Friday, May 29, 2015

Blog Tour for Brenda Rothert's DEEP DOWN...

Deep Down 
by Brenda Rothert







I’m falling. 
Faster.
Further.
Deeper.
Sometimes you fall so hard you can’t get back up. My closest companions now are shame and loss. But a sliver of hope lies in the only person I have left in this world – the one who’s growing inside me.
Survival becomes living again because of my child, and the town where I begin anew. That’s where I meet the man who starts to melt the ice inside my heart.
As we get closer, reminders of my past become sharper. Clearer. To confront the pain, I have to discover what’s deep down inside me. Is there enough left there to become whole again, or am I too wounded to heal?

**Warning** This book has mature content that some readers may find troubling. It is intended for readers 18 and up.




My 4.5 Star Review

What happens when your dreams are about to come true and then in the blink of an eye, your world come crashing down around you?
Ivy had it all. Then she loses her mother a few months before graduation high school. The day she finds out she has been accepted to the college of her dreams is the day her life changes forever. The one person who should have protected her, betrays her in an unimaginable way.
What happens when you can’t trust anyone? You withdrawal and those whom you thought were your friends become your enemies. The only hope that is left is the little life growing inside of her.
Ivy knows she will never be able to move on with all of the painful reminders surrounding her. Her new goal in life is to survive.
She takes the little bit of money she has and some belongings and decides to make a new life in a new place. A place far enough away from the horrible memories.
After securing an apartment, Ivy heads into town looking for a job and ends up at a popular local café, where she meets Margie. Margie and her husband Gene own and run the café and happen to be in need of a waitress.  Ivy is grateful for the opportunity and excited to have gotten the job. Things are slowly moving into place for Ivy. She keeps busy working full time to make ends meet and of course being the best mother she can be. Her two friends Margie and Gene have become her extended family.  She also befriends her grumpiest customer Walter, they form a different and unexpected friendship. She is comfortable talking to him and is able to be her old self before things went bad. He encourages her to find her passion again.  No matter how great, supportive and kind they have been to her, she still harbors her secret, because her trust in people, especially men, has been completely shattered.
When Reed Lockhart enters her life, she is stumped and terrified. He brings out feelings that she hasn’t felt in a long time so she does her best to keep him far far away.
Reed is fascinated by the new women in town. She is beautiful and smart and wants nothing to do with him. He is determined to get to know her and her son.
Slowly they get to know each other but the closer she finds herself getting to Reed the more her past comes to light. Deep down, she realizes that she will need to face her past in order to move on with her future. A future she knows that could be filled with happiness, love and trust.
My heart absolutely broke for Ivy. I couldn’t imagine going through what she went through. In reality people who unfortunately experience this type of trauma may survive physically but mentally they suffer and sometimes that suffering turns into drugs, severe depression and a road to self-destruction.
This is a heartbreaking story of innocence lost, surviving, the struggles and learning dealing with the past realizing it is okay to get help but most of all, learning how to trust again.
I have been a big fan of Brenda’s writing since her Fire on Ice series. She has the ability to take tough real life topics and turn them into an emotionally beautiful story. 


It happened without warning on a quiet, snowy January day. Or maybe there had been signs that I’d ignored because they were too painful to acknowledge. Either way, the course of my life was changed that day. After it was over I just remember watching the snowflakes through my open bedroom window. Falling silently from the sky, they were the closing curtain on eighteen years of trusting that all people were inherently good. ----------------------- It was the first day back from the winter break and I was wrapped up in the excitement that filled the hallways of Lexington High School. There was an unspoken energy circulating around those of us who were seniors. Home stretch, baby. The last semester of high school is underway. Your future starts now. And, for me, this new term couldn’t end soon enough. My mom’s death this past September had plunged me into a deep sadness I still hadn’t fully emerged from. Over the course of the past four months I’d gotten good at plastering on a phony smile to let everyone know I’d moved on. Putting this school year behind me would be more sweet than bitter. Sure, I had great friends I’d miss when I went off to college in the fall. And dance team…for sure I would miss that. Most of all, I would miss my boyfriend Levi, but somehow I knew that once high school was over I really would be able to move on. A warm, familiar arm wrapping around my waist from behind made me break out in a genuine grin. “How was your day, baby?” Levi asked, pulling me against his side as we walked down the hall. “Good. You?” He shrugged. “Everybody’s talking about graduation. It hasn’t seemed close until now.” “Did you get those scholarship essays done?” “Yep.” He pulled me a little closer, steering me away from a cluster of loud underclassmen who were about to run me over. “Am I riding with you today? I can catch a ride home with Sami if you’re lifting weights after school.” He leaned down and kissed my temple. “The only weight I’m interested in right now is yours on top of me.” I held back a smile. Our after school make out sessions were one of Levi’s favorite things. But between the time off his parents and my dad had taken off over the holiday break, we hadn’t gotten much time alone. Excerpt #2 Today I’d eaten lunch in a closed bathroom stall at school to avoid the stares. And instead I got to listen to Mandy Barton telling two other girls that she’d slept with Levi last night to comfort him over what his slutty girlfriend had done to him. They’d speculated about who the father of my child was, eventually deciding on Mr. Schultz, a teacher and coach at my school whom I’d never even spoken to. I was on the outskirts of our small city, walking past a rusted, abandoned factory, when a car slowed to a stop nearby. I turned to see a marked police car. A familiar sick taste rose in my throat. My dad was giving me a puzzled glance from a rolled down window, his elbow resting on the door. “Ivy, what are you doing out here? It’s the dead of winter and you’re miles from home.” “What are you doing here? Are you following me?” My icy tone was challenging. What was there to be afraid of now? He’d stolen the vulnerable, trusting part of me. He’d shown me that there was no one in my life I could count on. “I was on patrol and I saw you,” he said, glaring at me. “Get in the car and I’ll drive you home. We need to talk.” “Talk? Is that code?” I spat out bitterly. His face was a mix of contrition and anger. “Ivy. Let’s not do this. Get in the car.” “No.” “What’s this I hear about you being pregnant? Is it true?” A powerful wave of nausea swept through me. He didn’t deserve to know, and he certainly didn’t deserve to ask me about it.








