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11 Earlybird Book Releases + some that are going live at midnight…

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Happy Monday and good morning early birds!!! It’s the last day of July, but it brings us a few early book-release treats before tomorrow’s big new release day (some HUGE names going live at midnight!!!), and these book-treats do look yummy! 😀 I’m especially interested in that M/M book below. That sounds like it was tug at my heart, big time, and I love the premise of a recluse. I didn’t post the whole blurb, but IT gave me a blurb jolt, especially the end.
But first, I’m currently reading Tarryn Fisher’s latest (Atheists Who Kneel and Pray: a romance novel), and of course… I’m so into it. Her voice and writing style and characters always hook me, so I’m excited about getting back to it ASAP!
And for those that missed it, my latest review is up ➔ Book Review – Gwendy’s Button Box by Stephen King & Richard Chizmar. Some of you avoided it because you *think* this is not up your alley. But, in a delightfully unexpected way, it probably totally is. FIVE STARS from me and I recommend it to EVERYBODY. DO NOT BE SCARED to read this. Oh it’s chilling and thrilling, but… I promise. It’s what amazing stories are made of.
PLUS!! I have another review coming in just a but (the second in the Opposites Attract series), PLUS, in case you missed this, Thursday had some amazing surprise new releases (two on it that I’ve already read and loved) ➔ Wait a minute… is today part two of “Tuesday New Release Day”? Holy. Moly. so check that post out too. 😀
Okay and now…
EARLY BIRDS THAT JUST WENT LIVE RIGHT NOW!!!!!

  • Enrage (Eagle Elite ) by Rachel Van Dyken <— LIVE!!!! RACHEL VAN DYKEN’S LATEST IS LIVE!! AND!! It’s super-bargain priced today! “Enrage is the next standalone in the international best selling mafia series, Eagle Elite. Special release”
…I’m. In. Hell.Also known as the Cosa Nostra.My life was over the minute I stepped off that plane.Son to a murdered mob boss.Heir to a throne of murder and lies…
  • Cocky Chef by JD Hawkins <— LIVE!!! HIS KITCHEN… HIS RULES!!!! OOOOOH YOU GUYS I LOVE JERK-FACED AWESOME CHEFS!!! “...When I give an instruction in the kitchen, it’s not a suggestion–it’s an order. So when a new chef thinks she can do things her way, and dares to say so to my face, even her sharp wit and gorgeous pouty lips don’t make it okay…“
  • For 100 Reasons: A 100 Series Novel by Lara Adrian <— LIVE!! LARA ADRIAN BILLIONAIRE TRILOGY ALERT!! “FOR 100 REASONS is the sensual, suspenseful conclusion to the acclaimed 100 Series of contemporary romantic suspense from New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Lara Adrian.”
  • Alex in Wonderland by Max Monroe <— MAX MONROE’S LATEST IS LIVE!! “...Wonderland Inc., a party planning organization for every major player in the world, is Oz, and I’m its Wizard. I can make anything—drugs, prostitutes, deals—appear for a night and disappear just as quickly. This doesn’t make me good or bad—it makes me essential. Wonderland Inc. was my life, until a beautiful contradiction of innocence and impurity, obedience and rebelliousness named Alex Little stepped in and turned both of our worlds upside down...”
  • Star Struck (Hollywood Heat) by Laurelin Paige <— A NEW ONE FROM LAURELIN PAIGE IS LIVE!!! SHE’S A HOLLYWOOD DIVA & HE’S THE SET CARPENTER ALERT!!! “…He’s been a Hollywood production designer far too long to have patience for A-listers with a superior attitude. Beautiful women with a chip on their shoulder are a dime a dozen. Which is why his obsession with Heather makes no sense. Nothing about her is attractive. Except the vulnerability under the sass...”
  • Lucky (No Prisoners MC Book 4) by Lilly Atlas <— LIVE!! BIKER BOOK ALERT! “...After six months caring for her terminally ill mother, Kori is shocked to learn the identity of her father. Armed with the name of a man she’s never met, Kori sets off across the country to meet the person responsible for half of her DNA: the President of the No Prisoners Las Vegas motorcycle club…“
  • Something So Perfect by Natasha Madison <— LIVE!!! HOCKEY STAR ALERT!!! NATASHA MADISON’S LATEST IS LIVE!!! He’s got to clean up his act… “…When my father gave me a job, I had no idea it would be to babysit some washed up NHL player. He wanted me to be his chaperone, his overpaid babysitter. I thought it was a joke. Then I met him, Matthew Grant. I wasn’t prepared for this particular bad boy. He’s not only hot but he’s arrogant and kinda sweet in a ‘you make me crazy’ kind of way. Basically now that he’s finished screwing up his life, he’s decided to turn mine upside down…”
  • As Beautiful as the Bay (Blue Penguin Bay Book 2) by Serenity Woods
  • Captive by Trevion Burns <— LIVE!!! REVENGE & DESPERATION HAS A POLICE DETECTIVE KIDNAPPING THE MAYOR’S WIFE ALERT!!! “Determined to get his daughter back—with more rage in his veins than blood—Linc snatches the mayor’s wife, Mia Ali, at a fundraising event for his re-election campaign. Linc’s terms are straightforward: Emma for Mia. A simple exchange. At least, it had felt simple…”
  • Runner by Parker Williams<— LIVE!! M/M ROMANCE! HE’S AN EXTREME RECLUSE & STRESSES OVER THIS NEW PERSON RUNNING EVERY DAY IN FRONT OF HIS HOUSE... “Matt Bowers’s life ended at sixteen, when a vicious betrayal by someone who he should have been able to trust left him a shell of himself, fighting OCD and PTSD, living in constant fear and always running. When he buys a remote tract of land, he thinks he’s found the perfect place to hide from the world and attempt to establish some peace. For ten years he believes he’s found a measure of comfort, until the day a stranger begins to run on Matt’s road. He returns every day, an unwelcome intrusion into Matt’s carefully structured life. Matt appeals to the local sheriff, who cannot help him since the jogger is doing nothing wrong...”
  • Bad Boy Savior: The Bad Boy Series: Book 4 by S.E. Lund <— LIVE!!! FIGHTER ROMANCE ALERT!!!
  • Unleash Me: Wedding (The Unleash Me Series) by Christina Ross
  • Forbidden Gem by Cara Dee
  • Mr Right Now: A Romantic Comedy Standalone by Lila Monroe <— LIVE!! EX BIG-TIME BOY BAND STAR AND THE NORMAL GIRL & THEIR HIGH SCHOOL REUNION ALERT! “Ten years ago, Drew was boy-band royalty: the subject of a million teenage fantasies – and the guy next door. He was so far out of my league, I couldn’t see him for stars, but now I’m back in town for our high-school reunion, guess who I run into but Mr. Right-Now himself…”

