Book Release: Protecting Mari by Cara Carnes

Blurb

Who do you turn to when the law is the problem?

Marisol hoped divorce was the key to a new life—one away from her crazy ex-

husband. Instead she’s working two jobs and struggling to make ends meet as

her problems escalate. Terrified and desperate for help—any help—she turns to

a stranger, a man her brother swore could help with just about any problem. The

answer to her problems is tall, dark, deadly and everything she’d once thought

she wanted in a man. But to him she’s a job. Nothing more.

No one should fight an impossible war alone.

When Ethan founded Counterstrike he expected a challenge but nothing could

have prepared him for Marisol. She’s smart, courageous, compassionate,

headstrong, and everything he’s ever wanted. But her troubles come with a price

tag he didn’t expect when he must face his own personal demons to keep her

safe. 

Blog Tour: The Penthouse Pact by Cathryn Fox

Billionaire software developer Parker Braxton knows everyone wants something from him. That's why he made a multi-million-dollar bachelor pact with his friends to never marry. But he never counted on running into, literally, the quiet but sensual Layla Fallon.

Layla isn't afraid of hard work. Still, there is no light at the end of her student-loan tunnel. When Stuck-Up Suit—Parker Braxton—accidentally runs her over, it's the last things she needs. She refuses his help, but he's persistent. He’s also handsome, kinder than she ever expected, and she’s doing her best to ignore her attraction. Which is harder than it sounds when she’s recuperating at his penthouse.

Sparks fly. Hearts flutter. But falling for Layla could cost Parker more than just several million dollars.

Blog Tour: From The Ruins by Janine Infante Bosco

From the Ruins by Janine Infante Bosco 

A Satan’s Knights MC Novel 

Publication Date: September 26, 2017 

Cover Designer: JB's Cover Obsession Design 

Model: Michael Joseph 

Photographer: Reggie Deanching, R+M Photography 

 “Pipe” In every man’s life there comes a day of reckoning. It’s the day darkness is exposed and sinners are punished for their trespasses. A day when loyalty is destroyed and a man is left in ruins. When he walks away from his club and loses his religion. Whoever said from the ruins they will rise again never walked a mile in my shoes or the pair of red ones I was left holding.

“Layla” He’s bitter, cold and angry. He’s seen his share of heartache. Lived through tragedy and despair. He’s my neighbor. The man I know should stay away from. The man who will destroy what’s left of me if I get too close. He’s Lee Jameson, and I’m Layla Milano. This is our story. The story of two people left in ruins forced to rise again.

Excerpt Reveal: Sick Fux by Tillie Cole

When Ellis Earnshaw and Heathan James met as children, they couldn’t have been more different. Ellis was loud and beautiful – all blond hair, bright laughs and smiles. Heathan was dark and brooding, and obsessed with watching things die.

The pair forged an unlikely friendship, unique and strange. Until they were ripped apart by the sick cruelty of others, separated for years, both locked in a perpetual hell.

Eleven years later, Heathan is back for his girl. Back from a place from which he thought there was no return. Back to seek revenge on those who wronged them.

Time has made Heathan’s soul darker, polluted with hatred and the thirst for blood.

Time has made Ellis a shell of her former self, a little girl lost in the vastness of her pain.

As Heathan pulls Ellis out of her mental prison, reviving the essence of who she once was, down the rabbit hole they will go.

With malice in their hearts and vengeance in their veins, they will seek out the ones who hurt and destroyed them.

One at a time.

Each one more deadly than the last.

Tick Tock.

Dark Contemporary Romance. Contains explicit sexual situations, violence, disturbingly sensitive and taboo subjects, offensive language and very mature topics. Recommended for ages 18 and over.

Please note : this is excerpt is unedited and subject to change.

