2/26/16

HUNTER by Blaire Drake Cover Re-Reveal and Excerpt!

 
HUNTER by Blaire Drake has a brand new cover, and I am telling you that I am totally judging this book by its cover because whoa. Her newly covered book will release March 28th, and you bet I am getting it that day.
I won’t show you the full cover just yet because I want to tease you with the synopsis first so you can fall in love with it along with the cover!
 
SYNOPSIS

Born into blood, I was a mafia princess. Raised in hiding, I was a Californian sweetheart.
The day my father sold my thirteen year old body to pay off a five year old debt was the day my mother stole me in the dead of night. She protected me as she was supposed to.
My father may have been the king, but my mother was the queen.
The mafia blood was hers.
That was ten years ago. Now… the devil was on the loose.
Carlo ‘Hunter’ Rosso was my father’s right hand man and the boy I’d loved since I could tie my own shoelaces. He was always the most ruthless and the most deadly of all the children.
He’d thought I was dead until the day his assignment was given: Kill Adriana and Alexandria Romano. Kill the princess, and definitely kill the queen.
What he didn’t know was that the queen was dead, and the princess had taken her throne.
Blood didn’t lie. It smeared, distorted, stained. But it didn’t lie.
My father was going to learn the hard way that the empire he’d stolen belonged to me.
And so did Carlo ‘Hunter’ Rosso.
 

This book had me at “mafia princess”, and I don’t think I ever added a book to my “To Be Read list” on Goodreads so fast in a while. I cannot wait until I can get my hands on this book because it sounds like a book that was made for me.
Now to reveal the eye-catching and drool worthy cover! Ready?

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BAM!

Let us just take a moment and calm our racing hearts.
I don’t know about you, but if I just saw this cover in passing at the bookstore I would pick it up so fast I would get whiplash. Ripped men with tattoos are my weakness.
Now that you are understandably foaming at the mouth for more about this book, here is an excerpt that you should read at your own risk. Hearts will race, I assure you.
 
EXCERPT

“Staying, are you? Figure it's easier to kill me in my sleep?”
Once again, he rubbed his hand across his face. He said nothing.
“Trying to work out whose life is worth more, right? Mine is probably worth a lifetime of comfort for you. Kill me and everyone's happy, right? My pathetic excuse for a father gets to keep his empire and you're taken care of for life.”
He looked at me, and his expression was a little tortured. I was being harsh. I knew that. But I needed to be. It was easier to provoke him and be angry with him than give in to the horrible ache that had settled in my heart.
“Adriana...” Weak. The word was weak.
I wanted to ignore the indecision on his face, but I couldn't.
He was considering it.
He really was.
I scoffed quietly at him and grabbed the gun from the coffee table. His mask and gloves fell to the floor, but he made no move to pick them up. The safety was on the gun, and I held it out to him. “Here. Take it. I don't care, Hunter. I don't have much of a life here in hiding anyway.”
He didn't even look at the gun. His silvery gaze never left mine. I wished he would look away, because in that gaze, I saw the Hunter I knew. The boy who once ripped his favorite shirt to stem the bleeding when I fell and cut my leg, then proceeded to carry me home. The boy who offered to pee on my foot when I got stung by a jellyfish in Mexico on vacation when I was seven.
The boy I loved before I knew what love even was.
“You're weak, Hunter,” I whispered. Slowly, I turned the gun back to me and touched the barrel to my temple the way he did earlier. His jaw clenched when my thumb edged toward the safety, and when my finger moved to hook around the trigger, he moved.
He was like a lightning bolt. He came at me like a flash, snatched the gun from my hand, and dropped it on the sofa. It bounced but stayed on the seat, and then he turned on me with blazing eyes. “Don't,” he ground out, his arms tensing and looking even bigger. “Don't ever fucking put that to your head again.”
“Why? I was saving you the job.”
The words had barely left my lips when he pounced on me. It was deadly, the way his hands clasped my face and his mouth descended on mine. I staggered back into the wall, gasping at the ferocity of his movement. Shock paralyzed me as he kissed me harshly. His tongue ran along the seam of my mouth, and as I fisted the sides of his shirt, I bit his lower lip.
A low growl left his throat, but he didn't relent. He just kissed me harder. He kissed me until I was fucking spinning and could barely string two thoughts together. Until my whole body was alight with his touch and responding to his every movement.
He tasted like whiskey. The strong, rich taste that lingered on his lips was heady and only added to the intoxicating way he touched me.
And then... It hit me. He was touching me. Kissing me.
Twenty minutes ago, he could have killed me.
 

