He was only supposed to keep an eye on his friend’s sister . . . now he’s about to lose his heart . . .

When Thomas Heathmore, Duke of Coventry, agrees to steer his friend’s inexperienced younger sister through society, he doesn’t expect the lady in question to be so infernally stubborn. Amelia Matthews seems to have little interest in balls or suitors at all. Instead, she intends to open a school, and against his better instincts, Thomas offers to help. Yet somewhere along the line, Amelia ceases to be a simple responsibility . . . and becomes an undeniable temptation.

Since her brother inherited a dukedom, Amelia’s prospects have transformed. But though she’s long been secretly infatuated with Thomas, she refuses to heed the arrogant aristocrat’s advice. If only it were as easy to ignore his heated touch. And as Amelia soon learns, the ton is a minefield, where one moment’s indiscretion can unleash a scandal—or entice her to surrender everything to the duke of her desire . . .

I truly adore this book!!! I have already read it twice since it graced my e-reader. The characters are built with an incredible depth that just allows their story to unfold on its own. I love the unwavering independence of the heroine of the story and how the author doesn’t compromise that independence when she accepts the aid of the hero of the story. It was so easy to fall in love with these characters and their story. I foresee myself reading this book many more times in the future as it has become one of my favorites.

Danielle

BookBesties is so excited to participate in Berkley Bookmas and we’re closing out this event with a bang and hosting a first look and excerpt from Lora Leigh’s new The Breeds Novel: CrossBreed! Berkley Bookmas has been chock full of exclusive content from authors like exclusive excerpts, deleted scenes, author recipes and more! Check out all the goodies that have been shared these past two weeks here: http://bit.ly/2AaShZF

Prologue

She was only eighteen and she knew would die soon. Here, on this island Seth Lawrence owned, surrounded by the protective strength of a breed force unlike any other, and Cassie knew she would die.

It wouldn’t be tonight though. Not yet. But it was coming.

Stepping past the wide double doors opened into the huge atrium, the glass domed roof allowing the night to slide into the enclosed garden and had to fight back the bitterness. The anger.

Turning she met the gazes of the breed enforcers standing behind her, their gazes resolute, but compassionate, and snapped the doors closed as they watched her silently.

“Ask to enjoy the gardens at night and this is what I get?” she muttered, swinging around to let her gaze go over the massive enclosure of brick and glass surrounding it.

The grass beneath her feet was surprisingly real. A wide stone walk led into the shadowed greenery, the lush, heavy growth and sultry scent of moisture and fragrant blooms pulling her into the depths of it.

The atrium, Seth had called it. It was a damned greenhouse and nothing more. A well protected, stone and bullet resistant glass enclosed room with only one entrance, the wide doors she’d stepped inside.

Moving further into the lush greenery she could find little pleasure in it. Despite her bare feet and the feel of grass beneath them, she found no satisfaction in it. Just as she found no satisfaction in the deep, wide pond trickling in the center of the trees surrounding it.

Heavily leaved, beaded with what appeared to be dew, but actually came from the water that misted from the pipes running along the steel frame supporting the glass above. The scent of the night wasn’t here. The chirp of insects, the scuttle of creatures created to stalk such shadowed beauty wasn’t here. It was sterile. Created by man rather than by nature.

She hated it.

At least on her balcony she could smell the night, the creatures that inhabited and the sea surrounding the Lawrence island. On her balcony there was a chance of sensing him…

Swallowing tightly Cassie eased wearily to sit on the rough, flat boulder bordering the pond, and shed the matching robe covering the thin, long white gown she wore. Drawing her feet up to rest on top of the boulder and looping her arms beneath her knees, she rested her chin on her knees and stared into the trickling water.

What was wrong with her? She knew how dangerous it was to allow herself to stand on the balcony, in clear view, a target to any enemy with the intent to kill her. Though few wanted to kill her. The price on her head was for her abduction, her virginity intact when she was turned over to the scientists secretly working with what remained of the Genetics Council.

She was Cassandra Sinclair. Cassandra Colder. She was unique, not just in her genetics but in her birth. Breed sperm used to inseminate her mother’s egg without any alterations to the ovum. The same as a hybrid, a breed born of a breed and human mating.

