#ReleaseBlitz & #Review ~ Lead (Stage Dive #3) by Kylie Scott

Synopsis

Stay up all night with the sexy rockers in Stage Dive, the epic rock star romance series from New York Times bestselling author Kylie Scott, author of Lick and Play. As the lead singer of Stage Dive, Jimmy is used to getting whatever he wants, whenever he wants it, whether it's booze, drugs, or women. However, when a PR disaster serves as a wake-up call about his life and lands him in rehab, he finds himself with Lena, a new assistant to keep him out of trouble. 　 Lena's not willing to take any crap from the sexy rocker and is determined to keep their relationship completely professional, despite their sizzling chemistry. But when Jimmy pushes her too far and Lena leaves, he realizes that he may just have lost the best thing that ever happened to him.  

 

4.5 Stars

Verbally sparring with Jimmy was fast becoming more fun than I’d had with most other men naked. Which was sad. Real sad.

I’m actually shocked to say this, but I think this is my favorite of the Stage Dive Series…so far. David stole my heart in the first book and Mal made me laugh. But Jimmy? Oh, Jimmy. He surprised me most of all.

He was such a dichotomy of good and evil, beautiful and bad.

Jimmy is the sexy front man of Stage Dive. We got snippets of Jimmy’s character throughout the first two books and can easily conclude that he’s pretty much an asshole. He’s not a very easy person to be around, especially now that he’s trying to beat his drug and alcohol addiction. The one person who continuously stands up to him as well as supports him is his assistant Lena.

Lena didn’t know what to expect when she took on the job as Jimmy’s assistant, especially when the biggest part of her job is to be his sobriety companion. It’s not easy to keep your sanity when your boss is constantly an asshole, but Lena has lasted longer keeping Jimmy on the straight and narrow than any of his last assistants. But things get more complicated…

“Why not? I see it as a win-win situation. I get to release some of my frustration and you get to release any lingering feelings messing with your head. We fuck, we see we don’t have chemistry, we move on. Or even better, everything falls apart like it normally does and you’re happy just going back to being friends. What do you say?” ~ Jimmy

When Lena starts developing feelings for Jimmy, she knows that she has to keep a safe distance, but Jimmy definitely doesn’t make it easy. Whether or not he wants to admit it, but Jimmy likes having her around. In a way, Lena keeps him grounded. Lena tries not to read into Jimmy’s reasoning as to why he wants her around, especially when he makes it perfectly clear that he doesn’t do love

“I’m sorry. I don’t want anybody else. You’re my everything, Lena. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I need you to know that. You gotta understand that, okay?”

I just stared at him, transfixed.

“Say something,” her urged.

“Jimmy, that’s love.”

This book had a different feel than the first two books. It definitely had its hot and steamy moments, but I think this book had more of a story to it, if that makes any sense. I loved Jimmy and Lena. Jimmy was brooding, sexy, and had a soft spot for his curvy, smart and sexy assistant. But what made me a fan of this couple is that they developed their relationship first through respect, patience, understanding and friendship; making their connection a little more close. I loved these two!!

I hate waking up without you and I worry constantly that you’re okay, that you’ve got everything you need. Look, the truth is, I’m all about you, Lena. You’re my best friend. You’re my girl.

Excerpt

“Lena, you seen my old black Led Zep shirt?” “Nope.” “You sure?” His brows became one dark cranky line. The scratches on his face were healing well, thank goodness. Though it didn’t reduce my desire to throttle his mother on a daily basis. “Yes. I haven’t seen it.” Can’t find it anywhere…” “And this is a surprise, how?” I slipped my hands into my back jean’s pockets. “Jimmy, you own more clothing than Cher, Brittney, and Elvis, put together. Things are bound to go missing.” “Sure you haven’t seen it?” “For goodness sake, what do you think, Jimmy? That I stole it to sleep in or something?” I laughed bitterly. Sure as hell, the truth deserved a good mocking. I’d sunk so despicably low. I hadn’t even meant to steal the stupid thing, but the shirt had been mixed up with my laundry a few days ago. It’d been the first top I laid my hand on after stepping out of the shower, ready to go to bed. Without thought, I’d put it on and it’d been so soft, the scent of him lingering beneath the laundry detergent. Every night since, I’d found myself in it come bedtime. My shame knew no limits. And no, I still hadn’t quit. The words still hadn’t come even close to leaving my mouth. He frowned. “No.” “That I have some deep secret longing to feel close to you resulting in my stealing your shirt like some creepy perv?” “Course I don’t fucking think that,” he replied crankily, reaching up to grip the top of the doorframe. All of his bulging muscles stretched the arms of his white T-shirt in the nicest way. It was all I could do not to start drooling, my heart beat taking up residence somewhere down between my thighs. And who could blame it? Not me. Maybe if I got laid, this would go away and things would return to normal. It’d seemed safer to avoid rubbing up against any men just in case I got carried away and started dating again. This new situation, however, changed everything. “Well, of course not! That would be crazy.” And wasn’t that the god’s honest truth? Cray-zeee. Lock me up and throw away the key because it wasn’t like I didn’t know better. “Just can’t figure out where the hell it could be.” Angels couldn’t have smiled as innocently. They might have tried, but they would have failed, the dirty-mouthed, winged, little liars. “Jimmy, I don’t know where it is. But I’ll look around for it later, okay?” “Yeah,” he said, and then added as an afterthought, “and stop looking at me weird.” “I’m not!”  

