#FRC2016: Hindsight by Mindy Tarquini

This fall, members of the Vise Library are going back to school by participating in a Fall Reading Challenge (it's our Junior Year!)  We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

Course Title: Contemporary Fables

Department: Magical Realism

About the book:

EUGENIA PANISPORCHI LIVES WITH HER MOTHER, TEACHES CHAUCER, AND REMEMBERS ALL HER PAST LIVES. SHE IS DESPERATE TO CHANGE HER FUTURE.

Born this time around into a South Philadelphia Italian-American family so traditional, she and her siblings are expected to marry in birth order, Eugenia lives a simple life―no love connection, no controversy, no complications. Her hope is that the Blessed Virgin Mary (who oversees her soul's progress) will grant her heart's desire, the option to choose the circumstances of her next life. But when a student reveals he shares her ability, Eugenia suddenly finds herself setting up a Facebook page and sponsoring a support group for others like her, an oddball odyssey, during which she discovers she must confront her current shortcomings before she can break the cycle and finally live the life of her dreams.

A layered contemporary fable, Hindsight reminds us to live this life like it's the only one we'll have.

Hindsight is different than any book I have read in the past.  It follows Eugenia who has lived several lives and who crosses paths with people she has met before.  She tries to live a simple, uncomplicated life, but when you are living life that is not really possible.  She also feels weighted by all the lives she has lived in the past.  Eugenia soon learns that she is not the only one that has these gifts.  She even starts a support group for others like her and soon learns more about herself and what kind of life she wants to live.  This book was very interesting and had some very funny parts associated with it!
  

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

Raised by traditional people in a modern world, Mindy Tarquini is a second-generation Italian American who grew up believing dreams are prophecy, the devil steals lost objects, and an awkward glance can invite the evil eye.

She’s served as assistant editor with the Lascaux Review, also Spinetingler Magazine, and is a member of the Perley Station Writers’ Colony. Her work has won recognition from the Philadelphia City Paper, the Maui Writer’s Conference, and the Oklahoma Writer’s Federation.

A native Philadelphian, Ms. Tarquini packed up her pizza stone and westward-ho’d. She now resides in Phoenix, where she divides her time between writing and wrestling with her pasta maker.

She does not have hindsight

Connect with the author:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Cover Reveal: Ever Over After by J.A. DeRouen

Check out this gorgeous cover of Ever Over After, the conclusion of The Over Duet!! The Over Duet is a gripping tale of first loves, second chances, and hard truths. Ever Over After releases January 9th!

We were lucky to enough to review the first book in the series, Low Over High, before it was released.  You can see that review here.

AHHHHHH!!!  This book sounds amazing.  We are so excited to read the conclusion to this series and you guys need to check out this beautiful cover below!! 

One-click Low Over High now! http://mybook.to/lowoverhigh

Add Ever Over After to your Goodreads TBR! http://bit.ly/29dH6T5

Enter to win an ARC of Ever Over After! http://bit.ly/2hNIkVy

Synopsis:

Marlo … wild-eyed, untamed, and every single thing I’ve ever wanted from this life. I wasn’t ready for her back then. I was a stupid boy with adult feelings and no idea what to do with them. I squandered away every chance she gave me.

Yes, a love like ours either burns white hot or crumbles under the pressure.

And now I’m back to sift through the rubble.

Questions and excuses are two things I have in spades. What I need now is answers.

Answers and Low.

Always Low.

My name is Ever Montgomery, and this is my story of love resurrected.

About the author:

J.A. DeRouen resides in South Louisiana with her husband, son (aptly nicknamed "The Professor"), and her furry friend, Scout. She has earned bachelor's degrees in psychology and nursing. When she's not writing or inhaling romance novels by the stack, she works as a women's health nurse. She's been an avid reader and daydreamer since childhood, and she's never stopped turning the page to get to the next happily ever after.

