Blog Tour + Guest Post (Character Profiles), Excerpt & Giveaway: Broken Play by Samantha Kane

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Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Broken Play by Samantha Kane! We have a special guest post from the author, as well as an excerpt and huge giveaway below!

Guest Post: Love Triangles/Threesomes

How many times have you read a great romance with a heartbreaking love triangle and wished that the heroine didn’t have to choose just one hero at the end of the book? Yeah, me, too. That’s what led to my first ménage romance. There’s a forbidden aspect to ménage that makes it wildly popular. The idea of two men loving and sharing the same lucky woman appeals to a lot of romance readers. Readers who have seen one too many great guys cut loose in classic love triangles. There is an art to writing a good, satisfying mmf ménage romance. Readers may not have thought much about it, but we writers do. You’re getting four romances for the price of one. Think about it. There’s the heroine and hero one, the heroine and hero two, hero one and hero two, and the three of them together. And a good ménage romance writer can make you fall in love with each pairing and root for a HEA that will satisfy everyone, including the reader.

Now get to know the characters of Broken Play!

Marion Treadwell

Marion was born in the South and raised by her father after her mother died. Her father is a legendary college football coach, revered by the football world with the highest win percentage of any coach in Division I football history. Marion hides her parentage when she arrives in Birmingham because she doesn’t want people to make assumptions about her based on who her father is. She also hates her father, for very good reasons. She’s hired by Rebels head coach Shannon Ludwig after coaching at a small Division III college in the Northeast. He knows who her father is. As a matter of fact, though she hated to do it, Marion asked her father to help her get the job. Now that she’s got it, she’s going to keep it because of her coaching skills, not her father. She doesn’t trust football players, but she’s always been attracted to them. She has no plans to get involved with any of the Rebels. But she’s always secretly desired a ménage relationship, and when Cass and Beau set out to seduce her, she’s toast. But some awful things in her past are stopping her from committing fully to a relationship with them.

Cassidy Zielinski

Cass Zielinski is the Rebels center and offensive captain. He’s Texas born and bred, with the cowboy hat and boots to show it, but he’s spent most of his career playing on the West Coast. He turned down a nice contract with the Raiders when he became a free agent in order to sign with Birmingham because the Rebels offered him front office when he retired, which isn’t too far down the road. They brought him in to help lead the brand new franchise and he takes his position seriously. The Rebels won his loyalty by not batting an eye at his demand they sign his best friend Beau Perez as well. Beau is the closest thing to family he’s got. Cass was there to help pull Beau out of his addiction and depression after he almost overdosed, and he takes his responsibility to Beau seriously as well. Cass replaced the drugs in Beau’s life with sex, introducing him to threesomes. Caught on tape by an enterprising one-night stand, the two of them became You Tube sex tape stars. Now they’re trying to outrun their wild reputation in Birmingham. But the minute Cass sees Marian he wants her. Not just for him, but for Beau, too, because he’s ready for more than one night stands with strangers.

Beau Perez

Beau is trying to live down his past drug addiction and near overdose. Like so many young athletes suddenly thrust into the spotlight, he lived life on the edge at the beginning of his career. But the recreational drugs became an addiction. When he hit bottom Cass was there to help him back to his feet. He’s never questioned why, but he’s learned to lean on his best friend over the past few years. Now he’s ready to stand on his own again. He’s tired of answering questions about the drugs and about the sex tape. One stupid mistake with the wrong woman and they’re still paying for it. He’s been in love with Cass for years, but he’ll never tell him because he won’t risk losing him. If the only way he can have him is to share him, then that’s what he’ll do. At first he’s not sure about Marian, but there’s something about her that makes Beau a better man, the man he used to be before the drugs derailed his life and career. He stands taller, talks tougher and plays better with her support and encouragement. But he’s not sure he’s ready for the public backlash a relationship with Cass and Marian could mean. Been there done that, hated it. He has to decide if his feelings are strong enough to withstand the pressure.

Broken Play by Samantha Kane

Broken Play by Samantha Kane
Series: Birmingham Rebels #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 1st 2015
Publisher: Loveswept
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Perfect for fans of Shayla Black and Lexi Blake, the deeply sensual new Birmingham Rebels series introduces an unforgettable team of chiseled football gods—and the daring, provocative games they play behind closed doors.

Birmingham Rebels offensive linemen Beau Perez and Cass Zielinski are inseparable, on and off the field. Cass, the captain with the cowboy swagger, is a loose cannon. Beau, the veteran tight end, is cool under pressure. And ever since they were caught on tape in a steamy threesome, their exploits have fueled more than a few tabloid headlines—and naughty fantasies.

