Love Bats Lasts by Pamela Aares

Today's review come from my To-be-read pile. Love Bats Last was originally published in 2013. I don't think I've had it that long, I think I picked it up as a freebie more recently.

In LOVE BATS LAST, (The Tavonesi Series, #1), the baseball diamond isn't the only field for all-star player Alex Tavonesi; he also runs his family's prestigious vineyard. What he can't seem to run is his love life. He's closing in on the perfect vintage and the perfect game, but so far the perfect woman has eluded him. Veterinarian Jackie Brandon is eluding her aristocratic past and memories of a soccer star who jilted her just before their wedding. She devotes herself to a marine mammal rescue center on the northern California coast, where hundreds of seals and sea lions are washing up dead. A chance meeting in a midnight storm brings Alex and Jackie together to rescue a stranded whale. Watching her work, he realizes she's the passionate, courageous woman he thought he'd never find—he just has to overcome her deep distrust of jocks. Jackie’s passion and courage lead her to discover what's killing the sea mammals. The culprits want to silence her, and Alex is the only one standing in their way. What will he sacrifice to save the woman he loves?

Elizabeth's Review

3.5 stars

A romance with a mystery and suspense throw in, Love Bats Last was a fun read. We meet Jackie (a vet for a seal rescue) and Alex (a baseball player and winery owner) when he helps Jackie out of a jam near his property.

These two are interesting to watch. Jackie is determined to not have a relationship and Alex is equally determined to get to know her. It was really nice to watch a guy like Alex (famous baseball player + wealthy land owner) actually have to work to get to know a woman. The fact that he has a natural interest in the work she is doing goes a long way too.

It was much easier to like Alex than it was to like Jackie, she was pretty snappy and stand-offish, but we learned why later on in the story. The mystery and suspense elements are well woven into the book so that both the romantic and suspense story lines move forward without one detracting from the other.

I enjoyed the timing for when Jackie and Alex finally got together. They had been building to it for a while and it was wonderful to see things come to fruition the way they did. I didn’t really understand the argument that led to Jackie stormy off, but it served the purpose of the story.

I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say that I loved the ending. This is definitely a book I would suggest for a relaxing summer afternoon.

Where to find Love Bats Last:

Goodreads

Amazon (Still free as of 6/27/15)

Cover Reveal - Melting Point by Kate Meader

In August, Kate Meader will take us back to the Firehouse of Engine 6 for the story of Gage and Brady. Today, we get to see the smokin' hot cover for her new novella.Enjoy and Happy Reading!

Things are heating up at Engine Co. 6 in this original e-novella from Kate Meader’s sizzling Hot in Chicago series! Superhot playboy firefighter Gage Simpson has one particular man on his mind: Brady Smith, a recalcitrant, moody chef who makes Gage melt from the inside out. Features a sexy sneak preview of Playing with Fire! Firefighter Gage Simpson has it all: the job of his dreams, the family of his heart, and no shortage of hot guys lining up to share his bed. “Fun and easy” is his motto—and it’s kept him sunny through a painful upbringing and steered him away from trouble. But when trouble comes knocking in the form of a sexy, scarred, tattooed chef with a harrowing past and zero communication skills, Gage can’t help but be drawn to the flame. Brady Smith isn’t fun. And easy isn’t in his vocabulary. When cocky Gage swaggers into his restaurant kitchen, the former Marine-turned-five-star-chef is blindsided by the firefighter’s beauty. Then confused that this golden guy with the sparkling blue eyes and the body of a god might be interested in him. As desire flares and temperatures rise, Gage and Brady will have to figure out if the heat between them is just a temporary flash—or the beginning of something real.

Want to make sure you get to enjoy Gage and Brady's story?
Preorder here!

Love Needs Another Chance Cover Reveal

Look at what I get to share with you today! Caleigh Hernandez's new book, Love Needs Another Chance, comes out in September! She is kind enough to share her beautiful cover with us today! Thanks Caleigh :)

One night. One decision. Our lives forever altered… Everything was perfect. Everything was new. I was the luckiest man alive. Until I wasn’t. Fate punished me for the choices I made. It stole something precious from us when I wasn’t around to protect it. Izzy was lost in her sadness. I was useless to help her. And even though we made it through, fate wasn’t done with us yet. One night. One decision. My world fell out from underneath me. Our love once took her breath away. Then, it turned with twisted fates. I’ll stop at nothing to prove to Izzy that our love needs another chance. Release Date: September 7, 2015