            
PREORDERS (some going live at midnight!!! And a few of next week’s!!! :D )

➜ CHECK OUT ALL the upcoming BOOK RELEASES here (frequently updated and it goes all the way to 2018!)

      
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Book Review – Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King & Richard Chizmar

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Gwendy’s Button Box
It’s creepy. It’s magnificent. And for me, it’s an easy 5 stars for just having sucked me in right from the very start, and having never let me go. I didn’t put it down (at least… not by choice). 😉

Sure, it’s a shorter read, but I honestly felt like this story was complete (mind you, I’d love some sequels… there’s much story potential here).

And personally, if I were you, I’d stop reading this review right now, and JUMP IN to this eerie story, and escape for awhile. 😉 Go in as blind as you can. Trust me. It’s worth it, even if you’re not a horror (or scary story fan). This one is so much more than that.

By the end of THIS one, I felt as if I had actually understood the message. Scary-ish reads that are also emotionally fulfilling? Yes. This would be one of those, and I have no doubt that ANYONE who reads this, young or old, will be able to connect, and maybe even relate in some way.

Maryse: I just want to say, I’m halfway through “Gwendy’s Button Box” and I’m captivated. It’s absolutely brilliant, and so clever (but an easy read).

It’s a collaboration story with Stephen King and Richard Chizmar, and while I suppose it’s considered “horror”, it’s so much more than that. Not so much… scary, as eerie, and thought-provoking. I’m devouring it! I have NO doubt that so many here would devour it, too.

Everyone knows I’m a huge horror fan, and especially of Stephen King. He’s got a very personal, unpretentious way of writing about things that are unfathomable. The most terrifying terrors, so smooth and readable, that you don’t even realize you’re absorbing the horror within you, until you find yourself keeping the lights on at bedtime… at least for a few days after one of his stories.

Some of them are, of course,  a little bit out there, but there’s just something so horrifically realistic about his imagination, that I can remember EVERY single story I’ve read by him… and continue to be delightfully haunted by each one.