Brenda Rothert lives in Central Illinois with her husband and three sons. She was a daily print journalist for nine years, during which time she enjoyed writing a wide range of stories. These days Brenda writes New Adult Romance in the Contemporary and Dystopian genres. She loves to hear from readers by email at bjrothert@sbcglobal.net.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Cover Reveal: Check out this GORGEOUS cover for author A.M. Hargrove's The Fall and Rise of Kade Hart: A Hart Brothers Novel


The Fall and Rise of Kade Hart by A.M. Hargrove
Genre: Romantic Suspense 
Release date: June 25, 2015

Cover Artist: A.M. Hargrove

 "Hello, my name is Kade Hart and I’m a drug addict." Isn't that what recovering addicts are supposed to say?  Hell if I know. Im not sure about anything anymore. Not since I met her. Juliette. She's my game-changer.  

I’ve lived on the streets, been in places no one ever wants to see, survived pure hell with the bastard who raised me. I thought I'd finally managed to put all that behind me, come to terms with who and what I am. Until she walked into my life. Shes running from the people who slaughtered her family, people who want her dead, too, and she makes me want to be the kind of man who can protect her, who can save her. But I'm not sure Im that guy. I'm no one's hero.  

Or am I?




 One day, on her way home from work as a sales manager, A. M. Hargrove, realized her life was on fast forward and if she didn't do something soon, it would quickly be too late to write that work of fiction she had been dreaming of her whole life. So, she rolled down the passenger window of her fabulous (not) company car and tossed out her leather briefcase. Luckily, the pedestrian in the direct line of fire was a dodge ball pro and had über quick reflexes enabling him to avoid getting bashed in the head. Feeling a tad guilty about the near miss, A. M. made a speedy turn down a deserted side street before tossing her crummy, outdated piece-of-you-know-what laptop out the window. She breathed a liberating sigh of relief, picked up her cell phone, called her boss, and quit her job. Grinning, she made another call to her hubs and told him of her new adventure (after making sure his heart was beating properly again).

So began A. M. Hargrove's career as a Naughty and Nice Romance Author. Her books include the
 following: Edge of Disaster, Shattered Edge and Kissing Fire (The Edge Series); The Guardians of Vesturon Series (Survival, Resurrection, Determinant, reEmergent, and Beginnings); Dark Waltz, Death Waltz, Tragically Flawed (Tragic 1), Tragic Desires (Tragic 2), Exquisite Betrayal, Dirty Nights; and lastly Freeing Her, Freeing Him, and Kestrelall part of the Hart Brothers Series.

Other than being in love with writing about love, she loves chocolate, ice cream, and coffee and is
 positive they should be added as part of the USDA food groups.









Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Check out the HOT cover for M.Clarke's MY SERENITY

Meet Seth & Josefina in this second-chance romance releasing July 16th!



Add to your TBR at: http://bit.ly/1J2BogQ




Blurb
When tragedy strikes, Seth Stewart is forced to return home after the death of his beloved father. The unexpected detour forces him to oversee the family’s auto shop and restaurant business, and Seth must kiss the prestigious internship goodbye after his first year at Berkeley Business School. When he collides with his first crush after his arrival, Seth wonders what possibly could have happened to Josefina Anders.
Josefina has hidden many secrets she is too ashamed to share with anyone, especially Seth. When they cross paths again, the urge to relive their past lingers in her mind even though she knows he couldn’t accept her sketchy past. Things get even more complicated when her mother returns, as well as her overly possessive ex, who decides to crash into her fragile existence all over again.
Will Seth’s connection for Josefina be strong enough to see past her secrets, or will he realize he can’t rekindle an old flame?



