Book Tour: The Billionaire's Legacy by Reese Ryan

When reminiscing over the past ignites a secret night of passion between a billionaire and his childhood crush, they end up with more than just their memories of that night.

“Just for tonight.”

Until their chance reunion takes a sharp turn…toward twins.

Tech billionaire Benjamin Bennett can’t resist a steamy weekend with Sloane Sutton—his crush on her goes way back. But when he tracks her down, she’s pregnant—with twins! Now their fling needs trust to survive. Benji wants a wedding; his family claims she’s a gold digger. But Sloane won’t be bought—or married. Can they find common ground…and a shot at forever?

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Excerpt: Reminiscing Turns to Something More

Setup: This scene picks up after coffee and catching up on each other's lives back at Benji's place turns into an unexpected kiss.

He swallowed her gasp in response to the sudden move, kissing her harder. Losing himself in the clash of lips and tongue and the delicious sensation of their bodies moving against each other, desperate for more contact than their clothing would permit.

He savored her intoxicating scent and relished the feel of her full breasts with their hardened peaks pressed against his chest.

She glided her fingertips down his stomach and fumbled with his belt buckle, loosening it.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this,” he whispered, his lips brushing her ear.

Sloane’s hands froze. Her eyes opened and her gaze had shifted from one of intense desire to one of regret.

“Hey, beautiful.” Benji traced her cheekbone with his thumb. “Did I say something wrong?”

“I shouldn’t have come here, and we shouldn’t be doing this.” She lowered her gaze.

He was seconds away from making his boyhood fantasy a reality and he’d blown it, because he couldn’t keep his stupid mouth shut.

Way to go, Benj.

“Why not?” He spoke calmly, trying to put her at ease. “We’re consenting adults.”

“I’ve known you since you were five. You’re my best friend’s little brother. I’ve introduced you as my little brother.” She shook her head, her eyes still not meeting his. “This is bad. What would Delia say? And what would your parents think?”

“My mother will never believe anyone is good enough, and my sister adores you.” Benji dropped a slow, lingering kiss on her lips.

“Because I’m her friend, who she trusts not to blow into town and screw her little brother.” She jabbed him in the gut, but her lips parted to his tongue when he kissed her again.

“You’re too young for me, Benji,” she whispered against his lips as he slid the silky, blue material down her shoulder.

He kissed the shell of her ear. “Five years mattered then. It doesn’t now.”

“I’m not looking for a relationship, Benj.” She pressed her hands to his chest, halting his movement as her gaze met his. Still, she hadn’t moved an inch. Her legs framed his as she awaited his response.

“Neither am I,” he said finally. “That doesn’t mean we can’t be together. I want you, Sloane. And I know you want me, too.” He slowly tugged the zipper down her back. The silky, cobalt blue material slid from her shoulders, giving him better access. He trailed kisses down her shoulder and across the top of her breasts, exposed by a pale pink strapless bra. “Just for tonight.”

She sucked in a deep breath and let the material slip down her arms and pool around her waist. Sloane unbuttoned his pants and inched the zipper down. The sound echoed off the solid oak floors and shiplap walls. She leaned in to kiss him. “Just for tonight.”

ABOUT REESE RYAN

Reese Ryan serves up sexy, emotional romantic fiction with a cast of complex characters and a heaping side of family drama.

Born and raised in the Midwest, Reese now resides in Central North Carolina where she treads the line between being a Northerner and a damned Yankee, despite her insistence on calling soda pop. She gauges her progress by the number of “bless your lil’ hearts” she receives each week. She is currently down to two.

Past president of her local Romance Writers of America chapter and a panelist at the 2017 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Reese is an advocate for the romance genre and diversity in fiction.

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Blog Tour: Kill The Queen by Jennifer Estep

About the book:

The thrilling first novel in the Crown of Shards epic fantasy series combines magic, murder, and adventure when an unlikely member of the royal family suddenly becomes a contender in a clash for the crown . . .

In a realm where one’s magical power determines one’s worth, Lady Everleigh’s lack of obvious ability relegates her to the shadows of the royal court of Bellona, a kingdom steeped in gladiator tradition. Seventeenth in line for the throne, Evie is nothing more than a ceremonial fixture, overlooked and mostly forgotten.

