În curând la Editura Trei!

 

 

 

 

"Străinul seducător"

 

(Ticălosul seducător #2)

 

de Christina Lauren

 

 

 

 

 

"Tuturor băieţilor pe care i-am iubit"

 

(To All the Boys I've Loved Before)

 

de Jenny Han

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second Debt (Indebted#3 ) by Pepper Winters- Excerpt Reveal

Sneak Peek Excerpt (Post on January 23rd)

Excerpt from Second Debt by Pepper Winters.

RELEASE DATE: January 26th



I’D TAKEN HER, but ultimately, she’d taken me.

I’d tried to destroy her, but serendipitously, she’d destroyed me.

This was the beginning of the end.

Not the end of my feelings for her but the way of my life, my world.

Something would have to change.

Something would have to give…

…

Someone would have to die.









EXCERPT TWO:



Just thinking of Jethro sent a spasm of desire through my core.

Dammit, what’s happening to me?

A daydream of Jethro slamming to his knees before me and wrenching my legs wide stole my mind. It was so vivid, so real—a trickle of need ran down my inner thigh. I gasped as I imagined his tongue lapping at my clit, his long fingers disappearing inside me—the same finger that I’d tattooed with my name.

Would I come harder knowing he touched me with a finger branded by me? Or would I hold on as tight as I could and make him work for it?

Oh, God.

I needed to get rid of this satanic desire. I needed to be free.

My eyes opened, latching onto the detachable showerhead.

I could do it myself…

My heartbeat whizzed with need. I couldn’t fight the churning demand any longer.

Reaching upward, I unhooked the showerhead and turned the water temperature down so as not to burn myself.

Feeling awkward and ridiculous and a hundred times guilty for what I was about to do, I braced my back on the tiled wall and spread my legs a little.

My teeth clamped on my bottom lip as the water pressure tickled my clit.

Oh. My. God.

My eyes rolled back as I grew bolder and pressed the stream of heavenly water harder against my pussy.

Water cascaded down my legs while my torso shivered from sudden cold. My nipples stiffened as I wickedly angled the jet down and down until water shot inside me. Every jet and bubble aroused sensitive flesh, sending my muscles clenching in joy.

I moaned.

Loudly.

My legs trembled as my neck flopped forward and I gave myself over to the exquisite pleasure conjured by an innocuous showerhead.

Starbursts flashed behind my eyelids; Jethro loomed into my mind. I pictured him shrugging out of his black shirt, prowling toward me while unbuckling his belt and unzipping his trousers. I moaned again as my daydream shed his clothing and stood proud and naked before me. He grabbed his cock, pumping himself hard and firm, while his eyes feasted on what I was doing. He didn’t say a word, only watched, then crooked his finger and beckoned me closer.

My heartbeat exceeded recommended limits as I forced myself higher and higher, locking my knees against buckling as an orgasm brewed into being. I rocked the showerhead, biting my lip as the pressure spurted over my clit and then inside me. The rhythm I set was exactly like fucking and I daren’t overthink how I looked or how depraved I felt getting off this way.

My daydream forced its way past my misgivings. My forehead furrowed as I trembled, both welcoming and fighting an orgasm.

Daydream Jethro crept closer, working his cock, a dangerous glint in his eyes. The moment I was within grabbing distance, he captured my waist. “I need to be inside you, Nila.” I put words into Jethro’s mouth, but it was his voice I heard in my heart.

I moaned again, angling the showerhead harder against my clit.

“How do you want it?” my fantasy whispered in my ear as he spun me around and pressed me hard against the wall.

I swallowed hard, answering in my mind. “Fast and…”

“Filthy?” Daydream Jethro’s nose nuzzled the back of my ear, sending shockwaves down my spine. “I can fuck you filthy.”

I couldn’t speak. But I didn’t have to. My fantasy knew exactly how I needed it. Jethro bit the back of my shoulder, spreading my legs wider with his.

“Fuck me, Jethro Hawk,” I whispered.

“Oh, I will. Believe me, I will.” Without further warning, he dug his fingers into my hips and slammed inside me.

My fingers went numb as I slid the showerhead from clit to entrance. I cried out as water shot inside at the same time as Jethro thrust into me from behind, sliding deep and fast, stretching me deliciously painfully.

My heart exploded with bliss. An orgasm squeezed every atom, getting ready to hurl me into the stratosphere.

Jethro thrust again and I rode my new friend the showerhead.

“Oh, God. Yes,” I hissed, rocking harder. “Yes, yes…”

A masculine cough sounded. “You continue to surprise me, Ms. Weaver; at least this time, I rather enjoy it.”

Everything crashed into awareness. My daydream shattered, fracturing by my feet like broken glass. I squealed and dropped the showerhead. It turned into a water snake, spewing water left and right, wriggling like some terrible demon.

Jethro snickered. “You’re using up the entire Hall’s supply of hot water. Are you planning on saving some for the rest of the inhabitants of my home?”














Pre-Order AVAILABLE

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1ufkO3z

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1xgCSvb

Add to your TBR at: http://bit.ly/1BRsIGR

Release Date: January 26th



Blurb

“I tried to play a game. I tried to wield deceit as perfectly as the Hawks. But when I thought I was winning, I wasn’t. Jethro isn’t what he seems—he’s the master of duplicity. However, I refuse to let him annihilate me further.”

Nila Weaver has grown from naïve seamstress to full-blown fighter. Every humdrum object is her arsenal, and sex…sex is her greatest weapon of all.

She’s paid the First Debt. She’ll probably pay more.

But she has no intention of letting the Hawks win.

Jethro Hawk has found more than a worthy adversary in Nila—he’s found the woman who could destroy him. There’s a fine line between hatred and love, and an even finer path between fear and respect.

The fate of his house rests on his shoulders, but no matter how much ice lives inside his heart, Nila flames too bright to be extinguished.





Series Reading Order






Debt Interitance (Indebted #1) ONLY .99

Amazon: http://amzn.to/17UZImo

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1BjoFUA

Nook: http://bit.ly/1Cl8rau

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1zoFkFL

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1xIW5Vt




First Debt (Indebted #2)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1BjpblH

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1sMEyQo

Nook: http://bit.ly/10PcYWi

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1qmB3d7

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/15ijHdF




Second Debt (Indebted #3) January 26th:

Amazon: TBD

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1ufkO3z

Nook: TBD

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1xgCSvb

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1BRsIGR









About the Author:






Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex... her books have sex.

She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.




Her Dark Erotica books include:

Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1)

Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)




Her Grey Romance books include:

Destroyed




STALK Pepper: Website | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Goodreads





THANK YOU!