I placed the foot of my cane on the floor and looked to the left. The sound of light breathing came from around the corner. I made to move, but my heart slammed into a fast beat, stopping my feet in their tracks. My nostrils flared as I closed my eyes and tried to suck in deep breaths. I never did this, never had this kind of reaction to anything. Not in eleven years. Not when I was trapped in darkness. Not even when the guards came to “meet the young kid.” Not when we got out—bloodily, savagely, darkly. Especially not when my knife plunged into the guards’ hearts and I watched the life fade from their eyes, the pure fascination of losing one’s life essence occupying my mind.
But this was Dolly. The only person I’d ever given a shit about.
A slick tar pumped through my black heart as I thought of her. She was the blood that gave me life.
I had no idea what state I would find her in. Whether or not her fragile mind had been destroyed. Whether or not her glass heart had been shattered. No hope of salvation.
I had no idea if my only reason for living could be saved. I shook with venomous anger when I let my mind imagine the hell those sadistic cunts would have put her through in my absence. But Chapel’s words rang in my ears . . . Unleash the anger only on those who deserve it. Let it build within your heart like a well swelling with water . . . then unleash hell on those who took your freedom.
Opening my eyes, I breathed through my rage and silently rounded the corner . . . I stopped. There she was, sitting in a chair. I sucked in a breath and heard it rattle in my ears. Her hair. Her hair was pulled back into a long braid, the woven strands falling to her lower back. And she was dressed in black. Long, baggy sleeves covered her arms.
Motherfucking black. Dolly didn’t belong in black. Only color. Blue and white and gold and motherfucking pink.
I edged around the perimeter of the room until I faced her. My heart tore down the center and I had to hold back a loud snarl when I saw her curled up on the seat, a thick blanket over her thin legs and waist as she stared lifelessly out of the window. The window that overlooked the once-manicured lawns, now nothing but high-reaching weeds and too-bushy trees. I looked across at what she was watching, in the direction of what held her so captivated.
My heart was severed completely, the two parts of its flesh repelling the other, trying to escape the rage and pain and fucking consuming darkness.
She was staring at the spot where we used to play as kids. Where she had found me all those years ago, ripping the colorful butterfly apart in my hands. I moved into her line of sight, but her blue eyes didn’t lift to meet mine, just stared through me as though I wasn’t even there. I crouched down and studied her face. Porcelain skin. Full lips. Fucking perfection.
But there was no life left in her.
I had never felt fear before, but I imagined the sinking hole I felt dropping in my stomach was something like it. A sinking feeling that Dolly had gone to a place from which there was no escape, a prisoner in her own mind.
Fragility consumed.
“Dolly darlin,’” I rasped, my voice fucking breaking.
Twenty-one. She was twenty-one and more beautiful than I could ever have imagined.
Perfection.
My living doll.
A strand of hair lay over her face. My fingers clenched and unclenched as I tried to force myself to touch her. But I couldn’t. I hadn’t touched or been touched in years. I didn’t know how to anymore. Allergic to human affection. Repulsed by the degrading feeling of touch.
I . . . I . . . I couldn’t.
As I opened my mouth to speak to Dolly again, a loud gasp sailed through the air behind her. I straightened, gripping my cane, to see a familiar old face appear. I watched, the sinking hole quickly replaced by dark satisfaction as the blood drained from her face. “Good Lord,” she whispered as I smoothed down my black cravat and vest.
I glared at the bitch. Leaning casually on my cane, I said, “More like Lucifer, I would think.” I nodded in her direction “To you, anyhow.”
Mrs. Jenkins swallowed and tried to back out of the room. “Ah-ah,” I tutted and shook my head. She immediately stilled, eyes fixed on mine.
“He . . . Heathan James . . . it’s . . . it’s not possible . . .” she stammered and ran her eyes over me. Every inch of me.
“Rabbit.” The bitch flinched at my correction. “I am Rabbit. The motherfucking White Rabbit. So never fucking utter that peasant name to me again.”
Her skin paled, and her eyes fell to Dolly sitting on the chair. Dolly still hadn’t moved. I shifted my grip on the box I had brought inside, about to hold it out to Mrs. Jenkins when she asked, “How are you here?”
I threw the box across the room. It landed right at her feet. “Dress her.”
“Wh-what?” Mrs. Jenkins asked.
I pointed to the box at her feet. “Dress her. It wasn’t a request.” Mrs. Jenkins shook as she picked up the box and moved to where Dolly sat. Dolly didn’t look at her either. Mrs. Jenkins opened the lid of the box and gasped again.
Her old, wrinkled eyes snapped up to mine. “No—”
Before she had even finished the sentence, I had reached into my pocket and pulled out my knife. I ran the flat side of the blade down my cheek. Slowly. Controlled. Watching her terrified gaze track my every move. “You’d best do as I ask, Mrs. Jenkins. My patience and tolerance for you appear to be at an all-time low.”

Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.

After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.

Tillie has now settled in Austin, Texas, where she is finally able to sit down and write, throwing herself into fantasy worlds and the fabulous minds of her characters.

Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.

When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, while convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that extra square of chocolate.

Author Links

Web  Facebook  Twitter   Instagram  Amazon  Goodreads

Blog Tour: Hollywood Scandal by Louise Bay

Hollywood Scandal by Louise Bay Release Date: August 22nd Genre: Contemporary Romance

Hollywood Scandal, an all-new contemporary romance by Louise Bay is available NOW!!

HE’S A HOLLYWOOD SUPERSTAR. SHE’S LITERALLY THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

One of Hollywood’s A-listers, I have the movie industry in the palm of my hand. But if I’m going to stay at the top, my playboy image needs an overhaul. No more tabloid headlines. No more parties. And absolutely no more one night stands.

Filming for my latest blockbuster takes place on the coast of Maine and I’m determined to stay out of trouble. But trouble finds me when I run into Lana Kelly.

She doesn’t recognize me, she’s never heard of Matt Easton and my million dollar smile doesn’t work on her.

Ego shredded, I know I should keep my distance, but when I realize she’s my neighbor I know I’m toast. There’s no way I can resist temptation when it’s ten yards away.

She has a mouth designed for pleasure and legs that will wrap perfectly around my waist.

She’s movie star beautiful and her body is made to be mine.

Getting Lana Kelly into my bed is harder than I’m used to. She’s not interested in the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, but I’m determined to convince her the best place in the world is on the red carpet, holding my hand.

I could have any woman in the world, but all I want is the girl next door.

A sexy, standalone romance.

Blog Tour: Perfect Prey by Helen Fields

Amazon UK

Goodreads

Claire's Review

Perfect Prey is the second book in the DI Callanach series. I had read the first book when I read this but it didn't affect my enjoyment.

The story is about DI Callanach and DI Turner. Callanach is called the a festival where a man has been stabbed; Turner is called the another murder where a nurse has been crushed to death.

I found this book dark and intriguing, and fast paced read, full of detail from start to finish including the grotesque murders. 

This is a must read for anyone who reads this genre and I will definitely be grabbing a copy of the first and the next installments!

Blog Tour: Last Seen by Lucy Clarke

In a small seaside community there's always somebody watching...
Seven years ago, two boys went missing at sea - and only one was brought to shore. The Sandbank, a remote stretch of coast dotted with beach huts, was scarred forever.

Sarah's son survived, but on the anniversary of the accident, he disappears without trace. As new secrets begin to surface, The Sandbank hums with tension and unanswered questions. Sarah's search grows more desperate and she starts to mistrust everyone she knows - and she's right to.

Someone saw everything on that fateful day seven years ago. And they'll do anything to keep the truth buried.

Blog Tour: The Wrong Kind of Compatible

About the Series:

 

Data analyst Cassie Howard may be brilliant (and, okay, a little awkward), but she’s worked hard to get where she is. She definitely doesn’t need some sexy new analyst coming in and taking credit for her work. Or the inappropriate thoughts that keep popping out of her mouth she’d rather he not hear.