But dark forces are at work inside the palace. When her cousin Vasilia, the crown princess, assassinates her mother the queen and takes the throne by force, Evie is also attacked, along with the rest of the royal family. Luckily for Evie, her secret immunity to magic helps her escape the massacre.

Forced into hiding to survive, she falls in with a gladiator troupe. Though they use their talents to entertain and amuse the masses, the gladiators are actually highly trained warriors skilled in the art of combat, especially Lucas Sullivan, a powerful magier with secrets of his own. Uncertain of her future—or if she even has one—Evie begins training with the troupe until she can decide her next move.

But as the bloodthirsty Vasilia exerts her power, pushing Bellona to the brink of war, Evie’s fate becomes clear: she must become a fearsome gladiator herself . . . and kill the queen.

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Excerpt #9

     The paddlewheel boat churned on past the domed arena and disappeared from sight, so I walked on.

     Sunlight streamed in through the windows and reflected off the gold, silver, and bronze threads that ran through the tapestries that covered the dark gray granite walls. The floor was made of the same stone, although it had been polished to a high, slick gloss. Wooden stands topped with glass cases lined the walls, each one boasting some historic statue, sword, or other treasure. The jewels on the artifacts burned as brightly as gargoyle eyes in the sunlight.

     But the most impressive things inside the palace were the columns.

     They used to be the supports for the old mining tunnels, although they had always seemed more like the bones of some great mythological creature to me. A few of the columns were slender enough for me to wrap my arms around, but most were massive monoliths that were larger than seven men standing shoulder to shoulder. Whether they were narrow or wide, short or tall, all the columns were covered with figures celebrating Bellona’s history.

     Gladiators clutching swords and shields. Spears that shot up from the floor or dropped down from the ceiling as though they were zooming toward targets. Stone gargoyles stretching their wings out wide and pointing the thick, curved horns on their heads at the strixes, enormous, hawklike birds with metallic feathers and razor-sharp beaks and talons. Caladriuses hovering above them all, their tiny, owlish bodies hiding their true power.

     All the columns were made of tearstone, which was unusual in that it could shift color, from a light, bright starry gray to a dark, deep midnight-blue, depending on the sunlight and other factors. The tearstone’s shifting color brought the gladiators and creatures to life, making it seem as though they were circling around the columns in a continuous battle for victory and supremacy. Similar columns also adorned the outside of the palace, supporting the structure.

     I had only been twelve when I’d first arrived here from my parents’ estate in the north, and I had been terrified of the flickering figures, despite the steady glow of the fluorestone lights embedded in the walls. I hadn’t realized back then that the columns were just columns—and that it was the people inside the palace who could truly hurt me.

     On a normal day, everyone would be out and about, conducting their business. Servants carrying food and drinks to meetings of palace stewards, guilders, and district senators tasked with running everything from Seven Spire to the city of Svalin to the rest of Bellona. Guards patrolling the hallways. And nobles, of course, lords and ladies with money, power, privilege, and access, trying to worm their way into better favor and broker better deals with whatever steward, guilder, senator, or royal they were targeting.

     But it was Saturday, which meant that the week’s work was done, and the only scheduled event was the luncheon. So the hallways were empty, except for a few guards and servants making their rounds, although the area would fill up later.

 

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Jennifer Estep is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author prowling the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea. 

Jennifer writes the Crown of Shards epic fantasy series. Kill the Queen, book #1, will be released on Oct. 2.

The Crown of Shards series focuses on Everleigh Blair, a member of the royal family who is distantly in line for the throne of Bellona, a kingdom steeped in gladiator tradition. But when the unthinkable happens, Evie finds herself fighting for her life—both inside and outside the gladiator arena.  

Jennifer is also the author of the Elemental Assassin, Mythos Academy, Bigtime, and Black Blade fantasy series.  

For more information on Jennifer and her books, visit www.jenniferestep.com or follow Jennifer on Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter. You can also sign up for her newsletter.

Website: http://www.jenniferestep.com/

Blog: http://www.jenniferestep.com/blog/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JenniferEstepAuthor?fref=ts

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Jennifer_Estep  (@Jennifer_Estep)

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Newsletter signup: http://www.jenniferestep.com/contact-jennifer/newsletter/

Blog Tour: Dating the Enemy by Nicole Williams

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Ms. Romance, Hannah Arden, writes one of the top read relationship advice columns in the nation. Mr. Reality, Brooks North, writes the top read relationship advice column.