Connect with the author:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Cover Reveal: The Rule Maker by Jennifer Blackwood

Cover Design : L.J. Anderson / Mayhem Designs

Model: Kamil Nizinski

Release Date: January 16, 2017

 

Synopsis

Ten Steps to Surviving a New Job:   1. Don’t sleep with the client. It’ll get you fired. (Sounds easy enough.)   2. Don’t blink when new client turns out to be former one-night stand.   3. Don’t call same client a jerk for never texting you back.   4. Don’t believe client when he says he really, really wanted to call.   5. Remember, the client is always right—so you can’t junk punch him when he demands new design after new design.   6. Ignore accelerated heartbeat every time sexy client walks into room.   7. Definitely ignore client’s large hands. They just mean he wears big gloves.   8. Don’t let client’s charm wear you down. Be strong.   9. Whatever you do, don’t fall for the client. You’ll lose more than your job—maybe even your heart.   10. If all else fails, see rule number one again.

 

Goodreads

   

   

Giveaway

One ARC for The Rule Maker & $10 Amazon Gift Card

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0cba4250400/?

   

 

About the Author

Jennifer Blackwood is an English teacher and contemporary romance author. She lives in Oregon with her husband, son, and poorly behaved black lab puppy. When she isn't writing or teaching, she's binging on Veronica Mars episodes and white cheddar popcorn.

 

Connect with Jennifer

Newsletter: http://jenniferblackwood.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4a45cb91f52cd5f90e2162e5d&id=f6c3a79cd3

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJenniferBlackwood

Facebook Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1541291366201625/

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8532549.Jennifer_Blackwood?from_search=true

Goodreads Reader Group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/186113-jennifer-blackwood-books

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jen_blackwood

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenblackwoodauthor/?hl=en

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Jennifer-Blackwood/e/B00OPXL0VG/ref=la_B00OPXL0VG_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1481596906&sr=1-2

 

#FRC2016: In the Heart of Texas by Ginger McKnight-Chavers

This fall, members of the Vise Library are going back to school by participating in a Fall Reading Challenge (it's our Junior Year!)  We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

Course Title: Pop Culture Conversations

Department: Women's Fiction Studies

About the book:

Named a “Top Pick” by RT Book Reviews 

Named a “Fall Must-Read” by RedbookMag.com * PopSugar * Parade Magazine * Brit + Co * SoulCycle

Hailed as a “Best Fiction Book by Women of Color” at Bustle.com

Pitched as “a poor man’s Halle Berry,” forty-one-year-old soap star Jo Randolph, has successfully avoided waiting tables since she left Midland, Texas at eighteen. But then, in the span of twenty-four hours, Jo manages to lose her job, burn her bridges in Hollywood, and accidentally burn down her lover/director’s beach house―after which she is shipped home to Texas by her agent to stay out of sight while she sorts out her situation.

The more Jo reluctantly reconnects with her Texas “roots” and the family and friends she left behind, the more she regains touch with herself as an artist and with what is meaningful in life beyond the limelight. The summer of 2007 is cathartic for Jo, whose career and lifestyle have allowed her to live like a child for forty years, but who now must transition to making grown-up decisions and taking on adult responsibilities. In the Heart of Texas is a wry, humorous commentary on the complexities of race, class, relationships, politics, popular culture, and celebrity in our current society.

In the Heart of Texas is full of interesting characters and a great plot line.  Jo has been living in Hollywood as a soap actress after escaping from the town that she grew up in, Midland, Texas.  She isn't an A list star, but she is making do with her work.  However, after an affair with her (married) director goes bad, she is forced to head back home in order to escape the backlash.  While she is at home, she becomes a drama teacher and tries to sort out her life.  She has a lot to think about and has plenty of attention from the locals.  The interactions between Jo and her family and friends are some of my favorite scenes!  This is a great story about reexamining one's life and gives you plenty of laughs along the way!
  

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

A native of Dallas, Texas, Ginger McKnight-Chavers is a graduate of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and Harvard Law School. She was a Kathryn Gurfein Writing Fellow at Sarah Lawrence College, and her debut novel, In the Heart of Texas, will be released in Fall 2016 by She Writes Press. McKnight-Chavers currently blogs for The Huffington Post and The TexPatch, and she lives in Westchester County, New York, with her husband, daughter, and an overweight West Highland White Terrier.

Connect with the author:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

#FRC: Found by Emily Brett

This fall, members of the Vise Library are going back to school by participating in a Fall Reading Challenge (it's our Junior Year!)  We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

Course Title: International Nursing

Department: Medical Adventure

About the book:

Twenty-seven-year-old ICU nurse Natalie Ulster has a desire to see the world, in case she dies young like her mother, and a need to heal, which is compensation for her own damaged heart. Armed with an independence and self-reliance that stems from her father’s emotional abandonment―and wanting to separate herself from a deranged nurse whose husband just died under suspicious circumstances on Natalie’s watch―Natalie grabs life by the globe and accepts successive assignments in Belize, Australia, and Arizona. 

