Wednesday 31 July 2013

Cover Reveal: Tone Deaf by Olivia Rivers!

Tone Deaf
by Olivia Rivers


Genre: New Adult Romance
Age Group: 16+
Release Date: November 4th, 2013
Synopsis:

His world is music…
…Her world is silent.
Ali Blinde was a prodigy destined to become one of the greatest musicians of the 21st century.
Until the brain tumor struck.
Now seventeen, Ali lives in a soundless world where she gets by with ASL and lip-reading. So when she meets Jace Beckett, she thinks he’s her worst nightmare come true. Jace is the lead singer in the wildly-popular band, Tone Deaf, and he’s exactly the kind of success-story Ali hates and resents. 
Nineteen-year-old Jace has it all: fame, money, and any girl he wants. Every night on tour brings a new performance and a new girl, which is just what he needs to avoid the pain of relationships. 
But when Jace learns Ali is being abused, he reluctantly proposes a solution: Run away with him and his band as they tour the country. With freedom in sight, Ali takes the offer. Immediately, she’s swept into a world filled with wild punk music, wilder musicians, and maybe—just maybe—love.
Author Bio

Olivia Rivers is the author of six novels, ranging in genres from Epic Fantasy to Contemporary Romance. Along with being a writer, she’s a freelance digital artist, a literary agent assistant, and a high school student.  She’s a nerd at heart, and is a hopeless fan-girl for Doctor Who and Arrested Development. Olivia lives in California with a dog who thinks he’s a cat, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and a kitten who is just generally confused.




I love this cover! I think the pose of the cover models is perfect, I love the typography, and I absolutely adore the lighting that they have going on. Overall, it's just a great cover, and I think that it compliments the synopsis for the book really well, too. Also, Tone Deaf sounds great! I'm looking forward to reading it in the future. :D

What do you think? Do you like the cover and what do you think of the description for Tone Deaf, has it captured your attention?

Tuesday 30 July 2013

Book Blitz: Now or Never by A.J. Bennett #Giveaway #Excerpt



Now or Never  by A.J. Bennett
Publication date: June 19th 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary

Synopsis:
Twenty-one year old Grayson Alexander finally breaks away from an abusive relationship and finds herself free for the first time in three years.

Determined to enjoy her new-found freedom, Grayson is intent on sticking with ‘no strings attached’ relationships—one-night stands, and steamy sex.

But she didn’t plan on Derrick.

Her attraction to the sexy man in uniform quickly turns into an unhealthy relationship. They both try to resist the pull, but neither can stay away.

When tragedy strikes, Grayson realizes it’s now or never—walk away or make it work.
Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N
AUTHOR BIO
A.J. Bennett lives in Nashville, TN with her husband and bulldog. She’s addicted to coffee, popcorn and books. Becoming an author has been a lifelong dream, and she’s extremely excited about her debut novel Now or Never.


Author links:
Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

EXCERPT

Why was she acting like an idiot? He was just a guy; he probably didn’t even give her another thought after their brief eye gaze exchange.
     Once she got her drink, she made her way to the cream and sugar stand to grab a napkin and hightail it out of there. Grayson turned to leave and slammed into a solid wall of muscle.
     Shit.
     Coffee spilled on her hand and down the front of his black T-shirt. As she held the remains of her coffee out of harms way, her chest pressed firmly against his. Horrified, she lifted her gaze.
      He cupped her elbows with both hands and steadied her, his startling green eyes ringed with gold swept over her. Then he reached around her, grabbed a napkin, and wiped the hot coffee off her hand. She caught herself giving him the once over while she had his gaze elsewhere; he was so hot, his dark red hair was so fitting to his rugged facial features.
     “You alright?”
     Grayson mumbled something that didn’t sound like English. Her breath caught at her throat as she took in his powerful frame: his legs were slightly parted and his faded jeans clung to his muscular thighs. His T-shirt was stretched over his broad shoulders. 
     He smiled instantly softening his hard face. “Why don’t you come and sit down with me?”
     “Um, what?”
     He tilted his head towards his seat, “The cafe is full. You can share my table.”
     Good grief.
     All she did was make eye contact with the guy, and now he thought that gave him the right to invite her to sit down? She’d clearly been in a relationship way too long, because she had no idea how to react to his question. A part of her was curious about this man who made her heart rate speed up with just a glance, but a much bigger part of her wanted to turn and run. She just got out of one relationship; she wasn’t about to start another the moment she drove into town. Besides, she’d always heard two redheads were a disaster waiting to happen.
     No thanks, she thought, I have had enough disaster in my life for at least five more years. 
     Although, her mother claims she’s only half redhead, the other half light blonde. So maybe it would only be half a disaster?
     Snap out of it Grayson, she thought, trying to get her shit together and not look like a blabbering idiot.
     “I can’t. I have to meet my family. But thanks for the offer.” Grayson tried to step by him, but he widened his stance and blocked her. 
     “Can I at least give you my number?”
     Oh my God, Grayson thought, this guy was persistent. He was hot as hell, but come on.
     “Do you hit on every girl who walks through the door?” Grayson asked with a little attitude in her voice; she couldn’t let another man gain the upper hand on her so fast.
     He laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and she wondered how old he was. “Not all of them.”

