The Thrill of It

A new adult story of Love. Sex. Addiction. Blackmail. And Power…

Some say love can be an addiction. Others say it’s the thing that makes life worth living. Let me tell you everything I know about love…Love isn’t patient, love isn’t kind. Love is a game, a chase. A thrill. Love is wild and war-like, and every man and woman must fight for themselves. At least that’s how it was for me. A high-priced virgin call girl by the time I started college, I was addicted to love and to sex. Even though I’ve never had either. I controlled love, played it, and held the world in the palm of my hands. Then I fell down from those highs, and I’m being blackmailed for all my mistakes, forced to keep secrets from everyone, except the only guy I don’t regret.

Trey…

With all the other women, I knew what they were. They were temporary. They were pills, they were bottles, they took away all the pain, and numbed the awful memories that wore down my ragged, wasted heart. Until I met Harley. She’s the only girl I ever missed when she walked away. But now she’s back in my life, every day, and there are no guarantees for us, especially since I don’t know how to tell her my secrets. What happened to my family. All I know is she’s the closest I’ve ever come to something real, and I want to feel every second of it.

How can you love with no regrets when regret is all you know?

What I thought
FINALLY I get to review this book!!

I am so privileged to be part of the Street Team for the amazingly talented Lauren Blakely. Therefor I am lucky enough to have been able to read this a few weeks ago. The unfortunate part is that I have had to sit on it for this long.

I was told before I read it that this book was different. This caused my stomach to drop a little. I mean if its not broken don’t fix it – right?

No, not always.

While The Thrill of It is most definitely different from Lauren’s other books. Its dark, even twisted in place. It has characters that you will no doubt fall in love with and then there are characters that you are going to down right hate. What I find amusing about this book is a particular debate within the street team about one particular character. Cam. You will learn all about him. Personally I hate him. Others adore him. This is why I love reading. It shows how people take different elements of a story and it resonates with them in a different way.

Thanks to Tori Shriver for this!

Harley herself being a high priced teenage call girl is intriguing, but to be a virgin while doing it is unreal. How the hell does she manage that? You want to read it now don’t you.

Then we have Trey. The tattoo artist. Addicted to sex. Attracted to Harely. The one girl he can’t have sex with.

They both have their secrets though and even if they want to throw caution to the wind its impossible while they can’t be honest to each other about who they really are.

I am not telling you any more about this book. You have to buy it an read it. I will tell you though that its amazing. It brought out so many emotions in me. It made me happy and it made me sad. And oh my good God did it frustrate me. It also shockingly made me go out and get a tattoo!

And also let me tell you this. This book is all Lauren Blakely, only with added elements! Hot added elements.

Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk

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Far Too Tempting Cover Reveal

The machine, aka Lauren Blakely is at it again! Thanks be to all that is Holy says the rest of us! Today I am participating in the cover reveal for her new book Far Too Tempting

What it’s all about

Jane Black has written the break-up album of the century, earning her a Grammy, a huge legion of new fans, and the pressure to repeat her success. Sure, the heartbreak from her husband’s unconventional abandonment might have been her inspiration, but it hasn’t done her any favors in the dating department. So when Matthew Harrigan, the toughest music journalist out there, asks for an interview, Jane agrees—as long as her personal life is completely off-limits.

British, gorgeous, and way too tempting, Matthew’s the first guy Jane’s been attracted to since her husband. As she spends more time with him and their relationship heats up, though, so does her writer’s block. How can the queen of the break-up pen the perfect follow-up when she’s seriously in love?

About Lauren Blakey

Lauren Blakely writes sexy contemporary romance novels with heat, heart, and humor, and her books have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks bestseller lists. Like the heroine in FAR TOO TEMPTING, she thinks life should be filled with family, laughter, and the kind of love that love songs promise. Lauren lives in California with her husband, children, and dogs. Her novels include Caught Up In Us, Pretending He’s Mine, Playing With Her Heart, and Trophy Husband. She also writes for young adults under the name Daisy Whitney.