Second Debt by Pepper Winters- Excerpt Reveal

Sneak Peek Excerpt (Post on January 22nd)

Excerpt from Second Debt by Pepper Winters.

RELEASE DATE: January 26th



I’D TAKEN HER, but ultimately, she’d taken me.

I’d tried to destroy her, but serendipitously, she’d destroyed me.

This was the beginning of the end.

Not the end of my feelings for her but the way of my life, my world.

Something would have to change.

Something would have to give…

…

Someone would have to die.









I EXISTED WITH a brain full of betrayal, schemes, and plotting.

Living with the Hawks was utterly exhausting. Every day was a challenge to figure out the truths from the lies. But no matter how hard I worked, I could never seem to unravel reality from fiction.

He’d won.

And with a winner came a loser. One triumphant and one depressed. A trophy over misery.

Two days had passed since Kestrel had granted the truth to one huge mystery. Two days in which I hadn’t been able to think of anything else.

I wanted to hate Jethro for duping me—for stringing me along like an idiot.

But whenever my anger boiled over, needing desperately to confront him, I remembered one thing.

One important, vital thing.

He’d initiated contact before he was told.

He’d communicated with me almost as if it were a cry for help, rather than a plot to deceive.

If this were another trick, then so help him, I’d find a way to castrate him.

But, somehow, I didn’t think it was.

I had a horrible feeling this was the one way that he would let me in. An avenue of truths that he felt comfortable enough to continue, because a silent written word didn’t have as much weight as a loudly spoken one.

Which brought me back to my vitally important conclusion:

Jethro wants to be honest.

He wanted to stop playing charades and show me everything he kept hidden.

He wanted to talk to someone. Perhaps, for the first time in his life, he wasn’t satisfied with the hand life dealt him and…

Stop fabricating excuses.

All day, I’d been coming up with theories on why he was how he was and reading too far into things that he’d done.

It could be as simple as: he’d been told to get in touch. Told to initiate contact in a way that could potentially mould me into a more submissive captive, especially if I were to believe he was on my side.

I wanted to believe he’d acted against his father. But no matter how much I wished it, it didn’t make it was true.

How do you explain the knowing then?

I slouched against my pillows in bed. That was true. A part of me just seemed to know. Call it either sheer idiocy or feminine intuition. I believed he’d texted me because I was the first outsider permitted into his world—the only one not a Hawk.

My brain hurt.

When we were alone, when we weren’t arguing or fighting, there was an enchanting calmness. A connection.

Closing my eyes, I let my mind skip back to Kes’s unwilling promise. The way his eyes had darkened with secrets as I’d collapsed into his arms from the vertigo spell two days ago.

“Nila?”

A crushing headache appeared from nowhere. It was the most I could do to stay present and not permit my mind to relive every text Jethro had sent to see the hidden agendas now that I knew it was him.

“I’m—I’m okay. You can let me go.” I struggled out of Kes’s embrace, my skin humming from his touch. I needed some space. I needed a world full of space to get over the treachery and lies.

“You didn’t know? You hadn’t guessed?” Kes crossed his arms, never taking his golden eyes from mine.

I glowered. “How could I know? I thought the messages were from you!”

He flinched. “Yes, that was the plan. To make you believe it was me, so he could continue on with whatever little mind games he was playing.” Leaning closer, he added, “I haven’t been privy to any of the messages he sent you or you sent him—so don’t feel like I’ve intruded on details that I shouldn’t.”

Anger infused my blood. “If you were both in on it—why didn’t he show you the messages? Why were you so nice to me? What does all of this mean?”

Kes moved away, reclining against a sapling. “I was nice because that’s just who I am. Yes, I come from a family with twisted up morals and I’m loyal to those twisted up morals, but I also did it out of loyalty to my brother. If you’re pissed, direct it all on him. Not me.”

“Oh, believe me. I’m pissed. Beyond pissed.” My hands balled as my mind filled with crazy ideas of retribution and revenge. I would make him pay.

“I’d cool down before you spring it on him. Best to keep it quiet. Cut doesn’t know. It was just me who knew Jet had been in touch with you before he was given the go-ahead to collect you in Milan.”

I froze. “Why did he initiate conversation with me almost five weeks before he could claim me?”

Kes shook his head. “The day I understand my brother is the day I’ll gamble my entire inheritance on the stock market. I can’t work him out. The only thing I can do is be there for him. And I only found out ‘cause he changed pretty much around the same time he started messaging you. Something was different—we’re close. So, I saw it before the others.”

My brain throbbed trying to figure out just what had changed in Jethro. He’d seemed the perfect Hawk when he’d come to collect me. Cold as ice and deadly as a sword.

Now that I knew his secret, I had power. And I had no intention of giving that power back. Jethro had been playing me for far too long. He’d successfully screwed with my head. It was time for payback. “Don’t tell him that I know.”

Kes’s eyes popped wide. “Pardon?”

“You heard me. Don’t tell Jethro about today. Let him continue to think I’m clueless.” My heart frothed with rage and unhappiness. I was so stupid to believe I’d gotten through to him on some level. The sex between us left both of us stripped bare. Something more than family feuds and hatred existed when he slid inside me and sent both of us shattering into dust.

I’d let him inside me. In so many ways. It was my turn to do the same.

“You know I can’t do that, Nila. As welcome as you are in our household, and as much as I like hanging out with you, I can’t betray Jet. Not after everything he’s been through.”

I pounced on the small thread of truth about my tormentor. “What has he been through, Kes? Tell me and I’ll march back to the Hall right now and tell him myself.”

Kes shifted uncomfortably, refusing to meet my eyes. “Slip of the tongue. Forget it.”

Crossing my arms, I hissed, “Fine. Seeing as you’re so capable of keeping secrets, keep this one for me.”

Kes scowled. “Keeping my own flesh and blood’s issues hidden isn’t the same thing as helping out a Weaver.”

My heart raced. If Jethro hadn’t taught me how to stand up for myself, I would’ve cowered at the thought of being so pushy with a full-grown man all alone in a forest. Now, I was raging and fully intended to get my own way. “Give me two weeks. Two weeks before you tell him that I know. Do that and I’ll be forever grateful.”

His shoulders slumped in defeat. “How can you be forever grateful when forever isn’t something anyone has.”

Especially me, seeing as my lifespan was destined to be significantly shorter than his.

“Just…please, Kestrel. One favour.”

It took him a while to give in. His allegiance to his brother was strong.

Finally, he huffed. “Fine. But it won’t save you from his temper when he finds out.”

