The Reading Escapade: July 2016

ARC Review: Lies and Lullabies by Courtney Lane

30 Jul 2016

Book Title: Lies and Lullabies
Author: Courtney Lane
Series: Standalone
Release Date: July 28th, 2016
Genres: Dark Romance, Mystery/Thriller

On the weekends, she’s Sugar, a woman free of the pretty prison constructed by her domineering father, who combs the dangerous streets in search of something she never quite finds.

During the week, she’s Simone, the good girl and the illegitimate daughter of the most powerful and hated man in Los Angeles.

Catch—aptly named for his “career” choice—is a man shrouded in mystery with one dangerous purpose. After a whirlwind encounter, Catch draws Simone into his dark and tangled web.

A dangerous game ensues, lives are lost, truths are exposed, and one man may shatter the foundation of a powerful organization on the brink of extinction.

The game of truth or dare won't end until Catch and Simone strip each other of their façades and uncover the reality of who they were, and who they are fated to become.

28 Jul 2016

Book Title: One
Author: Jewel E. Ann
Series: Standalone
Release Date: July 28th, 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy

Lake Jones is a cover girl for cutting-edge prosthetic legs, a binge-watcher of Netflix, known to spy on her neighbor through her door’s peephole, and fond of laser games with her hairless cat. She’s also a bit sexually-frustrated.

Until …

God bestows a breath of mercy upon her in the form of Minnesota’s NFL starting quarterback. But this gift is no stranger. Lake met Cage Monaghan three years earlier.

It was one day.

One moment.

One kiss that resurrected her dreams of finding love.

His dimpled smile distracts from his imperfections, which include: a love for country music, fishing, and a feline-hating girlfriend.

When life finally gives them their chance, it’s a humorous and heart-wrenching journey to find their place in the world.

"We would be Cage and Lake. We would be unpredictable. We would be reckless. We would give normality the middle finger.”

***This book is a standalone. However, it is HIGHLY recommended that any readers who have not, but may consider, reading the Jack & Jill Series, do so before reading this book. It contains spoilers to Jack & Jill.

26 Jul 2016

Book Title: Thick & Thin

Author: Eden Butler
Series: Thin Love #3
Release Date: August 31st, 2015
Genres: New Adult, Contemporary Romance

My love was thick.

Her faith was thin.

Somewhere in the middle is where life found us.

I claimed her when I was a boy.

I held her until I was a man.

She was my first thought every morning, my last smile at night, and a million memories in between.

Then one night, with her warmth still lingering on the sheets, Aly King walked away from me, from us, from our life.

They say time heals all wounds, but not for me.

Not when my heart is empty.

Not when there is nothing but a sea of meaningless faces wherever I go.

It always comes back to her.

Aly needs reminding of how drunk our love made us, before she forgets completely.

Before we lose our chance.

Before we are irrevocably broken.

Book Title: Perfect Rage
Author: Nashoda Rose
Series: Unyielding #3
Release Date: July 26th, 2016
Genres: Dark Romance,

This is Connor's story.

Unstable.
Unpredictable.
Consumed by perfect rage.
I was fighting who I’d become and what I’d done.

There was nothing I cared about except her.
She was mine.
But I’d forgotten her—my shutterbug.
And I lost her.

Until now.

I’d do anything to possess her again.
Anything to keep her safe.
Protect her against my biggest opponent.

The monster.

Me.

25 Jul 2016

Book Title: Broken Prince
Author: Erin Watt
Series: The Royals #2
Release Date: July 25th, 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance, New Adult

These Royals will ruin you…

From wharf fights and school brawls to crumbling lives inside glittery mansions, one guy tries to save himself.

Reed Royal has it all—looks, status, money. The girls at his elite prep school line up to date him, the guys want to be him, but Reed never gave a damn about anyone but his family until Ella Harper walked into his life.

What started off as burning resentment and the need to make his father’s new ward suffer turned into something else entirely—keep Ella close. Keep Ella safe. But when one foolish mistake drives her out of Reed’s arms and brings chaos to the Royal household, Reed’s entire world begins to fall apart around him.

Ella doesn’t want him anymore. She says they’ll only destroy each other.

She might be right.

Secrets. Betrayal. Enemies. It’s like nothing Reed has ever dealt with before, and if he’s going to win back his princess, he’ll need to prove himself Royally worthy.

24 Jul 2016

Book Title: Thor
Author: LP Lovell
Series: The Recherche Series - Standalone
Release Date: July 25th, 2016
Genres: Erotica Romance

I’m selling your fantasy. Are you buying?

They say that love is the most powerful force in the universe. They’re wrong. Sex, lust, passion, these are the emotions which human beings crave. And they’ll spend any amount of money for a taste.

