Book Review: Beautiful Broken Girl by Rachael Tonks

Title: Beautiful Broken Girl

Author: Rachael Tonks

Genre: New Adult

Release Date: February 15th

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My review:

5 stars

I was offered this book I return for an honest review. For starters, I am soooooo glad I decided to read this book. I have read a lot of books and this one is not like any others that I have read before. I was very impressed. Rachel gives you this great storyline, paired with amazing characters. The main characters of this story are Cole and Kennedy and you instantly fall in love with them. Without getting to descriptive because I severely dislike spoilers in my reviews, Kennedy is running away from a gruesome past and finds herself living at Coles house. The initial meeting of the two is quite comical, but eventually a strong bond is formed and a beautiful relationship begins. 

Kennedy's past soon catches up with her future and things become very bumpy between the two. It is an emotional ride from beginning to end, one oh my god.....the cliffhanger ending.....Rachel girl we need to chat! I'm still reeling from how you left it and I am very patiently waiting for the next book. 

I am officially a fan for life and will now stalk you! I look forward to working with you more. Thank you so much for allowing me to read this amazing story. 

Synopsis:

Kennedy Harrison finds refuge in Newport after escaping a tragic past. Taken in and protected by her kind caring rescuer Jocelyn, she soon finds an undeniable connection with her son Cole.

Cole -The hot athletic guy with the insanely gorgeous girlfriend. Awkward encounters and sharing a house together proves harder than it sounds. The energy and spark between them is undeniable, as feelings grow deep for the girl who has never really known, or understood the meaning of love.

Adjusting to her new found life and the difficulties of school cause a reaction in Kennedy that Cole just doesn’t understand. The nightmares of her past haunt her and all Cole can do is to comfort her, the attraction deepening with each episode. Cole is desperate to know more about Kennedy, everything about who she is and where she comes from remains a mystery to him! Kennedy is too scared to open up about her past; scared she will ruin what she has developing with Cole and that revealing her true self will only push him away.

As events unfold and their relationship develops outside of the friend zone, Kennedy’s past comes back to haunt her, threatening the foundation of her growing love for Cole. Cole struggles with the truth and doesn’t know if he can be the man that Kennedy so desperately needs in her life. Cole is torn, but thoughts of losing her plague his mind.

Will their love be enough, or will the past ruin any chance of a possible future together?

Order Links

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU

 

Excerpt:

I wake to nothing but the sound of beeping.

Am I dead? 

My head feels like it’s been slammed against the ground a thousand times. I can’t move my body. What the hell happened to me? Think Kennedy, what’s the last thing you can remember? I slowly open my eyes, wincing at the bright lights, carefully taking in my surroundings. I look to the right and realize the source of the beeping is a machine attached to my chest. I look around and see four white walls and all I can smell is disinfectant. That’s when it dawns on me; I am in a hospital. Everything comes crashing back and the memories flood my mind. How far did I get? Who was it that found me? Were they here to take me back? 

I hear voices coming from outside the room and panic instantly grips me. Inside my head I’m screaming. I won’t go back; I can’t go back. I’m careful not to let anything slip from my mouth; I don’t want them to hear me. I can hear my heart beating; it feels like it’s coming out of my chest. The machine starts to beep faster which causes me to panic even more. Desperately clutching at the wires attached to my chest, I rip them off one by one; flinching at the burning sensation it leaves on my skin. I look down to see the one last obstacle attaching me to the bed. A needle in the vein of my arm connected to a drip. I hear knocking at the door. I stop dead in my tracks, stop breathing completely. This is it, it’s over. 

I look over as it slowly opens. It’s a woman and she is smiling. She is dressed immaculately and has the most amazing fresh face and curly brown shoulder length hair. 

Why is she here? Who is she?

“Hello Kennedy, how are you feeling?”

The panic inside me intensifies as this unfamiliar face walks towards me. I suddenly begin to cry and start shouting, “No! Please let me go, they will find me here, you have to let me go!” 

The unknown woman walks closer to me, small steps at a time, reaching her hand towards me she sweetly whispers, “Kennedy you are safe now. My name is Jocelyn and I’m here to help you; please let me help you.” 