However, I had no intention of suffering Jethro’s wrath. I had every right to deceive him after he did it to me. My revelations were safe—for now. I trusted that Kes wouldn’t say anything. I didn’t know why, but on some level I did trust Kes—just enough to use him in my plans. And I was fully committed to tripping Jethro up.

It was his turn to divulge things he might not have if he’d known the truth. Hiding behind the pretence that Kite was Kes had made him softer the past few weeks. I would use that chink to make the crevice I’d been trying to form since I gave him a blowjob after hunting me down.

I couldn’t think about anything else. I couldn’t focus on sketching, sewing, reading.

Nothing.

My brain was a whirly-gig of Jethro. Kite. Jethro. Kite.

And I’d had enough.

Throwing myself out of bed after another sleepless night, I wrenched back the curtains and glowered at the dismal weather.

The watery dawn did nothing to inspire either anger or contentment. The sky was grey. Fog looked like haunting ghosts, threading its ghoulish tentacles over the lower woodland of the estate. No birds chirped or sun shone.

Summer had truly abandoned us. The bite in the air shouted ‘go back to bed where it’s warm’ but my brain had no such intention.

I hadn’t relaxed for two days. I’d stared at my phone, determined to text Jethro and trip him into revealing everything he kept secret, only to stare blankly at an empty message.

Now that I knew it was him, my willingness to show so much had gone. Knowledge was power and he had too much of mine already. How could I dig deeper into his mystery while maintaining all of mine?

The answer—I couldn’t. And that made me incredibly nervous. To find out who he truly was, I had to show everything that made me real. And despite the emotional growth spurt I’d endured at the hands of the Hawks, I wasn’t ready to evolve again. I’d lost so much of myself already—how much was I prepared to leave behind before I became a perfect stranger?

“Ah!” I dug my fingers into my hair. I needed a reprieve from my racing thoughts, and I knew exactly how to do it.

Mother Nature’s sudden urge to switch seasons from summer to winter couldn’t stop my itch.

I needed fresh air, and I needed it now.

Racing around my room in the new Weaver quarters where Jethro had made me beg and come apart with his cock deep inside me, I found my black spandex shorts and highlighter pink sports bra. Pulling the clothing on, followed by my sneakers, I quickly smoothed my hair into a bun, and shot from the room.

I hadn’t worn my exercise gear since the morning of the Milan runway show. I’d sprinted until I’d collapsed off the treadmill at the hotel, hoping I could dispel my anxiety enough to hide my stupid nerves and prevent a vertigo spell in front of the press.

It had worked—mainly. Until Jethro arrived, of course.

The moment when I’d set eyes upon him, I’d been done for. He’d been so dashing with his suit, tie, and diamond pin. So perfectly refined with his elegant haircut, chiselled physique, and sculptured lips. Even though his soul was dark, his body had summoned me.

He’d called to me, and like the stupid Weaver I was, I’d followed him blindly.

Now, it’s his turn to follow my whims, my rules.

Jogging down the corridor, my racing mind and temper eased, already reacting to the stress relief I’d sought all my life.

I need him out.

It wasn’t fair. I was supposed to seduce him and make him care for me—not the other way around. I wasn’t supposed to fall for my own games.

Lust was as dangerous as love. Only it was worse because it had the power to make even the worst ideas seem plausible—and even recommended—when a sexual reward was given.

The moment Jethro gave in and kissed me, I’d betrayed more than just myself. I’d betrayed my entire family line and all the Weaver women who’d died before me.

I had feelings for him.

A dangerous softness toward my would-be-killer.

It has to end.

I had to find a way to seduce him…to make him love me, all while I kept my heart frigid and locked away in an ice fortress.

I laughed under my breath. You sound just like him. I wanted to turn into the female equivalent of his glacial shell.

Only, ice wasn’t impervious. Ice melted and succumbed to fire.

I’d proven that over the past month.

The house breathed around me with gentle heartbeats only ancient dwellings could have. Spirits of past generations lived in its walls, revenants danced in the drapery, and figments of long forgotten lovers floated through the tapestries.

A grandfather clock tick-tocked as I jogged past, showing the time at six thirty a.m.

After being privy to the business meetings with Kes and the Black Diamonds, I knew the men never got up this early. They worked late, dealing with shipments and the transportation of stones worth more than any dress I could sew. Darkness was their asset, the sun their foe.

At least I could run and be back before anyone tried to stop me.

I didn’t want them to draw the wrong conclusion that I was trying to escape again. I blinked as I ran head first into a horrendous conclusion.

Even if you found the boundary this morning, you wouldn’t leave.

My heart thumped harder at the tangled web I lived.

Freedom was something I wanted more than anything. But even if I escaped the Hawks, I would only run back into the trap of pity and vertigo. I wanted more than that. I deserved more than that.

If I found the estate edge, I wouldn’t disappear. I couldn’t.

My captivity wasn’t just about me anymore. It was about the future. It was about Jethro.

Admit it…

It was about living.

The passion, the intensity, the blazing ferocity of existing with enemies and plotting beneath their noses was a much worthier cause than sitting at home sewing for the masses.

This was about me. Me standing up for myself, and for a future I wanted, not a future already planned for me.

This was about so many twisted things.

I wrenched open the French doors at the end of the corridor and stumbled into the foggy dawn. Fresh air welcomed me and I found a reprieve from my scrambled thoughts.

I can’t forget my ultimate plan.

No matter how Jethro endeared himself to me—giving me glimpses of someone barely coping inside his wintry armor—I wasn’t going to forget my goal.

Freedom.

Not just for myself, but for the rest of my legacy. My children and their children and their children’s children would never have to go through this. I intended to be the last Weaver stolen.

It’s time for a new debt—one that owes us life, not death.

Sucking in lungfuls of crisp air, I steeled myself in what I had to do. In order to win, I had to guard my soul. I had to play along with Jethro’s mind games and hope to God I won first.

A cool breeze whistled through the trees, sounding like haunted laments. I shivered, wishing I’d brought a jacket.

You’ll be sweating in ten minutes. Ignore it.

Gritting my teeth against the cold, I bent over and stretched my quads. The tug and slow release of muscles was heaven after the stress of the past few days.

My body hummed with the knowledge it was about to run.

And run.

And run.

For fun this time, not for survival.

Bouncing on the spot, I rolled my shoulders, eyeing up the sweeping lawn before me. If I went right, I’d loop around the stables. If I went left, I’d cut through the sprawling rose garden and orchards.

Go straight.

Down the meandering path that disappeared over the horizon.

I switched from bouncing to jogging.

“And just where do you think you’re going?” a cool voice whispered through the silver fog.