The Stage Dive series by Kylie Scott

Lick (Stage Dive #1)

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | B&N | Goodreads

Play (Stage Dive #2)

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | B&N | Goodreads

Lead (Stage Dive, #3)

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | B&N | iTunes

Coming January 6^th, 2015

Deep (Stage Dive #4)

Pre - Order

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | B&N | Goodreads

   

About Kylie Scott

Kylie is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and one delightful husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads

Check out more of Kylie’s work

The Flesh series | Colonist’s Wife | Heart’s A Mess

 

#ReleaseBlitz ~ Life After Taylah by Bella Jewel #Review #Giveaway

Blurb

My mother's name is Taylah, and once, a very long time ago, she was my best friend - she was everything I wanted to be.

Until the night she disappeared.

Ten years on and my life, my families lives and the world around us has never been the same again.

How can it be when you are left not knowing?

No leads. No connections. Nothing. Just pure emptiness.

My dancing is the only way I can separate myself from the pain that lies in my home, in my father's eyes and in my brother's spirit. They need me and I'll fight with everything I am to be there for them, but who will be there for me?

Then I meet Nate.

Champion Motocross racer and everything my father doesn't want for me. He's forbidden, he's beautiful, and he's carrying a bundle of his own secrets.

When I step into his world, there is no turning back.

He will consume me.

He will teach me how to breathe again.

He will put a tiny piece of my broken heart, back together.  

4.5 Stars

**Possible Spoilers**

“You define love by deciding if it’s right or wrong. That’s not always correct. Love creeps up on you at the most inopportune moment, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. Love cannot be reasoned with and it can’t be as simple as right or wrong.” ~ Avery

Bravo, Ms. Jewel! I’m a big fan of this author and this was something I was really anxious to read. When I got this ARC, I was ecstatic! It shouldn’t surprise me at all that I couldn’t put this down. Once I started, I had to finish it. I will warn you now: This will put you through the emotional wringer, but wow! was this ridiculously good!

“Do you know what you’re doing to me, Dancer? You’re making me see that there’s better out there. You’re makin’ me feel again…and it’s been so long since I’ve felt…”

Life before her mother’s, Taylah, disappearance, Avery seemed to have a happy and stable life. She had a loving mother, father and older brother. After her mother disappeared, everything fell apart. Her father became more distant and her brother, whom she was really close to prior to the disappearance, has turned to drugs to cope. The only thing keeping her sane is her dancing. Her life complicates further when she meets her brother’s friend, Nate.

“I’m falling for you, in a way I’ve never fallen before. Don’t walk away from me. You’re the only sunshine I have left.” ~ Nate

From the outside, Nate’s life looks ideal. He’s a Motocross rider, married, and has a beautiful young daughter. However, it’s far from ideal. His marriage is on the brink of breaking; having an alcoholic, neglectful wife certainly doesn’t help. When he meets Avery, she’s like a burst of light in his dreary life. She’s innocent, sweet and one of the most compassionate people he’s ever come across. They develop a close friendship, but as much as they want more, they know try to keep things on the friend-level – it makes for some great tension, let me tell you.

I’ve allowed myself to feel possessive over something that is not mine.

This was an emotional read that had my heart and mind going in so many directions. As much as I disliked Nate’s wife, she was still his wife and the dilemma it created in my head drove me nuts because I wanted him and Avery together. Why couldn’t he just leave her? The reason seemed so simple, but alas, it was Nate that made it more complicated than it had to – at least that was my opinion.

I cannot recommend this story enough. It was angsty, hot and really emotional. I love these types of stories and Ms. Jewel delivered this story almost flawlessly. I really hope there will be more from the characters from this story. I would particularly love to hear Kelly’s story, just sayin - this would make an awesome series. Loved it!

