Day: August 31, 2015

Excerpt Tour: Ransom Canyon by Jodi Thomas

Posted August 31, 2015 by Rowena in Promotions | 1 Comment

ransom canyon
Synopsis:

From New York Times bestselling author Jodi Thomas comes the first book in a compelling, emotionally resonant series set in a remote west Texas town—where family can be made by blood or by choice…

Rancher Staten Kirkland, the last descendent of Ransom Canyon’s founding father, is rugged and practical to the last. No one knows that when his troubling memories threaten to overwhelm him, he runs to lovely, reclusive Quinn O’Grady… or that she has her own secret that no one living knows.

Young Lucas Reyes has his eye on the prize—college, and the chance to become something more than a ranch hand’s son. But one night, one wrong decision, will set his life on a course even he hadn’t imagined.

Yancy Grey is running hard from his troubled past. He doesn’t plan to stick around Ransom Canyon, just long enough to learn the town’s weaknesses and how to use them for personal gain. Only Yancy, a common criminal since he was old enough to reach a car’s pedals, isn’t prepared for what he encounters.

In this dramatic new series, the lives, loves and ambitions of four families will converge, set against a landscape that can be as unforgiving as it is beautiful, where passion, property and pride are worth fighting—and even dying—for.

EXCERPT FROM RANSOM CANYON by Jodi Thomas:

He wasn’t even sure they were friends some days. Maybe they were more. Maybe less. He looked down at his palm, remembering how she’d rubbed cream on it earlier and worried that all they had in common was loss and the need, now and then, to touch another human being.

The screen door creaked. He turned as Quinn, wrapped in an old quilt, moved out into the night.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said as she tiptoed across the snow-dusted porch. “I need to get back. Got a hundred new head of cattle coming in at dawn.” He never apologized for leaving and he wasn’t now. He was simply stating facts. With the cattle rustling going on he might have to hire more men. As always, he felt like he needed to be on his land and on alert.

She nodded and moved to stand in front of him.

Staten waited. They never touched after they made love. He usually left without a word, but tonight she obviously had something she wanted to say.

Another thing he probably did wrong, he thought. He never complimented her, never kissed her on the mouth, never said any words after he touched her. If she didn’t make little sounds of pleasure now and then he wouldn’t have even been sure he’d satisfied her.

Now, standing so close to her, he felt more a stranger than a lover. He knew
the smell of her skin, but he had no idea what she was thinking most of the time. She knew quilting and how to make soap from her lavender. She played the piano like an angel and didn’t even own a TV. He knew ranching and watched every game the Dallas Cowboys played from his recliner.

If they ever spent over an hour talking they’d probably figure out they had nothing in common. He’d played every sport in high school and she’d played in the orchestra. He’d collected most of his college hours online and she’d gone all the way to New York to school. But, they’d loved the same person. Amalah had been Quinn’s best friend and his one love. Only, they rarely talked about how they felt. Not anymore. Not ever really. It was too painful, he guessed, for both.

Tonight the air was so still moisture hung like invisible lace. She looked to be closer to her twenties than her forties. Quinn had her own quiet kind of beauty. She always had, and he guessed she still would even when she was old.

To his surprise, she leaned in and kissed his mouth.

He watched her. “You want more?” he finally asked, figuring it was probably the dumbest thing to say to a naked woman standing two inches away from him. He had no idea what more would be. They always had sex once, if they had it at all when he knocked on her door. Sometimes neither made the first move and they just cuddled on the couch and held each other. Quinn wasn’t a passionate woman. What they did was just satisfying a need that they both had now and then.

She kissed him again without saying a word. When her cheek brushed against his rough jaw, it was wet and tasted newborn like the rain.

Slowly, Staten moved his hands under her blanket and circled her warm body, then he pulled her closer and kissed her fully like he hadn’t kissed a woman since his wife died.

Her lips were soft and inviting. When he opened her mouth and invaded, it felt far more intimate than anything they’d ever done, but he didn’t stop. She wanted this from him and he had no intention of denying her. No one would ever know that she was the thread that kept him together some days.

When he finally broke the kiss, Quinn was out of breath. She pressed her forehead against his jaw and he waited.