There is a genuine sound of care and the smooth tone to her voice has a mild calming effect on me. A thousand thoughts run through my mind. How did I get here and where exactly am I? All I remember is running, escaping and the tremendous fear of trying to break free. The woman named Jocelyn points to the chair at the side of the hospital bed. “Do you mind if I sit?” she asks. “Maybe we could talk a while? I can see you’re upset and I really want to help; try to understand. Do you know where you are Kennedy?”

“Why would you want to help me? You don’t even know me! I don’t deserve your help! Just let me out of here,” I lash out.

My breaths are short and shallow and I feel like the walls are closing in on me. I look around searching for an escape route; maybe an open window.

“Nobody is keeping you here. You are at Hoag Hospital Newport Beach and we are trying to help you. You were in such a terrible state when I found you Kennedy; unconscious, covered in blood and near death.”

She found me. Did I get far enough? Did I actually succeed?

About the Author

Rachael Tonks is a new to the scene author with a love of books, and a particular love of the romance genre. As a child Rachael could always be found with her head in a book, but it wasn’t until the beginning of 2015 when Rachael’s love of books really took over. Reading spurred on her desires to put pen to paper, and write down the story of the characters screaming for their story to be told. 

Starting out her career with a new adult romance novel, she is currently working on her second novel which she plans to release mid-2016. Rachael lives in the steely suburb of Sheffield, in the north of England with her husband, 3 beautiful children and her 2 crazy dogs. She loves nothing more reading with a good cup of tea and is self-proclaimed chocoholic!

Now LIVE: All The Pretty Lights by Tara Oakes

All the Pretty Lights is now Live!

** Warning ** This book is intended for those over 18 years of age due to mature and sexual content. 

Have you ever wondered what it's like on the other side of the lights? On the other side of the camera? Better be careful what you wish for. Daphne Baker is a struggling designer living in a third floor walkup that she can barely afford in Tribeca. When she has the opportunity of a lifetime to travel to L.A. and meet with a world-renowned designer interested in her work, the weekend leads to her surprisingly meeting one of the most famous men in the world. He's sexy, he's talented, he's rich, he's got it all, right? Colton Webb is only thirty and yet he's on the verge of becoming "washed out," having seen it all and done it all with the most famous of the in crowd. He's the quintessential Hollywood bad boy. Nothing surprises him anymore, nothing seems real. That is, until he meets Daphne. Could she be just what he needs to help find himself again, to find something he never thought existed outside the blockbuster films he makes? To find something... real? They come from two different worlds, from two very different places. Can she find her way through the chaos to see him for more than the carefully constructed publicity machine he's been made into? Can she hold her own in The "A" List crowd he leads? Is he worth it? Like the ending of every one of his mega successful movies, will Colton and Daphne find their real life happily ever after, or will it be a tragic love story gone wrong? Love's safe when watching it play out on screen. It's something very different when you're living it. Daphne's about to find out exactly what it means to be a part of The "A" List. Can she find a way to stay true to herself along the way, or will she end up like the rest of them? 

 Preorder your copy today and be one of the first to find out, in this full length stand-alone novel with NO CLIFFHANGER. All preorders will include a bonus chapter of book 2 in The "A" List series, THE HARDER THEY FALL.

You can now purchase All the Pretty Lights on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/All-Pretty-Lights-List-Book-ebook/dp/B016WZLTQ0/ref=as_sl_pc_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=authortaraoak-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=ISPWMOTMPXGW3AIJ&creativeASIN=B016WZLTQ0

More About Tara Oakes

Tara is a thirty something newbie author from Long Island, New York. She's a voracious reader, a passionate writer and obsessive junk T.V. aficionado. When she's not doing one of those three things she is attempting to garden, hanging with her hubby or partaking in some retail therapy. She enjoys connecting with her readers and is having a blast entering into this new world of publishing.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lil_Oakes

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tara-Oakes/e/B00N71SH18/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tara-Oakes/1468537190061965?ref=hl

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Website: https://www.authortaraoakes.com

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Cover Reveal: Blow by Kim Karr

Blow by Kim Karr

♡ ONE NEW COUPLE

♡ TWO NEW BOOKS

♡ A STORY OF TAINTED LOVE

BLOW (book 1) will release on September 21st, 2015 

Add to your TBR at: http://bit.ly/1Jg9zCr

CRUSH (book 2) will release on November 16th, 2015 

 Add to your TBR: http://bit.ly/1URdb1H

Blurb

2 fatal sides.

1 epic love.

7 days to survive.

