Brandy’s Blog
Sensuality Level: Sensual
BLOG TOUR STOP! THE BANOVIC SIBLINGS BY GILLIAN FELIX (@gillianfx)
College boy Kevin Banovic’s casual affair with Savi DaCosta suited him perfectly. Things change when he finds out that Savi is his mom’s high school bestie. When Kevin tries to end their affair, Savi blackmails him. After Kevin rescues Savi’s stepdaughter, L’Wren, from her abusive boyfriend, he can’t stop thinking about her. He must find a way to handle Savi, protect L’Wren, and keep his sanity.
Bad girl Adriana Banovic is pleased with herself for getting her nemesis expelled from Westwood Academy. As feelings between her and her latest victim Haze Lyndon escalate, an unexpected rival discovers her secret and threatens to expose her. With emotions on the line, will her new rival beat her at her own game or end up another casualty of Adriana’s wrath?
Zax Banovic has it all. Tall and handsome, he’s an academic genius, with a killer smile and a heart of gold. When his best friend gets into trouble, he feels responsible and covers for him. But his best friend is not as honorable and has other plans for Zax.
The Banovic Siblings learn that blackmail is a gift that keeps on giving. This is the second book in the Family Portrait novel series.
If you like shows like the original Melrose Place, Beverly Hills 90210 and Nashville, where the guys and girls are hot and the schemes are hotter, you will like The Banovic Siblings.
Just for the record, I received a copy of this in exchange for my review.
I am a fan of Gillian Felix’s work. This book picks up and takes you on a drama filled roller coaster. Her characters are real and flawed. I love that in a book! There are only so many “perfect” characters you can take before you chuck the book out the window. These siblings are a handful that I feel you either love or hate. I have to say that no good deed goes unpunished and I think that you guys will love the Banovic crew!
Gillian Felix has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. She enjoys creating characters that could be your next-door neighbor, but would you want them as your neighbor is another story.
Originally from the island of Trinidad and Tobago, Miss Felix moved to the United States in 1998. Since then she has been involved in the entertainment industry for over fifteen years. Her experience ranges from script supervisor to production manager on many independent features. She is trained in the Meisner and Stanislavski technique of acting, which she credits as an asset to her character development and writing.
Miss Felix is an entrepreneur and advocate for children’s and women’s rights.
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PROMO! RUN FOR LOVE BY ANNA V. MOORE
Synopsis:
Gia is a successful business woman. She is smart, kind and very attractive. She thinks she has everything she wants in life until she meets Joe. He is a sexy, successful man. Run for Love follows their story.
Buy it on Amazon and add Run for Love to your TBR on Goodreads
Excerpt
“Please, Scott, for seven years I’ve loved working here, even though I work fifty to sixty hours a week. I love running with you and going to charity events with you, but most of all, I love being myself with you. I’ve never felt that I had to prove myself to you or that I had to explain our amazing relationship to anyone. I’ve always felt blessed to have the best, and I mean best, boss in the world. But I’ve never thought of us beyond that. I certainly never thought you did either. It scares me to hear you say these things.”
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BLOG TOUR STOP! SOMETHING TO PROVE BY SHANNYN SCHROEDER (@TastyBookTours)
Two ambitious people team up to prove themselves to their families—and find there may be more to their partnership than just business…
Elizabeth Brannigan is determined to show her father she’s capable of running the family business. Saving his struggling Chicago bar seems like the perfect project. But she’ll need a little help dealing with the rough crowd. Who better to assist her than the handsome co-owner of a thriving Irish pub? Of course, with so much work to do, there are bound to be a few late nights…
Colin O’Leary’s father passed away before he could prove to him that he wasn’t a screw-up. Now he wants to show his brother he’s responsible enough to own a bar of his own—and Elizabeth may be able to help him. But when their professional aspirations clash, tempers—and passions—flare. Are they mature enough to mix business with pleasure—or will they have to choose between the two?