I wrenched to a stop, peering behind me.

No one.

“I thought you’d realised running wasn’t a viable option, Ms. Weaver.”

His icy voice sent a strange mixture of hot and cold desire down my spine. Jethro morphed into being, seeming to solidify from the mist like a terrible poltergeist. He leaned against one of the pillars holding up the portico, crossing his arms.

My heart collapsed, unable to untangle the maze of hypocrisy between us. My skin begged for his touch. My lips tingled for his. Every inch of me craved what he could deliver.

Heat. Passion. An eruption that I felt in every cell.

But none of that was real.

And I refused to believe in trickery any longer.

Mirroring his body language, I crossed my arms. “I realise escaping isn’t a viable option. But I’m not escaping. I’m running. Running is my only option to escape the mess you’ve made.”

His jaw clenched. “The mess I’ve made?”

“Yes.” I took a step backward as he advanced. “You’re messing me up, and I’m done playing whatever it is that you’re doing.” I sucked in courage and embraced honesty. It seemed to work around him, and I needed him to see how serious I was. How hurt I was with his deception.

He’s Kite.

Bastard.

Baring my teeth, I said, “It seems I have a weakness for you, but I changed my mind. I don’t—”

A low growl escaped him. “A weakness? You call what happened between us a fucking weakness?”

My breathing ratcheted as if I’d already run two miles. “The worst kind of weakness.”

He smiled, but no mirth entered his gaze. If anything, his golden eyes were luminous with anger. “You’re the one who started it…Nila.”

I gasped at the delicious decadence of my name on his lips. The sound echoed in his mouth, shooting straight to my core.

Shit.

Jethro advanced again, his body trembling with barely veiled lust. “You’re the one who created this problem.” His hand came up, fingers slinking through my tied-up hair, tightening around the back of my skull. “I can’t hear the name Weaver without getting fucking hard. I can’t even think of you without boiling with need.”

His nose brushed against mine, his lips so damn close to stealing all my scrambled plans and sending me headfirst into a life of debauchery.

“You should never have said those two words, Ms. Weaver. I told you. We’re both fucked now.”

My mind was blank, every synapse focusing on his fingers in my hair and his mouth only millimetres from mine. “What two words?”

He chuckled. The sound was self-deprecating and almost morbid with dark intensity. “Kiss me.”

I shivered in his hold. “You’re reminding me of what started this mess, or you’re asking me to kiss you?”

Ask me. And I will. God, how I will.

I’d kiss him until I’d stripped him of his arctic armor and destroyed it, I’d lick him until I tasted his truth, and I’d bite him until I’d eaten every morsel of his soul.

I’d do all that so he had nowhere left to hide.

We stood wrapped in foggy silence. The drawn out anticipation of a kiss turned my legs to jelly. If he pressed his mouth to mine, I wouldn’t be going for my run. I would climb his body and impale myself on his cock.

Fakery be damned.

Kite’s messages and deceit be damned.

I just wanted a raw connection—with this man, who made my soul whimper for wrongness.

Jethro’s tongue slipped between his lips, hypnotising me. Then…he let me go. “No, I’m not asking you to kiss me. I won’t ever ask anything from you.”

I flinched as if he’d slapped me. “Why not?”

“Because I own you. Everything I want will be given, not requested.”

Double shit.

I should hate him. I should smite him. So, why did his every word seduce me, even while I knew his morals were chauvinistic and heartless?

Forcing my body to obey, I shoved the weakness I had for him as far away as possible. My eyes trailed down his front. He wore tan jodhpurs, black riding boots, and a tweed jacket. The bulge between his legs looked heavy and far too dangerous to be legal.

“You’ve been riding.”

A gentle gust of early morning air blew his scent directly into my nose. I inhaled, soaking my lungs in hay, horse, and all things Jethro.

He nodded, crossing his arms once again. “You run. I ride. Seems we have something else in common.”

Something other than being forced into this debt and finding each other irresistible, you mean?

“Oh, what’s that?”

Jethro stepped closer, seeming to bring shadows into the smoky light of dawn. “We both need time alone to hide from the things that chase us.” He stiffened, his eyes churning with things he refused to voice. A five o’ clock shadow decorated his strong jaw, his lips parted while his gaze was pure brimstone.

Swiftly, he cupped my cheek.

Oh, God.

Electricity instantly sparked beneath his fingertips.

Would I always suffer the rhapsody of his touch?

My skin smouldered; pinpricks of light, of fire, of hell, all burnished beneath his hold. I swayed, pressing my face harder into his palm.

He sucked in a breath, his fingers digging harder against my cheekbone.

The chemistry and need to devour each other thickened with every heartbeat.

One beat.

Two beat.

Three.

We stood there, frozen on the stoop of Hawksridge Hall just waiting for the other to move. The moment we did, our clothes would disintegrate and I would willingly let him drag me into a bush and fuck me.

Lust and tension swirled.

I had so many questions and doubts; so many reasons to hate and fear him. But when he touched me…poof.

I no longer remembered, nor cared.

We swayed closer, drawn against our will to close the aching distance.

I couldn’t breathe.

Kiss me. Please, kiss me.

The moment stretched until it hummed with overwhelming possibilities.

Then, it snapped.

Loudly.

Painfully.

Shattering around our feet.

“You’re too fucking dangerous,” Jethro muttered, removing his touch and stepping away. Dragging his hand through his hair, he commanded, “Wait here. Don’t go anywhere.” His hands went to his jacket buttons, undoing them with nimble fingers.

I blinked, struggling to shed myself of heavy need and focus on the true reason why I stood barely dressed in the freezing morning. “I’m not escaping. I’ll be back in forty minutes or so.”

He shook his head, slipping out of his tweed and revealing a black long-sleeved jumper.

My mouth went dry. Even in clothing, I could make out every ridge of muscle in his stomach, every ripple of energy as he breathed in and out. He was designed straight from my fantasies, and I hated him for being so splendid.

My core clenched, sending flutters of wetness between my legs.

I hadn’t seen him in two days, yet I’d panted after him as if he’d been missing my entire life.

If he suspected I knew that he was Kite, he hadn’t let on. After Kes had told me the truth, I’d waited for Jethro to barge into my room and swear me to secrecy.

But he hadn’t.

He didn’t look at me any differently; he gave no outward sign that his lies had begun to unravel. As much as he confounded and frustrated me, I couldn’t help admiring his perfection at hiding.

I wanted to be like him. I wanted to protect my secrets so damn well that whatever I did next would come as a surprise.

I wanted to rule him.

“I’m coming with you. Don’t leave.” He disappeared into the house, leaving me abandoned and covered in chills from both the morning air and his departure.