Want to Pre-order? Well then here are your links!
AMAZON: BARNES AND NOBLE

Looking for Lauren? Find her here;
Website: Blog: Facebook: Twitter: Goodreads

FAR TOO TEMPTING on Goodreads

Entangled Publishing

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Lauren Blakey’s Playing with her Heart’s new cover

So Lauren Blakely decided that the cover for Playing with her Heart just didnt portray the essence of the story. While I had no problem with the cover, I sure as hell LOVE the new one. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think!

ABOUT PLAYING WITH HER HEART:

From the NYT & USA Today Bestselling romance author, a sizzling and addictive story of a woman with a broken past and the man who can’t fight his attraction to her…

Twenty-three year old rising theater star Jill McCormick has built a life out of pretending. Pretending she’s happy, pretending she’s not haunted by the dark secret that shattered her world six years ago. But then she comes face to face with her new director – sexy, sophisticated, possessive, all-alpha Davis Milo. He tries to resist the actress he’s cast, but the attraction between them is too powerful, and soon their private rehearsals spiral into new, forbidden territory. The passionate connection, the intense chemistry is undeniable, and it hits them anywhere, and everywhere – in the theater, on the piano, in the limo, in the restaurant…But the tragedy in Jill’s past stands between them. Davis has walls too, so they can either face their fears together, or risk the deepest love and greatest passion either has ever felt…

EXCERPT:

From Lauren: “This short excerpt is from chapter 12 when Davis unclips Jill’s hair, and it served as the inspiration for the new look for the cover. To me, this short moment says so much about their relationship.”

He leans into the car, reaches for the seat belt, and pulls it across my chest, buckling me in. He’s inches from me, and he smells cold like the night air. But he also smells the way a man should at the end of the day: a little bit of sweat, a lot of work, and all raw power. He brings one hand behind my head and unclips my hair, letting it fall over his fingers. I tremble from his touch as a shiver runs down my spine. “I like your hair up and I like your hair down,” he whispers to me, breaking down all my resistance in an instant.

I can see this playing out if I do nothing—I’ll spend it rewinding this moment and putting it on repeat all night long. But I don’t want to go home with only a memory to feed my body, and I can’t stand the thought of this night ending too soon.

I make my choice. There’s only one choice. “Do you want to share?” I ask, praying he lives in the same direction.

“You’re downtown, right?”

I nod.

“Me too.”

ABOUT LAUREN BLAKELY:

Lauren Blakely is an unabashed fan of clever jokes, toast, and good guys in novels. Like the heroine in CAUGHT UP IN US, she thinks life should be filled with movie kisses and coffee drinks. Lauren lives in California with her husband and children, and spends her days writing both true stories and make-believe ones.

Buy Links:

AMAZON: BARNES AND NOBLE: iBooks:

Links:

Website:Blog: Facebook: Twitter:

PLAYING WITH HER HEART Goodreads

Lauren Blakely Goodreads

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Playing With Her Heart – Release day!!

So after all this waiting it’s finally here!! Today is the official release day of Lauren Blakely’s Playing With Her Heart. I know alot of you will have gotten your copy on Sunday but I waited til today cos it’s the official day. Very proper here don’t ya know 😉

PLAYING WITH HER HEART Synopsis:

When you’re acting the role of a lifetime, how can you know if love is real—or all just a part of the show?

Twenty-three year old rising theatre star Jill McCormick has built a life out of pretending. Pretending she’s happy, pretending her long-distance crushes add up to something real, pretending she’s not haunted by the dark secret that shattered her world six years ago. Cast in her first Broadway show, she desperately needs to keep her façade intact, but that’s before she comes face to face with her devastating new boss…

Hot-shot director Davis Milo knows the first rule of directing: never fall for your leading lady. Captivated by Jill’s raw talent, he fights his feelings, but watching Jill on-stage with another man is more than his jealous streak can take. Keeping things professional isn’t an option. He wants all of her.

