JB's Book Obsession : 09/23/15

About HARD AS STEEL: A Hard Ink/Raven Riders Crossover Novella

After identifying her employer's dangerous enemies, Jessica Jakes takes refuge at the compound of the Raven Riders Motorcycle Club. Fellow Hard Ink tattooist and Raven leader Ike Young promises to keep Jess safe for as long as it takes, which would be perfect if his close, personal, round-the-clock protection didn't make it so hard to hide just how much she wants him—and always has.

Ike Young loved and lost a woman in trouble once before. The last thing he needs is alone time with the sexiest and feistiest woman he's ever known, one he's purposely kept at a distance for years. Now, Ike's not sure he can keep his hands or his heart to himself—or that he even wants to anymore. And that means he has to do whatever it takes to hold on to Jess forever.

HARD AS STEEL EXCERPT: Be Nice

I’m thrilled to be here celebrating the release of my 21^st book, HARD AS STEEL! After a midnight break-in at her apartment, close friends and Hard Ink Tattoo co-workers Ike Young and Jessica Jakes are forced into hiding—and forced to confront the feelings they’ve always denied for one another. I have always adored friends-to-lovers and forced proximity stories, and HARD AS STEEL delivers that and more, including a taste of both my award-winning and best-selling Hard Ink and upcoming Raven Riders series! Check out this excerpt:

“Any better?” Ike asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Jess peered up at him. “A little.”

His eyes narrowed. “You’re still cold now, aren’t you?”

She shivered and pulled the cover tighter around her shoulder. “Yeah.”

“Fuck.” Ike scrubbed a hand over his bald head and mumbled something she couldn’t quite make out. “Maybe I shouldn’t have put you in the tub after all.”

“I think it was the right thing, Ike. I was so out of it. It is better than it was before.” She worked at a small smile. No matter how bad she felt, the last thing she wanted was to make him feel bad given everything he was doing for her. As if he hadn’t already gone out of his way in giving her a place of refuge and his personal protection for as long as she needed it, now he had to play freaking nursemaid to a sicky. Which, on top of everything, was super attractive.

The only upside to that ice-cold bath was that Ike had gotten wet and tossed his shirt, and Jess thought she might be willing to be sick more often if it meant getting to see him shirtless. Because, holy bad-ass tattooed biker on a stick, he was so freaking hot. Cut muscles, ink everywhere, two insanely delicious indents low on his waist. And scars Jess had never seen before and had no idea how Ike had gotten.

All that goodness and Jess couldn’t even see the big Ravens tat that she knew covered Ike’s broad back. But she’d seen it before, back at Hard Ink when Jeremy occasionally did a new piece for Ike. She’d seen it enough to know that she’d love to have a good reason to dig her fingers into that tat…

Oh, for fuck’s sake, even sick she couldn’t stop fantasizing about what it would be like to be with Ike. Just once.

“Jess?”

Her gaze snapped to his eyes. “Huh?” Hopefully the warmth crawling up her cheeks would pass for a fevered flush. Because she was so busted.

“I, uh, asked if you thought it would help if I got in with you.” The expression he wore said he was dubious about the idea.

And as much as Jess loved the idea, she didn’t want him doing anything with her that he didn’t really want to do. “That’s okay. Why don’t you go get some sleep now? It’s gotta be almost morning.”

He looked at her for a long moment, and then he tapped his hand against her arm. “Scoot over.”

“Ike—”

“Damnit, scoot your scrawny ass over already.” He cocked an eyebrow, humor sliding into his eyes.

“Well, I’ll scoot over,” she said as she made herself move. “But you and I both know there ain’t anything scrawny about my ass.”

“Jessica?” Ike said as he got in next to her wearing only his jeans.

“Yeah?” The minute he was down, she nearly dove into the crook of his body, her forehead against his neck, her breasts against his ribs, her bare legs intertwined with his denim-clad ones. She wasn’t sure where to put her hand, because the not-sick part of her brain wanted to touch him everywhere right now oh my god I’m in bed with Ike! But she settled for resting it on his chest, the hair on his pecs ticklish against her fingers.

“Shut up and go to sleep.” He took the edge off the words by clasping her hand in his and pressing it more firmly to his skin.

“Be nice to me. I’m sick,” she said, burrowing in further.

Ike wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tighter against him. God, he felt good, warm and hard and strong. “Woman,” he said, his voice full of gravel. “This is me being nice.”

About Laura Kaye:

Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over twenty books in contemporary and paranormal romance and romantic suspense. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

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Blitz Tour: Have You Seen This Girl ? by Carissa Ann Lynch

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GIRL?

