Review Tour and Giveaway: BEDDED BLISS by Taryn Elliott and Cari Quinn

A hot night in Vegas is just what the rockstar ordered... 

until someone ends up married.

BEDDED BLISS

Found in Oblivion #1

Cari Quinn & Taryn Elliott

Releasing Aug 22nd, 2016

Rainbow Rage Publishing

Michael Shawcross is living the dream, opening up for his idols, Oblivion, on his band Warning Sign’s first tour. Until an overzealous fan goes too far and his hard-partying ways catch up to him in the form of an ultimatum from his manager, Lila Crandall.

Clean up your image—or else.

Single mom Chloe Adams is in Vegas for a rare girls’ night out. She wasn’t ever supposed to be attracted to another rockstar. In fact, she’s in rockstar rehab, and the cure for her addiction definitely isn't a sexy, smart-assed guitarist with wicked fingers.

She never expects to accidentally end up his wife. Or to have her new husband suddenly decide that she’s the solution to all his problems. And surprise…he’s happy to show his appreciation in a number of interesting, inventive ways.

Pretending their marriage is real might just be the hottest proposition she’s ever been given.

But what happens when a lie becomes the truth? 

BEYOND OBLIVION - A Rockstar Romance full of sexy fun set within the world of our Lost in Oblivion series! You never know who you'll see show up in the books. 

BUY NOW

My Thoughts:

Cari and Taryn write some of my favorite rocker romances and they didn't disappoint here. It's nice to know they're keeping up the tradition of crafting to-die-for rocker bad boys and the women who love them. And let me tell you, Michael hits all the right notes in the to-die-for rocker realm. He's a bad boy, yes - in the beginning - but when he finds something worth fighting for, he doesn't hold anything back. And he goes from bad boy rocker to want-it-so-bad good boy. He's got to be one of my favorite heroes that Cari and Taryn have come up with so far. The way he not only woos Chloe but her son, as well - hot damn! Isn't that what every single mom wants - for a guy to love her kid as much as he loves her? And that's what Chloe gets with Michael. Once he decides he's all in, that's it - he goes for it. And she is blindsided by his determination to make their marriage work, to become a real family. And his scenes with Axl are so cute, it'll make your ovaries pop with jealousy. Of course it's not an easy ride for them, but then the path to true love never is, especially in a Cari/Taryn book. But the destination is so worth it, a few bumps along the way are nothing. Such a good book! Highly recommend it!

USA Today bestselling author Cari Quinn likes music and men, so she figured why not write about both? When she's not writing, she's screaming at men's college basketball games on TV, playing her music too loud or causing trouble. Sometimes simultaneously.

USA Today bestselling author Taryn Elliott is obsessed with rock stars, men, and her unending playlists--maximizing these things seemed like a very good idea. When she's not writing, she's losing hours to hot men on TV, and/or a graphic design project. Multitasking is her middle name.

They decided to combine forces and found that hey...this writing deal is even more awesome when you collaborate with your best friend.

And so Lost in Oblivion was born.

Website | Facebook | Taryn’s Twitter 

Cari’s Twitter | Taryn GR | Cari GR 

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Review Tour and Giveaway: IDENTITY THEFT by Laura Lee

IDENTITY THEFT

by Laura Lee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

A bored employee in a rock star's office begins an online relationship with a fan in the guise of his boss and sets off a chain of events he cannot control.

Candi Tavris is on the verge of turning 30, she works in the packaging department of a company that is downsizing and she is hounded by calls from creditors who mispronounce her name. She wakes up every morning praying that the folks at Life Lock will perform their work in reverse and give her "identity" to someone else. Her younger sister, never a serious student, married a rich executive and lives in a mansion.

Candi's only solace is escaping into the music and image of the 80s pop star Blast.

Ethan  Penn,  a  22 year-old college dropout who smokes pot and lives in his mother's  basement, works in the rock star's office. (His desk sits under a framed gold record with a dead spider caught in the glass.)

His boss, whose real name is Ollie Thomas, is as socially awkward off stage as he is charismatic on stage. He is depressed about his pending divorce. His greatest fame is behind him, his biggest hit "Partly Cloudy Thursday (Blast With Me)" was a cliched monstrosity written to please record executives. His rock n' roll lifestyle mostly consists of finding ways to keep his laundry from stinking while on the road and trying to remain anonymous while buying Preparation-H.