Excerpt

When she pulled away to look at me, our eyes locked and thousands of emotions rocketed through me. I felt so much, almost too much for my heart to handle…for my body to control. My hands glided up her back, and the soft silky blouse lured me to rip it off her. Lacing through her hair with my hands, I gave in to the temptation I could no longer control and kissed her in madness. Josie kissed me back and her tongue swirled in hunger. I got hard when she rocked back and forth on me. I thought I could come just from this action alone. I wanted so much of Josie, but not here…not now.



My Clarity (Book One)


  



Author Information



Mary Ting resides in Southern California with her husband and two children. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Writing her first novel, Crossroads Saga, happened by chance. It was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother, and inspired by a dream she once had as a young girl. When she started reading new adult novels, she fell in love with the genre. It was the reason she had to write one-Something Great. Why the pen name, M Clarke? She tours with Magic Johnson Foundation to promote literacy and her children’s chapter book-No Bullies Allowed



TSU: https://www.tsu.co/AuthorMaryTing           

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Something Big is Happening!




Something big is happening!! 

I just wanted to thank all of you for supporting KK Reviews the past few years. It is with a heavy heart that I will no longer be blogging on my own, HOWEVER, I have been offered an amazing opportunity with the awesome ladies over at Love N Books. I look forward to this new adventure. I will be slowly phasing out KK Reviews. 

Again, I can’t thank you all enough. You have been wonderful, kind and supportive through it all and I adore you guys! 

I hope to see you over at Love N Books! If you aren't already following head on over to Love N. Books and give us a like.

 
For all you authors and bloggers, I LOVE YOU and APPRECIATE all you have done for me and continue to do for me. I look forward to continue working with you all.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU







Thursday, May 14, 2015

Cover Reveal: Check out this HOT cover for author Beverly Preston's A Taster of Summer..


Blurb

Most people know Hollywood heartthrob, Ryan Summer, as Ryan, no last name required. But once upon a time, he was just Summer to Carrie Ann—before a decade of blockbuster hits skyrocketed his success into superstardom.
Summer was smart, gorgeous, and cocky as hell. Nothing was out of his reach. Not even Carrie Ann Lowell. He was the love of her life—until he shattered her heart. Their breakup left more than a profound rift in her soul. It crushed her.
When Carrie Ann’s college flame forces his way back into her life, his dirty-talking, bold self-assurance re-ignites a passion she thought had long since been extinguished. Carrie Ann didn’t believe in second chances.
Not even for him.
No matter how deliciously tempting.
With sparks flying and hidden truths unraveling, will Carrie Anne be able to deny her desires to save herself from another heart break?






