Launch Day Blitz + ARC Review: Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt

duke-of-pleasure-blitz

Happy Release Day to Elizabeth Hoyt – Duke of Pleasure is live! I seriously loved this book – check out my review below! Plus, a special announcement…

WICKED INTENTIONS is now FREE for a limited time!

The ebook edition of WICKED INTENTIONS, the first book in Elizabeth Hoyt’s bestselling Maiden Lane series will be FREE from November 28 through December 12!  This is a great opportunity to introduce friends to the series! On December 13 the price returns to $5.99.

Amazon • B&N • iBooks • Google Play • Kobo

Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt
Series: Maiden Lane #11 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 29th 2016
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IN THE ARMS OF DANGER
Bold. Brave. Brutally handsome. Hugh Fitzroy, the Duke of Kyle, is the king’s secret weapon. Sent to defeat the notorious Lords of Chaos, he is ambushed in a London alley-and rescued by an unlikely ally: a masked stranger with the unmistakable curves of a woman.

IN THE HEAT OF DESIRE
Cocky. Clever. Courageously independent. Alf has survived on the perilous streets of St. Giles by disguising her sex. By day she is a boy, dealing in information and secrets. By night she’s the notorious Ghost of St. Giles, a masked vigilante. But as she saves Hugh from assassins, she finds herself succumbing to temptation . . .

ONE KISS WILL CHANGE THEIR LIVES FOREVER
When Hugh hires Alf to investigate the Lords of Chaos, her worlds collide. Once Hugh realizes that the boy and the Ghost are the same, will Alf find the courage to become the woman she needs to be-before the Lords of Chaos destroy them both?

Buy Links:
Amazon • B&N • iBooks • Google Play • Kobo • IndieBound

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I totally adore the Maiden Lane series, even though I’ve only read the latest three and a half books (I swear I will catch up on the past books one day!). I still consider this series a historical romance favorite of mine, and with each installment I read, the more I love it. Duke of Pleasure is the eleventh and second-to-last book of the series, which makes me bittersweet because I’m not ready for it to be over! But even though I’m sad that it’s almost the end, I still highly enjoyed Alf and Hugh’s story. Elizabeth Hoyt swept me away with a romance full of passion and adventure. If you’re a fan of the series, you definitely need to get on reading this latest Maiden Lane book!

In Duke of Sin, we were given a glimpse at Hugh’s story, and we also found out the stunning revelation that Alf is actually a woman disguised as a teenage boy. So to say I was intrigued and had high expectations would be an understatement, and luckily, I wasn’t disappointed. While Alf pretends to be a teenage boy to protect herself, she is also the new Ghost of St. Giles, a being meant to protect the defenseless in her city. Alf is a fascinating character, for sure, and the more I read of her, the more I loved her and wanted to know more of her.

Hugh is a widowed father who is struggling to help his two young sons deal with the death of their mother. Hugh didn’t love his wife, but she was a good mother, and her absence has made the gap between him and his children grow even wider. He loves Kit and Peter more than anything, but underneath his stoicism, he’s hurting for his children. So when the opportunity to take his mind off the pain for just a little while comes along in the form of a street urchin named Alf, he seizes it. And when he discovers Alf’s true gender and that she’s the Ghost of St. Giles that he can’t stop thinking about, all bets are off and Hugh takes what he wants… which is the fierce, independent, mischievous Alf.

She thought like him, but she was his opposite: female to his male.
Dangerous, yet soft.
Intelligent and erotic at the same time.
His match, this urchin from St. Giles.

I loved all the characters in this book, and how each one contributed to the story. Alf and Hugh’s heartfelt romance that was full of longing had my heart aching for them. Hugh’s sons are absolute delights – at first, full of hurt over their mother, but once Alf enters the picture, they start to open up. Then there’s Hugh’s late wife’s best friend. I was a bit confused when her POV was included in the novel, but she plays somewhat of a big role in Duke of Pleasure – and she’ll play an even bigger, more important role as the heroine in the next and final book!