Buy the Book

Amazon: US | UK | AU | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | iTunes

 

About the Author

Bella Jewel is an Aussie girl through and through. She spent her life in Western Australia, growing up in many different areas of the state. She now currently lives in Perth with her husband, children and mass amounts of pets. She's crazy, fun, outgoing and friendly. Writing is her passion, she started at the young age of 18 but finally got the courage up to publish, and her first novel Hell's Knights was released in August 2013.  

Author Social Media Links

Facebook | Website | Goodreads

 

Giveaway!

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#Review ~ Love, in English by Karina Halle

He’s thirty-eight. I’m twenty-three.

He speaks Spanish. I speak English.

He lives in Spain. I live in Canada.

He dresses in thousand-dollar suits. I’m covered in tattoos.

He’s married and has a five-year old daughter. I’m single and can’t commit to anyone or anything.

Until now.Because when they say you can’t choose who you fall in love with, boy ain’t that the f*#king truth.

***

To a restless dreamer like Vera Miles, it sounded like the experience of a lifetime. Instead of spending her summer interning for her astronomy major, she would fly to Spain where she’d spend a few weeks teaching conversational English to businessmen and women, all while enjoying free room and board at an isolated resort. But while Vera expected to get a tan, meet new people and stuff herself with wine and paella, she never expected to fall in love.

Mateo Casalles is unlike anyone Vera has ever known, let alone anyone she’s usually attracted to. While Vera is a pierced and tatted free spirit with a love for music and freedom, Mateo is a successful businessman from Madrid, all sharp suits and cocky Latino charm. Yet, as the weeks go on, the two grow increasingly close and their relationship changes from purely platonic to something…more.

Something that makes Vera feel alive for the first time.

Something that can never, ever be.

Or so she thinks.

 

4.75-5 Stars

He slowly turned around. “What is love? In English?”

I raised my brows. “Love, in English, is love?”

“What is it in Spanish?”

I was so enthralled by his hypnotic eyes, I could barely remember. “Amore?”

He shook his head ever so slightly. “No. Love in Spanish is you.”

I am utterly FLOORED by this book. This was STUNNING! As I sit here trying to write this review, I’ve had a few hours to reflect. I’m having trouble finding the adequate words to describe this story. The first words that come to mind are immediately: Beautiful, heartbreaking, conflicting & sweet. Sorry for the unoriginality, but meh! I suck at trying to paint a picture. All I know is that this one made me a swoony, hot mess.

Love, that ultimate villainess. She makes examples of us all.

And yet we still come back for more.

We keep playing the role she gives us.

For one more chance to feel alive.

Love has made me a villain. But at least now, I don’t have to be misunderstood.

This is my story…

Vera has a reputation. Her tattoos, her promiscuity has followed her around since she was teenager. At twenty-three years old, she’s a bit…lost; she’s kind of stuck in a rut, of sorts. So she decides to go to Spain and join this program to help Spaniards with their English. It is because of this program that she will have a free room for the next month. This is where she eventually meets the handsome Mateo.

I liked the calm Mateo, the witty Mateo, the lusty Mateo, and the hot-tempered Mateo.

I liked all of him.

No. I loved all of him.

I loved Mateo Casalles.

Mateo is thirty-eight, married and has a young daughter. He is also a former pro football (soccer) star who is now co-owns restaurants in Spain, but wants to expand internationally, hence why he’s in this program. Mateo and Vera hit it off immediately. They seemed so at ease with each other, their conversations constantly flowing. There was a definite connection. Vera, being Vera, knew instantly she was in deep trouble with Mateo.

“You’re married!” I yelled. “I cannot be the other woman!”

“You already are the other woman!” he yelled right back. His words smashed into me, blowing me to smithereens. He cupped my face in his hands. “You already are, whether you want to be or not. You’ve bewitched me, Vera. You’ve blinded me. You’ve made me forget my vows. And all you had to do was shine.”

Although I loved this book, part of me was torn. I love Vera & Mateo together, but the fact was that he is married. Yes, it does become quite obvious that he is in a loveless marriage, but like I said, he is still legally with his wife. I can completely understand why Vera felt so much guilt because honestly, I felt them too. You really felt all the struggles she went through – both physically and mentally. Only phenomenal storytelling can make you feel that.

My Estrella.

Overall, this was just one beautiful read. Karina Halle did a extraordinary job of writing this. The story flowed nicely, it kept my interest and it’s the type of story that will stick with you for a very long time. Bravo, Karina! Bravo.