Colin shows up at the hotel where Elizabeth is interviewing candidates to work with her at the bar. He tries to convince Elizabeth that she should partner with him.
“You don’t have the business management experience or education the other candidates have.”
He smiled. “Neither does my brother, but you went to him.”
“Like the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding. He’s a success. Just because you share a branch of the family tree doesn’t guarantee me anything.”
“But you’ve seen me with people.” He thunked the chair back down on all four legs. “I was good with you.”
Between his intense blue eyes and his low bedroom voice, his words warmed her blood again.
“And that would be another reason to not work with you. I don’t have time for someone who’s more interested in flirting than working.”
“Sweetheart, you flirted with me. I took your cues and acted on them. I’m completely capable of working with a partner without sleeping with her.”
Part of Elizabeth felt relief at his statement. More of her felt another sting of disappointment.
His steely blue gaze bore into her. No sign of lust. Nothing to imply that he planned to kiss her again. Not even a hint of sexual attraction. If they pretended that night had never happened, a partnership could work.
She steadied herself for a strong negotiation. “I’ll offer you twenty-five percent profits and a bonus twenty percent when I sell, assuming you hold up your end of the bargain and bring in the customers. I remain the manager and boss and all decisions go through me.”
“Make it forty percent profits and thirty percent on sale.”
“You bring personality to the table. No proven experience, and you expect me to give you almost half the business?” She leaned back in her chair.
“My personality is the one thing you need most. It can’t be taught or bought.”
“Thirty profits and twenty-five at sale.”
He narrowed his eyes as if computing, then leaned forward. “Deal.”
“One more thing. No flirting. Just business.”
He sighed like she was being insufferable. “Contrary to popular belief, I am capable of being professional. When do we start?”
“It’s locked up, so we can start tomorrow. I’ll have the contract drawn up for you to sign when you get there. Nine a.m.?”
“I’m closing at O’Leary’s tonight. Make it eleven. Even I need my beauty sleep.”
“You plan to continue to work at O’Leary’s?”
“It’s my family’s bar.”
“I’m not a simpleton. There are only so many hours in a day. I won’t have you thinking you can drop by The Irish just to collect a check.”
His smile was disarming. “Sweetheart, simple isn’t what anyone would call you. I’ll prove my worth soon enough. Seems a lot of people expect that.” He rose and extended his hand. “I’ll sign your contract, but a handshake will do for me.”
She shook his hand and tried to ignore its strength and warmth and the zing of her nerves. As he turned to leave, she enjoyed the view and immediately began to question her sanity. She’d just created a business partnership based on a man’s charm. What the hell was she thinking
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/something-to-prove/id686497843?mt=11
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/something-to-prove-shannyn-schroeder/1116524336?ean=9781601831835
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Something-to-Prove-O%60Learys-ebook/dp/B00EF51JF6
Link to Follow Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/09/now-booking-tasty-virtual-book-tour-for.html
This is a dramatic read that both delighted and frustrated me!
Elizabeth’s a very serious, intelligent, businesswoman that has absolutely no street smarts, and no social skills. She’s bitten off more than she can chew, and her only saving grace is a sexy bartender with a tempting offer.
I didn’t love this character, but I didn’t hate her. She has a serious case of tunnel vision, is terribly paranoid, and internalizes her anxiety. All of this, of course, is caused by a dysfunctional family. The only time she’s ever at ease is with Colin, but she can’t see past her own agenda long enough to enjoy what’s right in front of her face.
Colin’s ready to branch out on his own but he’s used up all of his resources. Every step he takes towards the door only rehashes memories of a time when he was less than admirable. When a stuffy, new patron turns out to be a bar owner looking for help, he takes the opportunity to prove his worth. The silver tongued devil has finally met his match, however, and has to earn his keep.
The more I read, the more I liked Colin. At first, his intentions weren’t pure, but there’s more than what meets the eye with him.
