NetGalley REVIEW - Ready to Run (I Do, I Don't, #1) by Lauren Layne

Named Best Book of the Month by Amazon and iBooks 

Ready to RunI Do, I Don't, #1

by Lauren Layne

Releasing August 22^nd 2017
Loveswept

The Bachelor meets The Runaway Bride in this addictive romance novel about a reality TV producer falling for her would-be star: a Montana heartthrob who wants nothing to do with the show.

The Book Junkie Reads . . . Review of . . . READ TO RUN (I Do, I Don’t, #1) . . . This was just so much fun. Jordon gets so much more than she bargained for when she arrives in Lucky Hollow Montana. She has the time of her life and then some. She even bumps into Luke a few times. I would not say that it was all bad. The sparks fly. Tongues wage.

Jordan has witts on her side. She finds a way when none seems apparent. She makes things happen. Luke was the sexy country fireman that was loyal to a fault. He would do and give until there was nothing left. He was the dream that women wanted and Jordan wanted him on her show.

Chick-lit romance coming up and served just right. There was so much fun to be had with encounters, incidents, banter, confrontations, a tear-jerker or two, and we can’t forget all the great characters that make this read one to go-to when you need a laugh with some romance.

Lauren Layne gave me that summer read that light up the rom-com meter.

I Do, I Don’t series:

Ready To Run – I Do, I Don’t, #1

Runaway Groom – I Do, I Don’t, #2

Just Run With It – I Do, I Don’t, #3

BlurbJordan Carpenter thinks she’s finally found the perfect candidate for Jilted, a new dating show about runaway grooms: Luke Elliott, a playboy firefighter who’s left not one but three brides at the altar. The only problem? Luke refuses to answer Jordan’s emails or return her calls. Which is how she ends up on a flight to Montana to recruit him in person. It’s not Manhattan but at least the locals in Lucky Hollow seem friendly . . . except for Luke, who’s more intense—and way hotter—than the slick womanizer Jordan expected.

Eager to put the past behind him, Luke has zero intention of following this gorgeous, fast-talking city girl back to New York. But before he can send her packing, Jordan’s everywhere: at his favorite bar, the county fair, even his exes’ book club. Annoyingly, everyone in Lucky Hollow seems to like her—and deep down, she’s starting to grow on him too. But the more he fights her constant pestering, the more Luke finds himself wishing that Jordan would kick off her high heels and make herself comfortable in his arms.

NOW AVAILABLE!

Luke started to load up the gear and, realizing he was doing it alone, glanced over his shoulder to see where the hell his partner was.

Unsurprisingly, his friend was chatting up City Girl. Neither Charlie nor Ryan seemed to mind in the least that these two fancy pants had swooped into their town to capitalize on Luke’s past.

What was more surprising was that Jordan Carpenter was chatting right back, her smile seemingly genuine, her laugh real.

Luke ground his teeth.

He couldn’t say he’d put much thought into the woman behind the name as he’d been unceremoniously deleting her emails and voice messages, but if forced to assume, he’d have guessed aggressive shrew.

He suspected he was wrong there. Because while there was no mistaking the ambition in the woman, it wasn’t the cutthroat, ball-busting kind.

Her lean body might be all angles and long lines, but there was a softness to her as well. The way her hair did its own thing. The easiness of her smile, the quick laugh. The small but pert breasts.

Damn. He was staring.

He slammed the door shut. “Bander,” he shouted at Charlie across the lawn. “Let’s clear out.”

Charlie leaned into Jordan, whispering something in her ear that made her laugh, before walking away with a last wink.

Luke rolled his eyes. Really? This was happening?

“Hey, Elliott,” Ryan called. “You want to come over for a barbecue tonight?”

Luke crossed his arms and studied his friend suspiciously, waiting for the catch. “Who’s on the guest list?”

He saw Jordan and her purple-shirt friend exchange a look. Well, that answered that question.

Damn. Ryan never had been able to resist the urge to stir up trouble.

“It’s no problem if you don’t want to join us,” Jordan called out, lifting her hand to shield the afternoon sun from her eyes. “I’m sure your friends here can fill me in on everything there is to know about Luke Elliott.”

All about Luke Elliott’s romantic history was more like it. City Girl wasn’t even pretending to be coy about the reason she was here.

All former positive thoughts about her evaporated. Only the worst sort of human would use another’s failed relationships to advance her own career—for entertainment.

Luke turned away without another word, hauling himself into the driver’s seat of the truck as he waited impatiently for Charlie to get done shouting goodbye to every single person within earshot.

He drummed his thumbs against the steering wheel, refusing to even think about going to the BBQ tonight. If his friends wanted to stir up trouble, they could do so without his cooperation.

As for the two New Yorkers, they’d flame out all on their own. Weren’t East Coasters known for being impatient and fast moving?

