[Review] DISCRETION (The Dumonts, #1) by Karina Halle

Source: Received a sample through Thomas Allen & Son
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Release Date: August 6, 2019
Number of Pages: 288 (Paperback)

DESCRIPTION

From New York Times bestselling author Karina Halle comes a delicious saga of wealth, luxury, and scandal—and the wicked secrets of success behind an envied family dynasty.

The Riviera means indulgence—if you’ve got money. For Sadie Reynolds, a down-on-her-luck student, the Riviera means dingy hostels and back streets. When a wrong turn puts her in jeopardy, the last thing she expects is to be saved by the most handsome stranger she’s ever locked eyes with. When she later wakes up in a luxury suite with a Mediterranean view, she’s in the tender care of her rescuer: Olivier Dumont, France’s most eligible bachelor, billionaire hotelier, and heir to the Dumont fashion fortune.

Olivier also owns his reputation for scandal. But Sadie is unlike any woman he’s ever met. Her humble persona and wild innocence promise real passion. He’s promising Sadie something too: anything she wants. From Bordeaux to Cannes to Paris, Sadie’s past in America is swept away and replaced with a fantasy too good to be true.

Pulled into Olivier’s orbit of wealth, glamour, and excess, Sadie discovers that the Dumont dynasty comes with a legacy of wicked secrets. And Olivier’s secrets may be the most damning of all…

G E T   Y O U R   C O P Y   N O W !
Amazon US | Amazon Canada | Indigo | B&N

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REVIEW

First Impressions...

I was hoping for a steamy, Dynasty-like romance and that’s exactly what I got! I absolutely loved DISCRETION! Sadie and Olivier were fantastic, their chemistry was phenomenal, and the steam in this book was intense!!! Loved every single minute of it and I’m super excited to see where this series goes!

This Book In 5 Words:

Addictive. Sexy. Thrilling. Dramatic. Intense.

What Did I Like: 

- The characters! I loved Sadie and Olivier! I loved how down-to-earth and determined Sadie was, but most of all, I loved that throughout DISCRETION she was always willing to take a chance and she was absolutely always there for those that she loved. And Olivier....*dreamy sigh* boy was he wonderful! I loved how right away we were able to see beneath his public persona. He was thoughtful, kind, doting, and I especially loved how he opened up to Sadie and showed her his true colours. Both characters were fairly closed off, so one of my favourite parts of their relationship was seeing them open up and seeing how their banter and chemistry evolved throughout the story.

- The romance...the steam...oh my! I'm going to be one of the first to admit that I like steam in my romance. I'm okay without it, but I will admit that I do prefer my romances on the steamier end and DISCRETION had so much glorious steam! It was sexy, fun, and I loved every single second of it!

- The drama and story! I know drama isn't for everyone, but personally I love it when I go into a story knowing that it'll be there and DISCRETION doesn't hide it's drama at all. Right from the description, we know that this is going to be part of a dramatic series, and let me tell you, it certainly is! I absolutely love dramatic TV shows, so I found this book to be super addictive and NEEDED to know what was going to happen...now I'm eagerly waiting for book two, DISARM! ;)

- The cover!!!! *heart eyes* I don't normally factor covers into reviews at all, but I just have to comment to say that I've been smitten with this cover since the moment I saw it. ;)

What Didn't I Like:

- Nothing! I went into this book expecting it to be dramatic and thus slightly unrealistic, so I was 100% super, duper ready for it! While I didn't like some of the characters as people...they were fantastic as villains in this story. :P

Star Rating:

★★★★★

Read If You Like:

Steamy contemporary romances where the characters have phenomenal chemistry that blossoms into something deeper! High-stake dramas! Billionaire romances!

Overall, I loved DISCRETION! I thought that it was an absolutely amazing story and I had so much fun reading it! I loved that it was romantic, sexy, and extremely dramatic all rolled into one epic package, and once I started, I was hooked and I didn't want to put it down! Highly, highly recommend this to anyone who loves steamy romances, too!

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What do you think?
Does DISCRETION sound like something you'd like?

Cover Reveal: Heat Wave by Karina Halle #CoverReveal

Hello to all of my lovely bookish peeps! 

