Thursday, May 30, 2013

Cover Reveal of "I'm Not Crazy, I'm On Lupron: A Journey through Infertility" by Stacey Rourke

This cover reveal is something a little different from what most of you are used to seeing here on R&M.  Today we bring you the cover of author Stacey Rourke’s latest project.  This book is not fiction.  This is a book meant to bring hope to those who are struggling down the scary, rocky slope of infertility, as we are given a glimpse into what Stacey went through in her journey to motherhood, as well as stories from others who have walked this path as well.  So, without further ado, we give you the cover of “I’m Not Crazy, I’m on Lupron: A Journey through Infertility”!



Blurb:
Basal body temperatures. Hormone injections. Invasive procedures - that leave no room for modesty. Tips on “effective positions” from well-meaning grandparents. 

When the natural way fails to work these are all added to the so called “fun” process of making a baby. Walk this rocky path to motherhood with author Stacey Rourke as she openly and honestly shares every good, bad, and awkward step of her three-year long journey. Using humor to break through the perils of infertility, she gives the lowdown on all the strange, embarrassing, and heartbreaking aspects. Stacey guides us through an unforgettable path that ends with a kid on each hip and hope for all those suffering with infertility. 

BONUS MATERIAL: “Morsels of Hope”
Success Stories from Infertility Survivors

For more info on this book and Stacey's other work, please check out the links below:



Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Until I Break, by M. Leighton Review


Blurb:
"I’m intrigued. Tempted beyond what I’ve ever been before. To know her, to open her up. To break her."
In love, sometimes what you fear most is exactly what you need.
Laura Drake is an author. She writes bestselling paranormal romances that continue to top the charts. She is sharp. She is confident. She is in control.
And she doesn’t exist.
Samantha Jansen is the woman behind the wig, the woman most of the world doesn’t know exists. She is shy. She is insecure. She is nothing like her main character or her alter ego. She is scarred—deeply scarred—by a past she can’t let go of and a present she can’t make peace with.
Samantha’s dreams are consumed by one man, the broken hero from her books. Mason Strait is both her wildest fantasy and her most terrifying nightmare.
When Samantha meets Alec Brand, a corporate consultant, it is as though Mason has come to life. Alec is handsome to a fault, as elegant as he is arrogant, and more intense than any man has a right to be.
Samantha is soon sucked into a world that mirrors the fiction she writes. Just like her main character, Daire Kirby, Samantha finds herself unable to resist the forbidden lure of Alec. And just like Daire, she also finds that she is faced with taking a chance on a man who could either set her free or destroy her.
The scale tilts toward destruction when Samantha finds out that Alec is as much a work of fiction as Mason. And he has scars of his own, scars that could ruin them both.
**This book may be read as a stand-alone, as the story of Alec and Samantha comes to a conclusion in this book**

Review:
Thankfully, I grabbed this book before it got yanked off the market. I'm so saddened that an author had to go to these lengths because of her craft. I hadn't heard of the book until a friend of mine told me what was going on. I was a fan of this author before then, so I had to see what the hoopla was about.
Sure, this one is a bit darker than what she normally writes, but isn't that the point of writing? To take a risk, to grow, to follow your muse? I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I can see why people were comparing to 50 Shades, but I'm so thankful that it was better than that book. I tried reading 50 Shades...never again. It wasn't the content that turned me off. There was just something about it...blech.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this book and I'm so glad that I ordered the paperback copy before it was yanked. It is now in my possession, and I have read it a second time, and enjoyed it just as much as the first time.
If you are looking for the typical book from M. Leighton, well, this one is not going to be what you’re expecting. Also, sadly, this one is not for sale anymore either.  Such a shame...but anyway, moving on.
The writing, as always, was great.  It was engaging and fun, not muddled down with content issues or grammatical problems like a lot of books that I have run across lately.  IF, by some miracle, you can get your hands on this one, I would definitely recommend.
Sure, I would have to agree that Alec seemed a wee bit stalkerish, but when you reach the end...and you see the entire story unfold...I no longer question it. Both characters had some major issues. It was well done and I look forward to more from M. Leighton. Don't let anyone bring you down!

Check out her other books if you’re interested! Personally, I love her style and will continue to read every book that she puts out. Here’s her Amazon link.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Demanding Ransom Book Trailer Reveal!


Sometimes life takes things away from you.

In nineteen-year-old Maggie Carson’s case, it’s taken more than its fair share.

Determined to move forward, Maggie embarks on her first year of college, hoping to finally put her past behind her, exactly where it belongs.

But that’s hard to do when the present is just as difficult. And even harder when someone like Ran, the gorgeous paramedic that keeps crossing Maggie’s path, challenges her to face things head on, rather than bury them like she always does.