Find Love Needs Another Chance on Goodreads

Pre-order Love Needs Another Chance on Amazon

About the Author:

Caleigh Hernandez is a not-so-perfect mom of 2 beautiful daughters, a terrible housekeeper, and sometimes, a doting wife. A few years ago, she decided to take life by the horns and throw caution to the wind. She went back to school, earning a degree in Web & Multimedia Design where her long-time passion for writing was reignited with a creative writing class. It was during her final term when she conceived a story she just had to tell. When not buried in the ridiculousness of everyday life, you can find Caleigh curled up with her Kindle devouring a book, watching crime dramas (she's obsessed), screaming at the TV while watching her SJ Sharks, Oakland Raiders or Oakland A's, getting cozy with a good superhero flick, or getting her adrenaline fix on a roller coaster. She hates cleaning and loathes laundry. She's a shoe whore that lives in flip flops and loves to be barefoot. In the immortal words of her husband, "Caleigh Hernandez is a bad ass bitch." 

Love Needs Another Chance is the third novel in the Truth About Love Series. 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaleighWrites 

FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/CaleighHernandezAuthor 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9868946.Caleigh_Hernandez

Bleeding Love - Excerpt Reveal

Harper Sloan's new book, Bleeding Love releases next Tuesday! We are very excited to bring you a small taste of what is to come... Enjoy!

Excerpt 

“Last chance,” he tells me with a wicked grin. “And this time I mean last one, darlin’. We take this step and make no doubt about it, you will be mine. You give me this and I fucking promise you that I will never make you regret taking that step. You ready to jump from that chapter you’ve been skimming through and skip into mine?” I give him a smile, one that is full of confidence and not the least bit unsure as the words that he had told me weeks before come back between us. “I’m ready.” “Fuck,” he groans. “Buckle up, baby.” My smile doesn’t slip for a second. Not when I pull my belt across my chest. Not when he slams the door and races to his own. It grows wider when he slams the truck in drive and fishtails back onto the path that will take us back toward town. It isn’t until his big hand reaches out and takes my leg in his strong hold that my smile slips slightly, but it only slips because my head falls back and I whimper and try to rub my legs together to ease the ache between them. I lose the smile completely when my mouth drops open and that whimper turns into a loud whine as his long fingers dance up my legs until he slips beneath the hem on my shorts and pushes my panties to the side, pressing against my clit in sure movements that have me panting in seconds. “Fucking drenched,” he grounds out through his tightly clamped teeth. I roll my head against the headrest and look across the cab at his face. His finger dips from my swollen clit and as he drops his hand lower, his wrist twists slightly so that when he gets there his finger slides deep inside me. My legs spread instantly when his thick finger fills me and I hear his rumbled groan fill the space around us as he slides his finger as deep as his position allows before pulling it back, then repeating his movements until I can feel myself soaking his hand. If he keeps this up, I won’t last. He adds a second finger and my hand digs into the door and I reach out, wrapping my other around his forearm and choke on shattered breaths when he thrusts his fingers so deep, I feel like I’ve been electrocuted as he hits that spot that has me panting, whimpering and begging incoherently. “Please, Lee, please,” I pant. How I formed those words, I’ll never know. “Fuck,” he snarls, the sound making my arousal spike even higher. “You’ll call me that when I’m so deep inside you my balls will be soaked with this sweetness.” His fingers curl and I pant, my hand cramping around the force of my grip. “Please, oh God. Not without you, please.” I pray he understands my plea and when he curses, I know he gets me. His hand leaves my pants and I cry out, causing him to spit out a string of curses that would make a sailor blush. His leg slams down and I feel the truck pick up speed as I watch him take his fingers to his mouth and lick every drop of my wetness from his skin. “Holy shit,” I exhale. “You’re getting my mouth first, darlin’. That wasn’t enough of a taste and fuck me, I’m starved.” I say nothing, just continue to feel like my heart is about to slam from my chest as I continue to shift my legs back and forth in attempt to ease the burn he’s lit between my legs.

Where to Buy Bleeding Love - special pricing of $2.99 is available only until release day:

Amazon

BN.com

Collide - J.C. Hannigan

Harlow Jones has a troubled past, and a questionable future. Surrounded by death, tragedy, and intrigue, she is forced to mature long before her time. Plagued by anxiety and depression, she hides her inner turmoil with spite and sarcasm. Her thick skin is impenetrable. That is…until she becomes involved with her grade 12 English teacher.

