Release Day: Your Tempting Love by Layla Hagen (audiobook)

Audiobook Release: May 16, 2017
Type: Contemporary Romance
Series: Bennett Family #5

Christopher Bennett is a persuasive man. With his magnetic charm and undeniable wit, he plays a key role in the international success of his family’s company.

Christopher adores his family, even if they can be too meddling sometimes… like when they recommend him to employ Victoria Hensley’s decorating services for his new apartment in an attempt to set him up with her. Christopher isn’t looking to settle down, but meeting Victoria turns his world upside down. Her laughter is contagious, and her beautiful lips and curves are too tempting.

Victoria Hensley is determined not to fall under Christopher’s spell, even though the man is hotter than sin, and his flirty banter makes her toes curl. But Christopher is her client, and she knows better than to get involved with clients. Besides, Victoria isn’t looking for love. After her parents’ death, Victoria is raising her much younger siblings, and she can’t afford any mistakes.

But Victoria and Christopher’s chemistry is not just the sparks-flying kind, but the downright explosive kind. Before she knows it, Christopher is training her brother Lucas for soccer tryouts and reading bedtime stories to her sister Chloe.

Victoria wants to resist him, but Christopher is determined, stubborn, and oh-so-persuasive.

When their attraction and connection both spiral out of control, will they be able to risk it all for a love that is far too tempting?

AUDIOBOOK / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks

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Get your hands on the rest of the Bennett Family Books:

Your Irresistible Love (The Bennett Family Series, Book 1):
Amazon / iBooks / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / GooglePlay / AUDIOBOOK

Your Captivating Love (The Bennett Family Series, Book 2):
Amazon / iBooks / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / GooglePlay / AUDIOBOOK

Your Forever Love (The Bennett Family Series, Book 3):
Amazon / iBooks / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / GooglePlay / AUDIOBOOK

Your Inescapable Love (The Bennett Family Series, Book 4):
Amazon / iBooks / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Your Alluring Love (The Bennett Family Series, Book 6):
Amazon US / iBooks / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Amazon UK / Paperback

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About Layla Hagen

Layla Hagen is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance.

She fell in love with books when she was nine years old, and her love affair with stories continues even now, many years later.

She writes steamy and romantic stories and can’t wait to share them with the world.

She is represented by fabulous Louise Fury (The Bent Agency)

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Author Playlist: Cask Strength (Agents Irish & Whisky #2) by Layla Reyne

Release: May 1st, 2017
Romance Subgenre: M/M Romantic Suspense
Series: Agents Irish & Whisky #2

Professionally, the FBI team of Aidan "Irish" Talley and Jameson "Whiskey" Walker is as good as it gets, closing cases faster than any team at the Bureau. Personally, it's a different story. Aidan's feelings for Jamie scare the hell out of him: he won't risk losing another love no matter how heart-tripping the intimacy between them. And loss is a grim reality with the terrorist Renaud still on their trail, leaving a pile of bodies in his wake.

Going undercover on a new case gets them out of town and off the killer's radar. They're assigned to investigate an identity theft ring involving a college basketball team in Jamie's home state, where Jamie's past makes him perfect for the role of coach. But returning to the court brings more than old memories.

As secrets and shocking betrayals abound, none may be more dangerous than the one Jamie's been keeping: a secret about the death of Aidan's husband that could blow his partner's world apart and destroy forever the fragile bonds of trust and love building between them.

Amazon / GooglePlay / Goodreads / Carina Press / B&N / Kobo / iBooks

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Author Playlist

I'm excited to welcome author Layla Reyne to the blog to celebrate her new release, Cask Strength. Thanks for sharing, Layla!

Thanks for inviting me to Romance Playlist! I’m thrilled to be here to celebrate the release of Cask Strength, the latest Agents Irish and Whiskey romantic suspense novel. Agents Irish and Whiskey follows FBI agents Aidan “Irish” Talley and Jameson “Whiskey” Walker as they investigate cybercrimes and the murder of Aidan’s late husband. Aidan, whose family fled Ireland, is the top field agent in the FBI’s San Francisco office. Jamie, twelve years his junior, is a former basketball star who fled the arena’s bright lights for the FBI’s Cyber Division. Jamie’s player past comes front and center in Cask Strength, when Irish and Whiskey go undercover—as sports agent and basketball coach—to investigate an identity theft case at a university in Jamie’s home state.