Surely they’d be off to find some other glory-seeking asshole if he ignored them. One of the other guys could play the role for all he cared.

As Charlie hauled his ass up, Luke started the truck, his eye catching on Jordan Carpenter, who was watching him with a stubborn, determined look on her pretty face.

Damn it. She’d stir up all sorts of trouble unless he ran interference.

Luke pulled out his phone to text Ryan.

I’ll be there. Have beer.

Charlie leaned over, unabashedly reading Luke’s iPhone screen. “Ha. Knew it.”

“What?” Luke glared at his friend.

Charlie grinned wider, gesturing over his shoulder. “You’ve got a boner for the hot blonde.”

“Are you kidding me with this? She wants me to be the next bachelor.”

How were Ryan and Charlie not getting the absurdity of this?

Charlie shrugged. “So? Maybe it’d be good for you.”

Luke stared at his friend for a moment longer before putting the truck in drive. “The only thing that would be good for me is to push you out of this truck.”

Charlie was waving goodbye to Jordan and Simon. “See you tonight!”

Luke ground his teeth harder. He was already dreading the BBQ, but not going would only make matters worse. Clearly he needed to have a very blunt conversation with Jordan Carpenter.

Goodreads Link:
Goodreads Series Link:

Buy Links:

AMAZON | B & N | GOOGLE | ITUNES | KOBO

Series Pre-Order Links

RUNAWAY GROOM (Book 2)

JUST RUN WITH IT (Book 3)

Lauren Layne is the New York Times bestselling author of romantic comedies. She lives in New York City with her husband.

A former e-commerce and web marketing manager from Seattle, Lauren relocated to New York City in 2011 to pursue a full-time writing career. She signed with her agent in 2012, and her first book was published in summer of 2013. Since then, she's written over two dozen books, hitting the USA TODAY, New York Times, iBooks, and Amazon bestseller lists.

Hosted by

Link to Tour Page:

Presented by

NetGalley REVIEW - Eye Candy (Real Love, #1) by Jessica Lemmon

Don’t trust lust at first sight.

Eye Candy
Real Love, #1

by Jessica Lemmon

Releasing July 25^th 2017
Loveswept

Don’t trust lust at first sight. One woman chooses reality over fantasy in this friends-to-lovers romance.

The Book Junkie Reads . . . Review of . . . EYE CANDY (Real Love, #1) . . . Eye Candy has me drooling for more. The men are tantalizing, teases. This read was sweet, sexy, sensual, and tempting. Vince wants the girl, Jackie. Jackie wants that hot eye candy that jogs past her office window. Vince being the good guy and best friends wants to help her out even though he wants her. The good guy antics gets him much more than he hoped for. He wanted to be the rebound when the eye candy messed up. He just didn't expect for all this.

This was a fun chick lit read that gave you much to enjoy. Sexy men. Sexy times. Laughs. Female with one track mind. A great friend that wants to make it all happen.  I found Jackie to be a bit self-center, self-absorbed, selfish. She only seemed to think of her wants. She did not seem to see or understand Vince. Vince on the other had was an all-around good guy, with the exception of his male induced idea to hook her up with eye candy and swoop in to save the day.

I found this to be a good start to this new series from Jessica Lemmon.

Real Love series:

Eye Candy – Real Love, #1

Arm Candy – Real Love, #2

Man Candy – Real Love, #3

Blurb
Jacqueline: As an adult woman—and the vice president of a marketing firm—I shouldn’t be waiting by my office window to ogle the mystery man who jogs by every morning at 11:45. Sure, he’s a gorgeous, perfect specimen of the human race, but I can’t bring myself to hit on a total stranger. However, my best friend–slash–colleague Vince Carson thinks I should do more than talk to the guy. In fact, he’s borderline obsessive about “getting me laid.” (His words.) But the more time we spend together, the more it’s clear: The one I’m falling for is Vince.
 
Vince: Jackie Butler’s got it bad for some pompous, over-pumped A-hole who struts his stuff past her window. That doesn’t bother me. I know she deserves nice things. What does bother me is that she friend-zoned me big-time last year, so I can’t ask her out myself. But what if I set her up with Mr. Steroids? Then, when he breaks her heart, I can swoop in and save her like the nice guy I am. Everything’s going according to plan . . . until we share a ridiculously epic kiss. And suddenly anything is possible.

 

VINCE

Admittedly, giving Jackie advice on how to get a guy to sleep with her is not my best plan.

“Okay, Butler,” I say, fully focused on Jackie now. “Let’s hear it.”

She stops scribbling on the napkin in front of her, and I bite back a smile. Since I’ve given her a few tips, she has been frantically taking notes. She’s a planner. I’ve always been more go-with-the-flow.