Ms. Romance believes in true love and soul mates. Mr. Reality believes love is a term humanity has assigned to the primal instinct to procreate. She believes in fate—he in chance. She knows there’s one right person for everyone—he knows there are multiple ones. The two writers couldn’t be more polarized on relationships. They’re professional rivals, and philosophical antagonists.

For eight years, their battles have been fought with words and ink. That changes when they apply for the same position at the World Times and find themselves face-to-face for the first time. Brooks isn’t the sour-faced, antiquity of a man Hannah pictured. And Hannah isn’t exactly the middle-aged shrew with cat hair on her housedress that Brooks imagined either.

In lieu of competing for the promotion traditional ways, the two writers are presented with playing the leading roles in a social experiment unlike any before. Can a person be tricked into falling in love? Can a relationship be crafted under the right string of circumstances? Hannah knows the answer. So does Brooks.

Agreeing to the terms, the two set out on a three-month dating experiment, live-streamed for the world to watch. All Hannah has to do to win is not fall in love with the narcissistic brute. All Brooks has to do is get the starry-eyed dreamer to fall in love with him. Both are so confident in their philosophies, they expect the challenge to be easy.

With the world watching, Brooks and Hannah will be forced to confront their beliefs and conclude, once and for all, who’s right. The answer is one neither of them saw coming.

“Where do you think you’re going?”
​I jolted. Brooks had an annoying talent of being able to appear out of thin air. “As far away from this dance floor as I can get.”
​“But we haven’t danced yet.” Brooks crept in front of my path, forcing me to stop or crash into him.
​Braking to a stop, I shot him a look. “I’ll be sure to shed some tears for that later. When I’m asleep.”
​“Someone’s notably grumpier now than they were earlier.” His eyes narrowed in an investigative kind of way. “Methinks you weren’t totally forthcoming about you minding if I danced with other women.”
​The cameraman was leaning in, our ever-present third wheel, but I didn’t feel the need to lower my voice. “Methinks you were onto something when you expressed trepidation over your manhood’s functioning properties after tonight.”
​Brooks let out a low whistle. “Under the right circumstances, those words, from that mouth, would be such a turn-on.”
​“The right circumstances being what? Your standing appointment with a dungeon and a dominatrix?”
​One dark brow lifted. “Bad kitty.”
​“No. Grumpy cat.” I circled my face before going around him.
His arm whipped out, cinching around my waist to draw me back to him. “Let’s see if I can help with that.” His hand found mine, lifting it, while his other secured at my back, bringing me closer. And closer.
And . . .
“Brooks,” I hissed, remembering the camera before I put into words what I’d just felt.
He didn’t appear the slightest bit fazed. “What was that about my functioning manhood?”
“I don’t want to feel it digging into my stomach when I’m trying to focus on tangoing.”
“Then you shouldn’t have worn that dress.”
“And we’ll lump that in the category known as victim-blaming,” I muttered, trying to ignore the hard swell rubbing against my midsection.
“It’s not your fault my dick has a thing for your dress.” Brooks didn’t lower his voice at all. “It’s his fault, one hundred and ten percent. Total case of dick-blaming right here.”

Nicole Williams is the New York Times and USATODAY bestselling author of contemporary and young adult romance, including the Crash and Lost & Found series. Her books have been published by HarperTeen and Simon & Schuster in both domestic and foreign markets, while she continues to self-publish additional titles. She is working on a new YA series with Crown Books (a division of Random House) as well. She loves romance, from the sweet to the steamy, and writes stories about characters in search of their happily even after. She grew up surrounded by books and plans on writing until the day she dies, even if it’s just for her own personal enjoyment. She still buys paperbacks because she’s all nostalgic like that, but her kindle never goes neglected for too long. When not writing, she spends her time with her husband and daughter, and whatever time’s left over she’s forced to fit too many hobbies into too little time.

Nicole is represented by Jane Dystel, of Dystel and Goderich Literary Agency.

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REVIEW

I could tell from the first chapter that I was really going to like this book. Romance vs Reality...(I'm with her)..Hannah and Brooks are forced to show which one is the truth. Their boss wrangles them into dating to see which is the right school of thought with the winner getting a coveted job with the paper. I was kinda mad that their boss came up with this idea. I mean how can you try to make people fall in love? Someone is going to wind up hurt. Also unbeknownst to the boss, Hannah and Brooks have a one night past. Hannah is determined to show that romance cannot be manufactured and Brooks wants to show that two people can be happy together if they choose to be. Love isnt needed or real. 