Jogging on the spot, I deliberated ignoring him and leaving.

Just go.

What was the worst that could happen? He’d have to chase me again. My tummy coiled at the thought. I liked that idea way too much. I liked the thought of what would happen after he found me.

The power I’d felt giving him that blowjob. The awe and attraction that’d glowed in his eyes.

I want that again.

Screw waiting like a good little captive.

Make him hunt.

And then I would make him explode.

I bolted.






Pre-Order AVAILABLE

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1ufkO3z

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1xgCSvb

Add to your TBR at: http://bit.ly/1BRsIGR

Release Date: January 26th



Blurb

“I tried to play a game. I tried to wield deceit as perfectly as the Hawks. But when I thought I was winning, I wasn’t. Jethro isn’t what he seems—he’s the master of duplicity. However, I refuse to let him annihilate me further.”

Nila Weaver has grown from naïve seamstress to full-blown fighter. Every humdrum object is her arsenal, and sex…sex is her greatest weapon of all.

She’s paid the First Debt. She’ll probably pay more.

But she has no intention of letting the Hawks win.

Jethro Hawk has found more than a worthy adversary in Nila—he’s found the woman who could destroy him. There’s a fine line between hatred and love, and an even finer path between fear and respect.

The fate of his house rests on his shoulders, but no matter how much ice lives inside his heart, Nila flames too bright to be extinguished.









Series Reading Order






Debt Interitance (Indebted #1) ONLY .99

Amazon: http://amzn.to/17UZImo

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1BjoFUA

Nook: http://bit.ly/1Cl8rau

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1zoFkFL

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1xIW5Vt




First Debt (Indebted #2)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1BjpblH

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1sMEyQo

Nook: http://bit.ly/10PcYWi

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1qmB3d7

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/15ijHdF




Second Debt (Indebted #3) January 26th:

Amazon: TBD

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1ufkO3z

Nook: TBD

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1xgCSvb

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1BRsIGR




About the Author:






Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex... her books have sex.

She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.




Her Dark Erotica books include:

Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1)

Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)




Her Grey Romance books include:

Destroyed




STALK Pepper: Website | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Goodreads





THANK YOU!

Review: One Night Stand (One Night Stand#1) by J.S. Cooper, Helen Cooper

 One Night Stand (One Night Stand#1) by J.S Cooper, Helen Cooper

New Hot Standalone from New York Times Bestselling Author Helen Cooper

It was only supposed to be one night

We met at a wedding. He was hot. And I’d been in a year’s drought.

He smiled. We got drunk. We flirted. We hooked up. I left without early the next morning without saying goodbye. It was only meant to be a one night stand. I didn’t want the awkward morning after moment. Not at all.

Then I went home for the weekend. And he was there. Sitting on the couch chatting to my dad. Turns out he was more than just a stranger. Turns out that my one night stand was about to cause a whole heap of trouble. Turns out that it never just stops with one night.

 My thoughts (Roxana):





















What do you do when your one night stand comes to bite you in the a**?

We all make mistakes during our life , because we're human and we're supposed to make them and then learn from them... to became a better person. Yeah... this story it's not really about that... it's even better, because sometimes life is messy and what's upposed to be an innocent mistake for a night or more, it will show us that in life, this said mistake could become so much more and it will give you the chance to have the future you never thought you could have....

If you already read That Night, then it's not a surprise the info will discuss her. If NOT, then you should stop right now before you'll read spoilers from that novella!

One last chance!




Okay... so Liv had a very hot night with Mr. Tongue and I can't condemn that poor girl... she didn't really have a chance against that man. I mean the guy could make you swoon and drop your panties at his feet and worship him and his...ahem...talents.

Well, after that torrid, but also touching, thoughtful and real night where Liv had experienced so much more than just sex, she goes home the next weekend to visit her familly who will turn her world upside down . More exactly, she discovers the man who has unveiled her so thoughtfully is also the fiance of her somewhat crazy, definitely spoiled sister named Gabby who is under the impression thagt her sisiter is jealous on her because she's soooo prewwtty....

While this news places Liv in a very delicate situation and sincerely I didn't know how Ms. Cooper will change the chaos this familly is in and give us our HEA wanted....

But I shouldn't doubt her after all those wonderful stories she's writen, she's a master of these kind of stories and can bring any bad book boyfriend to come aut of the cold situations. And he does, because Xander brings out everything from Live... the worst and the best. He constantly seeks Liv and together they share even more passionate moments, full of intense strifes and make out sessions, but this is exactly what I expected and wanted from this roller coaster ride.




Liv tries to resist in the face of Xander's charms and his persuasion to get her back in his arms and bed. But her sister is engaged with the man after she lust for, so Liv tries to stay as far away from him, but like always you can't away from love and even though their relationship is so dangerous because it could wreck her familly, it is also one of the best moments in her life.

In the same time, Alice, Liv's friend is crushing hard on Aiden, Liv's brother, so more fun times for a an avid reader after drama and funny moments like me. Guys... you can't miss for anything in the world the next installment in this amazing series, where we will find out Alice and Aiden's story.



The story is told from Liv's view, at first person, so you'll be the first one to see and feel every angsty, full of umor, touching moment and you'll be so engrossed in this story that I don't recommend reading it while being with your friends or anyone else in public...

While his story will seem full of angs at first sight... it really isn't! It's an emotional, full of umor and sexy times that it will make you want to take a cold shower, but also have a good laugh, especially on Liv's familly.

 

Final Decision: People will always make mistakes, and while we'll always have regrets... we also can't deny that we are who we are because of them. And like I already said... sometimes our future awaits for us to make those mistakes....
This story is about this hypothesis: To live your life at the fullest and be happy.

My Rating: 5/5

About the Authors:

J. S. Cooper is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She is a true romantic that is in love with love. The J. S. stands for Jaimie Suzi. She just thought J. S. sounded cooler! J. S. was born in London, England and moved to the States at age 17. She studied history in college and then went to law school and then decided to follow her writing dreams. J. S. writes 'New Adult' contemporary romance books because that is what she also loves to read.

Upcoming books: Rhett in Love, Keeping My Prince Charming, Illusion, If Only Once (The Martelli Brothers), and Carry My Heart.

Join my mailing list to be notified when new books are released: http://jscooperauthor.com/mailing-list/
Please join J. S. Cooper on her facebook page if you enjoy her books here: https://www.facebook.com/J.S.Cooperauthor.