To get in the Cask frame of mind, especially for writing those game scenes, I created a playlist of all the arena songs I, as a sports fan, remember hearing at events through the years. These anthems would also be the songs in Jamie’s player soul that get him hyped for game time. Pulse-pounding, up-tempo, these are the tunes you need for overdrive! And at the end, you’ll find a little ode to mine and Jamie’s alma mater ;)

More favorite arena anthems? List them in the comments, and I’ll add them to Whiskey’s playlist!

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About Layla Reyne

2016 RWA® Golden Heart® Finalist, Layla Reyne, was raised in North Carolina and now calls San Francisco home. She enjoys weaving her bi-coastal experiences into her stories, along with adrenaline fueled suspense and heart pounding romance. When she’s not writing stories to excite her readers, she downloads too many books, watches too much television, and cooks too much food with her scientist husband, much to the delight of their smushed-face, leftover-loving dogs.

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Author Playlist: Black Dawn by Mallory McCartney

Release: February14th, 2017
Romance Subgenre: New Adult, Young Adult

The end of an Empire, the rise of a Queen

Emory Fae enjoys leading a quiet, normal life. That is until two mysterious, and handsome soldiers show up at her apartment, and the life she knew is instantly whisked away. Memphis Carter and Brokk Foster come from the magical and war ridden world of Kiero, and upon Emory's arrival she will discover she is the long-lost heir to the Royal Line and is thrown into the Black Dawn Rebellion with a dynamic role to ignite the rebels and reclaim her throne.

With both men being darkly woven in her past Emory uncovers hidden secrets, a power held long dormant, and will soon realize there are worse things than supernatural humans, love, loss, betrayal, and a Mad King.

Some things are better left in the shadows.

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Indigo/ Goodreads

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Author Playlist

I'd like to welcome author Mallory McCartney to the blog! Mallory has been extremely generous in the sharing of her playlist for Black Dawn. Seriously, look at all those videos! Thanks for sharing, Mallory!

Thank you for having me! 😊 A little backstory before I get into my playlists, music and I have had a long-time love affair. When I was younger, I would go through obsessive phases where I would discover every musical and indie band I could get my hands on, and listen to them on repeat. This hasn’t changed much. Not saying that I don’t love listening to the top radio songs (believe me I do) but I have a love for finding the underdog bands, and just musicals in general. When I started high school, I was in choir, Concert Band and Jazz band. In grade twelve I took vocal lessons, and throughout college, and to this day, going to live concerts is my favorite thing to do. Losing myself completely in live music, is the same feeling I get when I write, and it consumes me.

So, saying that, all my books that I write have very specific influences and Playlists! Black Dawn was fun, writing third person, with each chapter a different character, I found bands that would help me construct the core of each character, or the echo of their emotional traits. When I write, it’s like I’m watching a live scene in my head, and I am running behind, trying to catch what the music paints for me, and what the characters are unfolding in my head.

Here is Black Dawn’s Playlist:

"Glass Heart Hymn" by Paper Routes (this song is Memphis through and through for me)

"Sweet Spot" by Wild Beasts


"Organs" by Of Monsters & Men (Nyx)


"Only You" by Ellie Goulding (Nyx)


"Colors pt. II" by Halsey (Emory & Adair)


"Palace" by Wild Beasts (Memphis)


"Good Gracious" by Ellie Goulding (Emory)


"Pull me Back to Earth" by Friendly Fires (Brokk)


"Childhood’s End" by Majical Clouds (Adair)


"Mecca" by Wild Beasts (Adair)


"Love the way you Lie" by Eminem (Memphis & Nyx)


"Run" by AWOLNATION


"Windows" by AWOLNATION (Memphis)


"Drinking Lightning" by AWOLNATION (Nyx)


"Jailbreak" by AWOLNATION (Adair)


"Woman, Woman" by AWOLNATION (Memphis)


"Dream" by Imagine Dragons (Emory)