Ran hasn’t had a perfect life either. But there’s something different about him, and something different about the way he makes Maggie feel. Maybe meeting Ran is life’s little gift for Maggie—a sort of consolation prize for enduring everything she's had to go through.

But things don’t come easy for Maggie. Why should love be the exception? And just when everything starts to settle, it’s all turned on its head once again.

If there is one thing Ran has taught Maggie, it’s that you can’t sit on the sidelines of your own existence. When life takes something that’s yours, you have every right to demand it back.

Only for Maggie, that is easier said than done.
Demanding Ransom
Check it out on Goodreads!
Author bio:
Megan Squires lives with her husband and two children just outside of Sacramento, California. A graduate from the University of California, Davis, Megan is now a full-time mother, wife, and dreamer--though her characters don't often give her much opportunity to sleep. 
Image of Megan Squires

Giveaway!
Wanna win this? Then enter the Rafflecopter!

Monday, May 20, 2013

Cover Reveal: Rick Veal's Lexi's Legacy!



Blurb:

Lexi’s Legacy is a contemporary adventure romance set in Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA. It is the second book in the continuing saga of The Master of Whitehall.

After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Lexi discovers an unexpected cure from an unlikely source and two best friends become eternal friends. Lexi tells her tale of life, lost and found, relating her experiences as she leaves behind her human life and begins her journey into a new immortal life. She recounts the changes that take place as she enters a supernatural world she never knew existed, joining Katelyn and James at Whitehall Plantation.

Lexi has much to learn about her new world as she grows and matures into the life of a vampire. Join her as she takes you on an adventure of life changing proportions. Let her tell you about how her life changes, about love ... found ... lost ... and found again. Lexi’s Legacy is an exciting and enjoyable adventure in the on- going epic of The Master of Whitehall.

Contact Info:
Lexi’s Legacy

The Master of Whitehall

Here’s how to quickly and easily get your personally signed and inscribed copy or illustrated e-copy direct from the author!



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Friday, May 10, 2013

Cover Reveal for Airicka Phoenix's Touching Fire


COVER REVEAL OF TOUCHING FIRE BY AIRICKA PHOENIX!!!!
We are really excited to be a part of this cover reveal and are anxiously awaiting the release of this book! Eep!

Book Name: Touching Fire
Author: Airicka Phoenix
Series: Touch Saga, book 2
Publisher: Airicka Phoenix
Release date: June, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance.
Warnings: Strong language and mild sexual content
Formats: ebook & paperback

Touching Fire Synopsis

Fallon’s on the run again, but this time, she’s not alone and she has a direction — she’s going to meet the man whose blood runs through her veins, the only man who can finally tell her who… what she is and why Garrison wants her so badly. But the truth may be more than she can handle when she falls from one world into another, one that shouldn’t exist and learns truths about herself that she may wish she never knew.
Faced with a reality so beyond comprehension, Fallon must accept the destiny she’s given because Garrison will stop at nothing to insure the success of The Amalie Project, even if he must do the unthinkable and become just like Fallon.
Touch Vengeance. Touch Malice. Touch Fire.

Excerpt
He was still waiting when I joined him again, composed. He stood with his back against the wall, his hands lost deep into the folds of his pockets. He was studying his shoes, his hair falling in thick fringes over his eyes. Those blue eyes rose, crystalline pools of electricity, and met mine, and my world stopped. My breath stopped. My heart would have stopped if it wasn’t drumming a tempo of pure elation at the sight of him. It ached, so desperate for the need to be closer. God, it was never close enough. I could crawl into him, burrow into his soul and it wouldn’t be enough.
I took a step closer, as unsteady as a new born calf. He caught my hand, reeled me to him without ever pushing away from the wall. I was pulled into the space between his feet, held there as he bent my arm and twisted it around my own waist. I was pressed into him, his thighs hard against mine. I felt his heartbeat through the fingertips he traced over the curve of my cheek.
“Stop touching me,” I gasped, cotton-mouthed, half-crazed by the possibility that he might take me seriously.
“Why?” His breath fanned over my dry and already parted lips.
I opened my eyes, surprised to find them closed. “Because I won’t want you to stop.”
The band of steel around my waist tightened until I was supported only by him, by his arm, his chest, his heat, his scent… God, I was home! My fingers curled into the soft material of his fresh, clean shirt. He must have changed, but it was yet another black t-shirt.
“I can’t.” His lips wrote each word against mine in the caress of butterfly wings.
My bones liquefied. I nearly fainted.
“Why?” The single word was a mere movement of my lips.
His free hand shackled my chin, guided my face up, held me prisoner to eyes much too animal to be human. “Because I don’t want to stop.”
If there was ever any possibility of remembering to breathe, it was gone. I was barely conscious, barely even sane as I sunk into blissful madness cured only by his lips… his touch.
“Touch me!” My desperate plea was met with a fierce growl.
His eyes, dark, feral, bore into mine. “Not here!”
I opened my mouth to protest, to beg, but his finger against my lips became a barricade, trapping the words on my tongue.
“Don’t!” he hissed. His finger drew back, traced the curve of my bottom lip. His eyes followed the slow caress the way a cat watches a canary. “I can’t promise I’m completely in control right now.”

