Waiting On Wednesday (293) Trust by Kylie Scott



Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

I've been participating in Waiting on Wednesday for over 5 years because Wednesday is my favorite day of the week! I love sharing and discovering new books.


Expected publication: July 18th 2017 by Kylie Scott

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Being young is all about the experiences: the first time you skip school, the first time you fall in love…the first time someone holds a gun to your head.

After being held hostage during a robbery at the local convenience store, seventeen year old Edie finds her attitude about life shattered. Unwilling to put up with the snobbery and bullying at her private school, she enrolls at the local public high school, crossing paths with John. The boy who risked his life to save hers. While Edie’s beginning to run wild, however, John’s just starting to settle down. After years of partying and dealing drugs with his older brother, he’s going straight—getting to class on time, and thinking about the future.

An unlikely bond grows between the two as John keeps Edie out of trouble and helps her broaden her horizons. But when he helps her out with another first—losing her virginity—their friendship gets complicated.

Meanwhile, Edie and John are pulled back into the dangerous world they narrowly escaped. They were lucky to survive the first time, but this time they have more to lose—each other.

Trust is Kylie's first YA book, and I'm interested in seeing how she does with writing younger characters. I've read this author's Stage Dive series, and it's spin off series, Dive Bar, which I've enjoyed.

What are you waiting on this week?
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Waiting On Wednesday (292) The One That Got Away by Melissa Pimentel


Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

I've been participating in Waiting on Wednesday for over 5 years because Wednesday is my favorite day of the week! I love sharing and discovering new books.


Expected publication: July 18th 2017 by Thomas Dunne Books

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A smart, funny, and modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion, where a young woman comes face-to-face with a lost love, proving that the one that got away is sometimes the one you get back.

Ruby and Ethan were perfect for each other. Until the day they suddenly weren't.

Ten years later, Ruby's single, having spent the last decade focusing on her demanding career and hectic life in Manhattan. There's barely time for a trip to England for her little sister's wedding. And there's certainly not time to think about seeing Ethan there for the first time in years.

But as the family frantically prepare for the big day, Ruby can't help but wonder if she made the right choice all those years ago? Because there's nothing like a wedding for stirring up the past . . .

Of course I added this to my tbr as soon as I saw it was a retelling of Persuasion. Captain Wentworth IS the inspiration for my blog name after all.

What are you waiting on this week?
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Happy Release Day to Salvaged (Saints of Denver #4) by Jay Crownover

I have to tell you that I just love Wheeler. He was everything I was hoping for.
Review coming soon!


New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jay Crownover continues her delightfully sexy Saints of Denver series with the next thrilling standalone, SALVAGED! Don’t miss this amazing new novel and grab your copy today!


Hudson Wheeler is a nice guy. Everyone knows it, including his fiancée who left him with a canceled wedding and a baby on the way. He’s tired of finishing last and is ready to start living in the moment with nights soaked in whiskey, fast cars, and even faster girls. He’s set to start living on the edge, but when he meets Poppy Cruz, her sad eyes in the most gorgeous face he’s ever seen hook him in right away. Wheeler can see Poppy’s pain and all he wants to do is take care of her and make her smile, whatever it takes.

Poppy can’t remember a time when she didn’t see strangers as the enemy. After a lifetime of being hurt from the men who swore to protect her, Poppy’s determined to keep herself safe by keeping everyone else at arm’s length. Wheeler’s sexy grin and rough hands from hours restoring classic cars shouldn’t captivate her, but every time she’s with him, she can’t help being pulled closer to him. Though she’s terrified to trust again, Poppy soon realizes it might hurt even more to shut Wheeler out—and the intense feelings pulsing through her are making it near impossible to resist him.

The only thing Poppy is sure of is that her heart is in need of some serious repair, and the more time she spends with Wheeler, the more she’s convinced he’s the only man with the tools to fix it.



Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Google Play

iBooks | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada


ADD SALVAGED TO YOUR GOODREADS




EXCERPT:

I didn’t want her to be scared of anything ever again.