So after reading THIS blurb, I got a case of the “heebs” right off the bat. I had no idea where it was going to take me… a pretty vague intro to say the least, but the feeling… the ambiance, was set.

On his head is a small neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has nightmares about that hat.

And it did not disappoint. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised (already fearing some awful things from how that blurb ended), but it turned out to be incredibly… enlightening.

So what’s it about? I’m gonna make this short and sweet so you go into this as blind as you can.

It starts us off with a preteen, about to start high school, and struggling with the typical pre-teen angst. Bullying from certain cliques, wishing she could lose weight, wondering if her parents were going to be okay as they grow distant from each other.

And one day, she’s called over by a man. A stranger, but one that seems to know her well. And while she’s leery, there’s something about him that makes her feel comfortable enough to listen to what he has to say.

“Stay a bit longer. You see, you’re one of the people I’ve been keeping an eye on just recently.”

This should sound sinister (and does, a little), but he’s still smiling in the aftermath of his laughter, his eyes are lively, and if he’s Chester the Molester, he’s keeping it well hidden. Which, she supposes, the best ones would do. Step into my parlor, said the spider to the fly.

“I’ve got a theory about you, Miss Gwendy Peterson.

He presents to her, a beautiful wooden box. One that she feels an immediate kinship with. As if she knows it belongs to her. But she’s never seen it before.

And this box, has a few colorful buttons that can be pushed down. And a lever, that dispenses treats and favors to her. He cautions her, albeit, without an exactly-worded warning, that she is fully responsible for the box, and what it’s capable of. He vaguely lets her know what each button is responsible for. And what the treats mean for her.

“It’s yours. Everything that comes out of the box is yours— the candy and the coins— because the box is yours. The current numismatic value of that Morgan dollar is just shy of six hundred dollars, by the way.”

“I… I can’t take it,” she says. Her voice is distant in her own ears. She feels (as she did when she first started her runs up the Suicide Stairs two months ago) that she may faint.

“I didn’t do anything to earn it.”

“But you will.”

He leaves her, essentially still a child, with the potential power and weight of the world. Literally. In. Her. Hands.

And this is her story (at least that of her young adult to new adult life), and with just a few telltale twists (some that I remember from my own childhood), I was subtly shocked and awed. What a short, distressing but poignant thrill this was!

Eye-opening. Thought provoking (you’ll see why). All of this, in the most eerie and spine-tingling setting, and while I was chilled to the bone and had a constant subtle thrill of what was yet to come, I was never truly terrified, I was never grossed out (and for many that fear scary stories, I know that’s a good thing).  I was just completely entranced.

It’s when you look further than the story, as it is, that the real story opens up. The bigger picture. A whole other perspective. And that’s what will make this one utterly unforgettable.

5 STARS!!! <— These two wonderful authors need to continue this story. I NEED IT!!! Make it a series!! eek Gasp!!!!!! Imagine the possibilities??? PLEASE??!! PLEASE!!!!

Rachel Higginson – Opposites Attract Series Reading Order

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<— OMG!! THIS IS A SUPER FUNNY, and yet swoon-worthy romance series that is right up my alley! That book right there to the left? HAD ME HOOKED. Total 5 stars from me (my review).

Maryse: The Opposite of You did not have any kind of wallop, or twist or major angst, or anything crazy in the least. But what it felt like to me, was solid writing with that realistic, fun, “adult” (or should I say “new adult”) feel from way back when they were all so awesome.

And entirely from her POV so it kept me always “feeling” like her, and worried, or crushing, or fuming that felt just so natural to me. And her “issue” that was sort of the “scary part” was one that made sense to me, and that many women experience.

Amy: Me after finishing the last page of The Opposite of You: *twirls around while giggling with head back* *sighs dreamily and falls back on fainting couch* I second what Maryse said about The Opposite of You. And I just need feels when I’m reading, but what brings on feels can vary from day to day for me so it can get difficult at times.

Suze: I want to thank you for your high praise for The Opposite of You. It was fantastic. I loved it. Great story. Could not put it down.

Sharon: I am so glad I picked back up The Opposite of You! It was such a slow burn, but it wouldn’t have worked any other way. Killian was the perfect amount of broody male without being over the top. I liked how he made his way into Vera’s heart. Its definitely a series I will follow now. I’m giving it a solid 4 stars!

D.G.: Started The Difference Between Us!!!! So excited because I FLOVED Killian and his BEARD!!! Can’t wait to visit will him and hot bestie Ezra!!!