If you couldn’t tell, Duke of Pleasure is another fantastic installment to this wonderful series I’ve come to love so much. There’s always something so magical in the books I’ve read from Elizabeth Hoyt – I fall head over heels for the characters and the romance, while the plot puts a fun twist to everything. If you love historical romance and you haven’t experienced the Maiden Lane series, I highly recommend it! Although you should probably read in order, unlike me 😉

He laid his forehead against hers. “I do love you, hear and soul and body, Alf, my imp. I love you now and forever, and I will trust and I will hope in your dreams and hope.”
“That’s all we need, really,” she whispered.

4 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Reading Order: Maiden Lane series

 
   
  
   

#1 ~ Wicked Intentions: EbookPaperback • AudibleGoodreads
#2 ~ Notorious Pleasures: EbookPaperback • AudibleGoodreads
#3 ~ Scandalous Desires: EbookPaperback • AudibleGoodreads
#4 ~ Thief of Shadows: EbookPaperback • AudibleGoodreads
#5 ~ Lord of Darkness: EbookPaperback • AudibleGoodreads
#6 ~ Duke of Midnight: EbookPaperback • AudibleGoodreads
#7 ~ Darling Beast: EbookPaperback • AudibleGoodreads
#8 ~ Dearest Rogue: EbookPaperback • AudibleGoodreads
#9 ~ Sweetest Scoundrel: My Review • EbookPaperback • Audible • Goodreads
#10 ~ Duke of Sin: My Review • EbookPaperbackAudible • Goodreads
#10.5 ~ Once Upon a Moonlit Night: My Review • Ebook • AudibleGoodreads
#11 ~ Duke of Pleasure: EbookPaperback • Audible • Goodreads
#11.5 ~ Once Upon a Christmas Eve: EbookGoodreads (Oct. 17, 2017)
#12 ~ Duke of Desire: EbookPaperback • Goodreads (Aug. 29, 2017)

about the author button

Elizabeth HoytElizabeth Hoyt is the New York Times bestselling author of over seventeen lush historical romances including the Maiden Lane series. Publishers Weekly has called her writing “mesmerizing.” She also pens deliciously fun contemporary romances under the name Julia Harper. Elizabeth lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with three untrained dogs, a garden in constant need of weeding, and the long-suffering Mr. Hoyt.

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads


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Blog Tour + ARC Review & Giveaway: Own by K.I. Lynn & N. Isabelle Blanco

own-tour

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Own by K.I. Lynn & N. Isabelle Blanco!

Own by K.I. Lynn & N. Isabelle Blanco
Series: Need #3 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 28th 2016
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Kira’s finally mine.
Mine.
And nobody and nothing is going to take her from me. I’ll fight for her, to the death. Do anything for her.
There’s no more living without her. No more holding back my feelings.
If only it was enough.
We’re surrounded every day.
Watched.
Stalked.
Judged.
Everyone knows us. Now, they suspect. The odds are stacked against us more than before.
We live in the shadows, hiding our love from the entire world.
But not for long.
I refuse to live like this anymore.
I’ll do whatever it takes to own her. I’m waging a dark war against those that stand against us.
And I will win.
That girl is going to be mine forever, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

Buy Links:
Amazon US • Amazon UK • Barnes & Noble • Kobo

review button

“You own all of me.”

Y’all, I know the step-brother romance craze is basically over, but I have been WAITING for Own for forever. It’s been a long time coming, but I’m so glad to have finally read Brayden and Kira’s finale. These two have been through so much together – if you love messy drama, this series is it for you. And the best part? You don’t have to torture yourself with the wait for the next installment! The Need series is definitely one of the better step-brother romances I’ve read, so if you love forbidden romances, I’d recommend giving this a try. It’s also insanely hot too – Brayden and Kira are ON FIRE together!

I love Brayden, I do, but I don’t know how to handle this. We aren’t dating. We aren’t even boyfriend and girlfriend.
I don’t know what we are, because loving him doesn’t mean forgiving him.

I’d been dying to read Own ever since finishing Take, and while it wasn’t quite what I expected, I still loved how things ended for Brayden and Kira. Own is basically them trying to overcome the external obstacles that try to break them apart, which I appreciated because I was pretty done with the two of them trying to break themselves apart. I loved seeing both Kira and Brayden fighting for their love and relationship – the connection they have is raw and passionate and meant to be. There is no one else for these two but each other, and though their flawed pasts may cause trouble, as long as Kira and Brayden have each other, they know they’ll be okay.

