REVIEW - HER HEART FOR THE ASKING

"Now she's back in Texas. Her uncle’s heart is failing and Mandy has to convince him that surgery will save his life. She never dreamed the first thing she’d see when she stepped off the plane would be her biggest nightmare...the one man she’d never stopped loving."

Author: Lisa Mondello
Pages: 182 pages
Publisher: Self Published on February 2012
Form: E-book (from tour for an honest review)
Genre: Contemporary Western Romance
Series: Texas Hearts #1
Amazon: Buy / $5.47 (Kindle) ( EU price, click to see yours )
Barnes & Noble: Buy / $ ??? (all books)
Smashwords: Buy / $ Free right now! (E-book)
Excerpt: Chapter 1

"Mandy Morgan swore she’d never step foot in Texas again after Beau Gentry left her for life on the rodeo circuit eight years before. He once promised he'd love her forever. But he'd abandoned their love for the rodeo and she hadn't seen him since. Now she's back in Texas. Her uncle’s heart is failing and Mandy has to convince him that surgery will save his life. She never dreamed the first thing she’d see when she stepped off the plane would be her biggest nightmare...the one man she’d never stopped loving.

Beau Gentry had the fever for two things: the rodeo and Mandy Morgan. But for Beau, loving Mandy was complicated by his father’s vendetta against her uncle and a promise he'd made to an old friend. Hank Promise, Mandy's uncle, was more like a father to Beau than his old man had been. The hardest thing Beau had ever done was leave Mandy behind for the rodeo. He can still see the bitterness and hurt on her face. It has killed him all these years to think Mandy had forgotten him...maybe even in the arms of another man. But now they’re both back in Texas, and Beau's going to do all he can to win back her love."  ~ From Goodreads

I was excited to read this as I the contemporary western/cowboy romance genre! The blurb drew me in right away I loved the set up of Mandy and Beau having  had a summer romance that ended badly and them seeing each other again, neither 100% willing to give in to their still simmering feelings. What I didn't except was that this story was sad, Mandy had a lot of bent up anger and hurt feelings, which with the heart failure waiting to happen with her uncle made her very somber. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, it's just that I try to avoid these type of romance plots because when I chill I want that big emotional love to take me away from the sadness and tediousness of day to day life. So to be fair, this ended up not being my kind of book - but read on there is more to this book!

I really enjoyed Mondello's writing! I liked what she did with the characters, she gave them real depth and emotions, real troubles and obstacles as well as heart warming moments. Even the supporting cast was very real. And this is why even though the story wasn't for me I'm giving 3 stars, I really enjoyed what Ms. Mondello did with her words.

The romance was like a dance, sometimes you get closer sometimes you step back. Mandy and Beau had a lot of package that wasn't easy unpacking, but no matter how long you put it off you have to unpack, wash everything and end up enjoy those clean clothes again - and that's all I'm saying to not give away too much.

If you love heart-achingly emotional second chance stories with a sexy cowboy and conflicted city girl set in small Texas town, then this is for you!

If you are dropping in today ( Wednesday 22nd, 2012 ), check out the Amazon and Smashwords links above to get Her Heart For Asking for FREE!

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BOOK SPOTLIGHT: THE DARK MAN'S SON (WITH A GIVEAWAY)

Title: The Dark Man's Son ( Guardian Chronicles, Part 1 )
Author: Meg Whitlock
Publisher: Self
Length: 385 pages
Genres: Historical Paranormal / Fantasy Fiction

AVAILABLE AT:

Amazon | B&N | Smashwords | Kobo

BLURB:

"She claimed the muggers were demons, but of course Jason didn’t believe her. At first.

When a mysterious woman appears in a dirty alley to rescue Jason Latimer from a pair of muggers, he tries to write her off as a garden variety lunatic. But he can’t shake the memory of her intense green eyes that seemed to flash gold, or the glowing sword she’d worn on her hip.

She calls herself Alex (no last name) like she’d made it up on the spot, and she offers Jason her protection. From what, she can’t or won’t say. He refuses, and that night he dreams of a dark man with the same offer. His black eyes flash blood and garnet, and he smells of burning things. Jason refuses him, too.

A chance meeting brings Alex and Jason together again, and she tells him of the Guardians: two immortal beings created near the beginning of time with the express purpose of fighting for mortal-kind’s soul. She is Light, and the man from Jason’s dream is Dark. Jason must choose, because Lucifer, for reasons purely his own, has unleashed the armies of Hell to hunt Jason down.

But there are things about Jason that not even he knows, and he’ll face hard truths and bitter choices as he struggles to find his place in a world redefined. Will he rise to the challenge, or, when the time comes, will he falter?

From Renaissance Florence to the French Revolution, from World War II to the modern streets of New Orleans, The Dark Man’s Son is a riveting journey filled with unforgettable characters, wry humor, dark twists, and a touch of romance."

             Jason Latimer was a logical man. He lived in a concrete world with concrete parameters. The sun rose in the east, set in the west, and in between the two (on either side) demons did not walk. Crazy ninja chicks did not show up with swords (but wait: he must’ve imagined the sword after all, because he hadn’t seen it again after that first shaky glimpse) and wild stories to rescue you from muggers. Muggers, to address that point, did not have strange, distorted faces and voices that sucked all the air from the room.