“From now on,” she whispered so low he felt her words more than heard them, “when you come to see me, I need you to kiss me goodbye before you go. If I’m asleep, wake me. You don’t have to say a word, but you have to kiss me.”

She’d never asked him for anything. He had no intention of saying no. His hand spread across the small of her back. “I won’t forget if that’s what you want.” He could feel her heart pounding and knew her asking had not come easy.

She nodded. “It’s what I want.”

He brushed his lips over hers, loving the way she sighed as if wanting more before she pulled away.

“Goodnight,” she said as if rationing pleasure. Stepping inside, she closed the screen door between them.

Raking his hair back, he put on his hat as he watched her fade into the shadows. The need to return was already building in him. “I’ll be back Friday night if it’s all right.”


jodi thomas

Note from Jodi Thomas

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Welcome to a taste of RANSOM CANYON. When I began my series, I knew my first character would be Staten Kirkland. He walked into my writing bunkhouse, sat down and began to tall me his story. He’s a strong man who always tries to do the right thing, but life has dealt him his share of blows.

One rainy night, after losing his wife to cancer, his son, just 16, dies in a wreck. Shattered in grief, he turns to a woman he’s know all his life for comfort.

Quinn O’Grady was his best friend. She’s shy. Staten knows she guards terrible scars inside. As their story of finding love and hope grows both must face their darkest hour.

Amid their story, Staten must stand against modern day rustlers. He is surprised to discover an entire town stands with him.

RANSOM CANYON is the story of a small town at the crossroads between ranches where lives intertwine.


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Blog Tour: Bounce by Noelle August (+Giveaway)

Posted August 31, 2015 by Rowena in Giveaways, Promotions | 1 Comment

Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins

bounce
Synopsis:

This final chapter in the fun and steamy New Adult trilogy by Noelle August (authors Veronica Rossi and Lorin Oberweger) features two aspiring musicians who must choose between their careers…and their sizzling attraction for each other.

Playing the occasional club gig just isn’t cutting it for twenty-two-year-old cellist Skyler Canby, who’s trying to support herself and her mother back home in Kentucky. Persuaded by her best friend Beth to accompany her on an audition for the first feature film launched by Blackwood Entertainment, she figures why not? Beth’s a shoe-in for the lead, but maybe Skyler’s newly dyed pink hair will help her stand out enough to score a small speaking part.

Never in her wildest dreams does Skyler imagine she’ll land the lead role or that she’ll have her shoes knocked off her feet by the kiss her audition partner, Grey Blackwood, plants on her—a kiss that feels very real and not at all “acted. ”

After throwing a party that causes thousands of dollars of damage to his older brother’s home, reckless musician Grey Blackwood gets roped into working off his debt on the set of his CEO brother’s newest project. Grey spends his days fetching coffee and doing odd jobs around the studio, but he lives for nights when he performs with his band. He knows if he can stay focused, success as a singer is just around the corner. But that’s tough with a distracting pink-haired girl occupying his every waking thought.

Skyler and Grey have every reason to resist each other. But, like a song neither of them can get out of their minds, they have no choice but to go where the music takes them.

Excerpt:

Skyler’s Point-of-View,

Chapter 20
“Good lord in a basket, it’s him all right. Grey. Illuminated by the golden lights coming on along Venice Boulevard. With suds and water sluicing off his ridiculously ripped body, cascading from his massive tattooed biceps, running down his taut muscled abdomen. His swimsuit sags dangerously low, clinging to his sturdy thighs, making, um, everything, pretty evident.

And evidently pretty impressive.

Probably, this would be a good time to actually speak some words, but even in a town full of hot, hot people, this is kind of stratospheric.

“Yep, it’s me.” Grey reaches back to turn off the shower, which breaks the spell, so I can at least avert my gaze like a decent person. Then he rubs a towel vigorously over his gleaming body and tucks it around his waist.

He has a strange look on his face—peevish, embarrassed, and it feels suddenly like we’re intruding on something. Or maybe it’s just me. I think about that moment in my trailer. His fingers on my skin. My wanting and not knowing what to want.

“Uh, so, what are you up to?” I ask in an effort to win the prize for most obvious question ever. “I mean, I can see what you were up to.” Seriously, Sky? “But, uh, were you just in the water? What brings you out here?”

“I’m crashing nearby. At the garage where my band rehearses.”