 
I mean, how can you NOT want to read this book? It seems like it has everything from danger and adventure to romance to everything else that makes a book fun and exciting.
You can add it to Goodreads now!
Also check out the preorder links too where you can preorder HUNTER for $0.99 now!


About the Author
Blaire Drake is a pseudonym for a New York Times bestselling author who wanted to think outside her box and write the kind of things that would shock even them. She loves taboo romance and pushing boundaries in her work. She also enjoys long walks on the beach at sunset, as long as it’ll be followed by a good, old-fashioned spanking right after.
DEAR PROFESSOR is her debut standalone novel, and her next book, PRETTY PORNSTAR, is also a standalone novel that promises to be equally as taboo and sexy.
You can connect with Blaire online at:
You are also invited to join her reader group at:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1660452467533550/

2/16/16

A Raven's Touch by Linda Bloodworth Review!

Bullied through high school, seventeen-year-old Justice St. Michaels is grateful for the help of her best friend Moira O’Fhey. Their only wish is to graduate high school, leave the sleepy town of Fallingbrook and all that happened behind them. The Heavens have other plans. Between growths on her back and being involved in explosive school fights, nothing seems to make sense. When an unexpected encounter with Darien Raventhorn causes worlds to collide it exposes the truth about Justice's real identity. To avenge a family death, Justice must embrace her birthright, and slay a demon before all Hell breaks loose. 

            Linda and I have been twitter friends for a while now, and ever since I heard about her book and the concept, I was really excited. Therefore, I was ecstatic to finally get my hands on A Raven’s Touch. 
            The first thing I noticed about the book was that Justice was a very relatable character. She had some terrible bullying experiences and it made her afraid of everyone except for her best friend and family. I immediately sympathized with her. Then it was revealed that she was part Angel, and from that revelation on, the story just unfolded pretty easily. It was so interesting to see such a different take on the half human, half Angel paranormal story. I've read quite a few stories featuring half Angels, and I thought I had seen it all; however, Linda brought a new take on half Angels to the table, and I was so excited to see what else was in store!
            Next, we have the plot. It was good and very interesting, but confusing and disorganized at times, specifically in the beginning. It was full of mystery, which was good, but the way the secrets were revealed in the beginning was a little scattered. What I mean by that is that the information about Justice’s heritage and mission wasn’t given in a coherent manner to me. It seemed like little bits of information were thrown at me until I was confused and then the big secret was revealed. Then everything mentioned beforehand made sense. It was an odd and confusing way to present information, but it wasn’t so bad that it ruined the story.
            Another thing that I did notice about the plot was that it seemed to be drawn out unnecessarily at times, which was a bit frustrating. I felt like there were pivotal parts of the story that were presented and then drawn out until the emotion and importance of the scenes became dry and repetitive. Although that could be because I had to put the book down multiple times during said pivotal moments, which could have made them seem drawn out. However, it was all worth it when I got to the part of the book where the dragon came onto the scene. Now, you all know I have an insanely huge obsession with dragons so it's only natural that I squealed when one showed up in this book. The way she, the dragon, interacted with Justice made me so jealous because I wanted to pet a dragon too! *sigh*
            The major plus about the plot was that I was immediately thrown into the action. I really like it when books start off with an action scene that grips my interest suddenly because then I'm looking into why it happened and what the consequences will be. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Justice was in the middle of it and weird things were happening to her too. The opening scenes really propelled me to read on and try to figure out what was happening to her. Then we had the emotional scenes that had me wanting to cry and rage at the world. There was one specific scene that was definitely a tear jerker and it was a hard scene to swallow, but the way it was presented was amazing. It definitely got me more invested in the story.
            The next thing that had me flailing like crazy were the interactions between Darien and Justice. I swear Darien gave me heart eyes as soon as he appeared, and I could tell that sparks would fly between him and justice. Towards the end, they got closer and closer and every moment between them sparks flew and the heat was definitely turned up a notch. I seriously loved their interactions because they weren't instantly falling over each other. Justice was skeptical of Damien from the beginning, but as the story went on she slowly started to see that he was there because he cared for her, and I loved that.
            Finally, we have the ending that left me begging for more! Linda really knows how to write a cliffhanger. It's been a while since I’ve had to deal with a cliffhanger and the wait for the next book, and I'm so excited to experience those feelings again. I cannot wait to see what Linda has in store for Justice, Damien, and her crew next.
            Although this book had its bumpy moments, the end result made it all worthwhile. I recommend this book to anyone who loved Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick and/or Fallen by Lauren Kate! I give A Raven's Touch three out of five stars!