Author Bio

Airicka Phoenix is the best-selling author of the Touch Series with short stories in Whispered Beginnings: A Clever Fiction Anthology and Midnight Surrender Anthology. When she's not hammering away at the keyboard, she can be found banishing pirates or crawling through the attic looking for lost treasure with her kids. She loves baking, gardening and reading. She also likes to travel and take pictures of everything she comes across. When asked, Airicka describes herself as a sarcastic basket case that has an unhealthy addiction to chocolate, old movies and really bad jokes. She loves to laugh, make friends and write. If she could have one wish granted, it would be to spend one day as a fly-on-the-wall inside Stephen King's mind. If she could have two wishes granted, she would ask for a castle dedicated entirely to her overwhelming collection of books. 

For more about Airicka, also on how to win giveaways, read author interviews and reviews, visit her website at: http://airickaphoenix.com/Author

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Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Review of The Moon Omnibus by Jeanette Battista





I picked up a copy of this book at YA'll Fest in Charleston last November, and finally had a chance to sit down and read it.  I am so glad that I did.  Below you will find a review for each of the books in the omnibus.

Leopard Moon

The book is about weres, but not just the traditional werewolf. While there are some in there, it is more the story of Kess, an older teenager who is on the run from her disturbed older brother. Did I mention she is a were, a wereleopard to be precise. One of the aspects of this book that I liked so much was not just the paranormal, which I did enjoy, but also the references to Egyptian mythology. As a history major, mythology has a definite appeal to me. The author seamlessly blends Egyptian myth with modern day paranormal. This book has a little bit of everything to appeal to wide audience. There is romance, intrigue, suspense, paranormal, and myth. The blending of all of those is one of the things that pulled me in. The characters are fantastic. They are believable, you are able to relate to them, and their personalities reflect the way that their particular "breed" would act. Kess, as a cat, is more reserved and like others of her kind, more solitary. Whereas the werewolves you encounter in the book are more like a family unit, demonstrative and close-knit. There are a lot of times that I like a book, but will put it down and pick it back up at my leisure. This was not one of those. I would definitely reread it, which to me is the mark of a good book.

Jackal Moon

Well, this one does have ties to the first, and they blend together wonderfully. But while they might be related, this one focuses more on another character, rather than just a continuation of the first novel. I loved the back story on Mebis and Laila, and was impressed, yet again, by the references to Ancient Egypt and the mythology. The author once again stays true to the nature of the beasts that the people are able to transform into. With the jackals, they are very similar to the wolves, except that there is a particular order to which some of the were-jackals belong. The twists and turns are woven tightly together to give one an experience which they will never forget. Plus, with the continuation of Kess's story from the first novel and the men that are a part of her life is fantastic.

Hyena Moon

I read the first two, and intrigued, moved on to the third, thirsting for more. The story of Kess continues in this installment in the series, but it also focuses on yet another character, this time it is Rafe, a were-hyena, and the girl that he falls for. There is the continuing theme of Egyptian mythology that also runs through this one, but the action in this novel, to me, was more intense than the other two. There is an epic showdown in this novel, and once again, the author seamlessly blends the new with the continuation of the previous story line. One is integral to the other and the talent shows. Not everyone can carry all of the important information from one novel to the next. Now that I am finished with this novel, I hear that there is at least one other one in the series, and so I will be making my way to Amazon to purchase a copy. I am anxious to see where this series is going from here, as the end of this book left some burning questions unanswered.

All in all, a great omnibus to sit down and read!

About the author:


I graduated with an English degree with a concentration in medieval literature which explains my possibly unhealthy fixation on edged weapons and cathedral architecture. I spent a summer in England and Scotland studying the historical King Arthur, which did nothing to curb my obsession. To satisfy my adrenaline cravings--since sword fighting is not widely accepted in these modern times--I rode a motorcycle at ridiculously high speeds, got some tattoos, and took kickboxing and boxing classes. I gave up the bike when my daughter came along, although I still get pummeled at the gym on a regular basis.

When I'm not writing or working, I spend time with family, hike, read, make decadent brownies, buy killer boots, and play Pocket Frogs. I wish there were more hours in the day so I could actually do more of these things.

You can find out more about me and my work at www.jeanettebattista.com

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