They met in the face of danger. They weren’t looking for love. They both knew better. But they couldn’t stay away, and they fell hard.

He is heart-stopping handsome, fearless—and haunted by deadly ties.

She is breathtakingly beautiful, determined—and in harm’s way.

They should have parted. They didn't. They never should have fucked. They did. And now time is running out. One hundred sixty eight hours. That’s all that remains. While Logan McPherson fights to save them, Elle Sterling is forced to make a choice that could change everything.

When torn between right and wrong, tainted love doesn’t have a chance...or does it?  #taintedlove #weshouldhaveknownbetter

About the Author:

I live in Florida with my husband and four kids. I've always had a love for reading books and writing. Being an English major in college, I wanted to teach at the college level but that was not to be. I went on to receive an MBA and became a project manager until quitting to raise my family. I currently work part-time with my husband and full-time embracing one of my biggest passions—writing. 

Stalk Her:  

Website:  http://www.authorkimkarr.com/

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

 Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorkimkarr

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6644044.Kim_Karr

Pre-Release : A Shot of Sin by Eden Summers

A Shot Of Sin

Series: A Vault Of Sin (Book One)

Author: Eden Summers

Publisher: Samhain

Synopsis

Throw back a shot of pure pleasure.

Vault of Sin, Book 1

Leo Petrova is between a rock and the hard place in his pants. Shot of Sin, the night club he owns with his two best friends, is short one bartender downstairs. The only available replacement is the upstairs bar manager—the one woman Leo knows he can’t take downstairs, can’t have, can’t touch. The one time he gave in to temptation convinced Leo that Shay’s no match for his sexual demands.

Only a select few know Shot of Sin’s guilty secret, that beneath the packed dance floor lies a very private sex club—the Vault. The place Leo can let his sexual proclivities run wild.

Shay Porter is curious as to why her boss, the king of mixed messages, seems almost desperate to keep her from discovering what’s on the other side of the guarded door at the back of the club.

Sliding out of her comfort zone and into Leo’s arms risks everything. Their friendship, the Vault, and most of all, their hearts.

Warning: This sex club does not carry the government’s stamp of approval. Contains devilish debauchery, delightful deviance, and dancing on the edge of the darkest of sexual desires.

Pre-Order Links

Amazon - http://smarturl.it/ashotofsin
Barnes & Noble - http://bit.ly/1rkqKqx
Kobo - http://bit.ly/1vGDnCB
iTunes - http://bit.ly/1vCLsXN

Teasers

About Eden Summers

Eden Summers is a true blue Aussie, living in regional New South Wales with her two energetic young boys and a quick witted husband.

In late 2010, Eden’s romance obsession could no longer be sated by reading alone, so she decided to give voice to the sexy men and sassy women in her mind.

Eden can’t resist alpha dominance, dark features and sarcasm in her fictional heroes and loves a strong heroine who knows when to bite her tongue but also serves retribution with a feminine smile on her face.

Eden’s Stalker Links

Website

Newsletter
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Want to win this Shot of Sin choker + the opportunity for more great prizes?
Check out this post - http://www.edensummers.com/writing-blog/pre-order-giveaway

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Review: Anew: Awakened (Book 1) by Josie Litton

Anew: Book One: Awakened

Coming Soon - January 12, 2015

By Josie Litton

Reviewed by Sandra Long

5 Stars

In this erotic retelling of “Sleeping Beauty” set in the near future, a beautiful young woman awakens in the garden of a secluded palazzo with no knowledge of who she is or how she came to be there. For the man who walks out of the darkness to claim her, she is at once the ultimate challenge and the greatest temptation.

Haunted by terrifying memories of another existence, Amelia is caught between passionate desire for Ian and longing to discover her true self. Even as he is determined to possess her body and soul, Ian’s need to protect Amelia leads him into a confrontation with his tormented past. 

Together, they face the challenges that lie beyond the sanctuary of the palazzo in the glittering world city on the edge of cataclysmic change. In the midst of sensual excess that conceals seething rebellion, Amelia and Ian will discover that love has become the ultimate threat to survival.

This is a futuristic novel, and a very good one as it pertains to a hot topic even today--human cloning.  A very wealthy couple has a daughter named Susannah who has  a terminal illness. In an attempt to keep her alive, they have her cloned in order to harvest organs from her clone to save her. This clone was kept in a liquid artificial womb and stem cells or whatever was taken from her as needed over the years as she grew. Supposedly she was not conscious of any of this and would be an identical replica of Susannah in every way.