When Natalie meets Dr. Joel Lansfield, a physician who is also familiar with grief, she finds that Joel sees her for the strong woman she is, and loves her for all she has yet to figure out―but she’s not sure she’s ready to make room in her heart for love.

Desperate to maintain her emotional distance with Joel, she continues to travel. In each country, however, she finds herself confronted with near-death accidents, from a poisoned drink to a severe food allergy to being thrown overboard in the Great Barrier Reef. Too many coincidences force her to ask herself a frightening question: Is someone trying to kill her?

Natalie, an ICU nurse, has the urge to travel the world.  She wants to feel like she is living a full life since her mother passed away from cancer at such a young age.  She ends up signing up for a nursing job that allows her to travel multiple countries for short bursts of time.  This affords her the opportunity to see the world and find joy in her life.  Before she leaves, she has an encounter with another nurse whose husband passes away under very sketchy circumstances  while Natalie is on duty.  This run-in stays with Natalie throughout her travels when she has more than one brush with death.  Natalie starts to wonder if these are accidents or events with purpose.  Natalie starts to realize that she has to face the demons of her past in order to move on to her future.  Natalie looks into why she became a nurse and what she really wants out of life.  It was interesting to read about the different areas she visited and to watch her grow as a person.
  

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

Emily Brett received her first bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in Kinesiology, after which she went on to Arizona State University to receive a bachelor’s degree in nursing. While working as an ICU nurse, she earned a master’s degree in nursing at Arizona State. She is board-certified as an Adult Nurse Practitioner and has been in the nursing profession for over ten years. Presently she serves on the Advanced Practice Committee with the Arizona State Board of Nursing, and shares a medical practice with her husband, a physician. She has been published in a number of medical journals, including The Journal for Nurse Practitioners and the Online Journal of Nursing Scholarship. She is also a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Emily currently resides in Scottsdale Arizona with her husband, three kids, and their rescue dog, Farley.

Connect with the author:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Book Review: Edge of Bliss by Molly E Lee

Photo & Cover Design: Regina Wamba / MaeIDesign and Photography

Models: Ripp B. (Dash) & Mackenzy T. (Blake)

Release Date: December 14, 2016

Synopsis

I never knew how perfect life could be until Blake Caster was finally mine. Chasing storms with her only doubles the passion and the rush, but as we travel down tornado alley at the start of the season, we run into more than our fair share of nonweather-related trouble. My past on the alley catches up to me in a bad way and with each captured storm, a wedge is driven between us. The harder I try to hold on to Blake, the faster she is slipping away. Add to that an unexpected call from her ex, new pressures from the reality show filming our every move, and a job offer Blake may not be able to pass up, and my perfect life is on the same chaotic path as the storms we chase. All I want to do is make her mine
—forever—but one trip down tornado alley might be our last.  

Review

Blake and Dash are back! Our favorite couple is out chasing storms and learning to enjoy life (and their life together). However, their storm chasing group has signed a deal with a TV network that follows and films their every move. This comes with a few perks, like new equipment, but it also has it downsides. The pressure for ratings is always there and it also seems like one of the producers is trying to stir up trouble. This all would be easy to handle if the pasts of both Dash and Blake weren't there to haunt them. They have a breaking point that they must face in order to move forward and to figure out if what they have is strong enough to weather the storm.

Amazon US ~ http://amzn.to/2htuPvz

Amazon UK ~ http://amzn.to/2hiDdQg

Amazon CA ~ http://amzn.to/2hiDdQg

Amazon AU ~ http://amzn.to/2gDQZhb

Goodreads

   

 

 

Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jiw4ifbF2NU&feature=youtu.be

   

About the Author

Molly E. Lee is an author and editor best known for her debut novel EDGE OF CHAOS, and as a fourth year mentor at Pitch Wars - a program which connects promising writers to established authors in the community. Molly writes New Adult Contemporary and Young Adult Urban Fantasy featuring strong female heroines who are unafraid to challenge their male counterparts, yet still vulnerable enough to have love sneak up on them. In addition to being a military spouse and mother of two + one stubborn English Bulldog, Molly loves watching storms from her back porch at her Midwest home, and digging for treasures in antique stores.