She reads over her notes, squinting in concentration, her lips moving as she reads. Then those golden brown eyes hit mine and she gives me a resolute nod. “I’m ready.”

Her tongue swipes pink lips, making them glisten and making me regret again the route I’ve chosen to take with her. Part of me concedes I could call it off and tell her what I really want, but I know her. She’s barely convinced she can ask a dude out, so her best guy friend throwing a date on the table would be an automatic no.

“Let’s see it,” I say, kind of excited to see what she’s come up with.

She takes the empty seat next to me and leans heavily on an elbow, fist under her chin. “Hi. I’m Jackie.”

I blink several times in quick succession at the transformation from my scatterbrained best friend to a gorgeous woman giving me bedroom eyes. She’s pretending. I’d do well to remember that.

“Vince,” I introduce.

She straightens in her chair and frowns. “Shouldn’t you pretend to be J.T.?”

“I’m not that good of an actor, Butler.” And I’m not pretending to be that jerk.

“Fine.” She rolls her eyes, then slides into seduction mode so swiftly I find myself impressed. She’s better at this than she’s let on. “Do you have a last name, Vince?”

“You know my last name, Butler.”

“Call me Jackie.” She gives me a slow bat of her lashes.

My smile is real, and when I lean closer, I don’t even do it on purpose. “Well, Jackie. Last names are irrelevant, don’t you think?”

Her chest lifts as she takes a breath, and I’m not shy about checking out her cleavage, exposed down the V of her shirt. Normally I wouldn’t look so obviously, but this is a game. Our game.

“That’s very assuming of you, Mr. No Last Name.” She quirks her lips in that way she has, and my smile broadens. “But let’s say”—she moves her half-full wineglass onto the cocktail napkin she wrote on—“for argument’s sake, you’re right, that last names are irrelevant.” She runs the tip of her finger along the rim of her glass like she’s doing it absentmindedly.

She’s doing it on purpose. I can tell.

Damn. She’s good.

“We should have a real date before making plans, don’t you think?” she asks, her eyes on mine.

“Yes.” Hell, yes. “Dinner, at the very least.”

“And then if dinner works out . . .” She lets that statement hang and my heart beats triple time as I wait for what comes next. “We can talk about dessert.”

“We can talk about dessert now.” I’m transfixed on her and the idea of exploring our new dynamic.

“Ohmygod.” Her eyes go wide. “Would he say that?”

I give myself a mental shake when I realize I was caught up in the conversation. It was one I wanted to be real, and she was thinking about Running Man.

“Probably,” I say, the spell broken. “Guys are assholes. Like I said.”

I lean back in my chair, find a TV, and stare blankly.

“But if that’s the case, I’ll have to have sex with him sooner than I planned.”

“No, you don’t, Jackie.” I hear the anger in my own voice. Because . . . “You don’t have to have sex with anyone. You could go to drinks, dinner, and dessert with this guy—you could end the night with tonsil hockey on your front porch or his, and you can still say no.”

She purses her lips. I hate the idea of her kissing that jackass. No matter what kind of person he is—even if he’s a volunteer firefighter who raises orphaned squirrels so they can perform at the local senior center—I hate him.

“Tell me you know that,” I say.

“I know I don’t have to. That’s not what I meant. I don’t want to chicken out. I want to get the first one over with. Like you did.”

I tip my head back and groan aloud. I can’t help it. I’m the example for her return to the dating world? Much as I don’t want to admit it, fair is fair. I salved my wounds with girls like Polly, so why can’t Jackie do it with J.T.? Jackie’s my friend and I care about her. I can’t make a double standard now.

“Besides, he’s really hot,” she says, her face going glowy.

“Spare me.”

Goodreads Link:
Goodreads Series Link:

Buy Links:

AMAZON | B & N | GOOGLE | ITUNES | KOBO

A former job-hopper, Jessica Lemmon resides in Ohio with her husband and rescue dog. She holds a degree in graphic design currently gathering dust in an impressive frame. When she’s not writing super-sexy heroes, she can be found cooking, drawing, drinking coffee (okay, wine), and eating potato chips. She firmly believes God gifts us with talents for a purpose, and with His help, you can create the life you want.

Jessica is a social media junkie who loves to hear from readers. You can learn more at her website.

Hosted by

Presented by

NetGalley REVIEW - Virtual Tour - Make Me Stay (Panic, #2) by Sidney Halston

Secret identities, second chances, drama, desire: It’s all going down in Miami Beach . . .

Make Me Stay
Panic, #2

by Sidney Halston

Releasing June 27^th 2017
Loveswept

This tantalizing novel from the bestselling author of Pull Me Close, which was hailed by Aurora Rose Reynolds as “a heart-gripping story about . . . the power of love.”