I would give up everything I have, everything I am, my very life, for her.

If Own had focused mainly on Brayden and Kira’s repairing relationship, I probably would’ve easily given this a five star rating, but there is SO much drama and trouble included in the plot, especially having to do with Brayden’s dick of a father. I wish that the drama had cut down just a little – I love angst, but it was a little overdone in this book. Other than that, I don’t have very many complaints – I did enjoy getting back into Kira and Brayden’s story and finally getting to their HEA!

If you’re looking for a good step-brother romance, the Need series is one of the top ones I’d recommend. The writing is fantastic – the transition between the two POVs is flawless, especially for two authors writing them. The steam is off the charts – Brayden’s filthy mouth is to die for. And there is some fantastic angst to pull at your emotions and make you so invested in these characters. I’m excited for more from K.I. Lynn and N. Isabelle Blanco – I’m so happy they’ll be writing more books together! I can’t wait to read Kira’s brother and his girlfriend’s story next!

4 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Now here’s an excerpt from Own! ❤

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Why the fuck is Kira at this party?

Stupid question.

I have no right to begrudge her this. She should be here, having fun, experiencing college to the fullest.

It just burns that she came here without telling me. That she didn’t even think of inviting me.

That she’s pushing me away while making time to sit on the grass with Austin.

If Dana hadn’t told Ryan to call me, I wouldn’t have known Kira was here.

This party is taking place in one of the student’s homes—a mansion so fucking big, it’s bordering on ridiculous.

I’m never going to find Kira here, and according to what Dana told Ryan, Kira’s shitfaced. Drunk out of her mind.

And Dana lost her.

Growling under my breath, I push past the crowd, ignoring every drunk girl who tries to grope me.

Sometimes I wonder how I ever got high off this kind of attention. How my ego fed on it. It’s annoying as fuck.

I’ve already checked the large ass kitchen. Two of the sitting rooms. The foyer. The pool room. And almost every room upstairs.

I get a text from Dana. Marilyn just spotted her going into the movie theater on the first floor. OMW there now.

Of course this place has a movie theater, too.

Fucking ridiculous, as I said.

I about-face and practically fly down the stairs. I have no idea where the hell the movie theater is, so I grab a few people as I walk and ask them.

All of them are as clueless as I am.

They look at me as if I’m crazy.

To them, I probably look like I am.

Finally, I find one person who knows. Don’t know who he is, don’t care. He points me in the right direction, and I rush away without even thanking him.

The theater is all the way in the back of the house, in an area that’s actually empty. I get there in time to see Dana opening the door and rushing in.

Man, she’s an awesome girl. I could never thank her enough for caring for Kira the way she obviously does.

I go inside and find the small theater empty, except for Dana, Marilyn . . .

And Kira.

My breath whooshes out of me at the sight of her. I’m instantly hard, aching, furious, and possessive.

We haven’t fucked in days and I’d be lying if I said my balls aren’t full to bursting. I need sex right now like I need air and she’s the only person to give it to me.

But she came here, in that tiny, dark purple dress.

I have no right to tell her how to dress–but what the fuck is she doing coming to a party dressed like that without me?

Kira’s leaning against one of the chairs all the way at the front of the theater, refusing to move despite Marilyn urging her.

It’s obvious she really is drunk as a motherfucker.

“I just want to be alone, guys,” she says, almost whining.

I refuse to be amused. Now’s not the time. I’m too pissed at her.

But, fuck me. She’s sexy, adorable, and those lips are begging for my cock.

“I know, sweetie. But it’s not good for you to be alone right now.”

Kira swats Marilyn away. “Stop your shit, woman. You’re not my mother.”

Even Dana laughs at that one.

“She’s not. But I’m your man. And I say you’re not going to be alone.”

They all turn to stare at me as I walk down the short steps toward them.

Kira’s eyes flare with resentment.

With lust.

She rakes me with a cold stare that still manages to burn my entire body with how hungry it is.

Damn. If any of these girls just happen to look down a bit, they’re going to get an eyeful of how hard my dick is.

“I don’t want you here, either.” She swats me away like an imperious little queen.

“Girls. Leave us.”

Marilyn and Dana hesitate at my tone.