You know me, I'm always excited to share pretty covers with you, and today I have an absolutely GORGEOUS one for all of us to enjoy! 

The fabulous New York Times Bestselling author, Karina Halle, has a new book coming out in the beginning of November called HEAT WAVE and today I'm going to share the cover!

Without further ado...here it is!

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HEAT WAVE

By Karina Halle

Standalone

Release Date: November 3, 2016!!

They say when life closes one door, another one opens.
This door happens to lead to paradise.
And a man I can never, ever have.

Still grieving the loss of her sister who died two years ago, the last thing Veronica "Ronnie" Locke needed was to lose her job at one of Chicago’s finest restaurants and have to move back in with her parents. So when a window of opportunity opens for her – running a kitchen at a small Hawaiian hotel – she’d be crazy not to take it.

The only problem is, the man running the hotel drives her crazy:
Logan Shephard.
It doesn’t matter that he’s got dark brown eyes, a tall, muscular build that’s sculpted from daily surfing sessions, and a deep Australian accent that makes your toes curl.
What does matter is that he’s a grump.
Kind of an asshole, too.
And gets under Ronnie’s skin like no one else.

But the more time Ronnie spends on the island of Kauai, falling in love with the lush land and its carefree lifestyle, the closer she gets to Logan. And the closer she gets to Logan, the more she realizes she may have pegged him all wrong. Maybe it’s the hot, steamy jungles or the invigorating ocean air, but soon their relationship becomes utterly intoxicating.

There’s just one major catch.

The two of them together would incite a scandal neither Ronnie, nor her family, would ever recover from.

Forbidden, Illicit, off-limits – sometimes the heat is worth surrendering to, even if you get burned.

Add HEAT WAVE to your Goodreads TBR, and remember, it's available NOVEMBER 3rd!

ABOUT KARINA HALLE

Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact, Racing the Sun, Sins & Needles and over 25 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.

Halle is represented by the Waxman Leavell Agency and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.

Hit her up on Instagram at @authorHalle, on Twitter at @MetalBlonde and on Facebook. You can also visit www.authorkarinahalle.com and sign up for the newsletter for news, excerpts, previews, private book signing sales and more.

Connect with Karina: Facebook | Twitter  | Instagram | Goodreads | Website | Amazon Author Page

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If I just had to choose two things that I love most when it comes to pretty covers they would be sparkles and lots of colour, so I absolutely LOVE HEAT WAVE's cover! The gradient from the sunset that's incorporated into the text is gorgeous, and I really love the sparkly purple background! I also just think HEAT WAVE sounds fantastic and it's definitely on my TBR!
 
What do you think of the cover for HEAT WAVE?
And who else is excited to read HEAT WAVE?

Release Day Blitz: SMUT by Karina Halle #Smut #KarinaHalle

Exciting news!!

Karina Halle's newest book, SMUT, releases today!! I'm extremely excited about this one. Karina has described it as a romantic comedy where the main characters are writing erotica...hilarity is sure to ensue!! ;D 

I've got a great excerpt and a teensy teaser for you all! Let me know if you're as excited as I am. :D

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SMUT by Karina Halle

What happens when the kink between the pages leads to heat between the sheets?

All Blake Crawford wants is to pass his creative writing course, get his university degree and take over his dad’s ailing family business. What Amanda Newland wants is to graduate at the top of her class, as well as finally finish her novel and prove to her family that writing is a respectful career.

What Blake and Amanda don’t want is to be paired up with each other for their final project but that’s exactly what they both get when they’re forced to collaborate on a writing piece. Since Amanda thinks Blake is a pushy asshole (with a panty-melting smirk and British accent) and Blake thinks Amanda has a stick up her ass (though it’s brilliant ass), they fight tooth and nail until they discover they write well together. They also might find each other really attractive, but that’s neither here nor there.

When their writing project turns out to be a success, the two of them decide to start up a secret partnership together using a pen name, infiltrating the self-publishing market in the lucrative genre of erotica. Naturally, with so much heat and passion between the pages, it’s not long before their dirty words become a dirty reality. Sure, they still fight a lot but at least there’s make-up sex now.