Soon the ingénue and her director are staying late in the empty theatre, their private rehearsals spiraling into new, forbidden territory. Caught up between fiction and reality, Jill struggles to find the truth in all their staged kisses. But how can she be sure that what she feels is real, and not a part of the play? And when two people spend their lives pretending, what happens after the final curtain falls?

PLAYING WITH HER HEART Trailer

Lauren Blakely Bio:

Rafflecopter Embed Code:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What I thought

It’s no secret that I am a huge Lauren Blakely fan. I have read all of her books to date and after Trophy Husband I really didn’t think she could get any better. But no, Lauren has out done herself again. As I said back then I fell a little bit in love with Chris but OMG Davis Milo is something else!

There is nothing quite like a man that has to battle with himself to stop from breaking the rules. Especially when he was the one who set them in the first place. He set them for a reason, they were there to protect him – self preservation. Jill McCormick isn’t averse to a bit of self preservation herself. Her social life and love life were all pretend. Doing what she does best – act – she has led everyone to believe that she is happy. They even think she has a love life. And she does. Pity its all in her head. She has the perfect relationship with the man she’s in love with in her head and now she is performing with him in a Broadway play.

So what happends when Davis Milo breaks his own rules and falls in love with the girl who thinks she is in love with her co star? Worse still he has to work so closely day in and day out as he directs them both on stage.

There is nothing easier to fall into than a Lauren Blakely Book. Playing With Her Heart is no exception and similarly her characters are also hard not to fall in love with. Playing With Her Heart took me less than a day to read, and it made sure to help me do those pelvic floor exercises 😉

Hot is one word to describe this book, fantabulous is another. It was Fantabulously HOT. The only problem – as usual, is waiting around for the next one! Get cracking!

Buy Links:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple iBookstore, Amazon UK

Links:

Website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter

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Are you excited? I’m excited

It is less than 4 weeks until the release of Playing With Her Heart, you might remember I already took part in the cover reveal well I thought I would bring you something a little bit special, courtesy of The My fictional Boyfriend & Book Whore Facebook Page ( great name, could so be me!)

How cool is that!!

And sure what the hell, here is another one – just to keep you going 😉

If you want to read about other characters that will pop up in this book from the Caught Up In Us series ten Caught Up In You is currently on sale for .99c. Go Go Go what are you still doing here?

If you are still here and would like to read an interview Lauren kindly gave to me click HERE

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Playing With Her Heart – Cover Reveal

I am very excited that http://www.afterthefinalchapters.com has been afforded the opportunity to be involved in the cover release of Playing With Her Heart by the ever wonderful Lauren Blakely. I am really looking forward to reading this book and catching up with the characters from the previous books in the Caught Up In Us series as well as Chris and McKenzine from Trophy Husband. So without any more delay, here is the cover from the up coming Playing With Her Heart;

ABOUT PLAYING WITH HER HEART:

When you’re acting the role of a lifetime, how can you know if love is real—or all just a part of the show?

Twenty-three year old rising theatre star Jill McCormick has built a life out of pretending. Pretending she’s happy, pretending her long-distance crushes add up to something real, pretending she’s not haunted by the dark secret that shattered her world six years ago. Cast in her first Broadway show, she desperately needs to keep her façade intact, but that’s before she comes face to face with her devastating new boss…

Hot-shot director Davis Milo knows the first rule of directing: never fall for your leading lady. Captivated by Jill’s raw talent, he fights his feelings, but watching Jill on-stage with another man is more than his jealous streak can take. Keeping things professional isn’t an option. He wants all of her.

Soon the ingénue and her director are staying late in the empty theatre, their private rehearsals spiraling into new, forbidden territory. Caught up between fiction and reality, Jill struggles to find the truth in all their staged kisses. But how can she be sure that what she feels is real, and not a part of the play? And when two people spend their lives pretending, what happens after the final curtain falls?