I don’t have time for this shit. “Now.”

Dana snaps to action first and leads Marilyn up the stairs and out of the theater.

Kira’s still looking at me with that rebellious hunger, a lust-filled sneer on her face.

I have no qualms about reaching down and palming my dick in front of her.

Her eyes flare hungrily.

“We’re leaving, Kitty. Now.” I can’t fuck her until she sobers up considering how angry at me she is, but I’m getting her home.

Kira steps toward me and stumbles at bit.

I rush forward and catch her, pulling her up against me.

Contact. Seering, torturous contact. I have my arms wrapped around her, my hands on her ass, before I realize what I’m doing. As always, it’s an instant reaction. Absolutely zero control over my own body.

Kira pushes at my chest and that sexy small growl she gives me turns me on so much. “Don’t touch me.”

My barely leashed temper snaps free. “Like hell. You’re mine.”

She struggles against me, her body sliding along mine. “Excuse me if I don’t want to go back to fucking the dick I’ve seen inside Jennifer two too many times.”

She’s hurting. I get it. Shit, I’d be even more feral in her shoes.

But I’ll be damned if I let her pretend she doesn’t want me anymore.

Fisting her hair, I slide my other hand under her dress and roughly shove her panties to side.

Kira lets out a broken gasp at the feel of my fingers slipping inside her.

I move them around on purpose so she can hear how wet she is. “Lie to me again. Tell me you don’t want me,” I growl in her face.

Her arms wind around my neck and she slams her lips against mine. Growling at me like she  hates me and wants to eat me at the same time, she kisses me with everything she has.

Owning me.

Trying to control me.

I want nothing more than to show her who’s fucking in charge here, but she’s licking my tongue like it’s the tip of my dick, and her hips are thrusting up and down, fucking my fingers.

Using me for her pleasure.

Her body locks up, her plump pussy swelling around my fingers. A throb, a rush of liquid, and she’s squirting into my hand, her sexy moans echoing between our lips.

God damn.

I manhandle her, my mind cracking under the pressure of so much need. Spinning, I fall to my knees on the short steps and place her beneath me.

The steps are short but they’re huge. Enough to accommodate her lower body on one.

Kira leans back with her elbows on the step above her. Head thrown back, gorgeous throat exposed, she struggles to pull in air.

I lean back on my haunches and yank my belt open.

The sound makes her raise her head. By the time her eyes are on my crotch, I already have my glistening cock out in my hand.

She whispers my name like a prayer.

Finally.

This is what I need. No more distance. No more pain. Just her and her nearly demonic need to have me.

And I need this even more.

I grab her thighs and tug her toward me. Kira says my name again. Her hands land on my shoulders, fisting my shirt.

I spread her legs wide, wider than I probably should, and slide that juicy cunt right onto my dick.

Her body arches off the stairs like she’s being possessed.

She is.

If I haven’t left enough of me inside her for her to understand—for her to accept—that I own her and always will . . .

I’m going to remedy that.

And there’s nothing she can do about it.

I pull my hips back, slow, hissing at the slick feel of her pussy walls tightening. Trying to keep me in.

Kira whimpers, clenching me even harder.

Wanting to let me go and powerless to do anything but keep me.

Using all my strength, I slam back into her.

One hard, vicious thrust.

She cries out and comes all over me.

Again.

Just like that.

I crack my neck, a growl purring through my chest, and lay into her. No mercy. No thought.

I’m close. Just a few more pumps into that slick cunt.

Kira fists my hair, her moans bouncing off the walls around us. I lower myself down and brace my elbows on either side of her head.

She tries to tug me down and kiss me.

I slide one hand beneath her head, fisting that beautiful hair, and drag her up to me. “Who told you that you could come here dressed like that?”

She bites my lip hard enough to make my vision snap white. I think I taste blood. “Fuck you. You don’t own m—” She chokes on her words with my next thrust.

I can’t stop groaning, yet somehow I’m laughing in her face at the ridiculousness of her statement. “You want to keep fucking lying to yourself, Kitty?”

She hisses like the wild cat she is and leans up to lick across my bottom lip. When she pulls back, I see it.

Her lips are stained with the blood she drew from me.