Blast assigns the task of keeping up with his social networking to Ethan. Ethan starts to correspond with Candi through e-mail and chats in the guise of the rock star. The conversation soon becomes steamy. The game spirals out of control when Blast performs a concert in Candi's hometown and Candi is mistaken first for a groupie and then for a delusional stalker.

Candi must try to prove (and retain) her sanity. Ethan must decide whether to risk jail by telling the truth. A terrified Ollie has to come to terms with his relationship with his Blast character and the consequences of his fame.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT:

“This call may be monitored...”

When she saw the 800 number on the caller ID, Candi had not wanted to pick up the phone, but she had been through the routine long enough to know that the only way to stop them from harassing you was to talk to them.  She had just come home from work and was still dressed in a green fitted blazer and matching slacks.  The outfit had looked much better in the catalog on the size 2 model than on her size 12 frame.  She plopped down on the couch, kicked off her uncomfortable high heel shoes, and waited to be connected to a human being.

“Hello, my name is Susan,” said the caller.

“Your name is not Susan,” Candi wanted to say. “How is the weather in Bangalore?”  She didn't say that, though. She sat and waited for “Susan” to finish her script.

“I am calling in regards to your Capital One card. Your payment of $105 is five days late.  Can you make that payment today to bring your account current?”

She wanted to say, “If I could, don't you think I would have?”  There was really no point in saying anything like that.  In harried moods, she had tried.  It just made the call last longer.

“No,” she said.

“When will you be able to make that payment?”

“August 5th,” she said with a tone of certainty. She didn't know if she would be able to make the payment then, but the woman on the line didn't care about that.  She just needed to plug a date into the computer.  Once the right boxes were checked, Capital One would leave her alone for a while.

Candi also understood that “Susan”'s boss-- the bank--didn't really care either.  They were thrilled her payment was late because it meant they could charge her late fees and jack up her rates.  So everyone was happy. They just had to do this little bit of theater from time to time.  Sometimes it amazed her to think they hired someone half a world away for this charade.  Years of computer science and the space program had to happen in order for a woman in India to bully an office worker in suburban San Diego about a $100 payment that was five days late.

As she confirmed her address and phone number with the caller, Candi played with her shoulder-length, brown hair. She half-consciously examined each strand checking for split ends and light color.  She had found a couple of grays that morning.  She tried to convince herself they had actually been blonde hairs. Age 29 was far too early to start finding grays.

When Susan's computer form was filled out and everyone had played their roles, Candi unplugged the phone from the wall.  She wasn't in the mood to act out that particular bit of Kabuki again today.

She turned on the television and let it play in the background as she heated up her dinner-- leftover Little Caesar’s Pizza.  ($5 for a large.) They key to reheating pizza without making the dough gummy is to put it in the oven and not the microwave.  Candi set the oven to 450, pulled out a baking sheet, covered it with a roll of aluminum foil and plopped two slices on top but she tossed the tray into the oven before it had a chance to preheat. 

Candi didn't have a kitchen exactly.  It was more of a food-making area. Her apartment consisted three rooms.  The front room, in which she was standing, was a combination living, dining, kitchen space. The oven and refrigerator were in the back corner a few steps from the television and couch.  Her bedroom was just behind the kitchenette through a doorway. If you needed the bathroom, you had to walk through the bedroom to get there.  The bathroom, curiously, was almost as large as the living room.

My Thoughts:

This book had an interesting concept: a modern re-telling of the classic Cyrano de Bergerac story. Set in the world of rock and roll with an unlikely rock hero, no less. I really liked that concept and I couldn't wait to see what the author came up with. Unfortunately for me, it was a let down. The story was slow to the point of being sluggish, I couldn't connect with any of the characters, and so it just didn't work for me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Metro Detroit native Laura Lee divides her time equally between writing and producing ballet educational tours with her partner, the artistic director of the Russian National Ballet Foundation. She is the author of more than a dozen non-fiction books with such publishers as Harper Collins, Reader’s Digest, Running Press, Broadway Books, Lyons Press and Black Dog and Leventhal. Her Pocket Encyclopedia of Aggravation has sold more than 85,000 copies. She has also written two collections of poetry, and a children’s book (A Child’s Introduction to Ballet). She brings to her writing a unique background as a radio announcer, improvisational comic and one-time professional mime.