I’m the guy that makes your heartbeat rise with a look, your breath falter with a touch. It’s my job. My name is Thor Jameson and I’m a male escort. No, I’m THE male escort. My reputation is unrivalled and well deserved.

I’ve always been for sale, until the one thing I didn’t even realise I wanted was thrust in my face by chance. For once, I’m not selling, and she’s certainly not buying.

21 Jul 2016

Book Title: Hitched: Volume Two
Author: Kendall Ryan
Series: Imperfect Love #2
Release Date: July 19th, 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance

Arranged marriage? Check.

Cocky new husband? Check.

It's a marriage of convenience—one I’m determined to keep strictly professional. I can't be stupid enough to fall for this sexy playboy's charm or advances. I have to be strong, even if he is my husband.

Except he has a huge cock with an even bigger ego, and his main goal in life seems to be getting me to stroke both. The arrogant bastard is like sweet, sugary candy for my libido. I know he’s bad for me.

But I want to devour every wicked inch of him.

With his sexual prowess and experience, I know he’ll be explosive in the bedroom. And since we’re stuck together for the foreseeable future—keeping up this marriage charade long enough to turn the company profitable again—I deserve something to look forward to at the end of a long workday, right?

What could one little taste hurt?

20 Jul 2016

Book Title: The Arrangement
Author: Felice Stevens
Series: Standalone
Release Date: July 20th, 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance, M/M Romance

Carter Haywood lives for the weekends—specifically the one weekend every month when he escapes real life, with all the pressures of work and caring for his special needs brother, to do whatever he wants, with whomever he wants. Sex is only a release; he's not looking for love, a relationship or even a second night with the same man, until he walks into a bar and finds someone who makes leaving it all behind impossible. After one incredibly passionate encounter, he breaks his rule and goes back. He needs to see this man again. And again.

Damaged goods. That's all Reed Kincaide sees and hears when he looks in the mirror. Anxiety and ADHD define his life and he’s learned to keep people at a distance, never letting them get close enough to know who he really is. When Carter proposes a monthly weekend of sex without strings, it's the ideal arrangement for him. Or so he thinks. Every month, leaving Carter proves to be more and more difficult. It’s not only the intensely hot sex they have in their hotel suite; Reed wonders about the secret life Carter refuses to share.

As months pass and they grow closer Reed finds himself falling for Carter, but he needs more than hurried hugs and farewell kisses. He wants it all. Letting Reed into his carefully constructed family life could upset Carter’s whole world, but it might be the risk he’s finally willing to take, if it means keeping Reed. Once bodies are engaged, the heart is sure to follow, and Carter and Reed discover that holding on to each other is the first step in letting go of the past.

19 Jul 2016

Book Title: Aced
Author: Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine
Series: Aced #1
Release Date: July 11th, 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance, MM Romance

From Ella Frank’s Sunset Cove series and Brooke Blaine’s L.A. Liaisons series comes a scorchingly hot novel that blends humor, passion, and romance.

What happens when these two worlds collide?

Ace Locke is Hollywood’s hottest action hero. Women across the globe fling their panties in his direction, but Ace isn’t interested in those—he’s more of a boxer briefs kind of guy. Specifically, those of the nearly naked male model on a billboard he drives past every day.

Though he recently made headlines for his public coming out, Ace is wary about pursuing a relationship, fearing what the court of public opinion will do to his career. But there’s something in the model’s expression that intrigues him and has him wondering what if?

Dylan Prescott just scored his biggest modeling campaign yet. One that has him plastered all over L.A. in not much more than what he was born with. And when he’s cast in Ace’s latest blockbuster, it puts him in close proximity to his ultimate fantasy.

Outwardly confident, Dylan has no problem with his sexuality or his pretty-boy looks, and uses both to his advantage to get what he wants. And what he wants is the impossible—Ace Locke.

17 Jul 2016

Book Title: The Hard Count
Author: Ginger Scott
Series: Standalone
Release Date: July 15th, 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance

Nico Medina’s world is eleven miles away from mine. During the day, it’s a place where doors are open—where homes are lived in, and neighbors love. But when the sun sets, it becomes a place where young boys are afraid, where eyes watch from idling cars that hide in the shadows and wicked smoke flows from pipes.

West End is the kind of place that people survive. It buries them—one at a time, one way or another. And when Nico was a little boy, his mom always told him to run.

I’m Reagan Prescott—coach’s daughter, sister to the prodigal son, daughter in the perfect family.

Life on top.

Lies.

My world is the ugly one. Private school politics and one of the best high school football programs in the country can break even the toughest souls. Our darkness plays out in whispers and rumors, and money and status trump all. I would know—I’ve watched it kill my family slowly, strangling us for years.

In our twisted world, a boy from West End is the only shining light.

Quarterback.

Hero.

Heart.

Good.

I hated him before I needed him.