             Jason splashed cold water on his face and scrubbed at his cheeks with long-fingered hands. He stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. A stranger stared back at him through familiar midnight blue eyes. Dark stubble dusted his jaw. His nose was badly swollen. He made a note to get his unruly hair cut; when it started to go curly at the back and sides it was time.

             Deciding he’d put the inevitable off long enough, he grabbed his nose and pushed it back in place with a painful click. He let out a long stream of obscenities as he applied the bandage, and, still cursing, pressed a bag of frozen peas (his grandfather, apparently, believed in being prepared: the freezer had been full of them) against his face.

             He worked around the bag to pat his skin dry with one of his grandfather’s thick towels. His belly rumbled, but he ignored it: Thai suddenly didn’t sound as appetizing as it had hours ago, before he’d left his grandfather’s ridiculous Baroque nightmare of a brownstone and stumbled out onto the street and into an actual nightmare.

             That wasn’t fair, Jason thought with a shake of his head. The old man’s place wasn’t that bad. It was just…ornate. And kinda creepy. If there was a single surface free of a grinning gargoyle or an extra, overwrought curlicue, Jason hadn’t been able to find it. Even the towels were over the top.

             Jason absently rubbed the tattoo on his upper arm as he considered the bedroom he’d claimed for the duration of his stay here. It was the least histrionic of the brownstone’s six, but it was still way too much for Jason’s taste. The master suite had been out of the question: he wasn’t sure how his grandfather had been able to sleep a wink in there. It would’ve given Bram Stoker the willies.

             He frowned and shook his head again. All these musings on his deceased grandfather’s choice of decor were really just avoidance. The last thing he wanted to think about was the weird mugging and the even weirder woman who’d come to his rescue…a rescue he hadn’t needed, he still stubbornly insisted.

             With an impatient, oft-repeated gesture, he brushed a lock of black hair off his forehead and tried to clear his mind with a few deep, careful breaths. His swollen nose made it painful. He discarded the peas, centered himself, and began the soothing motions of his nightly Tai Chi routine.

             He gave it up as no good after only ten minutes. He couldn’t hold the forms; he couldn’t get his breathing right; and his mind simply refused to focus. With a grumbled curse, he stripped out of his workout clothes and tugged on the shorts and t-shirt he wore as pajamas. He grabbed his laptop and the peas off the table and climbed up into the high bed. It was time for some serious Googling, he thought.

             First things first: what could the vast reaches of the internet tell him about Guardians, and what exactly did they have to do with Jameson O’Connor, his mysterious and recently-deceased grandfather?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Meg Whitlock has been writing nearly all her life, and she’s glad she finally got over her laziness and wrote the book she’s been dreaming about for years. She graduated from Queens University of Charlotte with a BA in Comparative Arts with an Art History specialization and an Ancient History minor…which is a mouthful no matter how you say it. She has four cats (including an invisible one), a car named Babar, and a vivid imagination.

In 2001 her one-act play, “The Shoebox,” was produced by Catawba College in Salisbury, NC and presented at the American College Theatre Festival. She was honored by Art:21 and the Mint Museum of Art for her essay “Kara Walker: Using Stereotypes to Provoke Thought,” and she’s won awards for both her fiction and non-fiction writing.

Blog: http://blogbymegw.blogspot.com

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/NrUEZy

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/megwhitlock

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/megwhitlockwrites

SEXY SATURDAY COVER

Sexy Saturday covers are back! Why you might ask? Well who doesn't like a little skin to start of their fave day of the weekend! I know I sure appreciate it!

Click to see a very lickable, err, clickable abs... now that makes no sense! 

Sorry, men with killer abs in kilts get me all flustered. ;D

P.S: Don't miss this 7-day long giveaway of e-book Cover Design from me to you, check it out here: http://niinas-reading-and-reviewing.blogspot.fi/2012/08/40-50-60-cover-designs.html

40$ 50$ & 60$ COVER DESIGNS! WITH GIVEAWAY!

Hi all! With only little more than month left of the awesome 40% SALE on my cover designs I thought I'd get the last word out. Are you, or do you know indie authors who need affordable cover designs to boost sales of their novels? Then direct them here. :) For the Giveaway see below the ready made covers!

For The Love of Reading Cover Design

Due to the new e-book cover size regulations, all covers will be 1600x2400px! The 40% SALE is still on, which means covers for 40$, 50$ and 60$!


"You've written a book, a collection of poems or an anthology of short stories, and now you need a cover!

You've come to the right place! 

How does this work? You email me, I'll send you some follow up questions. You answer them telling me your ideas for the cover, and I work from that, giving you a say in the end product. 

Working together on the cover for your work is fun, and it’s my job to make sure you’ll get a cover that will grab a reader and be the best possible teaser for your book, after all cover is the first thing people see and if it grabs their attention they move on to the blurb.