Marian Treadwell knows all about the video. And now that she’s the Rebels’ new assistant offensive coach, she can’t look at Beau and Cass without picturing their hard, naked bodies—with her pressed in between. Marian would like nothing more than to indulge those impulses, but she knows better than to get too close to her players, a bunch of adrenaline-fueled alpha males who don’t always follow the rules.

Just the thought of sharing the gorgeous yet guarded Marian drives Cass wild. At first, Beau isn’t sure she’s right for them . . . and lately, all he desires is a little alone time with Cass to explore their new intimacy. But it’s only a matter of time before Cass breaks through both of their defenses. Because when seduction is the game plan, he always plays to win.

Broken Play is intended for mature audiences.

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Now here’s an excerpt from Broken Play! ❤

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Marian’s brown eyes grew big and she stared at Cass as if she’d never heard a man apologize before. Next to her, Mike turned his body abruptly in his chair to face her and she jumped.

“Whoa,” Mike said, his hands up in surrender. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

She laughed that tight laugh again. “No, I’m sorry. I get lost in my head sometimes. Don’t bother about me.” She cleared her throat. “Don’t forget we also snagged Kitt Doyle. When he went free agent I thought he’d get more offers despite his age and injury record.”

She successfully changed the subject as Mike and Beau began to discuss how Doyle, a good veteran left tackle, would affect the offense. She glanced up and when she caught Cass’s gaze, she tensed. After a second or two, when her mouth grew tight and she looked like she might say something, he looked away. There was definitely more to Marian Treadwell than what met the eye.

He was wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots, for heaven’s sake, Marian thought as she looked away from Cass Zielinski’s penetrating stare. Did he think he was a Cowboy? Wrong team. The way the Rebels played last year, nearly the wrong league. She was exasperated, but it was with herself, not him. She was letting his sun-kissed good looks get to her. All six feet four inches and 280 pounds of him. That was a lot of good-looking. He had auburn hair and a beard to match, both bleached a little redder by the sun. And the cowboy thing? Yeah, a total button pusher. But she could resist it, because damn it, that wasn’t why she was here. She didn’t want to screw football players. She wanted to coach them. She had something to offer this team. The head office saw it and so did Mike. Clearly the players were going to be a harder sell. If she could get Cass Zielinski on her side, that would go a long way to getting the others to accept her. According to everything she’d read, and from what Mike had told her, the whole team idolized Zielinski. He’d been playing, and playing well, in the NFL for over ten years. Everyone knew he’d accepted the Rebels deal because they’d promised him front office when he retired, which wasn’t too far in the future. He was thirty-one, old for an offensive lineman. And of course, the deal had included Beau Perez.

She stole a glance at Perez. He was a scary-looking son of a bitch. Taller than the average player, he was more thug than Latin lover, brooding and intense. The tattoo on his neck didn’t help. She’d heard he was a real sweetheart in person, but she hadn’t seen it so far. He obviously had Zielinski wrapped around his massive pinky finger, the way he’d jumped to remove his hat when Perez frowned at him. Somehow he’d ridden Zielinski’s coattails back into the NFL after a suspension for drugs. His drug use and overdose were a red flag for any coach. He’d spent months in rehab, and Zielinski had been a constant visitor. That was the beginning of the rumors.

She hated to admit she’d read every tabloid rumor about them. Most of her information came from the Enquirer and People magazine. They’d been caught on tape having sex with the same woman. At the same time. The sex tape had gone viral. You couldn’t Google them without it turning up, despite all their efforts to get it taken down. There was no sound, and there were some malfunctions with the recorder, but you didn’t need to hear it to know they were giving her a hard, rough fuck. Jesus, Marian had watched that video about a hundred times and fantasized about them both. She wished she’d known at the time that she’d be working with them. She would have passed it by. She could hardly look at them without picturing them naked and straining, as they slammed into the willing woman in perfect synch. They had clearly done it many times before in order to have that sort of synchronization. With Perez’s dark hair and exotic looks, and Zielinski’s reddish hair and paler skin, they had complemented one another perfectly. She began to sweat and squirm in her seat as she tried to force her attention back to what Mike was saying.

Before long her gaze slid over to Perez again. He was a loose cannon, in her opinion. For the last two years he’d walked the straight and narrow, it was true. He played hard, stayed out of the limelight, and he was clean. Regular drug tests made sure of it. But his hold on Zielinski worried her. Cass clearly led the team, but Beau just as clearly led Cass. They needed the center to make this team work. He was the center in more ways than the position he played. The team revolved around him. He made it work, made this group of losers and misfits rise above their pasts and their reputations and play some pretty decent ball. Could they be better? Yeah, they could. And Marian was going to help make that happen. She’d hitched her wagon to the Rebels’ star, and she wasn’t going down without a fight.

She had something to prove. To herself and to her father. No one here but Mike and head coach Shannon Ludwig knew her dad was Rufus Sedgeway, one of the most successful coaches in Division I college-football history. And that was how Marian wanted it. She didn’t want to talk about her father to anyone; she didn’t even want to remember he existed on most days. He’d silenced her. He’d chosen some sleazy football players and his precious winning record over her. She’d had to go crawling back to him to ask him to help her get this job, but that was it. She knew he’d gotten her a job with the Rebels because he wanted her to fail again. He wanted to control her again. But she’d show him and everyone else. They hadn’t broken her, not by a long shot.

Reading Order: Birmingham Rebels series

Broken Play by Samantha Kane Calling the Play by Samantha Kane

#1 ~ Broken Play: EbookGoodreads (Sept. 1, 2015)
#2 ~ Calling the Play: EbookGoodreads (Dec. 1, 2015)

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Samantha KaneSamantha Kane lives in North Carolina with her husband and three children, two boys and one girl. With a master’s degree in American history, she spent seven years as a high school history teacher before becoming a full-time writer and mom.

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Blog Tour + Character Profiles, Excerpt & Giveaway: Delayed Penalty by Sophia Henry

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Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Delayed Penalty by Sophia Henry! We have Sophia Henry on the blog today with character profiles for Auden and Aleksandr!

Hey Booklovers for Life friends! I’m Sophia Henry and I have a new series featuring the Detroit Pilots. The first book, Delayed Penalty, is the story of Auden Berezin, a Russian interpreter who unintentionally falls for her client, Aleksandr Varenkov, a hot minor-league hockey star.

Here are my Character Profiles for Auden & Aleksandr:

Auden Berezin
Birth Place: Detroit, MI
Age: 19
Eyes: Blue
Height: 5’4
Hair: Dirty Blond; length: mid-back; beach-wavy (without the beach)
Celebrity Look-a-like: Blake Lively
Occupation: College Junior/Russian Translator
Style: Dresses for the Occasion. From Soccer gear to Club wear. Nothing flashy.
Personality: Smart. Witty. Kind. Vigilant. Jaded. Walls up.
Mannerisms: Twirling Hair

Aleksandr Varenkov
Birth Place: Serpukov, Russia
Age: 21
Eyes: Blue
Height: 6’2
Hair: Dark Chocolate
Celebrity Look-a-like: Young Sergei Fedorov w/Matty Healy hair (lead singer of The 1975)
Occupation: Minor League hockey player – Detroit Pilots Left Wing.
Style: European Metro. Stylish. Trendy.
Personality: Cocky, not arrogant. Teasing, not snarky. Genuine. Passionate. Kind.
Mannerisms: Smokes clove cigarettes. Bottom lip dips slightly with a genuine smile.

Thank you so much for having me on your blog. I hope you love Delayed Penalty and the entire cast of characters in the Pilots Hockey series as much as I do!

Delayed Penalty by Sophia Henry

Delayed Penalty by Sophia Henry
Series: Pilots Hockey #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 1st 2015
Publisher: Loveswept
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She closed her heart long ago. He just wants to open her mind. For fans of Toni Aleo and Sawyer Bennett, the debut of Sophia Henry’s red-hot Detroit Pilots series introduces a hockey team full of complicated men who fight for love.

Auden Berezin is used to losing people: her father, her mother, her first love. Now, just when she believes those childhood wounds are finally healing, she loses something else: the soccer scholarship that was her ticket to college. Scrambling to earn tuition money, she’s relieved to find a gig translating for a Russian minor-league hockey player—until she realizes that he’s the same dangerously sexy jerk who propositioned her at the bar the night before.

Equal parts muscle and scar tissue, Aleksandr Varenkov knows about trauma. Maybe that’s what draws him to Auden. He also lost his family too young, and he channeled the pain into his passions: first hockey, then vodka and women. But all that seems to just melt away the instant he kisses Auden and feels a jolt of desire as sudden and surprising as a hard check on the ice.

After everything she’s been through, Auden can’t bring herself to trust any man, let alone a hot-headed puck jockey with a bad reputation. Aleksandr just hopes she’ll give him a chance—long enough to prove he’s finally met the one who makes him want to change.

Buy Links:
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Now here’s an excerpt from Delayed Penalty! ❤

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I’m pretty sure there were only two ways Crazy Hair could have looked better than he had at O’Callaghan’s. The first was as he did right now: sitting on a bench in the locker room wearing nothing but the lower half of his uniform, including his skates, sweat rolling over his sinewy pecs and creating a happy trail all the way into his hockey pants.

The second way—I can only assume—would be if he were completely naked.