Connect with Molly

Newsletter Sign Up: http://bit.ly/2gqr35d

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Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2cKYIFb

Goodreads Author Page: http://bit.ly/2gC6jGU

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2gQklZy

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2fGbpkp

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2gQdK1d

Cover Reveal: Edge of Bliss by Molly E Lee

Photo & Cover Design: Regina Wamba / MaeIDesign and Photography

Models: Ripp B. (Dash) & Mackenzy T. (Blake)

Release Date: December 14, 2016

 

Synopsis

I never knew how perfect life could be until Blake Caster was finally mine. Chasing storms with her only doubles the passion and the rush, but as we travel down tornado alley at the start of the season, we run into more than our fair share of nonweather-related trouble. My past on the alley catches up to me in a bad way and with each captured storm, a wedge is driven between us. The harder I try to hold on to Blake, the faster she is slipping away. Add to that an unexpected call from her ex, new pressures from the reality show filming our every move, and a job offer Blake may not be able to pass up, and my perfect life is on the same chaotic path as the storms we chase. All I want to do is make her mine—forever—but one trip down tornado alley might be our last.    

Goodreads

   

  

   

Giveaway

One of Five ARC's for Edge of Bliss

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0cba4250382/?

   

Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jiw4ifbF2NU&feature=youtu.be

     

About the Author

Molly E. Lee is an author and editor best known for her debut novel EDGE OF CHAOS, and as a fourth year mentor at Pitch Wars - a program which connects promising writers to established authors in the community. Molly writes New Adult Contemporary and Young Adult Urban Fantasy featuring strong female heroines who are unafraid to challenge their male counterparts, yet still vulnerable enough to have love sneak up on them. In addition to being a military spouse and mother of two + one stubborn English Bulldog, Molly loves watching storms from her back porch at her Midwest home, and digging for treasures in antique stores.

 

Connect with Molly

Newsletter Sign Up: http://bit.ly/2gqr35d

Facebook Author Page: http://bit.ly/2c6GO2r

Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2cKYIFb

Goodreads Author Page: http://bit.ly/2gC6jGU

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2gQklZy

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2fGbpkp

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2gQdK1d

#FRC2016: Unexpected Love by Kristy Kryszczak

This fall, members of the Vise Library are going back to school by participating in a Fall Reading Challenge (it's our Junior Year!)  We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

Course Title: Sex and the City 101

Department: Women’s Fiction Studies

About the book:

As a young woman living in the wondrous city of New York, Inez Champlain has always aspired to be like Carrie from Sex and the City, sans the tulle skirts and poor financial decisions, of course. Inez has it all: great friends, her dream job as a notable beauty writer, a studio loft on the Upper East Side, and no messy romantic drama to get in the way. But life takes a surprising turn when Inez catches the eye of the charming and handsome Jason Parkson, who fearlessly introduces himself the moment he sees her. Romance is the last thing on Inez’s mind, but there is something about Jason she can’t resist, and before long she’s hooked—that is, until she’s introduced to his brother, Jimmy, and the two share an instant connection she can’t quite understand. Inez tries to resist Jimmy, but there’s no denying the feelings growing between them. Her mind and heart are at odds—will she stay with the man she thinks she loves, or surrender to a more precarious yet alluring fate? When Inez is pulled away from New York, the balance of her life shifts yet again. Soon she is caught in a web of confusion and heartache while trying to do the right thing. Could the love Inez never set out to find cost her everything she cares about?

Unexpected Love follows Inez as she is living a full life in New York.  She has a great career as a beauty writer, a great apartment and great friends.  She also does not have any relationship complications...well, until she meets Jason.  He is very handsome and she is attracted to him.  However, she meets his brother Jimmy and that is where the complication comes into play.  She is instantly attracted to Jimmy and they have a really great connection.  She has to figure out if she should be listening to her mind or following her heart when it comes to her love situation.  She has to figure out where are feelings are and if her feelings for Jimmy are just an infatuation.  

This was a very enjoyable, short read.  I don't want to give anything away but you will be dying to know how things turn out for Inez.  Inez has some tough decisions to make and it is great to see her growth throughout the book.  This book was a lot of fun and I can't wait to see what is next from this author!
  