But she was even more unique that that. She wasn’t created from a single animal species genetics, but two. She was created from both wolf and coyote genetics. The good and the bad. The wolf dna altered and forever dirtied by that of the coyote dna.

“Such a beautiful animal,” the voice whispered through her memories.

She’d been five, standing in nothing but the white panties she wore, shuddering, sickened by the touch of the bastards fingers on the mark at her shoulder. The shadow of a paw print. A genetic marker. But as she grew older another shadow began marring her flesh, one even her parents were unaware of, one resembling that of a jagged slices made by claws. The mark of the Coyote stained the flesh just over her womb.

“She was created to whelp monsters,” her father sneered as Cassie shook with her tears and disbelief.

A part of her had known he wasn’t her father. Unlike her mother, her father’s scent didn’t resemble her. Her momma’s scent resembled her. And her mother loved her.

“She’ll whelp my little monsters,” Terrance chuckled, lifted his arm and a second later the weapon he carried exploded and her father was dead.

She knew he was dead. He fell to the floor, blood spilling from his chest as he stared at Cassie with hatred.

Thirteen years. It had been thirteen years and still, Cassie remembered every second of it as though it had happened only moments before.

She would whelp monsters. Many said she was the monster.

At that thought she felt the presence. She didn’t smell it, there was no scent to warn her. She felt him. Her heart raced, her breathing was faster, and she could feel the whisper of the air drifting through the room.

What an odd sensation. She’d never felt that before, until him.

“If you’re caught, they’ll kill you.” She didn’t shift, did try to call out to the guards standing outside the doors.

She wasn’t frightened of him, though she sensed she should be. She should be terrified.

“Think they will?” he remained behind her, hidden. And she let him stay hidden, because she didn’t want to know…

“You know they will,” her voice trembled. “Are you here to kill me?”

“Do you want to die?” amusement laced his voice, amusement and something more, something dark and shadowed.

“I’ll die either way.” She stared into the pond, wondering at her own cowardice. “I won’t leave here alive you know?”

Silence met her question, but she knew he heard her, knew he hadn’t left. She could feel him in the air she breathed, in the whisper of movement as he eased closer.

“What makes you so certain of that?” curiosity filled his voice. A voice that was dark, sensual.

“I know things…” Sometimes, she knew terrible things. Things she didn’t want to know, didn’t want to see or sense.

“I won’t let you die, little halfling,” he whispered just behind her, causing her to stiffen at the warmth of his breath at her ear. “You’re mine.”

She stiffened in outrage, in anger but before she could turn and inform him just how insane he was, he was gone.

Wide eyed, her heart racing, she stared at the swaying leaves of the huge ferns behind her and heard a whisper of a chuckle somewhere in the darkness.

“Cassie.” The atrium doors were thrown open her father’s voice echoed through the artificial glade, dark with menace, but not toward her.

His enforcers rushed through the atrium, at least half a dozen, converging on her as she drew her robe on and tied the satin ribbons holding it closed.

“Cassie, sweetheart, I told you stay in our rooms.” Her father, Dash Sinclair, pushed through the foliage, his amber gaze piercing as it went over her. “Are you all right?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Looking around the silence of the atrium sadly then she knew her time there was finished. “It’s not like I’m actually outside, right?”

He stared behind her, his eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring as though testing the air for any unfamiliar scents.

“Come on, let’s get you back upstairs.” He held his hand out to her, his expression implacable when his gaze returned to hers. “It’s getting late.”

“And of course I’m still a toddler that has no idea how to defend myself, nor do I have gaurds on my ass twenty-four seven.” She ignored his outstretched hand and pushed past him instead. “For God’s sake, dad, I’m not ten.”

She didn’t wait around for his reply or the confusion she knew she would glimpse in his eyes. He couldn’t understand, couldn’t know the hell her dreams were becoming or the anger that clashed through her every waking second.

She was going to die here, soon. So very soon.

If her father had just let her have this time in this place, maybe she could have stolen something for herself. Maybe she could have figured out why the man whose gunsights she felt on the balcony outside her room, didn’t terrify her.

Why he drew her.