I press my lips to her, our tongues dueling. We’re nothing but a mindless mass of sex, and I can feel the come rising up my shaft.

In the back of my head, it registers that I hear people speaking.

Drawing closer.

On the other side of the door.

“That bitch ruined my life!”

“First off, don’t ever call her a bitch in front of me. Got it? Secondly, you have no proof it was her that sent your parents that video. Third, back the fuck off, or I’m going to forget we were ever—”

The door opens.

I raise my head enough to look up. For a split second, the fact that we’ve been caught freezes me.

Then I see two pairs of familiar blue eyes locked on us.

Jennifer.

Austin.

Reading Order: Need series

  

#1 ~ Need: EbookPaperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Take: EbookPaperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Own: EbookGoodreads (Nov. 28, 2016)

Get the boxed set of the first two novels for $0.99!

Amazon

about the author button

K.I. Lynn is the USA Today Bestselling Author from The Bend Anthology and the Amazon Bestselling Series, Breach. She spent her life in the arts, everything from music to painting and ceramics, then to writing. Characters have always run around in her head, acting out their stories, but it wasn’t until later in life she would put them to pen. It would turn out to be the one thing she was really passionate about.

Since she began posting stories online, she’s garnered acclaim for her diverse stories and hard hitting writing style. Two stories and characters are never the same, her brain moving through different ideas faster than she can write them down as it also plots its quest for world domination…or cheese. Whichever is easier to obtain… Usually it’s cheese.

 Website • Facebook • Twitter • Facebook Group • Goodreads

N. Isabelle Blanco was born in Queens, NY (USA). At the age of three, due to an odd fascination with studying her mother’s handwriting, she began to read and write. By the time she’d reached kindergarten, she had an extensive vocabulary and her obsession with words began to bleed into every aspect of her life.

N. Isabelle Blanco spends her days working as an author, web programmer, marketer, and graphic designer. That is when she isn’t handling her “spawn”, as she calls her son, and brainstorming with him about his future career as a comic book illustrator.

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads


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Review: Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa

Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa
Series: The Bargainer #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 15th 2016
Links: Ebook • PaperbackAudible • Goodreads

Callypso Lillis is a siren with a very big problem, one that stretches up her arm and far into her past. For the last seven years she’s been collecting a bracelet of black beads up her wrist, magical IOUs for favors she’s received. Only death or repayment will fulfill the obligations. Only then will the beads disappear.

Everyone knows that if you need a favor, you go to the Bargainer to make it happen. He’s a man who can get you anything you want … at a price. And everyone knows that sooner or later he always collects.

But for one of his clients, he’s never asked for repayment. Not until now. When Callie finds the fae king of the night in her room, a grin on his lips and a twinkle in his eye, she knows things are about to change. At first it’s just a chaste kiss—a single bead’s worth—and a promise for more.

For the Bargainer, it’s more than just a matter of rekindling an old romance. Something is happening in the Otherworld. Fae warriors are going missing one by one. Only the women are returned, each in a glass casket, a child clutched to their breast. And then there are the whispers among the slaves, whispers of an evil that’s been awoken.

If the Bargainer has any hope to save his people, he’ll need the help of the siren he spurned long ago. Only, his foe has a taste for exotic creatures, and Callie just happens to be one.

Laura Thalassa is one of my favorite new authors I discovered this year. I had a craving for some new adult paranormal romance and Laura Thalassa came up frequently when I was looking on Goodreads. I read her Fallen World series first and fell head over heels in love with her writing style and world-building. When she announced that she was writing a new series and I read the blurb for it, I was dying to get my hands on it. And trust me, she did not disappoint. Rhapsodic is the first in an epic new series about a siren with a few too many IOUs to the Bargainer… who has finally come to collect. And his first repayment? A kiss.

I lean my forehead against his, placing my hand against his cheek. “Thank you for coming for me,” I say.
I fear what would’ve happened if he hadn’t.
“Cherub,” he says, his voice serious, “I will always come for you.”