I fell for him fast.

I loved him when it was almost too late.

When two ugly worlds collide, even the strongest fall. But my world…it hasn’t met the boy from West End.

16 Jul 2016

Book Title: The Dark Days Club
Author: Alison Goodman
Series: Lady Helen #1
Release Date: January 26th, 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy Romance, Historical Fiction

New York Times bestseller Alison Goodman’s eagerly awaited new project: a Regency adventure starring a stylish and intrepid demon-hunter!

London, April 1812. On the eve of eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall’s presentation to the queen, one of her family’s housemaids disappears-and Helen is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap?

15 Jul 2016

Book Title: Nothing Tastes as Good
Author: Claire Hennessy
Series: Standalone
Release Date: July 14th, 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance

What happens when you give in to the voices in your head?

Annabel is dead. And she’s not happy about it. Despite having strived to be ‘lighter than air’ back when she was alive, the consequences of that yearning haven’t quite sunk in yet.

Julia Jacobs is fat. Which Annabel immediately notices when she’s assigned as Julia’s ghostly helper (don’t even think about calling her a guardian angel). And as her helper, Julia’s problem seems pretty obvious to Annabel. Fat = problem = unhappy. Sorted.

The only trouble is that whatever is causing Julia to overeat is hidden deep within her. Annabel will have to get to know Julia to uncover this secret and ‘fix’ her. Annabel can become the voice of reason, Julia’s source of strength.

Except. . . all this time spent in someone’s head has got Annabel thinking. Not just about food, but about her family too. And that maybe happiness can mean more than eradicating all the flesh from your bones.

14 Jul 2016

Book Title: Deep Redemption
Author: Tillie Cole
Series: Hades Hangmen #4
Release Date: July 12th, 2016
Genres: Dark Romance

ONLY THROUGH BLOOD CAN THE DEEPEST REDEMPTION BE FOUND…

He was born to ascend.
He was destined to lead.
He was never meant to fail.

Prophet Cain lies broken and defeated on the floor of his cell. A cell he has been thrown into by the one person who was supposed to stand by his side until the end. His flesh and blood, his only companion. His beloved twin brother.

Cain has sacrificed everything for his people. He left the safety and security of his life of study to infiltrate the infamous Hades Hangmen. He lived with them, rode with them, and then betrayed them. All in the name of a faith he can now feel slipping away from him. Like everything else he once held dear…

But then his isolation is broken. Another prisoner is brought to the cell next to his. A woman fighting her own demons and fears. A woman who Cain understands needs him, as he needs her.

As the connection between them grows, so does Cain’s resolve. He will right the wrongs he has done. He will atone for the evil acts carried out in his name. He will save the one he loves…

… Even if the battle takes him to the gates of hell itself.

Contemporary Dark Romance. Contains explicit sexual situations, violence, sensitive and taboo subjects, offensive language, and mature topics. Recommended for age 18 years and up.

13 Jul 2016

Book Title: Anything but Minor
Author: Kate Stewart
Series: Standalone
Release Date: July 12th, 2016
Genres: Romantic Comedy, Sports Romance

“She’s a nerd.”
“Heyyyy!”
“Okay, she’s a flight instructor.”
“Better.”
“He’s a ballplayer.”
“The best that ever was.”
“Technically, you aren’t according to MLB stats.”
“See? Total nerd. She also has no filter.”
“He’s no southern gentlemen.”
“I had one last season to prove my worth.”
“I’d never seen a game.”
“He told me he was a player.”
“She told me she was a lesbian.”
“But you fell in love with me anyway.”
“Yeah, baby, I totally did.”

Book Title: Steadfast
Author: Sarina Bowen
Series: True North #2 - Standalone
Release Date: July 12th, 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance

She’s the only one who ever loved him—and the only one he can never have.

Jude lost everything one spring day when he crashed his car into an apple tree on the side of the road. A man is dead, and there's no way he can ever right that wrong. He’d steer clear of Colebury, Vermont forever if he could. But an ex-con in recovery for his drug addiction can’t find a job just anywhere.

For Sophie Haines, coming face to face with the man who broke her heart is gut-wrenching. Suddenly, he’s everywhere she turns. It’s hard not to stare at how much he’s changed. The bad boy who used to love her didn’t have big biceps and sun-kissed hair. And he’d never turn up volunteer in the church kitchen.

She knows it’s foolish to yearn for the man who returned all the heartsick letters she wrote him in prison. But the looks he sends her now speak volumes.

No one wants to see Sophie and Jude back together, least of all Sophie's police chief father. But it's a small town. And forbidden love is a law unto itself.

11 Jul 2016

Book Title: Stealing Home
Author: Nicole Williams
Series: Standalone
Release Date: July 10th, 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance

Being the only woman working for a professional baseball team isn’t easy. As the San Diego Shock’s newest athletic trainer, Allie knows all about long hours, endless travel, and warding off players’ advances. Given she’s already the subject of a handful of rumors about how “lucky” she was to have earned such a coveted position, she can’t so much as flutter an eyelash a player’s way if she wants to be taken seriously.

But number eleven is doing more than fluttering eyelashes Allie’s way. Far more. Luke Archer is at the top of his game and doesn’t let the fear of striking out keep him from swinging. This is a motto he applies both on and off the field, but Allie appears immune, seeming to view Luke as nothing more than caution tape on legs.

He’s a player, and in Allie’s experience, they’re all the same. She won’t risk her job or her heart to another one, no matter how different this one claims to be. But as Allie gets to know him, she discovers the number eleven the public thinks they know is very different from the real Luke Archer. He seems too good to be true.

And maybe he is.

Allie will have to confront the stories attached to a player of Luke Archer’s stature and decide who she’ll put her faith in—The man she’s falling for? Or the rumors?

10 Jul 2016

Book Title: Cream of the Crop
Author: Alice Clayton
Series: Hudson Valley #2
Release Date: July 12th, 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Alice Clayton brings her trademark blend of funny and sexy to this second contemporary romance in the brand-new Hudson Valley series!

Manhattan’s It Girl, Natalie Grayson, has it all: she’s a hot exec at a leading advertising firm, known industry-wide for her challenging and edgy campaigns. She’s got a large circle of friends, a family that loves her dearly, and her dance card is always full with handsome eligible bachelors. What else could a modern gal-about-town wish for? The answer, of course, is...cheese.

Natalie’s favorite part of each week is spending Saturday morning at the Union Square Farmer’s Market, where she indulges her love of all things triple cream. Her favorite booth also indulges her love of all things handsome. Oscar Mendoza, owner of the Bailey Falls Creamery and purveyor of the finest artisanal cheeses the Hudson Valley has to offer, is tall, dark, mysterious, and a bit oblivious. Or so she thinks. But that doesn’t stop Natalie from fantasizing about the size of his, ahem, milk can.

Romance is churning, passion is burning, and something incredible is rising to the top. Could it be...love?

7 Jul 2016

Book Title: Hitched: Volume One
Author: Kendall Ryan
Series: Imperfect Love #1
Release Date: July 5th, 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance

Marry the girl I’ve had a crush on my whole life? Check.

Inherit a hundred-billion-dollar company? Check.

Produce an heir… Wait, what?

I have ninety days to knock up my brand-new fake wife. There’s only one problem—she hates my guts.

And in the fine print of the contract? The requirement that we produce an heir.

She can’t stand to be in the same room with me. Says she’ll never be in my bed.

But I’ve never backed down from a challenge and I’m not about to start now.

Mark my words—I’ll have her begging for me, and it won’t take ninety days.

On the heels of her smash hit and New York Times bestselling SCREWED series, Kendall Ryan brings you HITCHED, a romantic comedy that delivers heart and heat. A NYC playboy turned business mogul has ninety days to win over the woman he's always desired in order to save his father's company. One tiny problem: She hates his guts.

5 Jul 2016

Book Title: Into the Blue
Author: Chanel Cleeton
Series: Wild Aces #2 - Standalone
Release Date: July 5th, 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Military

From the author of Fly with Me and the Capital Confessions Novels comes the newest in the sexy Wild Aces Romance series.

Eric Jansen—call sign Thor—loves nothing more than pushing his F-16 to the limit. Returning home to South Carolina after a tragic loss, he hopes to fix the mistake he made long ago, when he chose the Air Force over his fiancée.

Becca Madison isn’t quick to welcome Thor back. She can’t forget how he shattered her heart. But Thor won’t give up once he’s set his sights on what he wants—and he wants Becca.

Thor shows Becca that he’s no longer the impulsive boy he used to be, and Becca finds herself irresistibly drawn to him. But will Thor be able to walk away from his dream of flying the F-16 for their love or does his heart belong to the sky?

4 Jul 2016

Book Title: Moonshot
Author: Alessandra Torre
Series: Standalone
Release Date: July 4th, 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Sports

Baseball isn’t supposed to be a game of life and death…

The summer that Chase Stern entered my life, I was seventeen. The daughter of a legend, the Yankees were my family, their stadium my home, their dugout my workplace. My focus was on the game. Chase... he started out as a distraction. A distraction with sex appeal poured into every inch of his six foot frame. A distraction who played like a god and partied like a devil.

I tried to stay away. I couldn’t.

Then, the team started losing.

Women started dying.

And everything in my world broke apart.

3 Jul 2016

We're back with our roundup post to summarise all our June reads and those we'd highly recommend to our followers. Check below for our reads and reviews!

* Click on book image to read our respective review *