“Really?” asks Mia. “Why?”

Grey looks from me to Mia and then back to me, weighing something. Maybe whether or not he can trust us. He’s got this hot, coiled energy all the time, like he’s always holding back. Like he’s an animal caged inside a human body.

“Just staying there for a few weeks.”

“Because of your mom?” I ask. It was obvious from their interaction on set that there’s some bad blood there, though compared to my mom, she seems kind and thoughtful, whip-smart and curious without being overbearing. Which makes sense, given her offspring.

Then I remember that Grey’s not really her offspring. He said “stepmother,” and the way he said it really answers my question.

Which is good, because he doesn’t actually answer it. Instead, he gathers up his stuff—surfboard, wetsuit—and gives us a grin. “I gotta head out,” he says, as though nothing’s hanging there between us. He looks away for a second, following the path of a guy in an Obama mask as he weaves his way up the boardwalk on a ribbon-festooned unicycle. “Told some friends I’d hook up with them tonight.”

“Wait,” says Mia. “So, you’re just sleeping in a garage? Like on an air-mattress or something?”

Grey shrugs. “A couch. It’s okay.”

“And taking freezing cold showers out on the beach? That doesn’t sound great, does it, Sky?”

“No, it doesn’t,” I say, but I’m afraid of where she’s going with this.

“Can’t you stay at a hotel or something?”

He shakes his head. “Money’s a little tight right now. I’m giving Adam almost every penny to pay him back for the house, and I don’t really have…” Again, he goes silent, and I can feel, literally, the tension of him wanting to talk, wanting to say more to someone. Needing it.

“Why don’t you come stay at our place?” Mia blurts. We have that in common. The blurting thing. “I mean, I’m just about all moved out, so there’s room.”

Ay, dios. No. No.

But I can’t say anything. I can’t tell my best friend, who knows I’m talking to Brooks, starting to maybe, sort of, think about where that could go, that having Grey in my apartment, so close all the time, is a very dangerous, very bad idea.

Grey shakes his head. “Nah, I appreciate it, but I’m cool here. I promise. Thanks, though.” He takes a few steps toward a squat gray building with weather-beaten shutters and a tiny, shed-like garage in the back. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Hang on,” says Mia, pulling me along. She gives me a look, tipping her head in his direction, like she’s tapping me in for the debate. “You’re cool with it, right, Sky?”

“Of course.” Not. In no way. “But it seems like he’s got it under control here. So, if—”

My words disappear, though, because Grey’s pulled up the garage door, the muscles of his broad back and shoulders shifting smoothly as he thrusts the door up along its rusting track.

“See?” he says, pointing to a lumpy white couch sporting what looks like a half-century’s worth of mystery stains—a perfect complement to the funk of beer and weed and sweat potent enough to make my eyes water. “Perfectly fine, right?”

But, like me, he’s lousy at hiding his feelings. Even turned away to shove some empty beer cans into a garbage bag, his body language tells me everything.

He doesn’t want to be here in this musty space, crowded with furniture and audio equipment, the only natural light coming in from the tiny half-moon windows set into the garage door, which faces a dim alleyway.

“You should come stay with us,” I say, surprising the hell out of us both. “I mean, this is…”

“It’s fine,” Grey insists. “I don’t need much, and I’m hardly ever here.”

I think how different he is from Brooks, who says what he means, tells you—without hesitation—what he wants.

“Come on,” says Mia.

“Seriously,” he tells us. “It’s really nice of you to ask, but I’m fine. I can’t afford—”

“I paid up on the place through the end of the lease,” Mia says. “You can just chip in on food and utilities. I’m sure you can manage that, right? It’s only for a few weeks. And you’d be rooming with two awesome, super hot girls. How can you say no to that?”

He looks at me, and I can see he’s worried about the same things I am. Rooming together. Being too close, constantly one second away from making a really dumb choice. He’s young and too reckless for me. And a musician, on top of it all. He’s everything I don’t need sharing my space.

But something tugs at me, makes me put all of those concerns aside. I see it in his smoke-gray eyes, which are so alive, so deep and full of thoughts. Some pain or fear lives there. Something that makes it so hard for him to accept. To take a simple kindness. It’s not just about me but about trusting. Anything.

Seeing that, I can’t let him spend another night in this crappy place. Just…alone.