GIVEAWAY
- International
- 1 winner will get an ebook of Now or Never in the format of their choice
- Winner will be chosen using Rafflecopter and will be contacted via email
- ends August 23rd @ 11:59 PM (MST)

TO ENTER FILL OUT THE RAFFLECOPTER BELOW:



I loved that excerpt! :D I'm definitely going to have to check Now or Never out!

What about you, what did you think?

Saturday 27 July 2013

#SizzlingSummerGiveaway & Excerpt of Jaycee DeLorenzo's The Truths About Dating and Mating! #Excerpt #Giveaway


The Truths about Dating and Mating
By Jaycee DeLorenzo
Find online:  Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Smashwords | Sony | Apple

Spunky Italian coed Ivy Rossini likes to talk and push the boundaries. She gets to do both as she co-hosts Riordan College’s radio program, The Truths about Dating and Mating, alongside her lifelong best friend, Ian Hollister.

Being the only girl who cares to see beyond Ian’s bad boy reputation has its advantages, especially when he’s scaring off the jerks who just want to nail the campus sex-guru. It’s when he’s “protecting” her from the advances she welcomes that she wants to lob him over the head and tell him to butt out. But Ivy feels like she’s the one who’s taken a hit when Ian almost kisses her at a party. She knows she should feel relieved when he pulls away, so why is she disappointed instead?

What’s worse, Ivy’s now getting aroused by Ian’s slightest touch and can’t stop entertaining thoughts of a romantic future. But Ian doesn’t do relationships, and she’s not interested in anything casual. In the end, Ivy decides it’s best to keep her growing feelings a secret and hope they’ll pass. However, when Ian begins hinting at wanting to take things to the next level, she’s forced to decide if a chance at something more is worth risking everything they’ve built.

With their friendship and her heart hanging in the balance, can Ivy follow the advice she and Ian give their listeners - to communicate, be honest, and trust in themselves - or will insecurity, stubbornness, and pride ruin any chance of their relationship getting off the ground?

Excerpt:
I turned to look into my mirror again, but drew up short. “Wait a minute. What exactly are you doing here?”

Ian leaned to reach for something just outside the door, coming up with a black hamper stuffed to the brim with dirty clothes. “I need another load done. I’m running out of socks.” He gave me a beaming smile, then crossed to my bed, dropped the hamper on the floor and flopped down on my bed.

Who did he think he was kidding? “God forbid you didn’t bring them to me right now,” I said, drumming my fingertips on my inner hipbone.


“Like I said, I’m running low.”

“We both know you’re not here because of the laundry.”

Ian rolled onto his back and crossed his arms under his head. “Why am I here, then?”

“Oh, it couldn’t be the fact that my blind date will be arriving in about ten minutes, now, could it?”

His shit-eating grin said it all. “Oh, was that tonight?”

I stepped to the bed and grabbed one of my pillows, smacking him square in the face with it.

Ian wrenched the pillow from my grasp and slid it under his head with his eyebrows waggling. “Hey, thanks.”

Huffing, I threw up my hands and stalked to my dresser. Opening the wooden jewelry box on top, I rifled inside for some earrings.

“Hey, I know,” Ian said, as if the idea had just occurred to him, “you should blow that guy off and come out with me.”

Boy, did I want to, but I made my bed by pushing Chelsea to set the date up; now it was time to lie in it. “Sorry, but I’m not doing that.”

Ian thrust out his lower lip in a pout. “I see. You’d rather spend the night with a complete stranger than come out and play with me.”

I sighed. “You know that’s not true. But who I’d rather spend time with is irrelevant. It’s all set.”

From my peripheral vision, I saw him flail his arms and legs on the bed like he was three seconds away from throwing a tantrum. “Come on. Do you really think there’s a chance in hell that this is going to be a love match?”

“Never say never.” I looked up from my jewelry box to see him gazing at my legs with a deep frown. “What?”


“You forgot a couple of buttons.” His finger pointed to the slit at the front of my dress, which opened all the way up to my thighs.


“No, I didn’t. This is the way it’s supposed to be worn. Otherwise, I won’t be able to walk.”


“Oh.” With a disgruntled look, he reached over for my iPod from the nightstand and began scrolling through it.


“Don’t get too comfortable,” I warned. From the jewelry box, I pulled out two different earrings: a dangling gold earring with red beads and a gold cartouche with my name engraved in hieroglyphics. I held one up to each ear and studied myself in the mirror. I turned so Ian could see them. “What do you think?”