EXCERPT:

He glances down at the black pumps. “Nice shoes.”
As I follow his eyes, I realize my hand is on his shirt, my fingers
fisted around the cloth, clutching it. I should let go. But I don’t.
Because I can’t help but notice he has that clean and freshly showered
smell that makes any woman want to lean in and lick a guy’s neck.
Close her eyes. Inhale, and trail a tongue all the way to his
earlobe, enjoying the sound of a low groan.
“Nice shirt,” I say softly, running my index finger across one smooth
button. Then I look up to find him staring down at me. His dark blue
eyes aren’t cold anymore. They’re not keeping me at bay. Instead,
they’re heated, searching mine.
It’s hypnotic the way he looks at me. Completely hypnotic, as the
room goes quiet, the air between us charged.
I press my teeth against my lips, and I think, but I’m not entirely
sure, because thought has vanished, that I nod briefly, almost as if
I’m giving him permission. Then he bends towards me, and my breath
catches. Before I even process rationally what’s happening, his lips
are on mine, and my pulse is racing. It’s a barely there kiss, just
him brushing his soft lips against mine, but I want more. So I pull
him closer and deepen the kiss. He groans, and then suddenly his hands
are in my hair, and he’s twining his fingers through my long, blond
strands, and tugging me close. I thought I was leading this kiss, but
I’m not anymore, because he’s claiming me, tracing his tongue across
my top lip, then nipping at the bottom lip, then kissing me so deeply
and with so much heat that I shudder. That only makes him kiss me
harder, and everything else falls away because this is a kiss I can
feel in every single cell in my body. Deep, and fevered and
possessive.
It makes me feel things I’m not supposed to want.
My heart pounds wildly as he presses closer, so dangerously near to
me that I want him to slam me against him. Let him touch me all over.
His lips own me, his hands want to know me, and I swear I might
combust from this kind of electric contact.
He breaks the kiss and I’m not honestly sure where I am anymore. Or
who I am. I look at him, at Davis, but everything is so hazy right
now, that I don’t know what to say. I don’t think he does either,
because he doesn’t speak for a moment. He shakes his head, and
swallows, collecting himself. As if he doesn’t know how that happened
either.
“I’m sorry,” he says, then steps back, pushing his hand roughly
through his hair. He looks away from me, staring at some distant point
on the wall. “That was a mistake,” he says quietly.

ABOUT LAUREN BLAKELY:

For the chance to win a signed copy of Playing With Her Heart enter the competition at Rafflecopter. Good luck.

Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter

PLAYING WITH HER HEART Goodreads
Lauren Blakely Goodreads

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Lauren Blakely -The interview

Who is Lauren Blakely?

I’m just a smalltown girl, living in a lonely world. Sorry, I was practicing my karaoke song! Though, truth be told, my karaoke standards are Sweet Child of Mine and Living on a Prayer (much like McKenna in Trophy Husband). But seriously. I am a wife, a mom, a daughter, a sister, a dog person, a writer, a ghostwriter, a reader and a cheerleader for my friends! I love romantic comedy flicks, witty TV shows, and really goofy humor. I also love happy endings. Most of all, happy endings.

Tell us a bit about your books.

My three novels are Caught Up In Us, Pretending He’s Mine and Trophy Husband and they’re sexy and sweet, fun and flirty, new adult and contemporary romances.

Is it necessary to read Caught Up In Us and Pretending He’s Mine before reading your new book Trophy Husband?

Nope! Don’t you want to though? *bats eyes* But the hero in Trophy Husband is the brother of a supporting character in both Caught Up In Us and Pretending He’s Mine – Jill – who will be the lead character in my next release, Playing with My Heart.

You just released Trophy Husband, how do you feel in the days running up to a book being released?

Nervous, emotional, a total crying wreck! Wait. I’m cool, calm and collected. (Said no author ever).

Do you get nervous when it comes to reading the first reviews of a book?

Definitely! I try to stay away from reviews, but that’s pretty much impossible, so I just hope that readers like my books and are entertained by them enough to leave lovely, gushing reviews!

What is your preferred genre to read?

Romance! Romantic comedy, sexy romance, erotic romance, new adult romance, and young adult romance.