Things at home had been rocky, rougher than class-five rapids in winter, but I was paddling for my life and prepared to ride it out. I couldn’t let go. I wouldn’t let go. I saw Poppy the day she walked through my shop and I started to feel how sore my hands and my heart were from holding on.

Her head was down, focused on the tips of her shoes. Her shoulders were hunched over and her long hair hid her face. She was skinny, so skinny, nothing but skin and bones. She was nothing that I should have noticed, not because she was clearly doing everything in her power to be invisible, but because I was supposed to have my eyes locked on my future and doing whatever I could do to salvage it. But I did notice her and I couldn’t look away once I did.

She was obviously terrified, clearly out of her element and uncomfortable, but it wasn’t her unease that called to me…it was her loneliness. I could feel it filling up the space that separated us. Stretching, growing, expanding until it was all I was breathing in and exhaling back out. It was bitter on my tongue and heavy across my skin because I knew the feeling well. I lived with it pressing me down and pushing me forward every minute of every day. The reason I was so set on the way things had to be, the reason I was singlemindedly set on settling down and building a life with the girl that was slipping through my fingers was because I never again wanted to be as alone as this girl was. I didn’t want to be left and forgotten. I’d barely survived it the first time.

I did my best to sell her a car that was as beautiful as she was…a classic with clean lines and a flawless finish. She picked something practical and boring but that was ultimately safe and reliable. I understood her choice but it grated and annoyed me long after she left the shop. When she wasn’t standing in front of me, she should have been easy to forget; after all, everything in front of me, everything I had been working for and toward, was falling down in front of my eyes. My world was collapsing in on itself and everything I thought I was so goddamn sure about turned out to be nothing more than lies and illusions. In the middle of all of it, I couldn’t forget her sad eyes and shivering, shaking form. Her loneliness clung to me, unshakable and unforgettable. I didn’t think I would see her again and against my better judgment I often found myself wondering how she was doing and if she had gotten a handle on all the things that seemed to be crushing her under their inescapable weight.

I was wrong about seeing her again, just like I was wrong about thinking that doing everything in my life differently from how my mother had lived hers would ensure my happiness and a future built on an unshakeable foundation. I was wrong about hard work and sacrifice being enough. I was wrong about holding on when what I was holding on to desperately wanted me to let go. All I was left with was bleeding palms, rope burns around my heart and scars on my soul.

The next time I saw Poppy Cruz it was my loneliness that was filling up the space, suffocating me, choking me, making me forget to handle her with care. I was nothing more than a vast, open wound. One that was raw, aching, throbbing, and leaking my heart and shattered emotions out everywhere. I felt like I’d lost everything, like my entire life had been nothing but a waste of time, nothing more than building blocks knocked over with the swipe of a careless hand. The girl I loved didn’t love me back, my future was ultimately nothing more than a fuzzy, fractured blur. I couldn’t see anything clearly other than waste and ruin.

But I saw her. And I saw that I scared her.

It was the last thing I wanted to do but my loneliness was just as big and just as consuming as hers was. It spread out, hungry and angry, looking to consume anyone that might try and challenge its reign.

I tried to pull myself together, apologized because I knew our paths would cross again now that she lived next door to my best friend. I didn’t want to be another man that she was terrified of. I locked the loneliness down, wrestled it into submission, and tried to quiet down the wild inside of me that was howling, screaming at the loss of its mate. I wanted to be nothing more than gnashing teeth and tearing claws but I swallowed those instincts and allowed myself to be like a kicked puppy that just wanted to whimper and cry.

Poppy had been through more than I could imagine. She was the one I couldn’t look away from, but even then, she managed to slip past me and disappear. She looked like honey but she moved like a ghost. I memorized everything about her even though she hardly let me see her face.

I wasn’t supposed to be looking at anything other than how to salvage the mess my life was in, but she was all I could see.




