Tuesday, February 9, 2016

{ New Release ~ Sophie's Voice by Helen Hardt }

Book: Sophie’s Voice
Author: Helen Hardt
Genre: Victorian era, erotic, historical
Release Date – 9th February 2016
Blog Tour 9th -12th February
Synopsis
Lady Sophie MacIntyre has the voice of an angel, but due to her timid nature, no one ever hears it. After losing a bet to her conniving sister, Sophie auditions for the new musicale at the Regal Theatre run by handsome actor Zachary Newland. Though distracted by Zach’s elegant masculinity and her own nerves, she sings well and earns a role in the production.
Zach is a confirmed bachelor, and his taste in women leans toward the glamorous and uninhibited…until he meets the demure Sophie. Her delicate soprano and understated beauty captivate him. She responds to his inappropriate kiss, but quickly dismisses the heat between them. She’s a lady of the peerage, after all, and not one to associate with a rake like him.
Zach, however, is not so easily dissuaded. He gets what he wants, and he intends to help Sophie find her true voice…in more ways than one.
Buy Links
Amazon Print: http://amzn.to/1YOzQOZ
Google Play: http://bit.ly/1iLKo0h
Books-A-Million: http://bit.ly/1Ms1gW6
Excerpt
Zach rushed out of the theatre and into the lobby. No sign of Lady Sophie. Looking out the door, he spied her getting into a hansom cab. The cabbie had taken her hand and was helping her into the coach.
He pushed the heavy glass door open and ran forward. “My lady, wait!”
Lady Sophie turned around, her face flushing a lovely raspberry color. She arched her eyebrows.
“If I may have a moment?” he said.
“I’m sorry. I am getting ready to leave for the Brighton estate, as you can see.”
“Yes, yes.” He turned to the cabbie. “You may go on. I’ll arrange for Lady Sophie’s transport in a few moments.”
“Yes, sir.” The cabbie tipped his hat.
“Mr. Newland”—Sophie cleared her throat gently—“what is this about? This is highly irregular, not to mention improper.”
“Yes, my lady, and I offer you my apologies. However, I could not let you leave without telling you how thoroughly I enjoyed your audition. I would like to offer you a leading role in the new musicale.”
“How are you able to offer me anything? You haven’t heard the other auditions yet.”
“I am familiar with all of the other actors and actresses who will be auditioning today. I know their voices. None of them can come close to you, my lady.”
Sophie fidgeted with her reticule. “I’m afraid, Mr. Newland, that I will be unable to accept a role in the production.”
What? Not able to accept? Did this woman have any idea of the talent she possessed?
Her pink lips trembled ever so slightly, and her cheeks deepened from raspberry to aubergine. Zach gulped, his pulse quickening. Had anyone kissed those lips? How they beckoned him. Sophie was of average height, coming up to his chest. He again eyed her dazzling blond hair swept up tight with only a few wispy curls free. How might it look flowing freely over her milky-white shoulders? Over her pert breasts?
“If you would be so kind, Mr. Newland…”
Zach stood, mouth agape. She had said something after his name, but he had heard no words. Only that voice, that voice from an angel, swirled around his head. He could not get enough of it. Still those rosy lips trembled, calling to him.
He couldn’t help himself. He gripped her shoulders, lowered his head, and pressed his lips to hers.
Author Bio
Helen Hardt’s passion for the written word began with the books her mother read to her at bedtime. She wrote her first story at age six and hasn’t stopped since. In addition to being an award winning author of contemporary and historical romance and erotica, she’s a mother, a black belt in Taekwondo, a grammar geek, an appreciator of fine red wine, and a lover of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. She writes from her home in Colorado where she lives with her family. Helen loves to hear from readers.
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Monday, February 8, 2016

{ Heckled by Valarie Savage Kinney }

Heckled
By: Valarie Savage Kinney
Genre: Psychotic Thriller



Drinking. Drugging. Cutting.
Exxel Jensen has spent his life finding ways to rid himself of the Heckler, and failed miserably.
On the surface, his future is bright: a beautiful wife, a child on the way, and a career he loves as a stand up comedian.
Beneath the surface lurks the darkness: crippling depression, anxiety, and alcoholism.  Helena Jensen has seen her husband spiral downward before and feels helpless to stop it as she watches him falling again.
She would do anything to help him, anything to diminish the pain that plagues him.  Exxel knows she would, and he also knows she can’t.
Because the person fueling his depression and addictions is someone she can’t see. And how can he explain the Heckler to anyone, when he doesn’t even understand it himself?
~ Buy Link ~

~ Review By Within The Pages ~
I loved reading about the relationship between Exxel, Helena and the Heckler.  The realities of mental illness and the effects it has just not on Him but also his wife Helena and his family as they are doing their best to support him.