And I’ve just finished the latest release, and loved it too. My review is coming soon, but right off the bat, I’m letting you know, for me it was 4.5 stars!!!! Yep. This series (at least to me, and so far) is the whole package. It has that perfect level of comedy (never over the top but will have you grinning and chuckling non-stop), and quirky-real heroines, realistic, and even infuriating “meet-cutes”, a delicious slow burn, angsty, believable backstories, and even very specific personal lives that have us connecting to the main characters, heart and soul!

Nothing too crazy, nothing too traumatic, every bit as realistic as our own lives, but also the amazing love story to boot! And!!! Each book can be read as a standalone, but I do recommend reading them in order, since the featured characters in each book are from a main group of friends (and co-workers). We get to know each one more and more as each of their stories is released.

About book #1:

I’ve sworn off men. All men. Famous last words, right? You’re expecting some epic tale of reluctant love and my dramatic change of heart? Well, you’re not going to get it.

I’m stubborn. And headstrong. And I’ve just survived the worst three years of my life. After escaping an abusive boyfriend to live in hostels and cheap hotels while I worked my way across Europe, I’ve come to two conclusions.

The first? Now that I’m back home, I’m going to squander my expensive culinary degree on a food truck that caters to the late night drunk crowd.

The second? I’m going to prove to the bastard across the plaza that my street food is better than his fussy five course monstrosities.

Killian Quinn might be Food and Wine’s Chef to Watch Out For. He might have a Michelin Star. He might have every food critic in the city wrapped around his too-large fingers. But he’s also pretentious and unbearably arrogant and the very opposite of me.

So he can keep his unsolicited advice and his late night visits and his cocky smiles. I want none of it. Or him.

I want the opposite.

READING ORDER (but they can each be read as standalones, too!)

P.S. My reviews:

   

Reader Question – The book about a group of girl friends that all shared one man…

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Katee has a reader question too!! This was actually one she posted on her own Facebook wall, but I was tagged in it since it doesn’t seem it was guessed yet. Maybe we can help. 😉

It might be a bit spoilerish, so read with caution. But this definitely sounds like a tumultuous, unique and quite possibly exciting romance read. 😀

She posted:

“So I read a book a million years ago (over 10) where a group of girlfriends “shared” a man who was the perfect man for all of them (unbeknownst to him).

Like one had no-strings-attached sex.

One was a single mom who had him helping out around the house. There were one or two others I can’t remember,

*possible spoiler alert*
*possible spoiler alert*
*possible spoiler alert*
*possible spoiler alert*

but one of them fell in love with him and “ruined” it all.

Sound familiar?”

Oooooh sounds like trouble!! 😉 I’m dying to know which one it is!!

Anyone?

Sabrina: Is it Picked by Jettie Woodruff??

Sonia: No its not Picked in that book. The hero is billionaire who makes games like sims. But has 3 wifes legally married . Polymours relationship . The 4th girl is a investigator . Who joins the game to find out why the hero has 3 wifes .

Reader Question – The book about the exclusive club where wives could learn to be sexy…

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Oh I have a guess for this one, but I’m sure it’s not the right one, so I’m definitely leaving it open to more suggestions.

And anyway, this could definitely turn into a “genre” list of books like this one, in case you’re in the mood for just this thing! 😉

Sue asks:

Ok, let’s see if I can stump the panel.

A few years ago I read a book about a guy who ran an exclusive club (of sorts) for guys and I believe their wives. It was sort of like the wives could take classes in feeling sexy, dressing sexy, pole dancing, etc. While the husband’s could be “entertained”. This guy ran & owned the place (housed in a modern day castle/mansion) with a few close friends.

The h involved was looking for a job and showed up and had to take these classes as well, but may have possibly been in a seperate group for potential employees.

(***possible spoiler***)
(***possible spoiler***)
(***possible spoiler***)

In any case, she caught the eye of the H and a jealous ex/hook up took notice.

As form of payback the potential employees were told they had to dance for the guys. She found herself as the only one dancing & naked for the husbands/maybe wives. That’s all I remember, but it’s driving me crazy.

Help!?

Thanks!
Sue

Okay immediately one popped in my head (Taint: A Sexual Education Novel by S.L. Jennings), but I’m pretty sure it’s not the one, because Sue’s description veers off from what I remember of the book. But in any case, this one is along that genre. 😉

Anyone have a guess?

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