"Midnight City- " by M83


"Beyond The Flames" by Killswitch Engage (Brokk)


"Always" by Killswitch Engage (Brokk & Memphis)


"Time will not remain" by Killswitch Engage (Brokk)


"Love Like Ghosts" by Lord Huron (Nyx)


"Yawning Grave" by Lord Huron (Adair)


"The Arena" by Lindsey Sterling (a big one for Emory, Memphis and Adair)


"Night Visions" by Lindsey Sterling (Nyx)


"Take Flight" by Lindsey Sterling (Emory)


"Tiptoe" by Imagine Dragons (Black Dawn Rebellion)

I’m going to throw in an extra in for you this time as well! Here is one song for each of my main characters that are shaping them for book two, Queen to Ashes.

Azarius & Lana- "You’re Mine" – Phantogram

Adair- "Bloom"- Paper Kites


Emory- "Brave Enough"- Lindsey Stirling


Nyx- "The Phoenix"- Lindsey Stirling


Brokk- "Pools"- Glass Animals


Memphis- "Stubborn Beast"- Bear’s Den

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About Mallory McCartney

Mallory McCartney currently lives in London, Ontario with her husband and their two dachshunds Link and Lola. Black Dawn is her debut novel, the first in a series. When she isn’t working on her next novel or reading, she can be found dog grooming, book shopping and hiking. Other favorite pastimes involve reorganizing perpetually overflowing bookshelves and seeking out new coffee and dessert shops.

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5th Annual Mental Health Awareness Event benefiting the Keith Milano Memorial Fund

Welcome the 5th Annual Mental Health Awareness Month Book Fundraiser benefiting the Keith Milano Memorial Fund at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

For the 5th year an amazing group of authors have generously agreed to donation a portion of their May sales for the books listed here.

Here is how you can help raise money and awareness for mental health:

You can purchase a book from the amazing books listed above. We hope you will #1click4charity a number of these amazing books! Please note that although the sheet below has Amazon Kindle buy links, the portion of sales is from any platform: digital and print.
Help Raise Awareness by sharing a photo or short video of why this cause matters to you using #ShareYourWhy via Social Media.
Share the image below on social media to raise awareness and to show your support.
Make a tax-deductible donation directly to the Keith Milano Memorial Fund at AFSP. You can do a direct donation at http://bit.ly/MilanoFund.

Thank you in advance for your support as we work to bring mental illness out of the darkness.

Fund Information:
The Keith Milano Memorial Fund was established to help raise awareness about the devastating and deadly disease that is mental illness. Keith’s spirit and laughter is kept alive through our efforts to increase awareness about mental illness and to raise money for education and imperative research. Keith often struggled with society’s perception of mental illness. Our hope is that by having the strength to say that Keith was “Bipolar” we can strip away the stigma and help others to be more open about their disease.

If you want to know more about Keith or why Denise does what she does, here is short video/interview that speaks to that! https://vimeo.com/148760740

Be on the lookout as she will also be posting her #ShareYourWhy this month.

Keith Milano Memorial Fund
140 Adams Ave Suite B-12
Hauppauge NY 11788

www.keithmilano.org
https://www.facebook.com/keithamilano
https://twitter.com/MilanoFund
Direct Donation

The Keith Milano Memorial Fund benefits the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) http://www.afsp.org/

• At the end of the event, participating authors will pay AFSP directly.
• AFSP is the only national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research and education, and to reaching out to people with mood disorders and those affected by suicide.
• AFSP is a fully accredited 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization incorporated in the state of Delaware with primary offices in New York City.
• Federal tax ID # is 13-3393329.
• AFSP’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) number is 10545.
• Donations to AFSP are tax deductible.

Excerpt: Chasing Wicked (Wicked Series #1) by Kathryn L. James

Release: April 18th, 2017
Type: Contemporary Romance
Series: Wicked Series #1

Stone Mitchell was and always will be toxic.

Forbidden.

Poison.

I’d had a taste and it nearly killed me. Now, I knew better than to bite the apple.

He’d betrayed me in the worst imaginable way possible.

Six years later, I found myself riding out a dangerous storm with the cheating bastard.