I really enjoyed this one. It was funny, sweet and I can't explain it but it just hit every spot for me in a romance. This was a slow burn but that's expected with the story line. I really loved Hannah. She is the type of heroine I love. Even though she had a connection with Brooks before she didn't drool over him and get tongue tied. She stayed strong in her convictions. Brooks was a sweetie deep down. He had his reasons for not believing in love but I like that he wasn't totally anti-commitment. He was just for building something with someone for reasons other than love like compatibility. He doesn't think you need to be with your soulmate to be happy. As things go, Hannah and Brooks really got to know each other outside of the Romance vs Reality thing and things changed. But you gotta read the book to see how they changed. I really liked this one. It made me happy and I would definitely recommend this one. 

Book Blitz: Sweatpants Season by Danielle Allen

He has a big…smile.
It was the first thing I noticed that day until he stood. His grey sweatpants hung off his hips and I didn’t want to look. I really didn’t.
I’m a feminist.
I don’t believe in objectifying men. I don’t catcall men. I don’t ogle the bodies of men. I don’t view men as objects of my affection rather than complex people with feelings, wants, and needs of their own. I don’t treat men the way society often treats women.
I treat men the way I want to be treated as a woman—with respect!
So, when Carlos ran into me while I was reviewing my interview questions in the park, it surprised me to see my photography classmate out of context. I was also surprised to see as much of him as I did.
It wasn’t just that it caught my eye. It was the fact that it held my attention.
It wasn’t just that it was large. It was the fact that it was visibly large.
It wasn’t just that it was Carlos Richmond. It was the fact that I am Akila Bishara.
And I am not seduced by anything other than intelligent conversation, witty rapport, and meaningful actions.
I am not seduced by a dick print.
I am not.
Seriously, I’m not.

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ABOUT DANIELLE ALLEN

Danielle Allen is a novelist, professor, and life coach. Living authentically has been the key to her living her best life. With a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a Master’s in Human Services, Danielle plans to pursue a Ph.D. in the very near future. Helping people better understand themselves so they can become the best version of themselves is one of her passions. Writing contemporary romance novels that change the status quo of the genre is another.

Danielle Allen is the author of the Back to Life Series (Back to Life, Back to Reality, Back to December), Love Discovered in New York, Autumn & Summer, the Heartache Series (Heartache, Heartfelt, Heartless*), Work Song, The One Series Duet (The One and After The One), Nevermore, The Art of Being, Disasters in Dating Choose Your Dating Adventure (Disasters in Dating, Brink of Disaster: This One, Brink of Disaster: That One), Broken Clocks, and Sweatpants Season.

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Blog Tour: Immaterial Defense by Lauren Stewart

Title: Immaterial Defense

Series: Once and Forever Series

Author: Lauren Stewart

Genre: Contemporary Romance/New Adult

Release Date: September 25, 2018

She’s all alone in the darkness.

He’s lighting up the stage.

But not even the brightest spotlight can reach the shadows of a broken soul. 

Declan

Every wanna-be rocker dreams of the day when crazed fans will pack their shows. But the more people worship me as some kind of musical god, the more I realize why singers are called "performers." I'm just a pretender. A fake. 

I need something real. Something to break through the revolting glamour that's bled into every part of my life. And for one perfect night, I found that in Sara. 

Then she ran. 

Sara

No sane woman would’ve ever walked away from Declan Hollis after only one night. But

walking away from him was the safest move for both of us.

I've spent so much time burying my old self in the past, trying to erase the vulnerable person I used to be. I’m smarter now—men are dangerous, and relationships are doubly so. 

But the more time I spend away from him, the more I want to go back.

I may end up shattered all over again. Or maybe, just maybe, he'll be the one to help me pick up the pieces.

My bandmates and I grabbed a couple of burritos in the Mission District—cheap, delicious, and as gigantic as Pete claimed his dick was. A fun fact that ruined everybody’s appetite and no one believed. No one was willing to verify Pete’s claim either.

Somehow, our conversation maneuvered to the sad state of my love life. I’m fairly sure Trevor had guided us there, if for no other reason than to give me shit about how pathetic it was.