About Jay Crownover:

Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men, The Point, and the Saints of Denver series. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she'll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her dogs.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads


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Waiting On Wednesday (291) The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee



Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

I've been participating in Waiting on Wednesday for over 5 years because Wednesday is my favorite day of the week! I love sharing and discovering new books.


Expected publication: June 27th 2017 by Katherine Tegen Books
Synopsis from Goodreads:

An unforgettable tale of two friends on their Grand Tour of 18th-century Europe who stumble upon a magical artifact that leads them from Paris to Venice in a dangerous manhunt, fighting pirates, highwaymen, and their feelings for each other along the way.

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.

But as Monty embarks on his grand tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.

Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

Witty, romantic, and intriguing at every turn, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is a sumptuous romp that explores the undeniably fine lines between friendship and love.

All the hype! And that cover is giving me Adam Ant flashbacks. Ahem. "I'm the dandy highwayman who you're too scared to mention / I spend my cash on looking flash and grabbing your attention"



I can't wait to read this!

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Review: Holmes & Moriarity Series by Josh Lanyon


Source: ebook via Library
Genre: M/M, Romantic Mystery

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The road back to bestsellerdom can be deadly.

Thanks to an elderly spinster sleuth and her ingenious cat, Christopher Holmes has enjoyed a celebrated career as a bestselling mystery writer. Until now. Sales are down and his new editor is allergic to geriatric gumshoes.

On the advice of his agent, he reinvents his fortyish, frumpy, recently dumped self into the sleek, sexy image of a literary lion, and heads for a Northern California writers conference to try and resurrect his career. A career nearly as dead as the body he stumbles over in the woods.

In a weirdly déjà vu replay of one of his own novels, he finds himself stranded in an isolated lodge full of frightened women—and not a lawman in sight. Except for J.X. Moriarity, former cop and bestselling novelist. The man with whom he shared a one-night stand—okay, maybe three—long ago. The man who wants to arrest him for murder.

A ruthless, stalking killer, or a hot, handsome ex-lover. Which poses the greater danger? It’s elementary, my dear Holmes!


Source: ebook via Library
Genre: M/M, Romantic Mystery

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Giving screwball mystery a whole deadly new meaning.

A murderous fall down icy stairs is nearly the death of Anna Hitchcock, the much-beloved American Agatha Christie and Christopher Holmes's former mentor. Anna's plea for him to host her annual winter writing retreat touches all Kit's sore spots: traveling, teaching writing classes, and separation from his new lover, J.X. Moriarity.

For J.X., Kit's cancellation of yet another romantic weekend is the death knell of a relationship that has been limping along for months. But that s just as well, right? Kit isn't ready for anything serious and besides, Kit owes Anna far too much to refuse.

Faster than you can say Miss Marple wears boxer shorts, Kit is snooping around Anna's elegant, snowbound mansion in the Berkshires for clues as to who's trying to kill her. A tough task with six amateur sleuths underfoot, six budding writers with a tangled web of dark undercurrents running among them.

Slowly, Kit gets the uneasy feeling that the secret may lie between the pages of someone's fictional past. Unfortunately, a clever killer is one step ahead. And it may be too late for J.X. to ride to the rescue.

Warning: Contains one irascible, forty-year-old mystery writer who desperately needs to get laid, one exasperated thirty-something ex-cop only too happy to oblige, an isolated country manor that needs the thermostat cranked up, various assorted aspiring and perspiring authors, and a merciless killer who may have read one too many mystery novels.


Source: ebook via Library
Genre: M/M, Romantic Mystery

Synopsis from Goodreads:
It's moving day at Chez Holmes. Somehow, against Kit's better instincts, he and J.X. are setting up house together. But while J.X. is off at a writing conference, Kit unpacks a crate that should contain either old books or new china. It doesn't. Within the mounds of green Styrofoam popcorn is a dead body. A very dead body.

There goes the neighborhood.

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What a great series this turned out to be, and oh my goodness, how much do I love these guys? I loved the mysteries in each book, even though I never solved them, but I always wondered why J.X. didn't participate more. That's just my opinion, but it seemed like he could have helped, especially since he used to be a cop. Also, what kind of crap luck does Christopher have?!?!