The Book Junkie Reads . . . Review of . . . MAKE ME STAY (Panic, #2) . . .   Loveswept has allowed for Sidney Halston to sweep me away again in the beauty of Miami Beach and the alluring, danger, drama, desire, and intrigue of the nightclub atmosphere. This time round we are back at Panic and Matt has continued his search for the one woman that set his world on fire. Then she is there. With secrets, drama, and an all-consuming desire that each have held onto. April never meant to fall in love. She never wanted to bring Matt in to her world of lies, deceit, and alternate identities. She was a woman with a job to do. She just never expected to find that one love of her life.

Matt and April had so much to put back together and so much to lose. This was a read that took me all the way. It gave me more and then more. The angst, drama, desire, respect, secrets, lies, love, passion, and so forth. The read did no leave me needing. I get both the story of before and the story of now. They had a connection but she had a job. We see how they fell in love in the beginning. We also get to watch as that love brings them back together to build something new and lasting.

Sidney Halston gives me a read that pulls me in in more than one way. She draws on the depth of her characters, the richness in the plots, and combines this with the drama, passion, and support characters. The way she melds the before and after makes the read make sense. There was no huge gaping hole that left me wanting more. April and Matt find there but with challenges. If you read book one then you need to very much pick up book two of this series. If you have not read book one and want to start this series go ahead pick up this one and see Matt’s struggle to find that love that he knows will complete him. While April works to fix her world, and regain her love. This was a second chance romance that gave you the whole story.

Panic series:

Pull Me Close – Panic, #1

Make Me Stay – Panic, #2

Kiss Me Back – Panic, #3

Blurb

April: Walking away from Matt Moreno was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Lying to him was a close second, but for his safety, I had no other choice. I was undercover, working to put some nasty people behind bars. But when Matt nearly recognizes me on Lincoln Road a year later, all those very real feelings come rushing back. Now that my assignment’s almost over, will he understand why I lied? Why I had to leave? Most important, can he ever forgive me?

Matt: I was madly in love with June Simpson . . . or, at least, with the woman I thought was June. Then she just disappeared while my family’s nightclub went through hell. And after months of searching, when I think I’ve finally found that sexy, raspy voice and those exquisite blue eyes, she slips away once more. Turns out, “June” is actually Detective April White. She’s been playing me the whole time. And she’s about to rock my world all over again.

Don't miss the first Panic Series Romance

PULL ME CLOSE

“Slide over, will ya? I need to order a drink.” He sounds as if he’s already had enough drinks and doesn’t need another one. I’m about to tell the guy where he can stick his drink when I see her reach into her purse and pull out her phone. I’m mesmerized. What is she doing? The jerk is staring at her, waiting for her to move, but she’s reading a text instead, completely ignoring him.

But then the man makes the wrong decision. He grabs her elbow and pulls her up from the stool.

“Hey! Get your hands off me!” she shrieks. Her eyes, a piercing light blue that’s almost translucent, glare at the man.

“Is everything okay?” I ask loudly, to be heard over the music.

“Miller Lite,” the guy has the fucking nerve to call out.

But she speaks over him. “No. Everything’s not okay. This guy grabbed me.”

“Calm down, honey. You’ve been sitting here all night. Some of us need room.”

“Well, you could say ‘excuse me.’”

“And you can move your fat ass,” he spits back. “It’s not like you need any more drinks.” At that, her mouth opens wide and she gasps. From what I can see there is nothing fat about this woman, but even if there was, the guy’s totally out of line. With both palms on the bar I lean forward and get in the man’s face. “Outta my bar—” But I don’t have a chance to finish before she lifts her glass, stands up, and slowly and deliberately pours the entire drink over the guy’s head, olives and all.

Swear to God—swear to fucking God—all the lights, the music, and the people dancing come to a screeching halt as she slams her empty glass on the table and calmly sits back down. “Another martini, please,” she says sweetly, batting her lashes.

Fucking spectacular.

I think I might be in love.

Goodreads Link:
Goodreads Series Link:

Buy Links:

AMAZON | B & N | GOOGLE | ITUNES | KOBO

USA Today bestselling author, Sidney Halston lives her life with one simple rule: "Just Do It"--Nike. And that's exactly what she did.

After working hard as an attorney, Sidney picked up a pen for the first time at thirty years old to begin her dream of writing. Having never written anything other than very exciting legal briefs, she found an outlet for her imaginative, romantic side and wrote Seeing Red. That first pen stroke sealed the deal, and she fell in love with writing. Sidney lives in South Florida with her husband and children. She loves her family above all else, and reading follows a close second. When she's not writing, you can find her reading and reading and reading. She's a reader first and a writer second. When she's not writing or reading, her life is complete and utter chaos, trying to balance family life with work and writing (and reading). But she wouldn't have it any other way.

Rafflecopter Giveaway

(a $25 Amazon GC)

Hosted by

Link to Follow Tour:

Presented by