For undercover FBI agent Drew Kerrigan, computers have always made more sense than people, but he’d better develop some slick social skills in a hurry if he’s going to win over the too-tantalizing-for-his-sanity Cassie. Hacking their systems was easy. Now he’s just got to hack the one person in the company most likely to see through his ruse…

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo

Add to Goodreads

Blog Tour: Perfect Storm by Cheryl Douglas

Blurb

Mace

Dark. Dangerous. Messed up. Yeah, I may be all of those things, but with her I’m not. She taught me how to love, how to be a one woman man. Except now my woman wants to leave me, ‘cause I can’t promise her forever. I know I’d never want anyone else but she wants the ring to prove it. Not to mention the baby. But if she knew about my past she’d run far and fast. Then I’d have no choice but to chase her, ‘cause I can’t let her get away.

Cory

I hate him. I love him. I want him. I need him. I hate myself for being weak and caving every every time he touches me. But I can’t help myself. He’s just that good. I can’t get over him if I’m always under him, but he’s not letting me go without a fight and you’d have to have an iron will to resist this man.

Excerpt: Destined by A.M Guilliams

Grace My feelings had changed for my best friend over the years. Ones I swore would never be uttered. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine making a promise to Liam without knowing exactly what it insinuated. Come to find out, the underlying meaning was what I least expected. My best friend. My confidant. Wanted more. He asked for the summer, but what happened when those three glorious months were over and I had to make another choice? One I didn’t know if I’d ever get over having to make.

Liam I took a gamble asking Grace for the summer. But it was well worth the price now that she’d agreed. I’d been in love with her since I could remember and now I’d be able to show her just how perfect we were for each other. The summer was only around ninety days and I needed to make it worth both of our whiles. I devised the perfect plan. Now I just had to make the execution count. There was a reason our parents met so randomly all those years ago and I firmly believed it was so it led me to her. How far would you go to create your own destiny before you accepted your fate? My name is Grace Corbin and my name is Liam DeLuca. This is our tragically, beautiful love story.

Blog Tour: The Affair by Amanda Brooke

A shocking story about a fifteen-year-old girl and the man who took advantage of her.

“You might as well know from the start, I’m not going to tell on him and I don’t care how much trouble I get in. It’s not like it could get any worse than it already is.
I can’t. Don’t ask me why, I just can’t.”

When Nina finds out that her fifteen-year-old daughter, Scarlett, is pregnant, her world falls apart.
Because Scarlet won’t tell anyone who the father is. And Nina is scared that the answer will destroy everything.
As the suspects mount – from Scarlett’s teacher to Nina’s new husband of less than a year – Nina searches for the truth: no matter what the cost. 

Charged Review & Excerpt Tour

From New York Times bestselling author Jay Crownover comes CHARGED, the latest in her sexy The Saints of Denver Series, releasing May 24th! Known for her strong heroines and alpha males, you won't know what hit you as you read Avett and Quaid's story. Keep reading for more about the Legal Eagle and Avett and order your copy today.

Book Blitz: Cado by D.T. Dyllin

Cado by D.T. Dyllin 

Publication date: October 26th 2015 

Genres: New Adult, Paranormal Romance

Is the love of a bad man as fulfilling as that of a good man—if he’s good to you?

The fantasy for most women is the happily ever after, the white knight or the prince charming. Or maybe they imagine the hero swoops in to save them from their mundane existence. But what happens if you catch the attention of the villain instead? Tiffany aka Karma is about to find out…

Karma isn’t just a name; it’s a way of life for an exotic dancer with a taste for vigilante justice. She should have been more careful though, because her deeds haven’t gone completely unnoticed. A man who isn’t quite human, with the predilection for destruction, has set his sights on her. His brand of love is tainted…twisted, and Karma is powerless to resist.

Author of the Month Mandy Baggot Book excerpt

Mandy Baggot is an award-winning romantic fiction author, writing hot heroes and emotional reads. She is represented by Kate Nash of The Kate Nash Literary Agency.

Mandy is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association and the Society of Authors and lives near Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK with her husband, two daughters and cats, Kravitz and Springsteen.

Author of the month Jane Linfoot interview

Today we are joined by Jane Linfooot, our author of the month.

Jane writes fun, flirty fiction, with feisty heroines and lots of heart. She lives with her family and pets in Derbyshire, and loves hearts, flowers, happy endings and all things vintage.