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

Kristy Kryszczak is the author of Unexpected Love, a debut novel about one woman’s journey navigating through life in her thirties and the complicated romances she gets pulled into along the way.

A former actor and beauty publicist in New York City, Kristy relocated to Naples, Florida, to enjoy all that the Gulf Coast has to offer. When she isn’t creating captivating fictional love triangles, Kristy is busy working as a director of special events and communications. She also blogs about her adventures living on Florida’s Paradise Coast, the writing life, marathon training, and always aspiring to live with gumption. She is a dog mom to her cockapoo, Maisy Mae, and enjoys cooking and hosting get-togethers for family and friends.

Connect with the author:

Website | Facebook

#FRC2016: The Next by Stephanie Gangi

This fall, members of the Vise Library are going back to school by participating in a Fall Reading Challenge (it's our Junior Year!)  We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

Course Title: Ghost Stories 101

Department: Paranormal Studies

About the book:

Is there a right way to die? If so, Joanna DeAngelis has it all wrong. She’s consumed by betrayal, spending her numbered days obsessing over Ned McGowan, her much younger ex, and watching him thrive in the spotlight with someone new, while she wastes away. She’s every woman scorned, fantasizing about revenge … except she’s out of time.

Joanna falls from her life, from the love of her daughters and devoted dog, into an otherworldly landscape, a bleak infinity she can’t escape until she rises up and returns and sets it right―makes Ned pay―so she can truly move on.

From the other side into right this minute, Jo embarks on a sexy, spiritual odyssey. As she travels beyond memory, beyond desire, she is transformed into a fierce female force of life, determined to know how to die, happily ever after.

In The Next, Joanna is near the end of her life due to a hard fight with breast cancer.  Her daughters and her dog are by her side until the very end.  As her life comes to a close, she thinks back on her long lost love Ned.  Ned disappeared from her life without a word one day on his way to pick up groceries and Joanna finds out that Ned left her for a younger woman (and the younger woman is carrying his child)!  After Joanna passes away she becomes a ghost (instead of heading toward that shiny bright light).  She's not just any ghost though; she is a ghost hellbent on revenge against Ned.  She haunts Ned and makes his life miserable!  The torment that Ned receives from Joanna makes him feel like he is losing his mind, and I guess that is Joanna's point.

I enjoyed every bit of this book and I loved Joanna's dog Tom.  He may have been my favorite character from the book.  This is a very unique and quirky story and really gives new meaning to "hell hath no fury..."

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

Stephanie Gangi lives and works in New York City. She is a lifelong New Yorker, born in Brooklyn, raised on Long Island, a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo, and raised her own kids in Tribeca, Rockland County and on the Upper West Side.

Gangi’s first publishing credit, many years ago, was a children’s book, Lumpy: A Baseball Fable, co-written with pitching great (and New York Met) Tug McGraw. She ghostwrote a tell-all about Liberace in 1984 but left the only copy in a taxicab. She has written jacket copy, pitch letters, business plans, speeches, mortgage checks, absence excuse notes, letters to editors, hundreds of poems, dozens of story starts, dating profiles, countless email, texts, sexts and random tweets. She once chalked a love note on the wall of a Paris alley in the rain.

She is an award-winning poet at work on a chapbook, and her second novel.

Connect with the author:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Book Review: Low Over High by J.A. DeRouen

Low Over High (The Over Duet #1)

Cover Design: DCP Designs

Release Date: November 14, 2016

 

Synopsis

I fancy myself a purveyor of truth, a sifter of lies, a cutter of bullshit. It’s not a gift, but rather, all skill, honed to a razor’s edge after one too many trips down the rabbit hole. Some may dismiss my talent as misplaced and misguided cynicism, but they’d be wrong. Cliches about hope and faith in mankind are concocted unicorn farts, an effort to keep the dreamers dreaming. Experiences don’t lie—people do. While I’m not proud of the circumstances that led me to this way of thinking, I respect the journey. The road to enlightenment can be dark and foreboding, but the destination makes it all worthwhile. But funny thing about the past—it’s a defiant child refusing to stay in time out. No matter how deeply buried, it can always pop up when least expected, and sink its fucking claws into the flesh of your heart. No, not my heart—I no longer have one. I foolishly gave it away years ago, but I still feel the ripping in my chest as I fist the crumpled note left on my porch. I’ve avoided this day, ran from it, for the past eight years. And still we meet again. But to truly understand … to feel my dread and fear my future as I do, it’s important to know what happened in my past. Or who… My name is Marlo Rivers, and this is my story of corrupted love.    