Why she ached for his warmth for just a moment, just for tonight. Because tomorrow night would be too late.

She’d be dead.

Also, Don’t forget to enter for your chance to win one $100 Visa gift card, and a book/galley/bound manuscript by each of the authors participating HERE

BOOKBESTIES

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You and After You, Paris for One and Other Stories is an irresistibly romantic collection filled with humor and heart.

Nell is twenty-six and has never been to Paris. She’s never even been on a romantic weekend away—to anywhere—before. Traveling abroad isn’t really her thing. But when Nell’s boyfriend fails to show up for their mini-vacation, she has the opportunity to prove everyone—including herself—wrong.  Alone in Paris, Nell finds a version of herself she never knew existed: independent and intrepid. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life? Funny, charming, and irresistible, Paris for One is quintessential Jojo Moyes—as are the other stories that round out the collection.

When I first heard of JoJo Moyes I knew her from Me Before You and Me After You, even though I had actually never read either books It was on my list. So when the chance arose to read another one of her stories, I jumped on it.

We meet Nell, or nervous, over cautious Nell who I like to call, who convinced herself that it was a good idea to ditch her girlfriends week and go to Paris with her fickle, no worries boyfriend Pete. Pete being the loser he is, stands her up and doesn’t tell her until she is all ready in Paris, alone! 

Now on top of being alone in Paris and scared, she has to share a hotel room with an crabby American woman. Nell is all for catching the next plane home, but things don’t work out like that. Nell slowly comes out of her shell and finds her way to Fabien who is an aspiring writer  by night and a waiter by day in a local french cafe who is still pining for his ex that left him. The two meet and it isn’t until some left tickets for an art show from the crabby American that the two meet again.

This story was made me want to drop everything and book a trip to Paris on the hopes that I got to experience all that Nell did! The city of romance is right and this story was quaint and magical and sweet.

So much so that i obtained the audio version(because I love English accents) and listened to it as well, before writing my final review. And I have to say, I loved it even better. 

Vonetta

Special-Forces solider Dash has all but given up his will to live until an innocent letter from a little girl brings him back to life. Cassie writes to him every week, strengthening his resolve to recover from the devastating loss of his unit. But when the letters suddenly stop arriving, Dash instinctively knows Cassie and her mother are in critical danger. 

Elizabeth and her daughter are on the run from a dark and bloody past that refuses to let them go. The stakes are too high for her to fall for this dangerous man who’s just walked into her life, but now more than ever she needs help.  

Saving his mate and her daughter calls Dash’s beast to the forefront and transforms the lone wolf into an alpha protector—he becomes Elizabeth’s wolf.

When I first saw this story i thought it was interesting even though I had never read this author before or the series.

The beginning I found to a little slow with getting to the back story with there essentially being two stories, Cassie and Dash. Cassie and her mother are on the run from the man that killed her father and want Cassie because she witnessed it. Trying to bring normalcy to her daughter’s life on the run Elizabeth enrolls Cassie in school for a brief time, where Cassie’s class pick soldiers to become pen pals with. She picks Dash’s name because his name sounds like a ‘good daddy’s name’ and from the moment Dash’s sergeant reads him the letter, because Dash was in a comma at the time, he knew he had to help Cassie and her mother.

Not sure if Dash was in the other Crossbreed novels but it was semi vague about what happened to him. It wasn’t until later when he is explaining his story to Elizabeth that we(I) get the full story. After the two finally meet then the story starts getting interesting.

The truth behind Elizabeth, Cassie and Dash all unfolds in this action packed novel and to say i loved how the story unfolded would be an understatement. I was enthralled with it and couldn’t put it down, and for a ne having come into this world on like, the 15th novel is something! It can totally be read as a stand alone, but I’m guessing it would be a better reading experience if you followed the other stories, which I am totally going to do.

The chemistry I have to say is lava, Dash is as Alpha as you’d expect him to be and is not afraid to show it, but Elizabeth is a strong female and by no means a pushover despite what she has been through. The story I found dragged a bit, but that’s not It to say that it didn’t hold my attention. It was appropriately evened out with action and sexy time, but a lot of inner dialogue.

All in all I enjoyed the story and will be reading the next book about.