Seven years ago, Callypso Lillis made a deal with the devil the Bargainer, also known as Desmond Flynn, that ended up saving her and changing the course of both their lives forever. Lonely and young at the time, what Callie wanted most was a friend, and she got that with the Bargainer, despite the fact that his time came at the cost of an IOU… that he never collected on. Callie slowly fell in love with him, but the Lord of the Night broke her heart when, after one night, he never came to see her again, no matter how many bargains she offered him. Seven years later, Callie is all grown up and still bitter at Des for abandoning her. So what does she do when he shows up out of the blue now? She gets pissed.

Des is finally back to collect on the hundreds of IOUs Callie owes, but he’s not doing it in any normal way. Nope, he’s back in Callie’s life because he wants her to be his, and there’s nothing that can stop him from winning her heart again. But a dangerous, powerful force is causing the death of many fae in the Otherworld. Will Des and Callie have what it takes to balance their budding romance while figuring out a way to save their fae brethren?

I loved Rhapsodic SO much. It was exactly what I was looking for in an NA PNR book. Laura Thalassa writes this genre so well – she’s able to create fantastical, epic worlds with characters you can’t help but root for and love. The sweeping romance between Callie and Des (who are seriously adorable together) and the thrilling suspense had me captivated by the book from start to finish. If you’re looking for a unique read that’s both dark, romantic and funny, Rhapsodic is definitely for you.

“You know,” I say, “I miss you. Every day.” It was an ache that lasted seven years. It should’ve dulled, but it never did.
He’s quiet for a long time. Finally, he confesses, “I missed you too.”


lacey


Reading Order: The Bargainer series

 

#1 ~ Rhapsodic: Ebook • PaperbackAudible • Goodreads
#2 ~ A Strange Hymn: Goodreads (May 2017)


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ARC Review: Beauty and the Billionaire: The Wedding by Jessica Clare

Beauty and the Billionaire: The Wedding by Jessica Clare
Series: Billionaires Boys Club #6.5 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 15th 2016
Links: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

In this all-new novella in the New York Times bestselling series, Hunter and Gretchen are finally tying the knot—but their wedding may not be the easy fairy tale they’ve dreamed of…

Someone’s out to ruin Gretchen’s happy-ever-after on the eve before the big day. Can she trust Hunter, the man she’s given her heart to? And can she rely on her sister Daphne (the least reliable person of all!) to help her salvage things? Or is this marriage going to go down in flames before Gretchen and Hunter ever get to the altar?

Beauty and the Billionaire: The Wedding is the conclusion to both the Billionaire Boys Club series and the Billionaires and Bridesmaids series. I have to admit I’m a bit sad to see both series come to their ends, because I adore Jessica Clare’s billionaire books! That being said, this novella wasn’t quite wasn’t what I expected, though it was still fairly enjoyable. I loved that we got more Gretchen and Hunter, who make up my favorite couple Jessica Clare has written yet. But what surprised me was the big role Gretchen’s sister Daphne played. So if you’re expecting this novella to be solely about the upcoming nuptials, just be aware that half of it is Daphne’s story!

Gretchen is stressing out about her upcoming wedding. Nothing is going right for her, but at the end of the day, all that matters is that she’s marrying the love of her life, Hunter. Still, it’s not a story starring Gretchen without some ridiculous fun and messy entanglements. And of course, Hunter is still as devoted and in love with Gretchen as ever. He’s planning surprises for his bride, trying to show her just how much he adores her.

Then there’s Daphne’s story and her battle against her addictions and trying to make right with her family again. I wasn’t expecting to get her story in this novella, though I do appreciate Daphne getting her own little HEA with her life coach. I still don’t completely love her character, but I admired her determination to gain back her sisters’ trust and respect.

This novella was funny, quick, and sweet. I wish there was more (as I always do with novellas) but it’s a bittersweet ending for the series. I’m glad I got to see all the past characters one last time – so if you’re a fan of either series, make sure to pick this one up! I’m excited to see what else Jessica Clare has in store for her readers!