Helen Cooper is a true romantic. She believes in true love, soul mates and lots of fun. She enjoys reading, playing tennis and writing romance and erotic romance books. She also enjoys trashy TV and is never happier than when watching 'The Bachelor,' 'Big Brother,' 'Drop Dead Diva,' or a number of other shows.

Helen's upcoming books include: Alpha Billionaire 3, One Night Stand, and Four Week Fiance.

Join my mailing list to be notified about new releases here: http://helencooperauthor.com/email-list/

I love to hear from my readers so feel free to contact me.

Email me at Helencooperauthor@gmail.com.
Like my FB here: http://www.facebook.com/Helencooperauthor.
Add me on Twitter: @MsHelenCooper
Check out my blog here: http://helencooperauthor.wordpress.com/

Review: That Night (One Night Stand Book 1) by J. S. Cooper, Helen Cooper

That Night (One Night Stand Book 1) by J. S. Cooper, Helen Cooper 

It was only supposed to be one night.

When Liv Taylor met a handsome stranger at a friend's wedding, she decided to give in to temptation. It was lust at first site and when she followed the man she nicknamed Mr. Tongue into a room before the wedding ceremony, she experienced pleasure like she'd never experienced before. That was why she agreed to one night in his hotel room. One night of unbridled passion. That was all it was supposed to be. But then, her mystery man turned up after that night and his identity was no longer a mystery. It turns out that Liv's one night stand is about to get a whole lot more comp
licated and she has no idea what she's going to do. Because sometimes one night stands never end at one night.

NOTE: This novella is a free steamy prequel to the full-length standalone novel One Night Stand, that will be released on January 5th. It will also be included in One Night Stand when it is released, so you can read it first as a free download or you can read it as part of the novel on release day.

My thoughts (Roxana):

"If you hook up with Luke, I'll give you five hundred."
"I'm not hooking up with your ex." 

One little fact that you should know... when I first started to read it, I already knew that it was a novella and it will be very short, so while I would've love it to know more about Liv and her Mr. Tongue, I was more than happy about the ending, because it made me want to read the first novel in this series so much more.

Our story starts with Liv and her good friend, Alice in the Church while they were bored (and a little furious) and kind of made a pact, from Alice view and a joke from Liv's side: for Liv to make out in said Church for fun with a stranger...

Obviously, Liv doesn't give a second thought to this crazy idea at least until HIM...

Mr. Tongue is one of the hottest man Liv has ever seen in her life, besides he's charming, amusing and gorgeous. And the best part? He can make her forget her name in a second, by just a whispering a Word. He seems perfect, right ladies?

Well... for one night stand... he really is! He makes her live the best (and adventurous ) passional night of her life. Damn... all the things that man made ME  feel! I was convinced for a second that Liv will give up and ask him to date her (I would've done so in her place!)...
But Liv knows that it will more easy to get over him since he's not really her type of boyfriend, so she just wants to remember it as a good memory until the reunion with her familly when she finds out the most shocking news of her life....


I love Liv... she's such a different character by letting herself be free of the social views and she just owns every action she made without being sorry for it. And it was refreshing to see a woman who's not afraid to say what she wants with the guy she's attracted to. Besides, for a novella, there are many things that happen and we'll make you want to read the next installement right away...
The story is told from Liv's view at the first person, so you'll connect with her and live everything like you are in her place, and for those whom re not convinced yet, all I'm going to say is just this: MR. TONGUE....
 
"You want to know me, but you don't want me to know your name?"
"No names, no questions."He looked at me intently. "Is that okay with you? "
"It's okay with me, if it's okay with you."I wispered, my heart thudding. I didn't even know what I was saying. I just knew that I wanted him to be touching me again.

Final Decision: We all make mistakes in our life that we'll regret them afterward. Mistakes that have dangerous consequences, but sometimes those are best actions that we've made in our life because it changes us, transform us in the adults we are. And even more precious are those that helps us find our future...maybe even our soulmate....

My Rating: 5/5

About the Authors
 
J. S. Cooper is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She is a true romantic that is in love with love. The J. S. stands for Jaimie Suzi. She just thought J. S. sounded cooler! J. S. was born in London, England and moved to the States at age 17. She studied history in college and then went to law school and then decided to follow her writing dreams. J. S. writes 'New Adult' contemporary romance books because that is what she also loves to read.

Upcoming books: Rhett in Love, Keeping My Prince Charming, Illusion, If Only Once (The Martelli Brothers), and Carry My Heart.

Join my mailing list to be notified when new books are released: http://jscooperauthor.com/mailing-list/
Please join J. S. Cooper on her facebook page if you enjoy her books here: https://www.facebook.com/J.S.Cooperauthor.

Helen Cooper is a true romantic. She believes in true love, soul mates and lots of fun. She enjoys reading, playing tennis and writing romance and erotic romance books. She also enjoys trashy TV and is never happier than when watching 'The Bachelor,' 'Big Brother,' 'Drop Dead Diva,' or a number of other shows.

Helen's upcoming books include: Alpha Billionaire 3, One Night Stand, and Four Week Fiance.

Join my mailing list to be notified about new releases here: http://helencooperauthor.com/email-list/

I love to hear from my readers so feel free to contact me.

Email me at Helencooperauthor@gmail.com.
Like my FB here: http://www.facebook.com/Helencooperauthor.
Add me on Twitter: @MsHelenCooper
Check out my blog here: http://helencooperauthor.wordpress.com/

Recenzie: Playlist pentru Nick si Norah de David Levithan, Rachel Cohn

Recenzie: Playlist pentru Nick si Norah de  David Levithan, Rachel Cohn


Descriere: 

New York?
Pe locuri, fiţi gata, start:Norah şi Nick sunt pregătiţi să-şi asume riscurile unui salt în necunoscut.

O poveste lungă cât o noapte newyorkeză despre un băiat şi o fată care ajung, prin forţa destinului şi a muzicii, parteneri într-o sumedenie de aventuri amuzante. Cei doi se descoperă unul pe altul după ce Nick o roagă pe Norah, la finalul unui concert dintr-un club, să fie prietena lui... pentru doar cinci minute.
O întâlnire între două lumi aparent diferite, cu excepţia pasiunii pentru muzică: Norah e fiica rebelă a unui mare producător muzical, Nick e basist şi compozitor într-o trupă underground de queercore. întâmplarea face ca amândoi să aibă inima frântă după eşecuri în dragoste.

Un volum proaspăt, inteligent, amuzant şi, în ciuda limbajului licenţios pe alocuri, deloc lipsit de duioşie. O carte pentru tinerii şi neliniştiţii de toate vârstele.