Vonetta

A full-hearted novel about a big-city baker who discovers the true meaning of home—and that sometimes the best things are found when you didn’t even know you were looking

When Olivia Rawlings—pastry chef extraordinaire for an exclusive Boston dinner club—sets not just her flambéed dessert but the entire building alight, she escapes to the most comforting place she can think of—the idyllic town of Guthrie, Vermont, home of Bag Balm, the country’s longest-running contra dance, and her best friend Hannah. But the getaway turns into something more lasting when Margaret Hurley, the cantankerous, sweater-set-wearing owner of the Sugar Maple Inn, offers Livvy a job. Broke and knowing that her days at the club are numbered, Livvy accepts.

Livvy moves with her larger-than-life, uberenthusiastic dog, Salty, into a sugarhouse on the inn’s property and begins creating her mouthwatering desserts for the residents of Guthrie. She soon uncovers the real reason she has been hired—to help Margaret reclaim the inn’s blue ribbon status at the annual county fair apple pie contest.
 
With the joys of a fragrant kitchen, the sound of banjos and fiddles being tuned in a barn, and the crisp scent of the orchard just outside the front door, Livvy soon finds herself immersed in small town life. And when she meets Martin McCracken, the Guthrie native who has returned from Seattle to tend his ailing father, Livvy  comes to understand that she may not be as alone in this world as she once thought.
 
But then another new arrival takes the community by surprise, and Livvy must decide whether to do what she does best and flee—or stay and finally discover what it means to belong. Olivia Rawlings may finally find out that the life you want may not be the one you expected—it could be even better.

This book was so sweet!!  This isn’t my normal reading genera of historical romance, but I figured I would give it a try anyway and I am so glad I did.  I adored how even though she has spent most of her life in big cities the main character has country roots and by getting back to those roots that she is able to find her place in the world.  This book made me wish I was reading it snuggled up in front of a fire.  It was a joy to read that I couldn’t put down!  And I truly can’t wait to try the Blue-Ribbon Apple Pie recipe that is at the end of the book!

Danielle

The Riders: Three immortal brothers who kept the Baba Yagas safe, now stripped of their summons to protect. But fate is not finished with them—and their new callings are even more powerful…
 
Though his physical wounds have healed, Gregori Sun, the eldest of the Riders, remains in spiritual turmoil. His search for his mother, the one person able to heal his soul and save his life, is failing—until he crosses paths with a beautiful and fascinating librarian who might be the key to his salvation…
 
Ciera Evans’s bookish ways are just a guise. The product of a difficult past, she has dedicated her life to saving lost teens—by any means necessary. She works alone, but when a dark, brooding stranger proposes they team up to solve both their problems, she is tempted—in more ways than one…
 
After Ciera and Sun’s plans are derailed by dangerous enemies, they find themselves entangled in an ungodly affair—one that will force them to either find new strength together or be forever haunted by their pasts alone.

In completion of this insert into the Baba Yaga world, I love this book as much as all the other I have had the pleasure of completing in this series.  Gregori Sun definitely gave off the “monk” aura throughout the book, but he still rode his Ducatti steed around.  I always picture the Riders transportations to have personalities similar to the Chudo Yudos and would love to see that come about in some way in a future book.

               Ciera Evans is an amazing female character.  I enjoy rooting for a female main character that isn’t some weakling “help me brave sir” type and does for herself.  She overcomes a lot and is unquestioningly a character to look up to and emulate.

thank you Deborah Blake for this series.

Heather

OUT 11/28!!

Alisha Rai returns with the second novel in her sizzling Forbidden Hearts series!

He wasn’t supposed to fall in love with his brother’s widow…

Accused of a crime he didn’t commit, Jackson Kane fled his home, his name, and his family. Ten years later, he’s come back to town: older, wiser, richer, tougher—and still helpless to turn away the one woman he could never stop loving, even after she married his brother.

Sadia Ahmed can’t deal with the feelings her mysterious former brother-in-law stirs, but she also can’t turn down his offer of help with the cafe she’s inherited. While he heats up her kitchen, she slowly discovers that the boy she adored has grown into a man she’s simply unable to resist.