Susannah did grow up and she fell in love with a man named Ian, also a very wealthy man who was in the arms business in a very different world from the one we live in today. A caste system was in place and it was very strictly enforced and very difficult for anyone to go from a lower, working class grouping, into an upper caste. Cities and homes had armed guards to prevent intrusion from one class into the other with the exception of the "workers", who provided labor for the wealthy but never crossed them in any way and had to sign a secrecy pact never to divulge any information they may be privy to in their occupations. Cloning was very controversial, and illegal in some places, and their were militant groups whose focus was to destroy any clones they could find and any institution where cloning occurred.

Another off shoot of human cloning was "brain mapping", in which the brain patterns of the human were transmitted to the clones, supposedly making the brain function identical to the original as much as the physical body was, and the result was a clone known as a "replica".  Susannah had arranged to have this done with her clone and then a year later Susannah had died, leaving ownership of her "replica clone" to Ian.

The story begins as the replica, named Amelia after Susannah's imaginary childhood friend, is awakening at Ian's summer home. She has total amnesia at first and Ian must tell her about her past. She is very similar to Susannah but not identical as Susannah had some injuries as a child that changed the contours of her face. Her clone did not experience that, so the face is different. Amelia is very deeply attracted to Ian but her personality begins to evolve and she is very different from Susannah. She likes different foods, different music and where Susannah was very meek and submissive, Amelia is very opinionated and outspoken.

Ian and Amelia fall deeply in love and their sex life is hot and frequent. But they are both unsure if their love is actual love for each other or a direct result of the brain mapping that Susannah had done. Ian decides to give Amelia a chance to find out and notifies Susannah's brother and grandmother, who are her only surviving family, about the existence of the "clone" AKA Amelia. Susannah's brother immediately comes to claim her and take her home. Amelia thinks Ian wants rid of her so she willing goes with him and tries to establish a life as "cousin Amelia". She quickly learns that life in the real world is totally different from the life she has been living in Ian's compound since her awakening. There is extreme prejudice against clones and replicas and she must keep her real identity a secret or her life will be in danger.

The story evolves around Amelia's attempt to fit into a word that is totally new to her. Her only memories are occasional flashbacks to the time she spent in the artificial womb and the pain of the extractions over the years as Susannah needed stem cells from her body in order to survive. She does have an out standing intelligence and absorbs all the knowledge he can from internet and other sources, but the emotions are totally new to her and something she has to learn to deal with totally on her own. There are individuals and groups out to identify and kill all clones and replicas so she is always at risk. There are suitors who find her beautiful and are attracted to her as possible mates. There is always Ian in her thoughts and in her life and she cannot decide if he loves her or Susannah and she is only a substitute.

This is a very well written futuristic love story with drama and suspense to keep us interested from beginning to the end, which leaves us hoping for a sequel. Five stars for a very enjoyable read.

Josie Litton is the author of several NY Times and USA Today bestselling romances.

After taking time off to raise a family and get a master’s degree, she is delighted to be writing again. Inspired by the story of “Sleeping Beauty”, her new erotic romance, ANEW: Book One: Awakened will be published on January 12, 2015.

Married and living in Connecticut, she is the parent of two grown children. Becoming an empty nester has left her plenty of time to write, think about writing, plan what to write next, and read. When she isn’t doing that, she’s cooking, gardening, and traveling.

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Book Review: Hard As Mason ( Book 1) by Cindy B. Wells

Hard As Mason

Sultry Tides Series Book 1

By Cindy B. Wells

Reviewed by Sandra Long

5 STARS

Laura Bellamy is a rising star at her San Francisco company. She is smart, beautiful, professional, respected, and driven to succeed. Unfortunately, the greater her success grows, the more her husband’s insecurities are revealed. The couple has been married only three years since busy Laura took a chance on finding love on an internet dating website.

But once the honeymoon ended, the more she tried to make their marriage succeed, the more Greg’s true colors stained their crumbling relationship. He is jealous, paranoid, and cruel. Adding to their pressure-cooker marriage, he focuses his insecurities into pressuring his wife to start a family and give up the career that makes her happy.

Laura has worked with the same company for longer than she’s known her husband. In that time, not only has she loved her career, she’s also enjoyed her friendship with Mason Paladino: a fellow executive who is witty, sophisticated, and a bit of a goofball who sports a gorgeous swimmer’s body. For too long, the friends have suspected they share romantic chemistry, but neither will break their vows. If the right conditions present themselves, will they act on their simmering desires? Would it be wrong to deny their love? Can Laura trust her heart to show her the right path after failing miserably with her husband?

When Greg’s insecurities push him over the edge from cruel to criminal, will Laura stay, or end the toxic relationship? And if he catches her with a new man, how far will his anger drive his actions to tear them apart?

Find out what happens to Laura and Mason in book one of the Sultry Tides series.

WARNING: 18+ Only
Contains explicit language and adult sexual situations which may be considered offensive to some readers.

Laura met and married a guy she met through an on-line dating service. After 3 years of marriage she knew she had made a horrible mistake. Her husband was immature, insecure and a potential psychopath. She is very successful in her career and he is not. He resents that and tries to make her resign and stay home and have babies for him. When she refuses he becomes more and more difficult.

Laura has a co-worker named Mason who has been starting to feel like a real friend. They care for each other but are not romantically involved. At least not until both their lives start unfolding. Mason's wife, a frustrated artist, left him for the big city of New York and a chance to try to become a famous painter. Their marriage had been coming apart for years as she had at least one previous affair but they stayed together until their twin sons left home for college and that was when she moved to New York and a new man. Mason was single and available.

Laura had reached the point where she dreaded going home from work in the evenings because her husband, Gregg, was always yelling at her about quitting her job and having a baby. One night the yelling escalated to turning over the table, dumping food and breaking dishes, grabbing her and threatening her. Just as he was about to hit her with his fist, the police arrived, having been called by a neighbor.  He was forced to leave by the police, Laura called a locksmith and had her locks changed that night and filed for a divorce the next morning.

She was late arriving at work because of the appointment with her attorney to start divorce proceedings. What seemed to start out as a casual conversation between Laura and Mason at the end of the work day, quick turned into the fulfillment of what we learn has been both their fantasies for some time--a passionate encounter on the couch in her office.

They both learn that they have been developing feelings for each other for some time but each held back because they did not know that both marriages were coming apart. Now with their feelings exposed, we read of many romantic and erotic encounters. We also learn that Gregg, who has now gone completely over the edge, is watching them. But they do not  know this until it may be too late to stop him.

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Book Review: The Lonely Girl by Gracie Wilson

The Lonely Girl"

by Gracie Wilson

Review by Jacqui

Our Review:

Becca has the worst experience ever and looses her one love Michael. 

Her brother convinces her to go wly starts recovering but is blindsided by one issue after the next.  An ex boyfriend she briefly has a relationship with after the loss of Michael, keeps coming back to taunt her. Her feelings for two of her brothers friends Jake and Keegan seem to overpower and confuse her, and lies that have long been kept away from her rush in and threaten to destroy relationships she never thought would ever be questioned. 

A novel about loss, love, forgiveness. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and battled to put it down. I did however find some errors in spelling and sentence construction. 

But none-the-less a great book!

A definite 4 stars from me.

Book Description:

What if one day you woke up and found your heart had been shattered? You lost the one person you loved more than anything. 

What happens when you learn to move on even though you thought you'd never be able to again? Is it worth the risk to try and let someone in? Is it better to be left alone then take the chance of more heartache?

This time will be different. Becca slowly starts to put the shattered pieces of her heart back together only to have it broken again by someone she trusted. Can her heart that was barely healed in the first place be fixed, again? 

Becca falls for someone new, but will her heart be safe. Will she survive the secrets that come out from the past? Love is worth the risk. Can she really believe that? The question is: is he worth the risk?

Author Bio:

Gracie Wilson lives in Windsor, Ontario with her husband. Gracie was raised by her grandparents in a small town outside of Windsor. She is the oldest of three sisters and has a large extended family. 

In her spare time, she is a very active reader and enjoys diving into a new book. She writes Young Adult/New Adult/Adult Romances. “The Lonely Girl” is her first publication and she is so excited to have her fans read it. She is set two release two different series in 2014 so far. "The Lonely Girl" which is classed as a young adult trilogy and Storm Corp Series which is a New Adult/Adult Romance series.

Where to find Gracie:
Facebook  / Goodreads  /  Twitter  /  Website