I sighed and pushed my food away, almost untouched. “If five years ago, anyone had said, ‘Hey, Dec. How would you like it if every woman you met wanted to sleep with you, just so she could tell her friends she’d banged the lead singer of a band?’ My response would’ve been: ‘Did you say something after ‘every woman I met wanted to sleep with me?’ And I wouldn’t have cared what the answer was. Now, knowing women are using me is just depressing.”

“Fuck that,” Trevor said. “I swear to the gods of music, if a woman wants to use me for sex, you sure as hell won’t hear me complaining about it.”

“That’s the difference between you and Declan,” Pete said, already smiling. “You said, ‘if a woman wants to use you.’ And that’s a pretty good-sized ‘if’.”

Everyone other than Trevor laughed. It made sense—he couldn’t see his own expression.

“Shit,” Pete continued. “No shame in it—none of us sees the amount of action Declan could.”

“If he weren’t such a pussy, you mean.”

“Obviously.”

“Hey!” I said it loud enough to know that they’d all heard me. So they were just pretending not to.

There was no way to explain it so they’d understand. Or not think I was insane. I’d guess that would be the natural reaction to a guy talking about how he feels like he’s two separate people—the one he’s always been and the one everyone expects him to be. It’s even sadder when the guy realizes that almost everyone he meets nowadays likes the fake him more than the real one.

Trevor would’ve gone cross-eyed if I told him that, until that night with Sara, sex just wasn’t as good as it had been before anyone knew who we were. 

It was a conclusion I didn’t come to without a lot of rigorous testing, by the way. My folks didn’t raise a quitter. 

But it became a little unpleasant when every time I fucked someone, I couldn’t get over the idea that it wasn’t really me who was getting laid. It was the guy I played onstage. 

We might have looked the same, but every day he seemed more and more foreign to me. We didn’t wear the same clothes, use the same words, share the same values. I felt more like an actor now than a musician. Slipping into a role as I slipped into a costume that had been picked out and prepped by someone who’d barely ever spoken to me.

That was what made my one night with Sara stick with me. Not only was it physically amazing, Sara hadn’t met Declan Hollis, the lead singer of Self Defense who someone else had designed. She’d met Declan Hollis, the man who just wanted to be normal, get a house somewhere quiet where my dog didn’t have to run on concrete and shit on a four-by-four square of fake grass.

And she’d liked that Declan. She’d reminded me that he was enough, that he was attractive and could make someone laugh.

“Wait a sec. Does that shit really bother you?” Trevor asked. “Seriously? Fuck, that’s the only reason I’m here. If women didn’t want to use me to say they’d fucked a rockstar, I’d be sitting in front of a bonfire on the beach somewhere, drinking beer and playing somebody else’s tunes.”

“First of all, you’re not a rockstar.”

“Not yet. And luckily, these girls don’t think that far ahead.”

I grumbled but couldn’t disagree. “Secondly, you’d be playing someone else’s tunes? What the fuck is wrong with our tunes?”

He laughed. “Don’t worry, bro. The writing is flawless. It’s just not really my style.”

Again, I couldn’t disagree, at least with the second part. It wasn’t my style either. I’d stopped writing and doing what I wanted to a while ago.

Lauren Stewart grew up reading Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, James Clavell, Piers Anthony, and Agatha Christie, which explains why she can't seem to stick to one genre at a time.

She got to the more romantic stuff pretty late, but paranormal romance was what changed her from an obsessed reader into an obsessed reader and writer. Her writing style comes from a mash-up of all her early favorites and her new ones, women like JR Ward, Karen Marie Moning, Alice Clayton, Emma Scott, and Janet Evanovich. Wow, how much would you pay to be invited to that dinner party?

Lauren wants to make people think, cry, and giggle, not necessarily all at the same time (although it's great when it happens). In every one of her books, you'll find elements of other genres - fantasy, mystery, romance, paranormal, suspense, YA, women's literature, all with a touch of humor.

Because what doesn't kill us should make us laugh.

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I really enjoyed the previous books I have read from this author so I was excited to get a chance to read this one. I really liked Declan and Sara. Declan was just a sweetheart and not the usual guy in a band. I really have been turned off rockstar romances but if more heroes were like Declan that would change. I liked Sara too. I felt like I got to know these characters separately before I knew them together. And I really loved them together too. They had their issues but they earned that hea. Overall I really enjoyed this one.