pastimes include reading and creating heroes/anti-heroes who haunt your dreams! Aleatha released her first novel, CONSEQUENCES, in August of 2011. CONSEQUENCES became a bestselling series with five novels and two companions released from 2011 through 2015. The compelling and epic story of Anthony and Claire Rawlings has graced more than half a million e-readers. Aleatha released the first of her series TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE, INSIDIOUS, in the fall of 2014. These stand alone thrillers continue Aleatha's twisted style with an increase in heat. In the fall of 2015, Aleatha moved head first into the world of dark romantic suspense with the release of BETRAYAL, the first of her five novel INFIDELITY series that has taken the reading world by storm. She also began her traditional publishing career with Thomas and Mercer. Her books INTO THE LIGHT and AWAY FROM THE DARK were published through this mystery/thriller publisher in 2016. 2017 brings Aleatha's first "Leatha, the lighter side of Aleatha" with PLUS ONE, a fun, sexy romantic comedy. Aleatha is a "Published Author's Network" member of the Romance Writers of America and PEN America. She is represented by Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

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