Review

Low Over High is a story about Marlo "Low" and Everett "Ever." We have seen Marlo in past Over installments, but she gets to shine in her own book. This book is actually set primarily in her high school days. She grew up on a farm in Texas with her dad and brother. Her mother ran away when she is younger, but is trying to repair the relationship with Marlo. She asks Marlo to move to New Orleans to attend a private school for her last year of high school. Her mother and stepfather agree to pay for the expense and build on that relationship. Marlo is one of the happiest people you will ever meet and always sees the glass as half full. She meets a great group of friends at her school and has a not-so-nice run-in with Ever. They can't tolerate each other in the beginning and have a love/hate relationship. That eventually grows into more as they coincidentally work at the same place together. They realize that they have something special, but Ever has is own demons that he is dealing with. Ever's worst nightmare affects Marlo in return. Something happens that makes Marlo not as happy or as positive about love and life in general. Their lives are forever changed and in a very gut-wrenching way. The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger that has us to the current lives of both of these characters. 

I absolutely loved this book. I have enjoyed all of the Over books, but this one just got to me. I loved Ever and Low and how their relationship evolved. The events near the end just gutted me and I can't believe we have to wait until January 2017 to see how their lives move forward. I think they may be my favorite Over couple and they aren't even together. I can't wait to see what happens next! 

Goodreads

 Purchase Links

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2fWZYdH

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2eZuZsn

Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/2fiTh3z

Amazon AU: http://amzn.to/2fInplJ

 

   

Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0cba4250374/?

 

Excerpt

Kissing Ever is like breaking the surface of the ocean. Legs kicking, arms flailing, and then that precious moment when air rushes into your lungs, giving you the one thing you need the most. Yeah, kissing Ever is just like that.   When his teeth lightly tug on my bottom lip, he owns me. I swear, my shirt almost flies off of its own accord.   Of course, I keep my cool despite his lovely lips … sort of. His tongue slides gently against mine, and I inch closer to him. He pulls away to taste my upper lip, and I grip his shirt with both hands. Maybe my hands slide under the shirt to touch his hot skin, but only an inch or two. When he lets out a long sigh, and his fingers brush the sides of my cheeks just so, I slide my legs between his. I want to pull his ribs loose and burrow deep inside of him, and even then, I’m not sure if it’s close enough.   He slows the kiss, still tasting me, sucking my lips, teasing me with his tongue. When I open my eyes, he’s right there with me, hazy eyes and parted lips. I run a hesitant finger over the freckles on his nose, and he runs his thumb across my swollen mouth. I finger his hair, tugging playfully, and he kisses my dimple, poking me with his tongue.   We explore each other slowly, thoroughly, and my thumb runs over his stomach to the thin line of hair trailing below his belly button. He shivers, and I swear the bulge pushing into the back of my thigh isn’t a banana in his pocket. It makes me feel powerful—that I can turn him on that way. This is the first time I can remember wanting that power. Boy’s erections were always a nuisance to me in the past.   He doesn’t expect me to do something with that, does he? Nuh-uh.   Let me be clear, those are not the thoughts running through my mind as I bend my knee and push my thigh more firmly into Ever’s hard-on. Not even close.   His hips raise to my pressure, and he drops his forehead to mine with a long sigh.   “I knew kissing you would be good, Low, but that was … I don’t know what that was,” he says with a chuckle, stealing another kiss.   “We should try it again. You know, figure it out.”   And we do.    

Playlist

 

Direct Link: https://open.spotify.com/user/jaderouen/playlist/1UFpuMfEk9qCKG 7Vtrd6vG

           

About the Author

J.A. DeRouen lives in South Louisiana with her husband, son (aptly named "The Professor), and her furry friend, Scout. She holds bachelor's degrees in psychology and nursing.

When she's not writing or inhaling romance novels by the stack, she works as a women's health nurse. She's been an avid reader and daydreamer since childhood, and she's never stopped turning the page to get to the next happily ever after.

 

Connect with J.A.

Website: http://www.jaderouen.com

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/2dFHwzC

Facebook Author Page: http://bit.ly/2c3Y2O0

Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2eFOJ6m

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