Truths are uncovered. Deception unfolds. Passion ignites and chemistry explodes.

Adding to the drama? I hold a secret that’s unforgivable. I’m the one that ruined our second chance.

Yet, it’s Stone that comes for me with a vengeance.

He’s wicked. He’s wicked ruthless. Pure wicked sin.



…and I want another taste.

Amazon / Kobo

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Excerpt

Stone Mitchell—my worst nightmare.

The muscles of his back rippled against his tight-fitting black t-shirt like he’d been molded into it. He had thick brown hair that was made of silk, softer than silk…my hands remembered exactly how soft.

In a complete stupor, I let go of the handle of the suitcase, causing it to crash against the tiled floor. He spun around, tossed a dish towel over his shoulder, and froze mid-spin. Icy topaz eyes met my disgusted glare head on.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he bit out.

“Stone…” My heart screamed for me to bolt, but I didn’t take a single step.

“I asked you what the hell you’re doing here.” He tossed the kitchen towel across the countertop and folded his arms across this chest.

“I-I’m supposed to be here. Why are you here?”

“This is the last place you’re supposed to be.”

This had to be the most jacked-up karma in the world. Nausea rolled into the pit of my stomach and my nails dug into the palms of my hand. The cocky bastard wore the same expression he’d worn all those years ago.

“Dovie sent me.” My voice was barely above a whisper.

“Why the hell would my grandmother send you to my house?”

Behind him, foamy liquid spilled over the rim of the stockpot, filling the room with popping sounds as the contents ran onto the burner and sizzled. “Shit!” He whirled around, quickly moving it.

My mind formulated a hundred different scenarios to rationalize what was happening, but one thought screamed louder than the rest: Get the hell out of here. I seized the opportunity, grabbed my bag, and ran like hell. Bolting out of the house, I took the steps off the deck two at a time, my suitcase bouncing all around behind me.

Halfway down, wind whipping my hair against my face, I heard the door slam above then heavy footsteps closing in behind me. Sheets of rain blew underneath the house, stinging my skin. Adrenaline fueled my feet as I reached the sedan’s door handle, seconds away from leaving the biggest mistake of my life behind.

“Why are you here? No way did Gammy send you here,” he called out as he kept walking toward me like a predator.

“I’m here because she offered me this place for the summer. I don’t know… She didn’t send me here knowing you were here.” She couldn’t have. My Dovie would never have done that to me…or to him.

Only steps away, he showed no sign of stopping, so I spun back around to make my great escape. He caged in my body against the car, not touching me, but so close that if I moved at all, I would land against either his arms or chest. He pressed the frame of the door closed.

“Get away from me. I’m leaving, and I just want to forget I ever saw you.”

“Liar. You won’t forget. I don’t think you’ve ever forgotten…” He leaned in closer, stopping when his mouth was against my ear. “You’ve never forgotten how you whispered my name into my ear, over and over again.”

His words repulsed me. I hated him.

“I remember you being the biggest mistake of my life.”

“Turn around.”

“Go to hell.”

“I earned my free ticket to hell a long time ago. Turn around, Avery.”

The way my name rolled off his tongue caused my breath to catch; it always had. I despised the fact that he still possessed the power to make my traitorous body react. He was and always would be toxic. Forbidden. Poison. I’d had a taste, and it had nearly killed me. Now, I knew better than to bite the apple.

He pressed his chest against my back, and old memories trespassed into my mind. No matter how hard I’d tried, I’d never forgotten the last night we’d spent together. Under an audience of a million twinkling stars, we had slept on a blanket on the edge of Cotton Wilson’s private lake. That night had been beautiful. Perfect. Two days later, Stone was long gone, and thanks to social media and gossiping texts, the people in my small community knew why before I did.

“Leave me alone,” I whispered.

“I can’t do that. There’s a bad storm coming with high winds and a lot of rain. I know for a fact that the only two motels are full, and by now the ferry has already closed.”

There had to be somewhere else for me to stay. A shelter. A church. Hell, even in my car. Another large gust of wind sailed through the air, knocking over the trash bin by the driveway and causing a piece of some sort of metal to blow down the street.