„Nu-i destul să stai singur pe trotuar şi să compui un cântec pentru o fată, dacă n-ai tupeul să încerci măcar să vorbeşti cu ea." -- R. Cohn & D. Levithan

„Ştiu că o să-ţi sune ciudat, dar te-ar deranja să fii prietena mea în următoarele cinci minute?" -- R. Cohn & D. Levithan

Gândurile mele (Roxana):

Câți dintre voi încearcă să trăiască o viață perfectă, dar au acele momente în care și-ar dori să arunce totul la gunoi și să trăiești o noapte (sau chiar mai mult) fără reguli, fără restricții... pur și simplu să fii liberă și să te lași în voia ritmului vieții.

Sunt conștientă că regulile sunt făcute cu un motiv anume, acela de a menține ordinea și disciplina, dar uneori avem nevoie de haos, de aceea nebunie prin care ne eliberam emoțiile și ne lăsăm în voia simțurilor, a muzicii neauzite decât de noi....

“I'm thinking I would like to dance in the rain with this person. I would like to lie next to him in the dark and watch him breathe and watch him sleep and wonder what he's dreaming about and not get an inferiority complex if the dreams aren't about me.”



În Playlist pentru Nick și Norah vedem o nouă perspectivă asupra vieții- adevărat una pe care o cunoaștem deja din cele mai vechi timpuri, anume: Carpe Diem, de a trăi fiecare clipă ca și cum ar fi ultima. Dar trebuie să recunoaștem că uneori nu este atât de simplu să nu mai acorzi atenție problemelor zilnice, a rutinei care inevitabil se instaurează în viața noastră fără să realizăm acest lucru. Totuși oare nu suntem fericiți cu această noțiune de rutină? Oare ea nu ne oferă siguranța de care avem nevoie cu atâta disperare? Oare chiar am găsi în noi forța necesară de ne arunca toate planurile pe apa sâmbetei și să mergem mai departe cu un zâmbet pe buze, știind că viața noastră nu va mai fi niciodată la fel? Recunosc că nu aș putea să trăiesc neavând un plan, de aceea o admir pe Norah, sau mai precis îi admir voința...

Totul începe cu Nick  care încearcă să-și revină după o despărțire amară- voi admite că în timp ce o ador pe Tris din Divergent, această Tris m-a lăsat cu un gust destul de amar și pe mine- și cu toate că el este sfâșiat din pricina sentimentelor sale... a faptului că Tris i-a frânt inima fără să stea de două ori pe gânduri, Noah încă speră că ar mai putea exista o altă șansă, altfel nu-și explică motivul pentru care aceasta îl bântuie în continuare, amintindu-i de timpurile mai bune...
Adevărul este că Tris este complexă, poate fi o ticăloasă fără inimă, dar în același timp și o prietenă-dușmană ciudată. Adevărul este că nu vă pot povesti foarte mult despre relația ei cu celelalte două personaje principale, fără a vă dezvălui o parte din secretele acestora...

“I mean, I don’t know how the world broke. And I don’t know if there’s a God who can help us fix it. But the fact that the world is broken - I absolutely believe that. Just look around us. Every minute - every single second - there are a million things you could be thinking about. A million things you could be worrying about. Our world - don’t you just feel we’re becoming more fragmented? I used to think that when I got older, the world would make so much more sense. But you know what? The older I get, the more confusing it is to me. The more complicated it is. Harder. You’d think we’d be getting better at it. But there’s just more and more chaos. The pieces - they’re everywhere. And nobody knows what to do about it. I find myself grasping, Nick. You know that feeling? That feeling when you just want the right thing to fall into the right place, not only because it’s right, but because it would mean that such a thing is still possible? I want to believe that.”

Ceea ce vă pot spune... este faptul că acest roman este o călătorie a două suflete rănite, ce ascund propriile lor probleme, dar care se găsesc unul pe celălalt exact la momentul nepotrivit (în ochii lor), potrivit pentru noi.

În seara concertului trupei lui Nick, singurul lui moment de pace, nefiind nevoit să se concentreze asupra eșecului său în dragoste... își face apariția nedorită Tris, care se hotărăște să-și etaleze noul iubit în fața fostului. Acesta este momentul în care Nick simte se prăbușește și trebuie să-i dovedească lui Tris că nu este singura ce poate merge mai departe. Cum? Simplu! Rugându-se de o fată necunoscută să-i fie iubită pentru o seară și o sărută....

Acesta este momentul în care amândoi descoperă că se cunosc prin intermediul lui Tris și tot acum Nick se hotărăște să o ajute pe această fată atât de diferită de cea ce fusese iubirea lui! Ceea ce nu știe este faptul că ea aflase deja totul despre el și chiar mai mult decât atât....
Dar încetul cu încetul, cei doi se apropie, descoperind că muzica îi unește mai mult decât au fost unite vreodată două persoane...



Povestea o aflăm din perspectiva ambelor personaje și sunt conștientă că nu toți vor fi de acord cu opinia mea... în sensul că mi-a plăcut la nebunie să aflu perspectiva lui Nick (pentru mulți pare destul de emo, dar aș vrea să luați în considerare că tocmai a fost părăsit de fata pe care o adora). Chiar mai mult decât atât... a fost o adevărată experiență să văd cum Nick este consumat de sentimentele pentru Tris și emoțiile ce apar pentru Norah.

“I Wanna Hold Your Hand.’ First single. Fucking brilliant. Perhaps the most fucking brilliant song ever written. Because they nailed it. That’s what everyone wants. Not 24-7 hot wet sex. Not a marriage that lasts a hundred years. Not a Porsche or a blow job or a million-dollar crib. No. They wanna hold your hand. They have a feeling that they can’t hide.”

Decizie Finală: Acest roman este o poveste sensibilă a două suflete rănite profund de oamenii dragi acestora, dar în același timp este o poveste a descoperirii sinelui prin intermediul unor necunoscuți...

Un roman despre acceptare a imperfecțiunii lumii, a greșelilor ce te conduc spre viitorul tău....

 

 

Nota mea: 5/5

 

 

Autori:

Rachel Cohn s-a născut în 1968 la Washinghton, a absolvit Barnard College şi este autoare de romane pentru tineri. Trăieşte la New York. A scris Gingerbread (2002), The Steps (2003), Pop Princess (2004), Shrimp (2005), Two Steps Forward (2006), Cupcake(2007), You Know Where to Find Me (2008), Very LeFreak (2010), Beta (2012).
David Levithan trăieşte la New York şi este câştigătorul Lambda Literary Award pentru romanul Boy Meets Boy. Este însă foarte cunoscut şi pentru romanele pe care le-a scris împreună cu John Green – Will Grayson, Will Grayson (în curs de publicare la Editura TREI) – şi cu Rachel Cohn: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (2007), Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List (2007), Dash & Lily's Book of Dares(2010).