Hello Jane and welcome to Booky Ramblings.

What inspired you to write your first book?
My first novel was a happy accident, that happened when a friend from writing class asked me to co-write a book with her. Plotting for Beginners came out in 2006, and was a paperback best seller. It was in Waterstones, and Sainsburys, and even had it’s own window display at Heathrow Airport.

Blog Tour: The Kasadya Hellhound Series by Karen Swart

Presented by:

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Revealing Part Eight of

Taming The Fae

An Exsilium Short Story

Author promo: Zara Stoneley

Bestselling author Zara Stoneley lives in deepest Cheshire surrounded by horses, dogs, cats and amazing countryside. When she’s not visiting wine bars, artisan markets or admiring the scenery in her sexy high heels or green wellies, she can be found in flip flops on the beach in Barcelona, or more likely sampling the tapas!

Zara writes hot romance and bonkbusters. Her latest novel, ‘Stable Mates’, is a fun romp through the Cheshire countryside and combines some of her greatest loves – horses, dogs, hot men and strong women (and not forgetting champagne and fast cars)!

She writes for Harper Collins and Accent Press.

Find out more about Zara:

Website  /  Twitter  /  Facebook  /  Google+

Blurb 

Secrets and scandals, love and lust – when the ‘Cheshire Set’ are up against the ‘Footballer’s Wives’ the only common ground is carnal…

Flirting and fun seem the perfect antidote for Lottie's battered heart, and where better to find them than back in tranquil Tippermere, home of sexy eventer Rory Steel, the smiling Irish eyes of hunky farrier Mick O'Neal, and mysterious newcomer, model Tom Strachan?

But when landowner Marcus James drops dead unexpectedly, and the threat of his waggish wife Amanda selling the heart of the village out from under them looms large, things look like they're about to heat up in and out of the saddle.

With tensions running high, and the champagne flowing as freely as the adrenalin, is it any wonder that love catches more than one of them unawares?

Buy links

Amazon  /  Barnes & Noble  /  Kobo  /  Foyles  /  Waterstones

Sainsbury’s  /  Google Play  /  iTunes  /  Blackwells

It’s release day for ‘Stable Mates’ so I thought I’d share an excerpt – you saw it here first.

Excerpt

Elizabeth Stanthorpe had been born in Tipping House, and fully intended on dying there. After she’d ensured that her family would continue running the estate in the way it deserved to be.

‘I imagine that young Rory thinks Dominic is gay.’ She raised an eyebrow as Lottie spluttered a shower of gin and tonic over one of the black Labradors and then hastily tried to rub it in with the back of her hand.

‘I’m not sure that’s why they don’t like each other, not that I think Uncle Dom is gay, of course.’

‘Well, I did.’ She took another swig of her own drink.

‘Gran, you can’t say that.’

‘Well he can be so bloody prissy at times, not a bit like his father was. If it hadn’t been a home birth I would have thought there had been a mix up at some point. No one would have ever have accused your grandfather of batting for the other side, although those private schools can bring out the worst in boys.’ She focussed back on her only granddaughter, only grandchild, who was going a funny shade of pink. ‘Well, you did bring it up, darling. Pour me another drink whilst you’re up, there’s a good girl.’

Lottie had been about to say she wasn’t actually up, but knew it was useless to argue with her grandmother, who had what she referred to as ‘backbone’.

As she sloshed a good measure of Bombay Sapphire gin into the chipped crystal, she decided that it was a good job they didn’t make them like that anymore. Although the matriarch could be more fun than the rest of the family put together when it suited her. Nothing stopped Elizabeth when she got the bit between her teeth, and Lottie secretly thought that her grandmother wasn’t as batty, forgetful and deaf as she liked to make out.

‘All I said,’ she passed the drink to Elizabeth who sniffed it as though she suspected it might be laced with something, or more likely not strong enough, ‘was that Rory thought it was strange when Uncle Dom turned up at the dressage. Did you have anything to do with that?’