He placed his hand on my upper arm in a gentle touch. “Come inside, Avery, before you end up getting hurt.”

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About Kathryn L. James

Kathryn James lives in a southern small town with her husband and a very sweet and spoiled poodle named Macy. Being a hopeless romantic, she loves to read and write about bad-boy sexy alpha males and strong heroines. The beach is one of her favorite places to hangout, relax, and write. She debuted her first novel, Crazy Beautiful Lies and released a short Crazy Beautiful Kiss which was published in A Story of a Kiss anthology. She plans to release it again as a novella by the end of summer.

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Author Interview: Never Trust a Pirate (Playful Brides #7) by Valerie Bowman

Release: May 2nd, 2017
Romance Subgenre: Historical Romance
Series: Playful Brides #7

The rules of engagement were never so scandalous. . .

A rumored pirate and the scurrilous black sheep of his well-to- do family, Cade Cavendish relishes his world of rebellion, deception, and seduction. Nothing and no one can hold him to be the duty-bound, honorable man he is expected to be. But when an unexpected run-in at his twin brother’s estate with a ravishing, raven-haired maid leads her to believe he’s actually a viscount, Cade’s renegade life is thrown wildly off-kilter. And even though a case of mistaken identity can be quickly set to rights, matters of the heart are quite different…

Miss Danielle LaCrosse is startled to learn that the handsome gentleman who radiates sin and has the devil in his eyes is not her employer the Viscount, but rather his infamous brother. A former heiress, orphaned and left penniless, Danielle has more than a few secrets of her own. Cade may be skilled at coaxing even the most hidden desires out of Danielle but can he earn her trust—and win her heart—as they embark on an adventure to confront a dangerous enemy from both of their pasts . . . and uncover the identity of the so-called Black Fox along the way?

Amazon / Indie Bound / Books-a-Million / Powells/ Barnes&Noble / Goodreads

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Author Interview

I'm excited to have author Valerie Bowman on the blog today to discuss her new book, Never Trust a Pirate. Thanks for sharing, Lauren!

Are there particular tropes you are fond of using?
My favorite trope is probably reunited lovers or old friends who fall in love. I love the brother’s best friend trope, too. I’ve used all of those and am currently writing a story where a married couple (who haven’t seen each other in ten years) are forced to work together again. Of course hijinx (and romance) will ensue!

What lead you to writing historical romances?
My love of reading them. I read them a lot as a teenager. They made me so happy.

Give us the “elevator pitch” for your new book.
I call Never Trust a Pirate: The Scarlet Pimpernel meets Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in Regency England.

What are your future project(s)?
Right now, I’m editing book 8 in the Playful Brides series. It’s called The Right Kind of Rogue and comes out on Halloween. I’m also writing book 9 of the Playful Brides series. And I’m always plotting future books in my head. In this case I’ve already got a lot of ideas for how I’m going to end the series with book #11 (Delilah and Thomas’s book) in Spring 2019.

What's your favorite underappreciated romance novel?
One of my favorite romances ever is Dark Future by KC Klein. It’s a futuristic scifi romance, which is not normally something I gravitate toward (I like to read historical romance!) but I picked up KC’s book and couldn’t put it down. It’s fantastic. She also has me reading contemporary cowboy stories.

Who is your ultimate Book Boyfriend?
My book boyfriend is Jason Fielding from Judith McNaught’s Once and Always. Talk about the perfect tortured hero!

Have you read anything lately that you loved?
Julie Anne Long’s The Legend of Lyon Redmond was sheer perfection if you ask me.

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About Valerie Bowman

Valerie Bowman grew up in Illinois with six sisters (she’s number seven) and a huge supply of historical romance novels. After a cold and snowy stint earning a degree in English with a minor in history at Smith College, she moved to Florida the first chance she got. Valerie now lives in Jacksonville with her family including her mini-schnauzer, Huckleberry. When she’s not writing, she keeps busy reading, traveling, or vacillating between watching crazy reality TV and PBS. She is the author of the Secret Brides series, starting with Secrets of a Wedding Night, Secrets of a Runaway Bride, and Secrets of a Scandalous Marriage.

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Author Playlist: Maybe Never by Sadie Allen