The story takes us into Exxels mind, who happens to be a stand up comic, in which he battles with the Heckler daily, his addictions and his past.  Helena does her best to help him and understand what is going on with her husband, but the shame of mental illness drives him further away from her and further into his addictions.  My heart breaks reading about his daily struggles.

Valerie Savage Kinney does an amazing job exposing mental illness and creates a story of the realities of it and how many lives it does affects.  I recommend reading this book.  She makes you want to cheer on Exxel to get help and conquer his demons and fears.  This story is angst and not a HEA but it is definitely a great read.






~ Follow Valarie Savage Kinney ~ 

Friday, February 5, 2016

{ AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT ~ JD Lexx }


~ AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT ~
~ JD Lexx ~



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Author Bio
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International attorney, award-winning journalist and last of a modest raconteur bloodline, J.D. Lexx has been a storyteller for most of his life and a student of humanity for even longer. Perhaps it’s no wonder that he takes such pleasure in the subtle tease of the written word, in kindling curiosity with every shared tale, then daring the imagination to continue on beyond The End.

A traveler by nature, Lexx spends most of his time between the frenzied streets of New York and the slower pace of New Orleans’ Vieux Carré. When not exploring the sensual psyche through his writing, he can usually be found honing his skills in the kitchen or working alongside charitable organizations to promote literacy and tolerance— two causes not only reflected in his work, but forever dear to his heart.


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Synopsis
For some, the kitchen represents a sanctuary of the senses—a mergence of soul and sustenance that licks at the flesh while teasing the mind’s pleasure. To others, it’s but a steely hive of horror. And then there’s JESSICA AMES, a canned soup kind of girl in a land of haute cuisine whose aversion to culinary adventure once seemed all but incurable. But when she catches the eye of celebrity chef MARCO ADRIANO at a pretentious rooftop soiree, his uniquely sensual take on food whets an appetite that may just prove insatiable. If only they’d had more time…

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Excerpt
“Back home, we always say that a good sauce can make anything better,” Marco proudly shared as he blended shaved Parmesan, mozzarella and a pinch of seasoning into his heavy cream base and stirred lovingly. From anybody else, the words might sound like a travel bureau tagline, but he delivered them with authentic nostalgia.
While I sat politely attentive, he wove a familiar story that I’d heard countless times before. This time, however, everything felt new again. This time, he directed every word so intimately to an audience he could see and touch, no longer hindered by the cold glass of the television screen or the one-way discussion of a written page.
“You don’t say.” I reflected back to that night and the wine-laced red silk we spun together. In that sense, a good sauce certainly made me better or at least it sparked my devotion to improvement. “And have you ever put that theory to the test?”
“Come to think of it,” he replied after a moment of contemplation, “perhaps we should. What would you suggest?”
Lifting a long white linen from the counter, I fashioned a makeshift blindfold and cinched it tightly behind my head. “Feed me.”
From my right came a faint sigh of deviance, broken by the crackle of fresh semolina crust. I would have thought it impossible, but my mouth managed to water even more at the prospect of things to come.
“Open.” He coaxed the plain slice of bread between my lips, then dipped a second into the bubbling sauce. I could feel the heat as he approached. Instinctively, I parted wide to receive that second slice—or anything else he desired—on my tongue.
“Dirty girl!” Marco laughed when a splash of hot white cream escaped my mouth and trickled down my chin. As I reached up to wipe it away, he snatched my wrist from the air and pinned it to my side. Then he gathered the rogue sauce on the tip of his finger and whispered again.
“Open.”

 Food Lust Teasers

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Synopsis
True love, a beautiful family, and hordes of adoring friends. Morgan Parker didn’t give a damn for any of it. For as long as he could remember, all that mattered was his one-way climb up the partnership track. That is, until the day he makes it to the top and finally stops to enjoy the view.