Review: The Pact by Karina Halle

The Pact by Karina Halle


Blurb:

*The Pact is a FULL-LENGTH
*STANDALONE (not part of a series, no cliffhanger, fully wrapped-up novel)
*"FRIENDS-TO-LOVERS" CONTEMPORARY ADULT ROMANCE

It all started with a pinky swear…

Linden McGregor is tall, rugged, and gunslinger handsome; a helicopter pilot with a Scottish brogue and charm to spare. He’s also one of Stephanie Robson’s best friends and has fit into that box for as long as she’s known him.

Beautiful, funny and an ambitious businesswoman (with one hell of an ass), Stephanie Robson is one of Linden McGregor’s best friends and has fit into that box for as long as he’s known her.

But some relationships can’t be boxed, can’t be classified, can’t be tamed.

Back in their mid-twenties and tired of the competitive hit-or-miss dating scene of San Francisco, Steph and Linden made a pact to marry each other if neither one of them were in a serious relationship by the time they hit thirty.

It sounded like fun and games at the time but as the years to thirty tick past and lovers come and go out of their lives, the pact becomes larger than life.

Sex is inevitable. Friendships are tested. Hearts are on the line.

The pact is about to change everything.

Note: due to the dirty talk and sexy times, The Pact is not meant for anyone under the age of 18. All characters in THE PACT are in their thirties, therefore this is NOT a new adult book...even though love can mess you up at any age.


My thoughts (Roxana):

So here is 1:00 AM and I'm awake for the third night in a row. You may ask yourself...why? Well...last night, I was awake because I HAD (yes....I simply had to know the end) to read a book. And now...because I HAVE to review it, so you'll know more about it....
But first thing first....

You know how every reader, author, blogger starts to make a top ten best books of this year? Yep...I was totally prepared to.make one too...until two days ago, Then, my whole world has been destroyed, my emotions have been toyed and. feelings have been changed in every FREAKIN' way in just 48 hours (yes, that's all it took).

After two days, I'm a new woman with a new (and hawt... because Linden deserves to be described with a wrong word) book boyfriend.
This is a friends-turns-lovers kind of romance, so I didn't really expect that (sure, I've read Ms. Halle other works and I know that I would love it), because I'm more an enemies-turns-lovers kind of a girl, so... to have my whole world (and everything I knew about myself) ripped apart in just two days, it's mind-blowing! But Ms.Halle has won me over through Linden McGregor.
Who is Linden?

He's a sweet, kind, thoughtfull (sometimes thoughtless), rich (but not a snob by any means), hawt guy.
He has personal issues (that he has overcome them ...mostly) because of his parents who are awfull people...more exactly a father domineering who wanted to make from his children just some little minions like him, but when his favorite son turned to be too wild for his tastes, then he tries to manipulate Linden into submission...

Seriously, guys...that creature made me want to find the nearest knife and tell him that he doesn't have the minimal right to abuse and discard like his own children! Because you have to love them inconditionally and forever, despite...no, scratch that.... FOR who they are! Mistakes and past be damned...but, then again, his mother who really pulled the rug under me when I first 'met' her. That...creature *shakes head* was pathetic, and to see her that way with a son who needed her...did something to me, because while I didn't have my mother around me enough time to know me at adulthood, at least life did give me her love for all the time we've been with each other...

I miss her sometimes, but I know that whatever mistakes I would have done...whoever I would've become, she would have been proud of me. So, that been said...I can't understand parents who don't give a damn about their children.
Despite those reckless and indifferent people, Linden has survived and made a career for himself...while Steph had to do it alone and trying to survive the role her parents wanted fill up. Both or our main characters had to fulfill their dreams, while giving up to their hope that one day their parents will be there for them...


Safe to say that when your growing process from a scared and abandoned child to a grown-up with responsabilities and debts, mortgage to be paid, without really enjoying your teenage years.

You became a scarred human being that will fight to death and protect with everything you have, even if your own heart is crushed, and for Steph and Linden their friendship is all they really have! That's way they run from their feelings, because it will put everything they know to danger...

But one night...when they had too much to drink Linden makes a proposal that will change their situation and will alter their friendship: to get married when both are thirties and single....sure there should be an 'if'...right? Well...as they aproach that damned number, they discover that there shouldn't have been an if...

I'm not going to say too much for not spoiling your fun, but all you have to know is that both Steph and Linden will have a long journey until they will make that pact come true.
The story is being told from both Steph and Linden's point of view, so you won't miss anything, being the first to know, before any other character, the reason of every stupid or smart decision they make...also to every dirty thought that hot Scotsman has!

My rating: 5/5

Final Decision: If you want a story that will make you swon, cry and fall for a beautiful story, then there shouldn't be an if! Just read it, because you won't regret it!

About the author

Karina Halle is a former travel writer and rock music journalist and the USA TODAY bestselling author of Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, Experiment in Terror and other wild and romantic reads. She lives in a 1920's farmhouse on a bucolic island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails, and devours a lot of books.

Al cincilea val de Rick Yancey la Editura Art

O invazie extraterestră distruge omenirea în patru Valuri succesive de nenorociri. Dar Al Cincilea Val este cel mai periculos, pentru că de data asta puţinii pământeni rămaşi în viaţă nu ştiu nici măcar ce îi ameninţă, cu atât mai puţin cum să înfrunte pericolul. Cassie, o adolescentă curajoasă de 16 ani, are o singură dorinţă: să îşi salveze frăţiorul – iar pentru asta nu se dă în lături de la nimic.

Înaintea atacului, Ben Parish era un băiat obişnuit, dintr-un liceu obişnuit. Acum este soldat şi se vede obligat să aleagă între a avea încredere şi a deznădăjdui, între a se supune şi a se răzvrăti, între a-şi face datoria şi a-şi salva prietenii, între viaţă şi moarte.

Romanul lui Rick Yancey este diferit de orice carte sau film despre extratereştri la care vă puteţi gândi. Al Cincilea Val este cu mult mai înspăimântător. Poate pentru că pare atât de plauzibil. Mai aproape de noi decât am vrea să credem. Un roman fascinant, îndrăzneţ, o capodoperă a SF-ului modern.

 

 

„Fascinant şi original, Al Cincilea Val este un roman-tsunami care te prinde şi nu-ţi mai dă drumul. O poveste post-apocaliptică despre o invazie extraterestră, cu o eroină inteligentă şi vulnerabilă în mijlocul acţiunii.“ (New York Time)