This is an interesting romance that doesn’t quite contradict the old mantra, “opposites attract”, but doesn’t fit perfectly, either. While both characters have similarities that bring them together, their differences are an attraction as well. I loved the sensual scenes and was quite taken by the sweet nature of the relationship at times. There’s a great deal of family drama, both good and bad, a love that blossoms, and a saboteur in the shadows. I enjoyed the writing style, the plot, and the ending.
Shannyn is a former English teacher, who now works as a part-time editor while raising her three kids.
Even though she wrote from high school through college (mostly poetry), she’d never considered a career as an author. Writing fell by the wayside as she focused her energy on creating lesson plans and new and fabulous ways to torment her teen students. One group in particular dubbed her “The Torture Master,” a title she carried into motherhood.
After the birth of baby number two, Shannyn resigned from teaching and fell in love with reading romance novels. She read so many books so quickly that her husband teased, “If you’re going to read so many damn books, why don’t you just write one?”
So she did.
That first book is safely buried on her hard drive, but the process set Shannyn on the path to where she is today—agented with a debut ebook coming out with Kensington in late 2012.
She is recovering from her Diet Coke addiction, fears putting her foot in her mouth on social media, and has a renewed appreciation for the bad girls of the world.
http://www.shannynschroeder.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shannyn-Schroeder/536050196443173
https://twitter.com/SSchroeder_
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6575201.Shannyn_Schroeder
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BLOG TOUR STOP! ATONEMENT BY J.H. CARDWELL (@TastyBookTours)
Reese Stanford is off to college at Wake Forest with her loving boyfriend, Tate Justice…or is she? When trust issues arise regarding Tate’s behavior, she turns to none other than her beautiful past – the beach god, John Rider who is conveniently available and still waiting. Will it be enough drama for John to finally have her forever, or will other shocking revelations and dark discoveries keep Reese from becoming his life-long dream? Will Tate ever be able to win her love back?
Betrayal, anger, lust, and love fuel the future of Reese causing unexpected twists and turns on her long-awaited road to happiness. Will undying love conquer after all? Can Reese remain true to herself?
Atonement is the second book in the Attainment series by J. H. Cardwell. Reese Stanford is off to college at Wake Forest. She is dating Tate and life is good. Reese and Tate have several bumps as the both grow up and become adults while they are in college. Tate becomes aggressive when anyone looks at Reese. Reese has grown up and is more level headed than in the first book.
Tate is still the hot and sexy man from the first book. He is also still head over heels in love with Reese. Tate’s biggest problem is deciding what he wants to do beyond college is it the majors or what and how to fit Reese into it. Tate also seems to forget to talk to her about what is going on with him and his plans.
John is still around and waiting for Reese to wake up and pick him. John has it so bad he tries to meddle in Tate and Reese’s lives. The one thing that John accomplished was pushing them together. I wonder if John did not meddle as he did, if Tate and Reese would even be together.
I loved how the book ended. I fully expected the ending to be much sooner than it was. I loved that I was kept at the edge of my seat wondering how it was all going to play out. I found this story to be well written. The main and secondary characters were interesting and realistic. Overall, this was a great story and I cant wait for the next book in the series!
There are many ways to capture a person’s love, but unwilling, full attainment is never the best option.
Life hasn’t been easy for 18 year old Reese Stanford. After a traumatic incident a year ago, she has a hard time trusting any guy. She finally allows herself to fall for the heart throb, Tate Justice, only to realize he too comes with his own set of issues.
Swearing off men, she meets a beach ‘god’ who will settle for no less than all of Reese. That is at least, until she learns a truth about Tate that changes the game entirely.
Attainment is the first book in the Attainment series by J. H. Cardwell. Reese Stanford is only 18 and yet has had a rough life. Reese is a sweet and levelheaded young woman. She is trying to make her way in life in college and in romance. She learns at a young age how precious life is. Reese is a strong woman to be able to go through what she did and come out whole and not forever broken.