3 hearts
lacey


Reading Order: Billionaire Boys Club series

Stranded with a Billionaire by Jessica Clare Beauty and the Billionaire by Jessica Clare The Wrong Billionaire's Bed by Jessica Clare
Once Upon a Billionaire by Jessica Clare Romancing the Billionaire by Jessica Clare One Night with a Billionaire by Jessica Clare 

#1 ~ Stranded with a Billionaire: Ebook • PaperbackAudible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Beauty and the Billionaire: Ebook • PaperbackAudible • Goodreads
#3 ~ The Wrong Billionaire’s Bed: EbookPaperbackAudible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Once Upon a Billionaire: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#5 ~ Romancing the Billionaire: EbookPaperbackAudible • Goodreads
#6 ~ One Night with a Billionaire: EbookPaperbackAudible • Goodreads
#6.5 ~ Beauty and the Billionaire: The Wedding: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads

The Billionaires and Bridesmaids series is a spinoff series of the Billionaire Boys Club. Though it’s not necessary to read it prior to Billionaires and Bridesmaids, some recurring characters from the older series appear in the new series.

Reading Order: Billionaires and Bridesmaids series

The Billionaire and the Virgin by Jessica Clare The Taming of the Billionaire by Jessica Clare
The Billionaire Takes a Bride by Jessica Clare The Billionaire's Favorite Mistake by Jessica Clare 

#1 ~ The Billionaire and the Virgin: EbookAudible • Goodreads
#2 ~ The Taming of the Billionaire: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ The Billionaire Takes a Bride: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ The Billionaire’s Favorite Mistake: My Review • Ebook • AudibleGoodreads
#5 ~ Billionaire on the Loose: My Review • Ebook • AudibleGoodreads


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Blog Tour + ARC Review & Excerpt: Managed by Kristen Callihan

Managed by Kristen Callihan
Series: VIP #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 14th 2016
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It started off as a battle of wits. Me: the ordinary girl with a big mouth against Him: the sexy bastard with a big…ego.

I thought I’d hit the jackpot when I was upgraded to first class on my flight to London.

That is until HE sat next to me. Gabriel Scott: handsome as sin, cold as ice. Nothing and no one gets to him. Ever. He’s a legend in his own right, the manager of the biggest rock band in the world, and an arrogant ass who looks down his nose at me.

I thought I’d give him hell for one, long flight. I didn’t expect to like him. I didn’t expect to want him. But the biggest surprise? He wants me too. Only in a way I didn’t see coming.

If I accept his proposal, I leave myself open to falling for the one man I can’t manage. But I’m tempted to say yes. Because the real man beneath those perfect suits and that cool façade just might be the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And I just might be the only one who can melt the ice around his heart.

Let the battle begin…

Buy Links:
Amazon • Barnes & NobleiTunes • Kobo

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THIS is the Kristen Callihan book I was expecting to get when I read the first VIP book! Managed was such a fantastic read – I loved the endearing characters, the sweet romance, the delicious chemistry, everything! This was the perfect, fun read that had me giggling and swooning simultaneously. It’s one of the best books I’ve read all year, and I’m already dying for more. If you love romances where opposites attract and main characters who love to get each other riled up with quips and witty comebacks, then Managed will be perfect for you!

Sophie thinks she’s hit the jackpot when her plane seat is moved up to first class on her way to an interview in London, but things don’t go quite as smoothly after that when she meets her moody, grumpy, handsome seat neighbor. Gabriel Scott is uptight and unforgiving – everything that Sophie is not. So she makes it plan to annoy the crap out of him to get him to lighten up – but when she discovers that Gabriel, aka “Sunshine,” is terrified of flights, she finds herself comforting him and keeping his mind off the fact that they’re thousands of miles up in the air.

Somewhere over the Atlantic, at thirty-five thousand feet, she wrapped herself around me, and my brain decided to equate her scent, the sound of her voice, the feel of her skin, with comfort.

As manager of one of the most famous rock bands in the world, Gabriel is used to control in all things. But meeting Sophie has changed everything for him, because he finds that he can’t keep his feelings under lock anymore. The more he knows her and is around her, the more he wants her. The tension between these two is seriously delicious and the chemistry is on fire – and when these two finally come together, it’s more than they could’ve every imagined.

Home. I have not thought of any place as home for so long I’m surprised I even remember the concept. … Yet from the first night Sophie settled her things alongside mine and filled those quiet, orderly spaces with her effusive nature, wherever she is feels like home.