Elizabeth's Review

3.5 stars

Review copy provided by author

I finished Collide this morning (July 4^th) and I have to admit that I am kind of glad that the craziness of getting ready to have a house full of guests kept me from sitting down to write the review until now. The reason I am glad I had to wait to write the review is that I am still honestly a little conflicted about Collide.

Why am I conflicted? Mainly because the book covers subject matter that I have a hard time with, material that would normally be on the “I don’t think so…” list. Curiosity (and book club) had me digging in to see what Collide is all about and I discovered that I enjoyed a book that also made me uncomfortable.

Collide focuses on Harlow who definitely enjoys stirring things up and has had more than her fair share of troubles. I liked Harlow, but really struggled with understanding her Mother. I don’t get how someone nearly 40 could be so completely clueless about what her 17 year old daughter is doing. Add in how she was blindsided by some of Harlow’s previous struggles and hardly reacted, I just don’t get her and felt bad for Harlow.

Given Harlow’s history and the situation with her mother, I completely understood her attraction to Iain. What I did not get was Iain’s attraction to Harlow. I struggle with the idea of a man nearly 30 actively pursuing a relationship with a high school student. One of the quotes in the book is “You love who you love” and even if that is true I don’t get why he couldn’t wait until she graduated to take things beyond the student/teacher relationship. There are lots of things about Iain that didn’t click with me and I would have loved to have seen this story from his point of view.

Collide is incredibly well written and thought provoking. It covers several hard topics from a young woman’s standpoint. I didn’t always understand the motivations of characters around Harlow, but she did resonate with me as a strong person. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next for Harlow.

Where to find Collide:
Amazon
Goodreads

The Perfect Bargain by Jessa McAdams - New Release

American lass seeks brawny Scot... As if being newly single isn’t brutal enough, Sloane Chatfield's friends are getting obnoxious about setting her up. When Sloane insists she's waiting for a certain sexy fictional Highlander to come along, her friends surprise her with a trip to Scotland to find her a new boyfriend. She’d rather have a root canal. But if she can find a Highland hunk to “break her heart” before her friends arrive… In a remote Highland village, Galen Buchanan is struggling to keep the family pub afloat. Everything is falling apart, he’s running out of money, and now there's an opinionated American lass parked at his best table, driving him mad. But then Sloane asks Galen to be her pretend Highland boyfriend...and offers him enough money to save the pub. It’s only for a few days, he figures. What's the worst that could happen?

Elizabeth's Review

3 stars

Copy provided by Net Galley

Imagine you are a wealthy young woman who has been dumped by her fiancée for being “cold” after the dress was already bought. Your girlfriends are throwing men at you to “get back on the horse” and you want them to stop. What do you do?

If you are Sloan Cathright, you go on a holiday to the remotest part of the Scottish Highlands you can find and lie to your friends and rope the local pub owner, Galen, into your crazy plan when your friends decide to come earlier than expected.

This was a cute, well written story that was definitely good for a chuckle. Both Sloan and Galen were hard to relate to initially and they transitioned to being a relaxed couple you were rooting for. There seemed to be a lot going on for the length of the book, almost too much. There were several places where the story line could have been better developed.

The Perfect Bargain is a fun, quick read – perfect for a lazy day at home.

Where to find The Perfect Bargain;
Goodreads
Amazon

Falling For Him - New Release

*please note this book is recommended for readers 18+ The is the first book in a two-part series and is recommended it be read in order. Book one DOES have a cliffhanger ending. The Falcon Club: Falling for Him (Book 1) Erica Kennedy was excited about starting her freshman year of college at State University with her best friend Monica. Out of the blue, her parents surprised everyone with a divorce that quickly turned nasty and she was forced to change all of her plans for the fall. Now, no longer attending State, Erica enrolls in Bishop University, a local four-year school geared more for older, working adults and those serving in the military at the nearby Air Force Base. Being one of the younger students, Erica feels out of place. With two of her classes actually being on the military base, she’s even more uncertain because the classes there are filled with good looking military men along with another interesting group who wear gray jumpsuits bearing the name The Falcon Club. One guy in particular, Jaime, catches her attention and she can’t resist the urge to find out more about him. Not sure if it’s luck or just coincidence, Erica is placed in a study group with Jaime and the mystery behind his gray jumpsuit becomes even more intriguing as does her attraction to him. What she thought was just an elite military group turns out to be so much more. In discovering the truth, can she stop herself from falling even more for him or will she take her chances and risk everything for a relationship with him?