Tate is a young man who seems to know what he wants in life and is not afraid of his emotions when it comes to Reese. He is a hot and sexy athlete. I loved how respected her wishes about not having sex until she is married and did not pressure her in the least. Tate can come across as desperate at times but at his young age, it is not too unrealistic.
John is a hot and sexy man who fall in love with Reese from the first time he see her. John is also rich and is more than willing to throw his money around to help win over Reese. However, while John has some good qualities, he never fully eclipse Tate for Reese.
The author tackles some tough issues including rape. I do like how the author handled it. She showed it affected Reese but did not control it and also brought up that Reese was in therapy. I was not fond of how the book switched from first person to third person. I am also not fond of switching from Reese telling the story to different characters telling the story. The main and secondary characters were interesting and realistic. Overall, this was a good story in spite of the tough issues raised with the book.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Atonement-Attainment-J-H-Cardwell-ebook/dp/B00GJEE0J8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/atonement-j-h-cardwell/1117191409?ean=2940148869030
Link to Follow Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/11/now-booking-tasty-virtual-book-tour-for_12.html
Julie has spent years in the medical field. The first few as a Cardiac Specialty Nurse, and over the last decade as a Pharmaceutical and Medical Sales Representative. She has gathered mounds of experience both personally and professionally to pour into her long time passion…writing. After years of power points in the corporate world, she is finally pursuing literary fiction/New Adult/Contemporary romance with her first novel, Attainment, and the now released sequel Atonement. The third book in the series, Chloe, will be released in 2014. Julie resides in a small town in NC with her husband and four children. She continues working full time in sales, exploring her writing late at night and in the wee hours of the morning when her children are tucked safely in bed.
http://www.jhcardwell.com/#
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3395785.J_H_Cardwell
https://www.facebook.com/JHCardwell
https://twitter.com/jhcardwell
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REVIEW BY TOMME! DIE TRYING BY NICHOLAS RYAN
‘DIE TRYING: A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE’
Trapped amidst the horror of the zombie apocalypse, three men hear the sound of a helicopter overhead and know it represents their last desperate hope to survive the terror and reach safety.
But survival comes at a cost – and the undead hordes that ravage the world are not the only lurking evil the men must face.
But for Mitch Logan, his brother, Jed, and their friend, Clinton Harrigan, there is no choice.
They must fight to survive – or Die Trying.
The civilized world has ended, save for a few small pockets of survivors, it has been taken over by the zombies. Mitch and Jed Logan and Clinton Harrigan have survived so far by keeping extremely quiet and staying hold up in their “safe house” , but they are running out of supplies and must figure something out soon. Then they hear their salvation: a low flying helicopter trying to land. Now they must go out into the zombie-infested horror of a world to try and get to it, and they soon find out that the zombies aren’t necessarily the worst thing out there.
I would recommend this book for any die-hard zombie fan, The author does a great job of describing, in detail, a horrific
post-apocalyptic
world. Even with the world outside falling apart, the characters still have their own personal issues and that gives them depth. The story has plenty of twists and lots of gore. If you like B-movie zombie flicks, do yourself a favor and pick this book up.
BLOG TOUR STOP! LOVE WATER MEMORY BY JENNIE SHORTRIDGE
Title: Love Water Memory
Author: Jennie Shortridge
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publication Date: January 14, 2014
Publisher: Gallery Books
Event organized by: Literati Author Services, Inc.
If you could do it all over again, would you still choose him?
At age thirty-nine, Lucie Walker has no choice but to start her life over when she comes to, up to her knees in the chilly San Francisco Bay, with no idea how she got there or who she is. Her memory loss is caused by an emotional trauma she knows nothing about, and only when handsome, quiet Grady Goodall arrives at the hospital does she learn she has a home, a career, and a wedding just two months away. What went wrong? Grady seems to care for her, but Lucie is no more sure of him than she is of anything. As she collects the clues of her past self, she unlocks the mystery of what happened to her. The painful secrets she uncovers could hold the key to her future—if she trusts her heart enough to guide her.