Excerpt

Carrie Ann tugged the earbud free from her ear, tossing the handsome young man a small smile. “Sorry, I couldn’t hear you. What did you say?”
He crossed a lanky somewhat defined arm in front of her, casually gripping the handlebar of her bike. “I said, you must be exhausted—” Before she could reply he continued, “—from running through my mind all day.”
Surely she must’ve heard him incorrectly. He was probably fifteen at most sporting a baby face and a patch of ten whiskers on his chin. Her brows tucked into a furrow. “Excuse me?”
A dose of youthful overconfidence drifted over his mouth in a sharp grin. “I seem to have forgotten my number. Can I have yours?”
“My phone number?” Carrie Ann scanned the near vicinity, row after row of workout equipment, for the practical jokester responsible for the madness. “Ha ha. Very funny. Who put you up to this?”
Her amusement only encouraged the boy’s macho bravado. “No one put me up to anything. I need a date. I just got into LA and I’ve got this Red Carpet event—”
“A date?” she scoffed at the ludicrous suggestion. Though she looked young for her age, Carrie Ann was still all of thirty-four years old.
“Yeah, you know. A date. You, me, hundreds of fans screaming as we stroll down the Red Carpet.” His voice cracked emphasizing the words Red Carpet…for the second time. A self-absorbed twinkle gleamed in his brown eyes as if he expected her to melt and drop to her knees right there in the gym.
“Kid, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“I’m totally serious. My uncle has this movie premier and I can’t just bring anyone.” A chunk of blond hair fell on his forehead and he flipped his head to the side. My date needs to be…hot, and well, you’re the hottest girl I’ve seen since I got to LA.”
She sneered at the absurdity. Silliness turned to annoyance. Carrie Ann switched gyms a few months back, paying out the nose to invest in her fitness and more importantly her privacy. Her last gym was more crowded than a cattle call casting session.
Carrie Ann rolled her eyes. She moved around him, gathering her workout towel and reaching for her bag. “Look kid, you seem real sweet, but—“
“You’re right about one thing.” A familiar voice, deep and perfectly modulated, approached from behind. “She is the most beautiful woman you’ll ever lay eyes on. But, you’re reaching for the stars with this one, Drew. She’s a heartbreaker.”
An ice cold tickle ascended up her spine raising the hair on the back of her neck. Her head snapped, glancing over her shoulder, colliding with a pair of rich amber eyes from her past. Without breaking eye contact, Ryan Summer strolled right into her personal space sporting athletic shorts, a fitted muscle shirt and a killer smile.
Nowadays, most people knew the Hollywood heartthrob as Ryan. Just Ryan. No last name needed. But after nearly a decade of blockbuster hits and infamous relationships that skyrocketed his success into superstardom, to Carrie Ann, he was still just Summer. Her old college flame.
“Funny, I could say the same about you,” she countered his jab, marshalling a bit of annoyance in her tone to combat the rush of heat spreading to her already pink cheeks.
A sexy smile caught the curve of his wide firm mouth. “Hello, Red.”
“Hello, Summer.” Carrie Ann tossed a trivial nod toward the teenager. “Who’s this? Your new apprentice?”
“Apprentice?” Moving a step closer, he dragged his fingers through the short cropped layers of sandy blond hair. “This is Mark’s boy. Do you remember my nephew, Drew?”
“Your brother’s boy?” she questioned in surprise. Avoiding the view of his bicep curling into the size of a softball, Carrie Ann ran a quick scan over the young man at his side. “Whoa, you had to be four or five years old the last time I saw you.”
“I don’t remember meeting you.” Drew’s eyes flickered with bemusement and optimism.
She extended her hand. “I’m Carrie Ann. I knew you when you were—“
“You’re Carrie Ann? The Carrie Ann?” The boy spun toward his uncle, his blue eyes broadened in disbelief. “The One?”
Her stomach twisted hearing the title. A flash of perspiration instantaneously flooded her palms. Before she had time to renege on the clammy greeting, Drew clasped her hand, giving it a polite shake.
A low rumble of laughter simmered in Summer’s chest and a rosy shade of red burnished high on the bridge of his nose. He nodded, “This is The Carrie Ann. The One who got away.”
No matter how many years had passed, it never got any easier to see him. Each time she did, she suddenly found it harder to breath.
The pounding of her heart quickened as her gaze slipped over his rugged well-defined features. A three day scruff accentuated the slight dimple at the bottom of his chin.  The disheveled layers of hair were wet from exertion near his temple and nape. Time had been very good to him.
She felt the warmth of his hand close around the back of her bare arm. The early morning stubble of his beard brushed against her cheek as he leaned closer pressing a small kiss near her temple. Carrie Ann squirmed at his nearness, ducking to the side attempting to put some space between them.
“I’m…I’m all sweaty,” she insisted breathily.
 “It’s okay,” he murmured softly in her ear. The heat of his breath brought chill bumps to the damp skin near her neck. “I remember enjoying you all sweaty.”
Ryan’s golden eyes locked onto hers, anchoring her feet to the floor. The penetration of his stare momentarily tied her tongue in a knot, turning the awkward moment even more difficult. Carrie Ann hadn’t bumped into Ryan in at least three years and she hadn’t seen him covered in sweat in ten. An image of him, gloriously naked, flashed in her mind and her thighs. Frustration mounted as her body willingly betrayed her.
Carrie Ann’s jaw set rigid contemplating the idea of flipping off her hooha for its insubordination.
“That was a long time ago,” she snipped abruptly.
“Seems like only yesterday to me.”




Series Reading Order

No More Wasted Time (bk 1)
Now ONLY $0.99


Shayla’s Story (bk 2)
Now ONLY $0.99


The Perfect Someday (bk 3)
Now ONLY $1.99

Surviving Broken (bk 4)
Now ONLY $1.99




About the Author:
Beverly Preston



#1 Bestselling Author, Beverly Preston has been a stay at home mom for 21 years, although she prefers the title Domestic Engineer. Along the way, Beverly worked side by side with her husband Don, the love of her life, designing, building and selling custom homes. As her children begin to venture out on their own, she’s left to shed a tear—for a minute—wonder what’s next in life, and embrace the feeling of empowerment that surely must’ve been wrapped in a present she received on her fortieth birthday.

If Beverly isn’t at home riding her spin bike, you’ll find her spinning richly emotional and sinfully sexy romance stories.