The San Francisco Chronicle has said of her work, “Lee’s dry, humorous tone makes her a charming companion… She has a penchant for wordplay that is irresistible.”

Angel is her first novel. Read more about the book at http://angelthenovel.carbonmade.com/.

https://lauraleeauthor.wordpress.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Laura-Lee/e/B004MU7TIK/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1421698893&sr=8-1

GIVEAWAY:

Laura Lee will award a randomly drawn commenter a digital copy of IDENTITY THEFT


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Review Tour and Giveaway: A Life Less Ordinary by Victoria Bernadine

A LIFE LESS ORDINARY

By

Victoria Bernadine

BLURB:   

For the last fifteen years, Rose “Manny” Mankowski has been a very good girl.  Now, at the age of 45, she’s questioning her choices and feeling more and more disconnected from her own life.  When she’s passed over for promotion and her much younger new boss implies Manny’s life will never change, something snaps.  In the blink of an eye, she’s quit her job, sold her house, cashed in her pension, and she’s leaving town on a six month road trip.

After placing an ad for a travelling companion, she’s joined in her mid-life crisis by Zeke Powell, the cynical, satirical, most read – and most controversial – blogger for the e-zine, What Women Want.  Zeke’s true goal is to expose Manny’s journey as a pitiful and desperate attempt to reclaim her lost youth – and increase his readership at the same time.

Now, armed with a bagful of destinations, a fistful of maps, and an out-spoken imaginary friend named Harvey, Manny’s on a quest to rediscover herself – and taking Zeke along for the ride.

EXCERPT:  

“All I ever wanted was a life less ordinary.”

Manny lay flat on her back, eyes wide, staring at the ceiling while she waited for her clock to hit 6:00. Another day of work, she thought. Another day older and deeper in debt.

She had the alarm timed to the millisecond. The jarring noise had barely begun when she clicked it off. She sighed then threw back the covers and got out of bed.

She padded into the bathroom, glanced without interest in the full-length mirror that doubled as her shower doors and took her morning inventory.

Plain face? Check.

Looking tired? Check.

Thirty pounds overweight? Check.

Dark circles under deer-caught-in-headlights eyes? Check and check.

She shook her head at her limp, mousy hair and wondered when she’d gotten so old.

She sighed in resignation then conjured up her Perfect Fantasy Man–or Harvey, as she liked to call him–to give her a morning lift. She cocked her head to one side as she stared into the mirror and imagined him standing behind her. She smiled at the handsome man, and he smiled back, putting his hands on her shoulders. Everything about him was warm, in stark contrast to the cold shades of grey in which she lived her life. He had warm brown eyes, warm brown skin, and a warm smooth voice that always reminded her of golden honey. Today his hair was black with greying temples, and yes, even that seemed warm to her.

He was perfect, everything she considered ideal in a man–and extra-perfect, of course, because he was a fantasy. Just the thought of trying to establish a relationship with an actual man felt too much like work.

She sighed and Harvey disappeared.

“Instead I ended up in a rut–everything planned and executed to the minute.”

Please Note: I was supposed to review this book as part of the tour, but I never really found my footing with this story. As a result, I was unable to finish this book and therefore cannot provide an accurate review. This just wasn't the book for me. 

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Victoria Bernadine (a pseudonym) is, as the saying goes, a “woman of a certain age”. After twenty-something years of writer’s block, she began writing again in 2008. She began with fanfiction about a (now-cancelled) TV show called Jericho and particularly about the characters of Heather Lisinski and Edward Beck. From there, she expanded into writing original fic and she hasn’t stopped since.

Victoria enjoys reading all genres and particularly loves writing romantic comedy and post-apocalyptic science fiction. What those two have in common is anybody’s guess.

She lives in Edmonton with her two cats (The Grunt and The Runt). A Life Less Ordinary is the first novel she felt was good enough to be released into the wild.

Victoria can be contacted through Love of Words Publishing Inc. (loveofwords@shaw.ca) or through her brand new blog at http://victoriabernadine.wordpress.com/.

A Life Less Ordinary is available for sale on Amazon in both Kindle and hard copy formats at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AMJBOSQ.  

GIVEAWAY:

Victoria will be awarding a $25 (grand prize) gift card with two gift cards for $15 each; the cards would for either Amazon or Smashwords (winner’s choice). 

Please follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/03/review-tour-life-less-ordinary-by.html