“Aleksandr, this is Auden Berezin. She will be your translator.”

“I don’t need a translator.”

I almost laughed, because he’d said he didn’t need a translator in Russian.

“You must talk with the media at some point, Sasha. They’re riding my ass to get better answers from you than ‘was good game.’ ”

Aleksandr Varenkov, hot Russian hockey god, laughed, showing the perfect set of white teeth I’d noticed at the bar.

“You have your teeth in, but you haven’t even showered yet?” Orlenko asked.

Was Orlenko a mind reader? I sure hope not, because I would be fired for thinking about my client naked.

“I wanted to look good for pictures.” Aleksandr winked at me. Then he stood, and drops of sweat raced down the hard planes of his chest.

I’d never been so envious of perspiration in my life.

“Sometimes I talk in the shower. Will she translate for me in there?”

My cheeks began to burn, so I averted my eyes, lowering them to the black Cyrillic script tattooed down his sides, then thought better of that line of sight and studied the soiled beige carpet below my feet.

“Aleks—” Orlenko sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“Zhenya,” Aleksandr began. “You know I’m kidding, yes?” He shoved a towel onto the shelf above his nameplate and walked away without waiting for an answer.

“Yes,” Orlenko hissed. He’d said it under his breath, but I heard him and wondered what my grandpa had gotten me into. “Well, that was Aleksandr Varenkov, your client. He’s a talented player and a good man. But he can be a little—”

“Douchey?” I offered in English. I shouldn’t have said it, considering Grandpa’s professional reputation was in my hands. Then again, Evgeny Orlenko was Grandpa’s friend first, so maybe he wouldn’t be too hard on me. Besides, Grandpa knew what kind of mouth I had, and he’d sent me for the job anyway.

Orlenko laughed, and continued in Russian. “Wild was the word I was looking for, but your adjective may not be that far off.”

“I’ve got it, Mr. Orlenko.”

“Are you sure?” He inspected me through thick black-rimmed glasses that were too small for his puffy face.

“As a college student with an active social life, I’ve learned how to handle arrogant douche bags.” This time I was being paid to handle one.

“I shouldn’t be having this conversation about one of my clients,” Mr. Orlenko said, his lips quirking up, then back into a tight line. At least he was trying to keep a straight face. “You’re like a breath of fresh air, Audushka. I hope you stay that way even with his off-ice antics.”

Off-ice antics? What the hell did that mean and why would I have to deal with them? “Will I have to hang out with him outside of the arena? I thought I was here to translate for media interviews after games and some practices.”

“Aleksandr speaks very little English. He’ll need your assistance in all aspects of his career; interviews, community service. At least, until he gets acclimated. Vitya said you were here for the month, is that correct?”

“Yep. All of winter break.”

“You’ll be putting in a lot of hours.”

“I’m a hard worker. And I need the cash. Got cut from the soccer team, and I have to replace the scholarship money I lost.” I was running my mouth again. Maybe I did need to tone it down.

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that. The being-cut part.” He cleared his throat. “Here’s my card. I wrote my cell number on the back. If you have any trouble or if Aleksandr makes you uncomfortable in any way, please give me a call.”

“Thanks.” I scanned the card wondering if I should try to memorize his number now, since I wasn’t sure how stable this client sounded.

After Orlenko left the locker room, I realized I hadn’t asked him what I should do next, and he hadn’t given me instructions as to where I should wait while Aleksandr showered. Since I wasn’t part of the media, I was extremely aware of being the intruder standing in a room of half-naked men. A shower shouldn’t take very long, so I dug my e-reader out of my messenger bag and sat down on the stool that Aleksandr had just vacated.

“Ewww.” I jumped up and skimmed my palm against my damp backside. Hadn’t even thought about any runaway sweat that might’ve dripped from Aleksandr’s lean, hard body onto the stool.

Stop. Just stop thinking about the shiny, wet flesh covering his impeccably carved frame.

Reading Order: Pilots Hockey series

Delayed Penalty by Sophia Henry Power Play by Sophia Henry

#1 ~ Delayed Penalty: EbookGoodreads (Sept. 1, 2015)
#2 ~ Power Play: EbookGoodreads (Feb. 16, 2016)
#3 ~ Interference: EbookGoodreads (May 3, 2016)

about the author button

Sophia HenrySophia Henry, a proud Detroit native, fell in love with reading, writing, and hockey all before she became a teenager. She did not, however, fall in love with snow. So after graduating with an English degree from Central Michigan University, she moved to North Carolina, where she spends her time writing books featuring hockey-playing heroes, chasing her two high-energy sons, watching her beloved Detroit Red Wings, and rocking out at concerts with her husband.

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