It took me forever to warm up to J.X. He started coming around in the second book, but I really loved him by the third book. He's strong and dependable and he's always there when Christopher needs him. But what really won me over was his almost blind dedication to Christopher and his determination to love him despite the roadblocks that Christopher throws in his way. I adored Christopher right from the beginning. He's so self-depricating that it made him very easy to like, and I loved his humor at the most inappropriate times. I also like how level headed he remained, even after the dead bodies start piling up around him. I felt that J.X. and Christopher worked well as a couple. They were opposites, but I liked how they worked through their issues, and they were so entertaining together.

This was a well written series that gave me all sorts of warm and happy feelings. I read the first 3 books in a row, and I've since discovered that book 4 is due on December 15th 2017, so I'm glad I don't have to wait very long!

This is an M/M series with great mysteries, a wonderful relationship, and it's pretty light on the sex scenes (if you're interested in knowing these things beforehand.)

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4 Stars
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Waiting On Wednesday (290) and Cover Reveal of A Pinch of Salt (Three Sister's Catering, #1) by Bethany Lopez

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Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

I've been participating in Waiting on Wednesday for over 5 years because Wednesday is my favorite day of the week! I love sharing and discovering new books.

Today, my pick for Waiting on Wednesday is also the cover reveal of PINCH OF SALT by Bethany Lopez.

Pinch of Salt is the first book in an all-new contemporary romance series, Three Sister's Catering. Check out the excerpt, teasers, and giveaway below for a pair of Kate Spade earrings. Pre-order your copy now!



Pinch of Salt by Bethany Lopez

(Three Sisters Catering, #1)
Contemporary Romance - Coming August 21

Cover by Makeready Designs
Add the book to Goodreads

Synopsis:

For the past year, talented chef Millie has been consumed with running her new catering business with her sisters, Dru and Tasha. It isn't until Jackson walks through their door that she realizes something may be missing in the recipe of her life.

For the past year, Jackson has been dealing with the fallout of his wife's abandonment. He's had to learn how to be a single father to their eight-year-old daughter, and will do anything to fill the void her mother left. It isn't until he commissions Millie for his daughter's birthday party that he realizes he's forgotten that he's not only a father, but a man.

They both think they're content in their lives, but sometimes the right amount of spice can turn an okay dish into a magnificent one. A Pinch of Salt may be all that's needed to bring Millie and Jackson the flavor they've been missing.


Check out the Pinch of Salt Pinterest Board!



Pre-order for $3.99

Amazon | iBooks | Kobo | Nook | Smashwords



EXCERPT: Millie

Yes, I thought, I can help you with whatever you need, just look at me like that every day for the rest of my life.
“What can I do for you?” I asked, sure my cheeks were turning red.
Then he smiled, and two dimples appeared.
Seriously? I looked around the store for hidden cameras. Were my sisters playing tricks on me? This guy could not be real. Or any more adorable.
“I know it’s last minute, but I have an emergency. I need to hire you to cater my daughter’s ninth birthday party.”
And, there it was… the punchline. Mr. Adorable Dimples was married with a family.
I looked down at his ringed finger, smothered my disappointment, and gave him an apologetic smile.
“I’m sorry, we don’t do children’s parties.”
When his face fell, I wanted to snatch the words back.
“We just don’t have those types of decorations on hand,” I added, hoping to soften the rejection. “There’s a party supply store around the block, I’m sure they’ll have what you need.”
He shook his head and I tilted my head back to get a better look at him. Damn, he was really tall.
“I wish it were that simple. Kayla’s outgrown the kind of birthday party I could give her. If we were still talking about Frozen, I could turn our living room into a winter wonderland and decorate the shit out of it,” he winced and said, “Sorry,” and I assumed he was talking about swearing. Which, jeez, could he get any cuter.
“What does she want?” I asked, even though I knew I should send him on his way and get back to work. I found I didn’t want him to leave yet.
I was such a brat.
“A tea party,” he replied, making tea party sound like a bad word. “I’ve never even had a drop of tea, let alone made an entire party out of it.”
I bit back a chuckle at his obvious distress, and asked, “Can’t your wife help?”
His face looked pained, then he let out a sigh and said, “She, uh, left us, almost a year ago. We haven’t heard from her since, so… no, I’m on my own with this one.”