But even as they start to fall hard for each other, will their burgeoning relationship survive if their scandalous secret is exposed or are happily-ever-afters just a work of fiction?

Purchase Links: Amazon | iTunes | Nook | Kobo

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About Karina Halle:

Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact, Racing the Sun, Sins & Needles and over 25 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.

Halle is represented by the Waxman Leavell Agency and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.

Hit her up on Instagram at @authorHalle, on Twitter at @MetalBlonde and on Facebook. You can also visit www.authorkarinahalle.com and sign up for the newsletter for news, excerpts, previews, private book signing sales and more.

LINKS: Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

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EXCERPT

She holds my gaze for a moment and something passes over her. Regret, maybe. Then she nods. “Sit down. Let’s work.”

And so we do. And for the first time in a long time, it’s strained. I’m about to suggest maybe we need the Estonian vodka anyway when she lets out an exasperated sigh over something she’s reading.
It happens to be something I wrote.

“What?” I ask, wondering what I did wrong.

She gives me the are you kidding me? look. “Okay, I was ignoring it earlier but I think you need to get a grip on some of this shit. This simply does not happen.”

“Explain, please.”

“I just think it’s unrealistic for there to be so much talking, let alone the fact that the first time they do it it’s in a public place.”

“Too much talking?”

“Yeah.” she scans over the document. “You know, give me your cock, oh you feel so good, harder, harder, you’re so big, fuck me harder big boy.”

“Have you even had good sex?” I ask incredulously.

She flinches. “Of course I have. And it’s none of your business.”

“We’re writing about sex. It’s completely my business. I’m not letting you interject your edits based on your personal experiences about sex because believe me, if the sex is good, you’re moaning my name.”

She raises her chin. “Maybe all those girls were faking it.”

Oh, brilliant.

“Excuse me?” I say, hands pressed against the table, nearly getting out of my chair. “You have no idea. I pride myself in giving a girl as many bloody orgasms as she can handle.”

“Bloody orgasms don’t sound like fun,” she jokes softly.

“They can be if you’re into knife play,” I tell her, even though that’s not exactly what I meant. Still, she scrunches up her nose. “Don’t knock it until you try it, but that’s neither here nor there. When you were with Alan, he must have made you come at least a few times.”

If he didn’t, I feel like finding the guy and showing him a thing or two for wasting four years of her life.

“Yeah,” she says flatly.

“And in the middle of that orgasm, didn’t you want to yell a few things?”

“Sometimes.”

“And why didn’t you?”

She looks at her nails as if they’re suddenly fascinating. “It didn’t seem right. It was…too intimate. I would have felt dumb. He didn’t like any of that stuff.”

The plot thickens. “Any of what stuff?”

“Sex that didn’t involve the missionary position or the bed.”
 
My mouth drops open. My brain and penis can’t compute this. “I feel so sorry for you.”

We must remedy this.

She glares at me. “It’s not like I didn’t want to do it. I did. And he did try it. Most of it. But it always went back to the same old.”

I knew it. She’s a nerd on the streets and a freak in the sheets.

“I don’t mean to brag,” I tell her in all seriousness. “But you do realize that I could give you an orgasm in thirty seconds.”

Her eyes widen. I can’t tell if she’s horrified or intrigued. “I don’t believe you and I don’t want you to try.”

She’s not getting it. I frown, trying to explain. “If you’re having good sex and it’s with someone you’re comfortable with, you won’t worry about holding back. You’ll cry out all the nonsense you want, you’ll make noises like a pig and scream like you’re on fire because you truly can’t have a good orgasm unless you’re letting go on all accounts.” I lean back in my chair and study her, running my fingers along my jaw. “I would venture that every time you came with your ex, you were only experiencing half of what you should have been. How is it with your vibrators?”

I expect her to tell me to fuck off, that I’m getting too personal but to my surprise she gives me a small smile. “It’s better. But I do have a roommate with exceptionally good hearing.” She clears her throat. “Anyway, so I guess I’m wrong. The heroine can make all the noise she wants.”

 “And have first time sex in public.”