Now, with the biggest case of his career looming on the horizon, the young attorney finds himself increasingly enamored with the flirtatious Sirena in the window across the way. But when a harmless voyeuristic game escalates toward obsession, will Morgan see the challenge through to the end, or cave to the rising intensity, accepting the most frustrating defeat of his life? The jury is still out… 

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Excerpt
Finally, she rose and turned to unveil herself fully, temporarily putting me out of my misery before increasing it exponentially. She stood on full display, her eyes cast downward to the floor and arms outstretched to allow an unhampered appreciation of my seductress. A rogue brunette wave escaped her left shoulder and tapered downward, drawing my eyes from her neckline to the delicate curves of her chest. There I lingered, as she no doubt expected, caressing every inch in my mind. The gentle fold of her left knee in front of the right took me lower still, following her abdomen’s natural slope to a tight valley between powder-soft thighs.
I widened my gaze again to soak in her entirety. Her enticing pose bore some reminiscence to a sensual crucifixion, lending a slight sense of the macabre to the already dark nature of our connection. And yet, the body itself was nothing short of heavenly—a truth that somehow managed to deepen the discomfort. But then, I’m a lawyer. What do I know about heaven?
After a generously lengthy exhibition that lasted far too short a time, she pivoted on her heels and moved to the interior of the room, leaving the stage behind with a classically European sashay that so few American women have ever truly mastered.
Obscured in the distance, she circled her desk and rolled her chair aside, leaning forward over the hard wood surface and arching her back as if to tease an imaginary lover poised enviably behind her. Running her tongue slowly across her lips and throwing back her head like a woman suddenly impaled on raw animal pleasure, she opened those devastating eyes and pointed a single finger out into the night, mouthing two distinct syllables before extinguishing her lamp.
“Now. You.”

Two Way Glass Teasers

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Synopsis
For years, one thing kept troubled young Christine Bexley on the right side of a life beyond salvation—the promise of a unique apprenticeship, as soon as she came of age, under childhood crush and world-renowned orchidologist, Richard Mitchell.

After three years of flirtation and shameless attempts to seduce her mentor, Christine now stands at the eve of her twenty-first birthday, a gifted orchidologist in her own right. But is she truly ready for the fabled Orchidarion? An exceptionally cruel test of skill and concentration, it can only be administered by those who have already mastered it. Success would place her among the absolute best in the world. But can Christine overcome this final obstacle to complete her ascendance, or has Richard’s opportunity just blossomed for a long and hard payback?

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Excerpt
“Are you ready?” he asked with a disarming sincerity.
“Let’s find out,” I answered bravely enough, though I know he must have seen my knees wilt.
“Three rules.” His warm whisper tickled across my ear, even as the severity of his tone sent a chill rippling down the bare skin beneath my dress. “Misidentify two, and you fail. If you choose to quit, you fail. And if you fail to do precisely as you’re told, well…”
With the force of a threat left unfinished, the doors swung open. Only once inside could I embrace the true magnitude of the moment. Where my days in the nursery had been spent among relative commoners of the orchid kingdom, I now stood, half-naked, in the midst of botanical royalty—his prized private collection! As hard as it had become to concentrate with him standing behind me on an uneventful day, the difficulty now enhanced threefold through such an intimidating visual barrage and the wet, tropical air snaking up my bare legs.
We wandered without direction through the daunting collection until, seemingly at random, he would slice the riding crop through the heavy damp with a nerve-wracking crack, pointing out a new challenge at the end of its quivering tip. Despite the tension, the test began promisingly enough as I nailed the first four species without hesitation. But where I should have been encouraged by my strong start, I couldn’t help but wonder what lay ahead. Somehow, I knew he must have been building me up now just to watch me fall later.
The fifth specimen provided my first true dilemma. This time, the menacing black leather came to rest on a lower shelf before a small cluster of frilled flowers whose showy façades sat turned away out of sight.
“That’s not fair!” Almost angrily, I reached out to re-adjust the pot for a better view but the crop slapped my hand from the air with a resounding sting.
“I’m sorry, Honey Bee.” He comforted me with a smirk, softly kissing the welt of tortured flesh. “You observe only. If any flowers need be manipulated tonight, I will be the one to do so.”
My God, he was evil. And I was already dripping.
I did my best to balance on those impractical heels while he watched me bend and flex my body for a better view. The farther I leaned to get a glimpse from above, the larger the cascades of hair that fell from my shoulders and brushed dangerously close to the delicate petals. I froze in terror, unable to move for fear of my first violation, as the burn of his gaze seemed to linger forever.

Order of the Orchidarion Teasers

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