I’m guessing romance lol

What do you think has started the New Adult craze?

What I love most about the New Adult craze is it’s reader-driven. As soon as new adult novels started hitting the virtual shelves, readers snapped them up. I believe that’s because there’s been a gap in the shelves. Young readers who grew up loving young adult novels wanted something a bit more adult as they became older. New Adult stepped in, and readers said YES. WE WANT THESE BOOKS.

When you wrote your first book, did you find the road to publishing daunting?

Yes.

Do you hold any superstitions?

If I can, I try to unroll the car windows when driving across a bridge. You know, in case I crash into the water and the only way I can escape is through the car windows because then I’d be pissed if the power windows weren’t operating while the car was submerged. Well, I guess not that pissed. I’d probably be dead. How’s that for a morbid superstition!

I have read that you love toast? I am a firm believer that tea and toast is one of the most satisfying things to eat. What do you like to put on your toast?

I adore you. Yes! Toast and tea! I can’t start the day without toast and tea. I have my toast with butter, and I drink Jasmine Fancy green tea every morning. I am a creature of habit, and I love this habit!

If you couldn’t live in California where would you like to live?

Paris!

Do you have a motto you live by?

Yes. Karma is real. Be good.

What three luxuries could you not live without?

Pedicures. Visits to the salon every five weeks. And fancy chocolate.

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Trophy Husband

It is the night before her wedding and fashion blogger McKenna Bell is delivered the mother of all blows. By voicemail. Her boyfriend of 6 years and soon to be husband has met someone in Vegas, and MARRIED HER. She is younger than McKenna and a ‘Trophy Wife’. After molly coddling herself for longer than she really should she decides it’s time to get on with her life. Of course then life delivers a kick up the ass when she runs in to him in her favourite donut shop, a haven that he had not previously tarnished. Until now.

Deciding it’s time to get herself back in the game she decides to set about finding her very own ‘Trophy Husband’. The man who will fulfil this role will have to meet strict criteria. As she isn’t exactly old herself her TH must be aged 21-23, exceptionally hot but must also have a brain.

McKenna’s blog is hugely successful, so much so it’s become a cable show. She uses this platform to propel her quest for the perfect TH. As most of the dates she goes on turn out to be as dull as dish water Chris McCormick enters the scene. He is SMOKIN HOT. Unfortunately he doesn’t fall under the age criteria. And McKenna could imagine losing herself in him. That isn’t the aim here; she isn’t looking for love, loving could mean losing which will result in having her heart all over again.
What is to become of McKenna’s hunt for the perfect Trophy Husband, how will Chris factor into her plans and is she going to stay on her game and make it down the aisle this time?

Trophy Husband is Lauren Blakely’s third novel. Already a New York times Best Selling author Lauren found herself right back there when Trophy Husband entered the top 20!

If you have read the previous two Caught up in Us and Pretending He’s Mine then I don’t need to tell you that you are in for a treat. Chris is actually the brother of one of the supporting character in the other two novels, Jill, and I am happy to say she will be having her own story told soon. You don’t need to have read Lauren’s previous book before this one but I do suggest you put them on your ‘to read’ list cos they are damn good.

I was reading the book and enjoying it immensely and I have to admit, while blushing, that I did a fist pump and shouted “YES” when Chris entered the scene. There is a small build up before we find out his identity and I was sitting saying please please please. He is so damn lovable right from the very start.

Trophy Husband is well written and never goes off point; it’s a real feel good book which will have you rooting for the characters from start to finish. It definitely has the right humour, serious, angst ratio. I read it in a day – I just couldn’t bring myself to put it down. The only problem I have with the book is that it ended. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye 😦 and I can only hope there will be more about Chris in Jill’s book. Please….

I had fully intended to review this book before now and I even interviewed Lauren immediately after the books release. Such is life that I couldn’t get around to reading it until now but I do hope that you enjoy the interview all the same. To read my interview with Lauren Blakely please click HERE

Trophy Husband is available from Amazon Smashwords Barnes and Noble

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