“I don’t know…”

“Believe me, when you finally get a chance to fuck, you don’t care where it is. That’s why I always have a condom in my pocket. And the more public the sex, the sneakier you have to be, the hotter it is.”

“But in the book you would never get caught.”

“You don’t always get caught in real life too.”

I can see she wants to ask me where I’ve done it but she loses her nerve. “Okay.” She looks back to the document. “I accept defeat.”

But I don’t want her to. I want to prove to her I’m right and not have her take my word.

Is there a non-creepy way to show her just how amazing good sex can feel? I’m thinking not.

Or…maybe there is.

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What do you think?

Does SMUT sound like something you'd like to read?

Release Day!!! The Offer by Karina Halle!!!

Back when it came out, I quickly devoured Karina Halle's contemporary romance, The Pact...and now The Offer, a companion novel to The Pact is out!!! Both books are standalones, but they do happen to star two lovely, hunky, Scottish brothers. :P

And today is the official release day for The Offer!!!!!

You can find it on Amazon, B&N (I'll post this link once it's live!),  iTunes, and Kobo!!! For a limited time it also happens to only be $0.99!!!!! :D

So...if you haven't already fallen in love with The Pact, and have no idea what The Offer is about, I've got some lovely teasers, and an excerpt for you all! ;)

First things first though, here's the book's description:

She thinks he's an arrogant playboy.
He thinks she's an uptight prude.
But he's about to make her an offer she can't refuse.

Nicola Price used to have it all – a great career, the perfect boyfriend, an excessive shoe collection and an apartment in one of San Francisco’s best neighborhoods. But when she gets knocked up and her asshat boyfriend leaves her high and dry, Nicola’s perfectly crafted world comes tumbling down. And stays that way.

Now, Nicola is the proud single mom to a five-year old daughter and living a giant lie. She can barely afford their ghetto apartment and all the men she dates run when they hear she comes with a child. She’s struggling and scared – and nowhere near where she thought she’d be at age thirty-one.

Her saving grace comes in the form of a tall, handsome and wealthy Scotsman Bram McGregor, the older brother of her friend Linden. Bram understands a thing or two about pride, so when tragic circumstances place Nicola at rock bottom, he offers them a place to live in the apartment complex he owns. It’s pretty much the perfect deal, so as long as she doesn’t mind living beside Bram, a man that, despite his generosity, seems to antagonize her at every turn.

But nothing in life is free and as Nicola gets her feet back on the ground, she discovers that the enigmatic playboy may end up costing her more than she thought.

She might just lose her heart.

Those McGregor brothers are nothing but trouble...

EXCERPT

When reality starts to fade in a bit, I find myself being walked to the door of my apartment building, my arms draped over both Kayla and Steph. We go up the stairs and now I’m standing in front of my door, wobbling back and forth, trying my hardest to look as sober as possible.

Steph goes to knock on the door but it’s already open. I guess we are being loud, giggling, in the hallway.

Bram looks at the three of us and my God is he a sight for sore eyes.

“We brought her home,” Steph says, motioning with her hand for Bram to get out of the way, “your shift is over.”

“No,” I tell them as they shuffle me inside. “He can stay.”

I know the three of them are exchanging a look over my head.

“I’ll make sure she goes to bed,” Bram explains. “No funny business, I swear.”

“Pinky swear?” Steph says and I turn to see her holding out her pinky to him. “You know I don’t break those.”

Ugh, Steph and her damn pinky swears. She wouldn’t even be married to Linden if it weren’t for one.

But Bram does a pinky swear with her.

“No funny business,” Steph warns him.

“Good thing I’m not funny!” I yell as I flop down on the couch. The room is beginning to spin.

“Nic, that was, like, five minutes ago,” Steph says. She reaches over the couch and pats my head. “Do you want us to undress you because Bram’s not allowed.”

“No one undresses me but me!” I yell, throwing my fist up into the air.

“Have fun with her,” Steph says to Bram. “And remember, she’s untouchable. Don’t make me make your brother punch you in the junk or something.”

Bram makes a scoffing noise. “Last time he tried to do that, I got him back good. You just ask him what happened on January 16th, 2005 and why he’ll never eat pudding again.”