‘I may have mentioned it.’ She tapped a long nail against the side of the glass, piercing blue eyes fixed on Lottie. ‘You could do a lot better than that man, Charlotte.’ She shook her head slowly. ‘You are so like your mother in some ways.’

***

Book Blitz: High Heels & Naked Lies by Ila Rose

High Heels and Naked Lies

By

Ila Rose

Kay Barrett is a thirty something mom to two beautiful girls who possess more money than God and everything materialistic most could hope for. She’s beautiful, generous, kind and absolutely hates her life. She’s tired of the constant pressure in maintaining the illusion of the perfect society wife while slowly dying inside from her turbulent past and tumultuous marriage to a man that has made it his mission to make her life hell. She’s given up on happiness and love, bending to her husband’s whims in every way; permanently at his beck and call to serve as his arm candy at a moment’s notice. On one such occasion she’s to join him for a business dinner to meet the new client her husband is so eager to impress.

Ryder Sinclair is mysterious, secretive and the air surrounding him shimmers with danger, testosterone and panty dropping sexuality. Tall, dark and handsome; his blue eyes pierce Kay clear to her soul. She finds herself curiously drawn to him in ways she’s never dreamed. Kay begins to change her outlook on life and questions the lifestyle that has caused her so much grief over the years, terrified her children will become unhappy clones of their troubled mother; living a life of ill hidden lies and lacking love that Kay has never experienced.

She decides to restructure her reality, beginning by changing herself. She decides to live her life; seeking out friendships with women she would never had thought to turn to, finding strength in their kindness and courage to face the challenges in the paradox that is her existence. She longs to live a life filled with love and strives for the courage to overcome her past; and she wants Ryder by her side as she does. However, it all becomes too much. Between the deception by her husband, the lies of her father and a mother she thought dead resurfacing Kay flounders. The lies mount, the stress bends her will and she starts to feel as if she’s fighting a losing battle against the constant emotional and physical attacks. All she ever wanted was to love and be loved yet the constant pursuit of her happily ever after continues to evade her desperate grasp.

Giving up would be so easy and the fight for the life and love she desires is grueling and unforgiving. Returning to the complacent and obedient wife she was before the discovering friendship, kindness and the true meaning of love would be so much easier. Battle worn and weary, will Kay turn her back on all she’s learned in such a short time? Will she be able to dig deep; standing up for what she deserves out of life and doing so with all the grace and dignity her upbringing has ingrained into her?

Face Time Book Blitz

Today is my stop during the book blitz for Face Time (Love in the Digital Age #1) by SJ Pajonas. This book blitz is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. This blitz takes place on 25, 28 and 30 April, you can view the whole blitz schedule here.

After the best first date ever, Lee thought Laura was funny, intelligent, and impulsive; a whirlwind of bright laughter and happiness. Laura loved Lee's sweet smile and the way he expertly filled in every awkward pause. He held her hand and then pulled her in for the most perfect kiss she’s had in years. What could possibly be wrong? Just the 7000 miles that separates them the next day.

Even though Lee has gone home to Seoul, Laura can't stop thinking about him. What starts as an innocent text thanking him for their dinner date becomes something much more: someone either of them can't live without. But Laura's got a live-in mother going through a midlife crisis, and Lee's stressful traveling schedule means they'll be apart for some time. Life, family, and a complicated past also get in the way, and they're both going to need actual face time to figure it out.

Told from both Lee and Laura’s point of view, FACE TIME is a funny, romantic, modern-day story about two people who connect across the world.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20434205-face-time

About the Author

S. J. Pajonas loves all things Asian and has been in love with Japan and the East for as long as she can remember. Writing about Asia and Japan came naturally after studying the culture and language for over fifteen years. She studied film and screenwriting first and eventually segued into fiction once she was no longer working a full-time job.

Face Time is the first novel in the Love in the Digital Age series, and Pajonas’s first foray into Korean culture and families. Along with Removed and Released in the Nogiku Series, she continues to take the cultures of Asia and weave them into stories that appeal to people from around the world. Her writing is described as unique and unpredictable. Expect the unexpected.