 An affair is unthinkable, but their desire is undeniable. As secrets and lies are stripped away, Sadia and Jackson must decide if they’re strong enough to face the past…and step into a future together.

In this book you have Sadia who a year ago lost her husband and is now trying to keep her business going and trying to take care of her kid. Jackson is back in town just long enough to check up on his sister, except he sees Sadia and he tries to stay a bit longer to help her till she finds a new chef. At least that is what he tells himself. He has always loved Sadia and would do anything for her. Did I mention that Sadia is his brothers widow? As lust comes to light along with secrets from the past come to light. I felt that the relationship was a bit messy and unnecessary drama between the two. It was nice to see her best friend Livvy(from the previous book in this series) make an appearance. All in all it was an okay read, but not for me.

DAMARIS

Two mechanics. One rivalry.

She’ll prove she’s as good as she says she is.

He’ll prove her place isn’t under the hood.

It’s over it.

“Don’t let the bastards get you down.”

For twenty-six years, I lived by my daddy’s motto. Which is why “Mechanic Wanted” is all it takes for me to apply for the job at the garage we once owned.

And I meet the biggest bastard of them all.

Dexter Ryne. Hotter than Hell in July and a firm believer that my place is on reception, taking phone calls and looking pretty. Not getting dirty under the hood of a car.

Determined to prove each other wrong, we make a deal.

I have three weeks to prove my worth as a mechanic. If I don’t, I’m on telephone duty.

If I do, he’ll accept defeat and make my job permanent.

Now, all I have to do is fight my attraction to the cocky little… beep.

Problem is, an engine isn’t the only thing he knows how to make purr…

ADD TO GOODREADS

PRE-ORDER NOW

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA | Nook | iBooks | Kobo

By day, New York Times and USA Today bestselling New Adult author Emma Hart dons a cape and calls herself Super Mum to two beautiful little monsters. By night, she drops the cape, pours a glass of whatever she fancies—usually wine—and writes books.

Emma is working on Top Secret projects she will share with her followers and fans at every available opportunity. Naturally, all Top Secret projects involve a dashingly hot guy who likes to forget to wear a shirt, a sprinkling (or several) of hold-onto-your-panties hot scenes, and a whole lotta love.

She likes to be busy—unless busy involves doing the dishes, but that seems to be when all the ideas come to life.

SIGN UP FOR ALL NEW RELEASE INFO!

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS | AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

It’s contest time!

Danielle is reading this book now and I read a sample, and from what I read I was hooked! So the awesome publisher is gifting one lucky winner a paperback copy of  this book goodness….

A full-hearted novel about a big-city baker who discovers the true meaning of home—and that sometimes the best things are found when you didn’t even know you were looking

When Olivia Rawlings—pastry chef extraordinaire for an exclusive Boston dinner club—sets not just her flambéed dessert but the entire building alight, she escapes to the most comforting place she can think of—the idyllic town of Guthrie, Vermont, home of Bag Balm, the country’s longest-running contra dance, and her best friend Hannah. But the getaway turns into something more lasting when Margaret Hurley, the cantankerous, sweater-set-wearing owner of the Sugar Maple Inn, offers Livvy a job. Broke and knowing that her days at the club are numbered, Livvy accepts.

Livvy moves with her larger-than-life, uberenthusiastic dog, Salty, into a sugarhouse on the inn’s property and begins creating her mouthwatering desserts for the residents of Guthrie. She soon uncovers the real reason she has been hired—to help Margaret reclaim the inn’s blue ribbon status at the annual county fair apple pie contest.
 
With the joys of a fragrant kitchen, the sound of banjos and fiddles being tuned in a barn, and the crisp scent of the orchard just outside the front door, Livvy soon finds herself immersed in small town life. And when she meets Martin McCracken, the Guthrie native who has returned from Seattle to tend his ailing father, Livvy  comes to understand that she may not be as alone in this world as she once thought.
 
But then another new arrival takes the community by surprise, and Livvy must decide whether to do what she does best and flee—or stay and finally discover what it means to belong. Olivia Rawlings may finally find out that the life you want may not be the one you expected—it could be even better.

To enter simply:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CONGRATS TO OUR WINNER: