September 8, 2015

{*} Release Blitz{*} The End Game by Kate McCarthy including review from Lexy




Title: The End Game
Author: Kate McCarthy
 Release Date: September 8, 2015

"Professional athletes are pillars of their respective communities. They are heroes in the eyes of boys and girls and are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that positively represents their community.”
The public loves a good scandal. Seeing someone fall from the pinnacle of success makes a great headline. No one knows that better than I do. What started out as a promising career in college football, spiraled into scandal and shame.
But being a hero is easier said then done. Especially when there are those who expected to see the great Brody Madden fail. I craved nothing except being the best—willing to do anything to prove them wrong. But I went too far, and I tried too hard, and it broke me.
“At the time of going to print, Jordan Elliott was unavailable for comment.”
I met Brody Madden in my senior year of college. An Australian native on an international scholarship, I was the female soccer sensation with stars in her eyes and no room for a hotshot wide receiver with a chip on his shoulder.
But a heart bursting with ambition and a driving fire to succeed isn’t made of stone. I became his strength, his obsession, and the greatest love of his life. Only I wasn’t there when he needed me most.
This is a story about love and a game that takes everything. Where the path to glory is paved with sacrifice. Where pressure makes you, or breaks you, and triumph is born in the ashes of failure. Where two people’s end game will change everything.


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AMAZON US / UK / AU
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SMASHWORDS




Excerpt

Shutting the door, I walk up the slight incline behind Brody. He sits down at the top of the crest and pats the grassy spot beside him.

“You didn’t mention this part when you explained our date.”

“I can’t give away all my secrets now, can I?”

The grass is a thick blanket on the ground and when I stretch out flat, the rich, earthy scent of soil sweeps over me. My eyes lift to the sky and that’s when I get it. It’s perfectly clear and millions of stars are scattered diamonds twinkling above us—bright and magical.

“Besides,” Brody adds as he lies down beside me and sweeps out his arm, encompassing all of it. “How do you explain that?”

He’s right. You can’t. “It’s beautiful.”

“Is this what the stars are like for you back home?”

“No. Back home it’s different.”

“Different how?”

Homesickness swamps me. As beautiful as Texas is, it’s not Australia. Somehow the stars are always brighter where you belong. “Because there’s no place like home.”

“You’re wrong.”

I turn my head and stare at Brody. He’s not looking at me. His head is tilted toward the sky, eyes riveted on the beauty above him. My gaze follows the line of his profile. From the curl of his hair to the perfect line of his nose, down to the mouth I want kissing me right this very instant.

“Home’s not a place where you live. It’s a feeling.” His hand nudges my own. An invitation. I twine my fingers with his and he squeezes them lightly. “Whether it’s where you are, like the football field, or who you’re with.” Brody turns his head, looking at me when he says that. It’s comforting because it unites us somehow, like it’s slowly becoming us against the world. “You can be anywhere, Jordan. Home will follow you if you follow your heart.”

My breath hitches from the beautiful simplicity of his words. Before I can talk myself out of it, I roll over and straddle him. My knees hug his hips, and he stares up at me from my seated position. My pulse pounds a heavy beat in the silence. Thump, thump, thump. It’s so loud in my ears I’m sure he can hear it.

“Show me,” I breathe. A gleam lights his dark eyes, and he sucks his lower lip inside his mouth. He knows what I’m asking, but I spell it out anyway. “Show me one of those wicked things.”

In a move that steals the air from my lungs, he takes both my hands and pulls me down against the broad width of his chest. I’m rolled over and underneath him before I can blink. The squirm in my hips is instinctive, the ache between my thighs relentless.

“Careful what you ask for,” Brody says roughly, every exquisite inch of his body pressing down on mine.

“Why?”

His lips curve. “Because when I give it to you, it won’t be enough.”

My fingers trail down the side of his face, grazing the firm jaw, cupping his cheek in my palm. Foreboding swamps me. I’m falling hard into uncharted territory, and all I see is a broken mess at the end. How is this going to end well for either of us?

“You’re an arrogant man, Brody Madden,” I whisper.

He brings his face to mine, so close I see the brilliant gold in his eyes, like flecks of light in the dark. “And you, Jordan Elliott, will be the woman who brings me to my knees,” he whispers against my lips.

“Show me,” I beg on a shaky breath.

Brody’s lashes lower and he presses a kiss to the corner of my mouth. I tilt my chin upwards, inviting more. Rather than take my lips like I ache for him to do, he shifts sideways and begins nipping at my jaw. His breath is a rasp when he reaches my earlobe, taking it between his teeth. A sharp pinch from his bite forces a whimper from my throat.

“More?” he asks, drawing back to look at me.

“Is that even a real question?”

Brody chuckles as I slide my hand up and around his nape, dragging his mouth down to mine. He groans and kisses me gently, once, and then twice.

“Brody,” I whisper, and he kisses me again, forcing my mouth open hard like he can’t hold himself in check anymore. My hair is loose and he fists chunks of it in both hands while his tongue rubs against mine, hot and aggressive. It’s almost too much, and when I jerk away I’m left gasping.

Brody doesn’t pause. He ducks his head to my neck, his tongue tasting its way down. He finds my pulse point and sucks. It’s fierce and my back arches involuntarily. His mouth shifts further down, moving on before he leaves a mark.

Sitting up, he takes the neckline of my dress in both hands. Five dainty buttons hold it together. A single wrench will rip the flimsy fabric in two. He pauses and looks at me, inhaling raggedly. “Jordan … I don’t want to ruin it.”

My brow furrows. I glance to the hands poised on my dress. They’re tense, veins straining under his skin. My head is lost in a fog when my gaze returns to his face. “Ruin my dress?”

Brody groans, a deep sound of regret and frustration. “Us.”

“You don’t want to ruin us?”

He draws his hands away from the neckline of my dress. “No.”

“How would you do that?”

“I don’t know. I just get this feeling I’m going to.” He shifts away, moving off me and rolling to his back. I turn my head. Brody’s gaze is back on the stars. I watch his throat work as he swallows, the pulse in his neck pounding visibly. “All I’ve ever wanted is to be the best. Whatever it takes. I’ll do anything. That’s how I’ll ruin us, Jordan. How can something so sweet survive a sentiment so dark?”

I roll to my side, holding my head in my hand. Cupping his face with the other, I nudge gently until he’s looking at me. “I won’t let you.”

Brody’s voice is urgent, his eyes fierce. “Promise me.”

I can’t shake the apprehension. It’s set in my bones and when I speak it feels like a lie. “I promise.”




    I just got done reading and I had to jump right into writing my thoughts down, which is not the norm for me, because I need to just write to keep this story alive. I need to say how much I loved The End Game! I am no stranger to Kate McCarthy and her words and anyone in my circle of trust knows the depth of my enjoyment I have reading her books but this one here, The End Game, is spectacular! I completely blindsided myself with what I thought I was going to be reading.

    Truth be told, I have been stalking the progress of this book a bit more closely than I usually do with book releases. I had even cleared my month of September to give myself a self-imposed break of reading, except for The End Game. I could not WAIT for this book!! What I thought I would be reading, from the premise of the story, is so completely off sides and I’m blown away with the depth of emotions that I felt as I was reading. I didn’t put this book down. I had even re-installed my kindle app on my phone so I could sneak time to keep reading. The End Game is so much more then what the cover portrays. It’s even more than what the back of the book says. The End Game to me is about survival. The pure need to do whatever it takes to just touch the tip of your dreams. The contentment of reaching those goals and basking in the glory. Even if it’s only a fleeting moment. The determination to give yourself what you think it is you need.

    Two star college athletes crashing into one another, a force that is taken for granted at times, when the pressures of living up to the hype takes the worst possible course. The End Game took me into the fictional world of sports, football and soccer, (which when thinking about it the irony isn’t lost on me) in the lives of Brody and Jordon as they make their way thru a deep relationship that centers them. At times being destructive, this relationship dives and soars while tackling some very heavy social topics that would test the limits of even myself. The courage and strength these characters have is inspiring and distressing at moments. The physical chemistry is off the charts and complementary that it makes you long for your own tangible connection! But the words. Kate McCarthy has once again rendered me not speechless, instead making me have so many thoughts and feelings that it’s a bit difficult to keep my idea of what I want to write at the surface. 

    What I want to make the readers feel of this review, is that at no point was I not fully invested in this story, there wasn’t a time while reading that I wasn’t over the top in love with all the characters, not just Brody and Jordon. My end feeling of contentment is refreshing and I need more. I want more books about the secondary characters. I want more of their lives! And for me, that’s why I love to read. I want to be put into a place where I leave the worries of the real world to only be submerged into a bookish reality that goes the distance. The End Game delivers that feeling and more. Outstanding. In my review of my advanced readers copy I hope you enjoy my experience and find your own in The End Game. 






Kate McCarthy is an Australian, living in the pretty sunshine state of Queensland with her two kids and two dogs, Rufus and Pete.

She loves to bake sweet stuff and eat it too. With an exciting degree in business, she works as an accountant by day, and an author by night. In between family life, she is most often found in bed reading, or at the beach, still reading.

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*^*Release Day Blitz*^*The Year I Became Isabella Anders by Jessica Sorensen

The Year I Became Isabella Anders Release Day Banner
Happy Release Day to Jessica Sorensen and her new YA book, The Year I Became Isabella Anders! Make sure to enter the giveaway for a signed paperback of this book! #NewSeries #TopFave
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The Year I Became Isabella Anders
Isabella Anders has always been the girl that never fit in. Most days she feels invisible, especially when she’s around her older sister, Hannah, who catches the eye of everyone, including Kai and Kyler, the boys who live next door.
Isabella has had a crush on Kyler for years, but knows he’ll never see her as anything more than Hannah’s little sister, unless she finds a way to standout.
When Isabella gets an offer from her grandmother to travel overseas for the summer, she seizes the opportunity, hoping she’ll discover more about herself. And she does, but not in the way that she expected.
Three months later, Isabella returns home an entirely new person. The change is enough to catch both Kyler and Kai’s attention. But Isabella is still struggling with what she discovered over the summer and until she deals with the truth, she’ll never truly be herself.
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Cover Created by Sarah Hansen Okay Creations
Photography by Lauren at Perrywinkle Photography
Isabella Teaser 1
Excerpt
Cold rain instantly soaks through my clothes as I skip down the driveway, moving awkwardly, because I can’t bend one knee. I don’t care though. Rain is awesome. And it smells so great. Seriously, if I could, I’d skip around in the rain all the time. My hair is drenched by the time I reach the sidewalk, and the flip-flops splash water from the puddles all over the backs of my legs. It reminds me of this one time Kai and I walked home in the rain and we intentionally splashed in all the puddles. “Isa! What are you doing?!” Someone shouts with a hint of laughter in their voice. My head whips to the side as I stumble to a stop. Kai is standing out on the side deck, beneath the shelter of the roof, and I think he might be laughing at me, but the veil of rain crashing from the cloudy sky makes it difficult to see. “Going to the paint store!” I shout then wave at him and start to skip off again. “Are you crazy?” he calls out. “You can’t walk to town in the middle of a rainstorm.” I sigh and slow down again. “I’m not walking! I’m skipping!” My eyelashes flutter against the rain. “Can’t you wait until it at least stops raining?” he asks, shaking his head as I jump into a puddle. “No way! It’s either the rain or being in the house with Hannah. And I choose the rain. Besides, rain is awesome!” I can hear him laughing all the way from over here. “Would you get your ass over here?” He waves at me to come to him. “I’ll drive you if you really want to go. But it’s too damn cold for you to be playing around in the rain, no matter how cute you look.” Cute? Did he just call me cute?  
Isabella Teaser 3
 

    I have never started reading a story and from the first few minutes hate what I am reading! I wanted to jump into my kindle and strangle almost every character, and that was just in the first chapter. Well I really didn’t hate the story. Hold on a minute, let me back up a few keyboard clicks and start over.
    The Year I became Isabella Anders reads to me like a twist on a mixture of Shakespearean plays and Cinderella. Only except for the wicked step mother and her brats who despise Cinderella, Isabella Anders has just one brat of a sister, a horrible mother and also father! These characters are hateful people and I hope they get what’s coming to them in the following book. If I could write to kill them off I would not be upset to do so.
     Poor Isabella, outcast to most, in the summer before her senior year she is fortunate enough to go on a soul releasing trip with her cousin and Grandmother; finding out about herself while traveling through a European vacation, Isa’s cousin makes it her mission to help Isa have some fun and learn to be herself comfortably. The journey Isa takes is one that is inspiring and relatable and totally made me happy for her but also sad knowing that the family she has to return to will still treat her horribly. Upon learning secrets about her past Isa hooks up with her next door neighbor to help find the answers she needs.
    I loved the relationships Isabella has with the neighboring brothers. Confused as to whom she really has feelings for, It will be interesting to say the least who she decides to stick with but for now I like how the image Kyler and Kai have of Isabella is starting to change.
    Ms. Sorenson has added another great start of a series to her impressive resume and if you enjoy YA stories that have a hint of romance, some suspense, and is capable of invoking a range of emotions while reading, grabbing The Year I Became Isabella Anders is one for you with a quick plot flow that leaves you wondering which way you’ll be taken in the next book.
~~ I was given an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for my honest experience. 



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Jessica Sorensen is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author from the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she's not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.

~!!~Book Tour~!!~MY ONE REGRET by Krissy V

 MY ONE REGRET
BY KRISSY V
BOOK TOUR
Blurb
Do you believe in soul mates?  Like really believe in soul mates?  They say a soul mate is someone who has the key to unlock your heart... Make you feel safe enough to live as your truest self...  The other half of you...  So, when you meet “the one” take my advice and keep hold of him.  I didn’t do that and now, I regret it every day of my life!  Jordan came into my life and I instantly felt a connection to him. Slowly, I opened my heart to him.  But was I really ready to let my life be turned it upside down, inside and out on life’s journey of love?  Jordan believes that I am his soul mate … but I left his heart shattered when we both made the decision to follow what we believe are our destinies.  After all... True soul mates will always find each other … Right? That is why let he me go the first time.  If you love something, let it go... If it comes back to you, it’s yours forever... If it doesn’t, then it was never meant to be... – Unknown  Sometimes though, if you’re not quick enough, fate will step in and intervene, however traumatic the outcome may be...  Follow Cassie on her emotional journey along with all the twists and turns of fate and destiny! 
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EXCERPT
Oh my god! He is gorgeous! All I can hear is my heart beating, fast. I slowly pull my eyes away from him and look back in the classroom, looking around to see if anyone else has seen him. Thankfully, everyone is listening to Mr. Marsden drone on about economies of scale. I turn back to look out of the window just in case I imagined him. No, he’s still there and I watch him walk past the window very slowly. Suddenly he stops and looks into the classroom. He catches my eye and he smiles at me. He continues to look directly at me. I can’t tear my eyes away from him. I’m transfixed. I have never seen a guy look so good, so intense. I feel my breath catch; he has literally taken my breath away. He nods his head at me and winks. Wow! I now know what they mean when they talk about having butterflies in your stomach. I have never experienced anything like it. I am holding my breath until he turns around and walks ever so slowly away. I let my breath out and at the same time I’m wondering who he is? I wonder why I haven’t seen him before at school? I know that I need to know who he is, I can’t wait to get out of this class and speak to the one guy who will know who he is – Jezza.
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About The Author
I am a mother to two young children, who in turn keep me young. I live in Dublin, Ireland but, I’m originally from South Devon in the UK. I work full time in a pharmacy and write in all my spare time: in my lunch hour, when watching TV at night and anywhere. I have always been interested in reading from a young age and then 2 years ago I was given a kindle as a present and it was the best thing that happened to me. I was able to read lots of books ever week and then I started to write reviews for all the books I read. I took this one step further and started my own facebook page – Sparkling Pink Bookshelf. I intended to upload all of my reviews for the books I read. This was purely for pleasure and then I answered a post on Facebook for someone to read for reviews and thought I had died and gone to heaven. I was reading about 7/8 books a week, the kindle made this achievable. I would read at any opportunity I could, even staying up til the small hours to finish a book. I loved it. Then one day I was asked to beta read a book – I loved this side of it, it was so exciting. I have worked with a number of indie authors and have remained loyal to a few select authors and I beta read all their After a year or more of doing this, I thought maybe I could write some of the stories that were in my head and I just decided to write and see what happened. I wrote about 70% of a story and then saw a post for the NaNoWriMo competition – to write 50,000 words in 30 days, I decided that this was a challenge I wanted to take and the Til Death Us Do Part series was born.
I am always thinking of situations that can be turned into a story and have started a few stories, which in turn will be completed and released to my readers. I love to hear what my readers have to say about my work and please find my links below.
Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy this series of books as much as I enjoyed writing them. 
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~~Release Blitz~~ My Kind of Forever by Heidi McLaughlin

My Kind of Forever Release Day Blitz
Happy Release Day to Heidi McLaughlin and My Kind of Forever! Check out an excerpt from the book below and make sure to enter the giveaway!! Good luck! #LiamAndJosieForever
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Synopsis
Liam Page knows music and a life of solitude, but that all changed when he returned to Beaumont. The once notorious bad boy lead singer of 4225 West is now living the domesticated life with his wife and high school sweetheart, Josie, and their son, Noah. Life is good for the Westbury family.
Josie Westbury loves everything about her life. She’s happily married. She has a successful business and a son who keeps her active. The only thing she longs for is another child.
Torn between his love for music and his love for his family, Liam finds he’s needed back in Los Angeles and the place where it all began. Josie is apprehensive, but knows this is what’s best for Liam and the bands career; however, it doesn’t take long for her biggest fears to start coming true.
Liam and Josie’s story continues in this last installment of The Beaumont Series.
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Excerpt
The way the mirror on my dressing table is angled gives me the perfect opportunity to watch Liam undress. This is my favorite ritual, morning and night. I’ll take the chance anytime I can to watch him methodically peel off his clothes. He’s a man who unties his shoes first, placing them back on the shoe rack. His socks are next, followed by his shirt. My peeping tom ways are often rewarded when he’s wearing a dress shirt. Not only do I get to watch the muscles in his back flex as he pushes each button through the ridiculously small hole, but his undressing is prolonged. He takes his t-shirt off the same way every time and when he pulls the collar from behind and the shirt slowly lifts inch by inch, my mouth waters. My lips become dry and my knuckles ache from my hand clutching my hairbrush. The clank of his belt buckle and the almost too silent pop of the fabric from his button down jeans have me staring intently into the mirror. My make-up is only half off, my mouth wide open and I’m the picture of someone who needs serious help. And let’s not get started on the way he gets dressed... His jeans drop to the ground and he kicks them aside, depriving me of the chance to watch him bend over to pick them up. I find myself leaning into my vanity to get a better look as his thumbs dip into the waistband of his boxer briefs. Men find women's lingerie sexy and appealing. It turns them on. The look and feel teases them and they love it. I never thought about men in their underwear until I saw Liam in his. Over the years he’s maintained his muscles, yet has a more defined physique. His boxers aren’t sagging in places they shouldn’t. My husband could be an underwear model with his form fitting briefs, although I don’t know if I’d want the world to see what he only shares with me. The cotton fabric pools at his feet. He steps out of them and turns around, showing me his naked body... a body only for my eyes, my hands, my lips and any other part of me. “How long are you going to stare at me?” I swallow hard as my eyes flash to his and a wicked grin plays across my lips. “Until my eyes no longer work,” I tell him. “Or until you tell me to stop.” “Hmm that’ll be never,” he says as he walks near me.
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Heidi is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author.
Originally from Portland, Oregon and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an over-hyper Beagle/Jack Russell, Buttercup, and their newest addition of a Highland Westie/Mini Schnauzer, JiLL.
During the day Heidi is behind a desk talking about Land Use. At night, she's writing one of the many stories planned for release or sitting courtside during either daughter's basketball games.
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