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Lucie Walker wakes up in the San Francisco Bay and does not have any memories of anything prior to waking up. At the hospital they cannot find a physical cause for the memory loss and determine its emotional trauma. There she meets her fiancé Grady again. Lucie is a strong and determined woman who is determined to uncover the past that she hid from everyone around her. The Lucie that woke up in the San Francisco Bay is a much different than she was before.
Grady Goodall goes to San Francisco to bring his fiancé home now that she has been found. While he was warned about the fact that she has no memory prior to waking up in the bay he is still stunned by the difference. Grady falls for the new Lucie and wonders what he saw in the old Lucie. He is also wary that the old Lucie will return to the point that he walks on egg shells.
This book really makes you think about how much we reveal to those around us. Poor Grady realized as the new Lucie asked questions that he did not really know the old Lucie as much as he thought he did. I loved that he supported her as she searched for answers. I also loved the fact that he did not pressure her to go back to work. In fact it did not even come up to discuss.
When I first started reading this book I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It was different from what I expected to find. I had a very hard time putting this book down as I read it. I found the story to be very well written and interesting. The main and secondary characters were interesting and realistic. I do hope for a sequel to see how Lucie and Grady do as more of her memories return. Overall, this was a magnificent book.
This was an amazing novel that I simply could not put down!
I love it when an author captures my attention to the point that nothing else exists in this world, and everything around me fades. Shortridge has taken an unusual disorder and expressed the agony with such genuineness, I felt as if I knew the characters personally.
I loved the suspense in this novel, and suspected everyone of wrong-doing at some point, by the end. Pieces of the puzzle are slowly put into place, making your imagination work to see the full picture, but it’s worth the time invested. The characters are well written, well developed, and unique. I know there are similar stories out there, but the author has found a rare combination that makes this book stand out.
The romance is on a deeper level than physical contact. My heart ached for Julie and Grady as each fought their inner demons and faced the reality of what stood before them. The suffering, confusion, anger, and change in personalities are depicted as if they’re from actual events. Each time the narration changed throughout the book, it was done so flawlessly, never disrupting the flow. The ending was beautiful, but leaves room for you to come up with your own ideas.
I loved it!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
Jennie Shortridge has published five novels: Love Water Memory,When She Flew, Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe,Eating Heaven, and Riding with the Queen. When not writing, teaching writing workshops, or volunteering with kids, Jennie stays busy as a founding member of Seattle7Writers.org, a collective of Northwest authors devoted both to raising funds for community literacy projects and to raising awareness of Northwest literature.
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SALE! SECRET MANUEVERS BY JESSIE LANE
Secret Maneuvers – Released – June 14, 2013
Re-released with new cover on September 23, 2013
Goodreads page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14741886-secret-maneuvers
Website Page: http://jessielanebooks.com/ex-ops-series/secret-maneuvers-1/
Secret Maneuvers Two Chapter Excerpt Page: http://jessielanebooks.com/ex-ops-series/secret-maneuvers-1/excerpt-2/
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Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Maneuvers-Ex-Ops-ebook/dp/B00DE50XLO/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1371208507&sr=1-3&keywords=secret+maneuvers
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Some mistakes from the past haunt us forever… unless fate steps in with a second chance.
One ‘Dear John’ letter haunted Bobby Baker’s every living moment. It was the letter he’d stupidly written to his high school sweetheart, Belle, right after he had left to join the Army. The letter in which he’d told her that he wasn’t so sure they were ready for forever yet. Before he could let her know that the letter, and his second thoughts, were nothing more than a mistake, she disappeared from the small Georgia town they had both been raised in.
Fifteen years after the letter, Belle unknowingly walked back into Bobby’s life when her job as an ATF Agent forced her to work with a group of men secretly headed by the CIA to help her track down whoever was involved in funneling black market weapons to a drug cartel in Mexico.
REVIEW BY CEECEE! LOVE’S SPIRIT BY ELIZABETH MEYETTE
Romance Bookworm's Reviews 