“You should come home with us,” I say. ‘It will be…a lot better than this, I promise.'”– Noelle August, Bounce

About the Authors:
Question: What do you get when friends pen a story with heart, plenty of laughs, and toe-curling kissing scenes? Answer: Noelle August, the pseudonym for renowned editor and award-winning writer Lorin Oberweger and New York Times bestselling YA author Veronica Rossi, the masterminds behind the Boomerang series.

Connect with them:
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Check out the series on Amazon:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is not a Book Binge sponsored giveaway but good luck anyway! 🙂


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Review: Bounce by Noelle August

Posted August 31, 2015 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Bounce by Noelle AugustReviewer: Rowena
Bounce by Noelle August
Series: Boomerang #3
Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins
Publication Date: August 25th 2015
Genres: New Adult
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

When you have one chance to become a star, you can't let love get in the way . . .

Playing the occasional club gig just isn't cutting it for twenty-two-year-old cellist Skyler Canby, who's trying to support herself and her mother back home in Kentucky. When she accompanies her best friend Beth on an audition for the first feature film launched by Blackwood Entertainment, she figures, Why not? Beth's a shoe-in for the lead, but maybe Skyler's newly dyed pink hair will help her stand out enough to score a small speaking part.

Never in her wildest dreams does Skyler imagine she'll land the lead role or that she'll have her socks knocked off by the kiss her audition partner, Grey Blackwood, plants on her—a kiss that feels very real and not at all like acting.

Reckless musician Grey Blackwood spends his days fetching coffee and doing odd jobs on the set of his CEO brother's newest project, but he lives for nights when he performs with his band. He knows that if he can stay focused, success as a singer is just around the corner. But that's tough with a distracting pink-haired girl occupying his every waking thought. Skyler and Grey have every reason to resist each other. But, like a song neither of them can get out of their minds, they have no choice but to go where the music takes them.

What a treat this book turned out to be. I was a little wary going into this one because I had such high hopes for the last book in this series and it didn’t live up to the hype that I had going for it in my head but Noelle August bounced back because I really liked this one.

Bounce follows Grey Blackwood (younger brother to the hero of the last book, Rebound) and Skyler Camby (best friend to heroine from book 1, Boomerang) as they make that journey toward true love. The story starts off with Adam and Ali (hero and heroine from Book 2) coming home to find Adam’s house trashed and the responsible party? Adam’s younger brother, Grey. We’re introduced to Grey in the last book and I’m going to be honest and say that I was not impressed with Grey upon first meeting him in Rebound. I thought he was immature and didn’t know if I’d even be interested in reading his redemption story. Going into this book, Grey had some strikes against him. The irresponsible party that caused his brother’s house to be trashed? Did absolutely nothing for me and for his case.

I’m glad that I continued this story because boy did things turn around.

Skyler had issues of her own to work through and I thought that Noelle August handled her story well. She had family issues with her father disappearing for weeks and months on end, leaving her mother to deal with their money issues at home and that took its toll on Skyler because her mother leaned heavily on Sky for extra money and the guilt trips she threw at Skyler weren’t easy to read through as well. On top of that, Skyler lands the lead role in Blackwood Entertainment’s new movie, Bounce and wanting to please everyone really takes its toll on her.

Grey and Skyler know a lot of the same people so they know about each other but they don’t know each other. They’re thrown together when Grey starts working for Adam, to repay him for the trashed house and one of his first jobs is to read lines for the girls coming in to audition. One of the girls that he has to read lines with is Skyler and their audition together ends with a kiss that makes them both sit up and take notice.

I really liked the way that this story played out. I loved seeing Grey come into his own and I loved seeing him come into his feelings for Sky. He had a lot of growing up to do but boy does he do it. He wants to do right by Sky so he signs his grown up papers and then Sky becomes the one that I want to strangle because I thought she dangled maybes with Brooks for far too long but alls well that ends well. This story had me happy sighing all over the place and I really enjoyed seeing everyone come together from the previous books but more importantly, I really liked the romance between Grey and Sky.

I enjoyed this story from beginning to end and I thought this book ended the series on a high note. I definitely recommend.

Grade: 4 out of 5

This book is available from William Morrow Paperbacks. You can purchase it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

four-stars


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