a Rafflecopter giveaway

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

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Award-Winning Author Bethany Lopez began self-publishing in June 2011. She's a lover of all things romance: books, movies, music, and life, and she incorporates that into the books she writes. When she isn't reading or writing, she loves spending time with her husband and children, traveling whenever possible. Some of her favorite things are: Kristen Ashley Books, coffee in the morning, and In N Out burgers.
AUTHOR LINKS:
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Review: Walk the Edge (Thunder Road, #2) by Katie McGarry

Walk the Edge (Thunder Road, #2)Walk the Edge (Thunder Road, #2) by Katie McGarry

Publication Date: March 29, 2016
Page Count: 412
Published by: Harlequin TEEN
Source: Paperback won on Goodreads

Synopsis from Goodreads:

One moment of recklessness will change their worlds.

Smart. Responsible. That's seventeen-year-old Breanna's role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a toe out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyber-bully's line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas "Razor" Turner into her life.

Razor lives for the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, and good girls like Breanna just don't belong. But when he learns she's being blackmailed over a compromising picture of the two of them—a picture that turns one unexpected and beautiful moment into ugliness—he knows it's time to step outside the rules.

And so they make a pact: he'll help her track down her blackmailer, and in return she'll help him seek answers to the mystery that's haunted him—one that not even his club brothers have been willing to discuss. But the more time they spend together, the more their feelings grow. And suddenly they're both walking the edge of discovering who they really are, what they want, and where they're going from here.

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I liked the first book in this series, and because it's Katie McGarry, I am continuing with the series. I still have my issues with the 'motorcycle club', but thankfully I wasn't overwhelmed with it in Walk The Edge. I liked that most of the story took place away from the club's prying eyes. So, YAY for that.

I liked Breanna and Razor well enough. I think I liked them more than Emily and Oz because of the way McGarry wrote them - it was hard not to root for them. Seeing Breanna and Razor together worked for me, and there were definitely some very sweet and delicious swoony parts that would appeal to the YA crowd.

Is it wrong that I really enjoyed seeing the club struggle trying to bring Razor into the fold? Because that was my favorite thing. There were times when the story felt a bit too dramatic for my taste. Overall, the story wasn't completely pleasurable, but I liked it well enough.

I feel bad that I keep reading this series and not enjoying it as much as I should be. I like the author, and I enjoy her writing, I just really have a problem with the motorcycle club (mainly because of the sexism and boorish behavior. They are not likable at all!)

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My rating: 3 stars
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Monthly Recap: May 2017


This turned out to be a weird reading month for me. I managed to read every day. That's great and awesome. I read what I wanted to read. Even more awesome. I read ALL M/M books. 16 in fact, enjoyed them tremendously, and I didn't get burned out. Like I said - weird.

Books Read May 2017









I'm a Winner! Thanks to Kathy at A Glass of Wine and the author, Jenni L. Walsh for this
hardcover of Becoming Bonnie (Bonnie #1)

Thanks to the publisher for this arc of Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith.

I was a winner on Goodreads! (I know, right??) Thanks to Harlequin Books for the signed
paperback of Walk the Edge (Thunder Road #2) by Katie McGarry

Borrowed! From my local library (which is literally right around the corner from me.)

arc of Trust by Kylie Scott via NetGalley


Agents Irish and Whiskey series by Layla Reyne
I purchased Single Malt and Cask Strength for my Kindle, then got approved for an arc of
Barrel Proof via NetGalley.

So, that was my month. How was yours? How many books did you read? What's on your TBR?
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