I loved everything about Managed. The characters were well-written and their development, especially Gabriel’s, is fantastic. I loved getting to know more about Gabriel, who seemed like such an enigma in the last book, and Sophie is the ultimate bubbly sweetheart. The rest of the band is also featured heavily, and now I’m so excited for the remaining two members to get their books. Managed is a brilliant, romantic rock star read, though it’s a little lighter on the rock star aspect than Idol was, since Gabriel is only the manager. The romance, though, will definitely melt your heart – a cold-hearted man experiencing love for the first time gets me every time!

“I’ve lived my whole life denying myself what I truly want. And yet I cannot turn from you. Haven’t you realized it yet? I am yours. I will always be yours, whether I touch you or not.”

5 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Now here’s an excerpt from Managed! ❤

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In all this time, I had yet to see Gabriel without a shirt. He hides his body like a pious Victorian, never letting me see anything other than him fully dressed and polished. Now I know why. Had he let me get a glimpse, I might never have been able to form a coherent thought around him.

This man’s chest is a work of art. It’s every fantasy I’ve had about a man’s body made real. I don’t even know how that’s possible, but I’m not about to complain. God, he looks touchable. Olive skin, tight little brownish nipples, a smattering of dark chest hair over the most incredibly honed—

“You’re staring.” His tone is dry.

“Yes, I am.” I drag my eyes up and find his expression bemused.

A thick brow lifts. I try to mimic the look and fail when both of my brows lift as one. His lips twitch in amusement.

He shifts his weight, causing his abs to clench. Good Lord. He’s not some overdeveloped gym worshiper, just solid and strong, that perfect balance between defined musculature and healthy male—

“You’re still staring, Sophie.”

“You think it’s easy looking away from all this splendor?” I ask his belly button, licking my lips when he huffs out a laugh and just a little bit more of his lower abs are revealed, slanting toward the thick bulge of his cock, which is lamentably hidden behind his slacks.

“You’re impossible,” he mutters, though there is humor in his voice. He strolls farther into the room and then practically kills me when he sits in one of the low-slung armchairs. That body, sprawled out on display, those thick, long thighs braced as if to take me in his lap—it’s too much.

I want to straddle him and lick my way from the hollow of his throat to the tip of his cock.

He eyes me as if he knows what I’m thinking, and the air thickens. So many things we left unsaid. I’m remembering his lips now, surprisingly soft, but strong with purpose.

From the way his lids lower, I wonder if he’s remembering things as well. But he doesn’t move. Tension glides over his body and snakes around the room. I feel it in my throat and down my spine. We’re closing up again, retreating.

Slowly, I toe off my shoes and set my gear down, never breaking eye contact. “I was being completely honest,” I tell him. “I see you like this and I want to stare forever.”

He snorts, shaking his head even as he rests his temple on his knuckles. “What do you mean ‘like this’?”

“Undone.”

He tenses. It does lovely things to that chest. I focus on his face, mainly to maintain some semblance of decorum.

“You think this is me undone?” he asks quietly.

“It’s a start.” I reach for my camera bag. “Will you let me photograph you?”

There is safety to be found with the camera between us. A way for both of us to hide until we’re comfortable around each other again.

“You’re serious?”

“You sound surprised.” Holding my camera, I sit in the sofa opposite him. “Don’t tell me no one has asked to take your picture before.”

“They’ve asked. I never saw the point.” He shrugs. “I’m not the story.”

You’re my story. You always were.

“This is just for me,” I say instead. “No one else.”

His shrewd gaze pins me. “Why do you want this?”

So I can have a bit of you forever. “Pictures capture moments in time. I want this one—when you finally let me see a sliver of the man behind the clothes.”

His nostrils flare on an indrawn breath, and he slowly lets it out. When he speaks, his voice is a rasp. “Take the pictures.”

Reading Order: VIP series

 

#1 ~ Idol: My ReviewEbookPaperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Managed: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

about the author button

Kristen CallihanKristen Callihan is an author because there is nothing else she’d rather be. She is a three-time RITA nominee and winner of two RT Reviewer’s Choice awards. Her novels have garnered starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and the Library Journal, as well as being awarded top picks by many reviewers. Her debut book FIRELIGHT received RT Magazine’s Seal of Excellence, was named a best book of the year by Library Journal, best book of Spring 2012 by Publisher’s Weekly, and was named the best romance book of 2012 by ALA RUSA. When she is not writing, she is reading.

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