Stephanie lives with her husband and two children just outside of New York City. She loves reading, writing, film, J- and K-dramas, knitting, and astrology. Her favorite author is Haruki Murakami and favorite book is The Wind-up Bird Chronicle.
Visit her on her website at http://www.spajonas.com/

Excerpt From Face Time

I guess I’m sick of New York because I haven’t been away from here in five years.
Most people need a break from the city. Mary, my boss, keeps pushing me to take a
vacation, but I always wave her off. Shit, I would love to leave — am dying to leave — but I
have been saving every spare penny so I can move out someday soon. My mother moved in
saying, “Oh honey, it’s only for a few months, and then I’ll buy my own place.” That was over
three years ago. When six months passed and she was on her second boyfriend and hadn’t
looked at any real estate in the city, I knew she was never going to leave.
Taking out my iPhone, I aim the camera at the sun setting on my street. If I tilt it
around, I can catch a sun glare off the tops of the cars and another couple walking towards
me holding hands. Click. I attach the photo to a text to Lee and hit send before picking up my
bag and heading inside.
The door creaking open to my apartment is the only noise I hear when my phone
buzzes in my purse.
Lee Park
I love your street. Looks like a beautiful day.
Laura Merchant
It is. Let me get my iPad set up in the kitchen and we can talk.
Lee Park
Ok. Call me when you’re ready.
I grab my iPad out of my bag and stand it up in the kitchen, but then remember what
I’m about to do. Third date. I run back down the hall to the bathroom, stumbling over my
shoes in the hallway, and quickly touch up my makeup and wash my hands. I should try to
look good for Lee, right?
He lives in Seoul.
Fuck, he lives in Seoul.
I pause and examine myself in the mirror. Why do I fall for the unavailable ones? He
seems to like me too, but with seven thousand miles between us, we can’t be physical. What
if this goes somewhere, we finally get together, and the sex is horrible? But the kiss was
great. The kiss was legendary, the best I’ve ever had, and I’ve kissed at least thirty boys. The
sex will be good, right? What am I thinking? I’m skipping way ahead. Screw it. If the sex is
bad, I’ll figure out what to do about it later.
In the kitchen, I initiate the call, and wait until Lee’s face pops up on my screen. He
was handsome in a suit, heart-stopping in a sweater, but, full-on gorgeous in a t-shirt. His
arms and chest stretch the tight black shirt over every curve of muscle, and I have to close
my eyes and turn my head away. I may be so turned on that I’m nauseous.
“Hi,” he says, and I turn my face back to the iPad. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, fine. It’s nothing.” Nothing at all. Just that you’re so hot and so far away. It kills
me that I can’t touch you. “I’m hungry. Just got home from Connecticut.”
He nods and sits down in his chair at the table where he took the last call. I don’t think
he’s done anything with his unruly hair since he woke up, but bedhead suits him.
“Well, eat and tell me about your day.”


Lisa's Review - 4 out of 5 stars

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book. When I started reading it, I was rather sceptical - I have never had a long distance relationship, and I have never had to rely on all this new fangled digital technology to keep a relationship going, and honestly I don't see how that is enough to keep a relationship going, especially a brand new one! But I also wanted to keep an open mind, having never been in the situation, I don't want to judge.
Lee and Laura meet completely by accident, but there is an instant attraction. They meet in New York, where Laura lives, but Lee's home is 7000 miles away, plus he travels all over the world for his job. So, they spark up a relationship, relying on text messages and Face Time (a video calling application) to keep in touch. Which then led me to realise that Laura and Lee managed to get to know each other in a lot deeper way than most new couples do in the amount of time they were in a relationship.
Both Laura and Lee didn't have the easiest of upbringings, and struggle with family problems. It is nice to see a new relationship that is strong enough to deal with, handle, and help  the other half to cope with their issues.
This is a very sweet story, and Laura and Lee are very loveable characters. I hope to hear more from them in future releases in this series.

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http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/face-time-7