"EBook Covers: 5 Reasons Paying A Designer Pays Off" by Dave Navarro 

So let’s make a cover for you that will get your book into your readers’ hands!"

WEBSITE / READY MADE COVERS / 

ADS, HEADERS AND BANNERS / WHO IS NIINA? / UPDATES

Let me tell you a little about the super 40% OFF prices! 

Basic 40$ ( normally 55$ ) 

( 1 to 2 images, minimal photoshopping and text ) 

Elaborate 50$ ( normally 70$ ) 

( 1 to 3 images, detail photoshopping and text )

Supreme 60$ ( normally 90$ ) 

( 1 to 5 images, detail photoshopping and text ) 

Here are some ready made covers that are waiting to picked up ( for a special price of 45$ )!

WEBSITE / READY MADE COVERS / 

ADS, HEADERS AND BANNERS / WHO IS NIINA? / UPDATES

Giveaway time!
We got two prices this time!

1st price! I'm giving away one Cover of choice ready made or custom made to the winner!
If you aren't an author and you win you can pick between a header for your blog or Facebook or Google+ Banner or gift the Cover to an author friend!
2nd Price! A choice of Website Header, Facebook or Google+ Banner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BOOK SPOTLIGHT - CONFESSIONS OF A SEX DEMON

Title: Confessions of a Sex Demon
Author: Jaye Shields
Buy: Beachwalk Press / Coming Sep. 17th

"Zahra proves that sex demons do it better as she goes from captive to captivator.

Sex Demon Zahra Aniron is a closet romantic. Too bad she spends her time having hot, kinky sex with paying strangers. But she needs the money to pay off her sister's debt to wizard thugs. There could be worse things than getting paid for pleasure, especially since a sex demon needs climax to survive.

As a blacksmith, Lennox Aegros puts his fury to good use pounding steel into swords. When he arrives at a new town, his real cause for being there isn't to sell weaponry, it's for revenge. When he finds the succubus he's been searching for, her beauty means he can mix business with pleasure. But the joke's on Lennox, because as he succeeds in torturing his victim by repeatedly bringing her to the brink of orgasm and then denying her the release that she so desperately needs, he realizes that Zahra's slow demise means the breaking of a heart he didn't think he had."

Content Warning: strong language, graphic sex, light BDSM scenes

REVIEW - NOTHING BUT TROUBLE

"Chase Paladin avoids commitment like a patch of stinging nettles. He's seen how love can trample a man, and he doesn't plan to get hitched - ever. But when Honor Jackson walks into his life, hell-bent on keeping her distance, she turns his convictions inside out."

Author: Jannine Gallant
Pages: 104 pages
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press on April 2012
Form: E-book (from the author/publisher for an honest review)
Genre: Western Erotic Romance (+18 Only)
Series: Honky Tonk Hearts
Amazon: Buy / $2.59 (Kindle) ( EU price, click to see yours )
Barnes & Noble: Buy / $3.99 (Nook)
The Wilder Roses: Buy / $3.99 (E-book)

"Chase Paladin avoids commitment like a patch of stinging nettles. He's seen how love can trample a man, and he doesn't plan to get hitched—ever. But when Honor Jackson walks into his life, hell-bent on keeping her distance, she turns his convictions inside out.

One look at the too-handsome cowboy with laughing green eyes and a killer smile, and Honor knows he's nothing but trouble. She's come to Redemption, Texas to help an old friend, not to let another man charm her into certain heartache. But every time she turns around, Chase is there, and the closer they get, the more she fears he'll break her heart. So when anonymous threats make it clear that someone in Redemption wants her gone, Honor is ready to oblige. Only now Chase isn’t certain he can live without her.

Will two wary hearts take a chance on love before it's too late?" ~From Goodreads

Nothing But Trouble was one yummy read of the sweet romance kind! The only reason this wonderful, moving, sensual and so well written romance is getting 4.5 stars is the bedroom scene halfway through. As much as I loved everything else in the book, this was dud for me. It went from stroking to act to done in few lines without the much needed details of what pieces of puzzle fit together - and how great that is! This was surprising enough that I had to backpedal a page to see if I missed one. That said, it didn't take a lot away from the story, which I truly did find worth reading and recommending!

Chase was the epitome of the swings and flings but no rings kinda guy. Drop dead gorgeous cowboy who promises to break your heart with a sexy smile on his lips. Not someone you'd wanna end up with because one roll in the hay can easily turn to love with a guy like Chase - which is why Honor swear to stay clear. Having had her heart broken and her trust stolen Honor is keeping a way from Chase, too bad that Chase is determined to see her, making her resolve crack one smile at a time. Reading Honor convinced me to stay away from Chase, but reading Chase made me wanna give him a chance - well written Ms. Gallant!

Oh the romance! I loved it! I loved Honor's tough outer shell, Chase's determined seduction and the will they-won't they, they had going on. I loved the slow getting to know each other spiced with many wonderfully sexy little moments of stolen looks and appreciations of ones assets when they think no ones watching. ;) How can you resist a romance where the hero is not so subtle and determined like hell to get the heroine to bed...? Yeah you can't because that, ladies, is Hot!

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