“I mean it,” Steph threatens and I hear her and Kayla leave and the door closing.

I close my eyes too. Drift away for a moment. The spinning has stopped and there’s a beautifully cool breeze wafting over my skin.

“I’m not supposed to touch you,” Bram’s gruff voice says and when I open my eyes, he’s crouched in front of me, a lock of dark hair over his forehead. His face is shadowy in the dark, the only light now being from my bedroom behind him.

“That’s okay,” I mumble into the couch. “You can touch me. I say it’s fine.”

“How about I bring you something to sleep in? Do you have a favorite nightshirt? I always see you in that top that your nipples try and poke right through.”

“No, not the nipple shirt.”

He goes to get up. With a lazy hand, I grip his shirt. “Don’t leave. I’m fine here.”

“I can’t imagine you being comfortable.”

“I’m drunk. Everything is comfortable. Except I wish I had a cheeseburger. I would eat it and use it as a pillow. Or maybe use it as a pillow and then eat it.”

“I see.”

I raise my brow at him. “You just want to go through my underwear.”

“Oh, I’ve already gone through your underwear.”

“Lies.”

“I wore them on my head and danced around your apartment.”

“Did you really?” I ask, totally serious.

“Come on,” he says grabbing my forearms. “If you want to sleep in your clothes, that’s fine. But I’m bringing you to your own bed and taking off your shoes.”

“Can you brush my teeth too? I need clean teeth.” I let him pull me to my feet and I pitch to the left, heading right for the coffee table. But I’m in his arms, his capable arms, and he’s holding me to him.

“You have capable arms.”

“You have an exquisite arse,” he responds and half leads me, half drags me out of the living area and into the bedroom.

“I like the way you say arse,” I say with a giggle, exaggerating his accent. “I like the way you say everything.”

“I’m glad, because I foresee a lot of arse talk in the future.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I try and swat him away. “All talk and no arse pinching.”

About Karina Halle

With her USA Today Bestselling The Artists Trilogy published by Grand Central Publishing, numerous foreign publication deals, and self-publishing success with her Experiment in Terror series, Vancouver-born Karina Halle is a true example of the term "Hybrid Author." Though her books showcase her love of all things dark, sexy and edgy, she's a closet romantic at heart and strives to give her characters a HEA...whenever possible. 

Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her husband and rescue pup.

 FACEBOOK | TWITTER |  GOODREADS |  AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

 And here are some final teasers for you all! Be forewarned...some are pretty steamy! ;) 

What do you think?

Are you as excited to get your hands on a copy of The Offer as I am? 

I totally already got myself one, so hurry up and get yours, too! ;P 
That $0.99 deal won't last long!!! ;)

Cover Reveal: Shooting Scars by Karina Halle

 Shooting Scars by Karina Halle (The Artists Trilogy #2)

Publication date: May, 2013 by Metal Blonde Books

 A second chance at first love.

There are a few things worth risking everything for - even your life. For Camden McQueen, this is one of them.

Shooting Scars is the second book in The Artists Trilogy and is told from the dual POV of Camden and Ellie.

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17230559-shooting-scars

Purchase links (Sins & Needles): 

Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Smashwords

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AUTHOR BIO

 

Karina Halle

The daughter of a Norwegian Viking and a Finnish Moomin, Karina Halle grew up in Vancouver, Canada with trolls and eternal darkness on the brain. This soon turned into a love of all things that go bump in the night and a rather sadistic appreciation for freaking people out. Like many of the flawed characters she writes, Karina never knew where to find herself and has dabbled in   acting, make-up artistry, film production, screenwriting, photography, travel writing and music journalism. She eventually found herself in the pages of the very novels she wrote (if only she had looked there to begin with).

Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she's preparing for the zombie apocalypse.

Author Links:

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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I haven't had the chance to read Sins and Needles yet...but I really REALLY want to! It sounds amazing, and I won't lie the cover is gorgeous....and so is the cover for Shooting Scars! :D
I love that the same filtering and text is used on both covers...it matches so well, and looks beautiful! The pose of the guy on the cover totally makes me think of Dexter too! haha I love it!

So...what do you think?
Do you like the cover?
And what do you think of this series?