“They look great.”


“You didn’t even look. Come on, which ones?”


Sighing, Ian tore his eyes from my music player and looked at both earrings. He pointed to the cartouche. “That one.”

I put the dangly one back into the box and pulled out the matching cartouche, sliding one into each ear. Shaking out my loosely curled hair, I spritzed on some perfume, and then checked my gloss for smudges. “Okay, I’m ready, which means it’s time for you to go.”
Ian continued to study my song-list as if I hadn’t even spoken.

“Ian, don’t pretend you didn’t hear me. It’s time to go bye-bye,” I said. “Scram. Adiรณs. Ciao!” I went to the bed and lifted my foot to the mattress, kicking it several times and making it impossible for him to read the iPod screen. “Vamoose!”


“Okay, okay.” He released an exaggerated sigh and swung his legs over the side of the bed, forcing himself into a standing position. “You’re still meeting us at O’Shea’s, right?”

“That’s the plan.” I picked up my purse from my dresser and hung the strap over my shoulder. “Now, come on.” Placing my hands on the small of his back, I pushed him toward the door. “Scoot.”


Ian leaned back against my palms, putting up a resistance. “What time will you be there?”

“I’ll get there when I get there,” I cried in exasperation. I finally managed to get him out of my room. “Now quit stalling. He’s going to be here any minute, and you won’t be.”

“Why are you so eager to get rid of me?”

“Because,” I panted as we neared the front door, “this date is going to be hard enough as it is. I’m not going to subject him to your overprotective brother routine.”


“First of all, I don’t have a routine.” Ian slid to the side, propelling me into the door.

“Hey!” I whirled around to catch him, but I needn’t have bothered. He wasn’t going anywhere. Instead, he stepped right before me, blocking my path away from the door. The sudden change in his expression made me go still. It was nothing overt, but there was something . . . a sharpness in his eyes, a pinch to his mouth, that made my heart stutter and quickened my breath. “Secondly,” he said, “I’m not your brother.”

Swallowing to moisten my suddenly dry throat, I nodded. "I know that."

He stepped closer and his hands slid over my hips. "Do you?"

Time slowed down and my heart sped up. My mouth opened and closed as I failed to come up with a reply.


“Because what I’m feeling around you lately is anything but brotherly.” His eyes dropped to my mouth, lingering for a long moment, before he looked back up again.
“And it’s frustrating as hell that you keep pretending things aren’t changing.”


I blinked, stunned by his admission. I’d seen things here and there to indicate he saw me differently than before, but to hear him admit it out loud was mind-blowing. I didn’t know if I wanted to do a happy dance or run away. I shivered, instead. His hands still cupped my hips, and his thumbs kept brushing the sides of my inner hip-bones, causing my nerve endings to spark and snap like firecrackers.


My shuddery exhale made Ian’s eyes sharpen. Their green hue darkened and he stared at me without falter, analyzing my reaction.

I felt like a deer in headlights and imagine I looked like one, too. I gulped, trying to command the individual muscles in my face to move, but they felt paralyzed. And he still wasn’t moving.


Do something, dammit!


Ian’s eyes traveled down my face again and stopped on my mouth. His lips pressed together, and it was clear he was debating whether or not to close the gap between us.

He was so close. All I would have to do was lift my head off the door and our mouths would touch. The only thing stopping me from doing just that was the small, niggling voice in my head reminding me of his words from the day before. “What about what you said at the panel?”

“What did I say?” he murmured, keeping his eyes on my lips.

“About mixing friendship and relationships?”

“Hmm.” He nodded and moved in a little closer. “What about what you said?”

“What did I say?”

“About taking risks?”


I had said that. I’d also said the girl had to decide if it was worth it. “Is this one worth it?”

His gaze darted back to my eyes. “You tell me.”


“I really don’t know.”


Ian closed his eyes with a heavy sigh. A moment later, he dropped his head on my shoulder. “Me, either,” he said. “This is so confusing.”


Tell me about it.

Jaycee DeLorenzo hails from Tucson, Arizona, on the outskirts of the Saguaro National Park – which she believes to be the most beautiful spread of desert in the world. By day, Jaycee is an English language teacher to elementary students. By night, she’s a wife, mother, writer, cover artist, website designer, and blogger. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, cooking, singing (very poorly), catching up on her favorite T.V. shows, and researching.
Visit me at my Blog, NA Alley, on Twitter or Facebook.

GIVEAWAY
1 - Kindle Fire HD with NA/Adult e-book prize pack (shown on the left)
1 - Kindle Fire HD with YA e-book prize pack (shown on the right)
 
TO ENTER FILL OUT THE RAFFLECOPTER BELOW: 
  

Oooh boy was that a steamy excerpt...and it definitely made me want to read the book! 
What about you? Do you want to read The Truths About Dating and Mating?

And Good Luck if you entered the giveaway! :D