Author: Carissa Ann Lynch

Series: Flocksdale Files #1

Publisher: Limitless Publishing

- SYNOPSIS -

Wendi Wise is a troubled young woman who snorts her breakfast through a straw and spends more time in rehab than in the real world…

Her life is seemingly out of control.

But now she has a plan.

That plan involves a sharp set of butcher knives.

She's going back to where all of her troubles began…

Flocksdale.

Wendi was lured away from a local skating rink, at the age of thirteen, and held captive in a place she calls 'The House of Horrors.' Dumped off blindfolded on the side of a dirt road, Wendi soon discovered that she was addicted to the drugs they fed her while she was captive.

Too scared to go home, and having a new habit to deal with, she hopped on a bus, vanishing from the family she loved.

Vanishing from Flocksdale…

The town of Flocksdale is littered with fliers with a grainy image of young Wendi, and the words 'Have You Seen This Girl?' written below.

Now, eight years later, she's on a mission—a mission to find the mysterious house from her youth and the monsters who dwell inside it.

“This is the end, beautiful friend, the end…”

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- Available for FREE with #KindleUnlimited -

- BOOK TRAILER -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciiesyL2Jnc

- PROLOGUE -

Present Day: I lost my straw three hours ago, which sucks because it was my favorite one. Getting up to look for it seems like a painstaking, insurmountable task right now, but I pull myself up to a sitting position and swing my legs over the side of the bed. The “bed” is nothing more than a dingy, rust-colored mattress that lies on the floor of a two-room basement apartment in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The threadbare carpet that covers the floor provides no support for my feet, and frankly, it stinks. I get down on my knees and lay my face flat against the carpet, holding my breath and peering under an ancient, stained armchair and the dresser that stands beside it. Now, where the fuck is that straw?

All I can see are dust bunnies, mouse droppings, and the carcass of a cockroach. No straw. I let out a frustrated groan. I give up searching, stand back up, and pad across the hall to the tiny bathroom I share with my current boyfriend, Michael, or “Mick” when he thinks he’s cool. I plop down on the toilet, running my hands through my tangled mop of greasy black hair.

I wait for the pee to come. Then wait some more. I can remember one of my old AA mentors, telling me once why opiates interfere with bodily functions like peeing, for instance. It was something about wires in the brain getting crossed…I wish I had a stopwatch to time this affair, but then it finally comes and I let out a sigh of relief.

Mick’s clothes from the night before are strewn across the bathroom floor at my feet. Suddenly I have a thought, and begin rummaging through the pockets of a brown pair of khaki shorts that I remember him wearing last night. I find what I’m looking for: a tattered black wallet, worn out from age and being sat on all day long. I open it up and peer inside. It only contains two dollars, but that’s fine by me—all I need is one.

Pulling out the faded, crumpled bill, I smooth it flat against the round edges of the wash basin. Once flattened, I begin slowly rolling it into a perfectly cylindrical mini-version of my straw. It’s basically perfect.

The dope is in my bedroom drawer, along with my razor. Using the tiny blade, I lovingly chop the heroin until it is fine and powdery, and then use the rolled up dollar bill to suck it straight up my nose. Its taste hits the back of my throat instantly and drains down through my sinuses, a sensation I used to loathe but have grown to love.

Wiping the residue from my nose noisily with the back of my hand, I glance at Mick, who is still passed out on the bed. Getting high makes him sleepy, but it fills me with an insatiable need to do something productive.

Our bedroom is dotted with tiny land mines of crumpled t-shirts, inside-out jeans, and day-old panties. I make my way around the room, picking them up and tossing them all into a wicker laundry basket in the corner.

Besides the bedroom and bathroom, we have a small, windowless sitting area, a narrow galley kitchen, and a small extra bedroom that we use for trash and other random items. I move my cleaning to the living room, gathering up snack wrappers and empty Solo cups, and then carry them into the small silver garbage can under the kitchen sink. The sink is filled to the brim with two-day-old dishes, so I start filling the sink with water and shampoo.

I’ve been out of dish soap for weeks now, but the hair care product seems to get the job done so I don’t complain. The water from the faucet never gets hot because our gas got shut off months ago. If I want hot water, I have to boil it. This all sounds ridiculous, I know. This is the twenty-first century, but my addiction has me back in the Stone Age, because when you’re an addict, you don’t spend money on things like food, water, clothes, electricity…you spend it on drugs. At least the truly hardcore addicts like me do.

Crusty teacups, sauce-covered plates, and sour-smelling utensils permeate the water, rising steadily to the brim. I plunge my hands into the frigid, cloudy water and begin mindlessly washing.

For the past six months, our daily life can be divided into three segments: looking for money to buy heroin, finding the drug, and then getting high. Oh, I almost forgot about the fourth segment: coming down from the drug—my least favorite time of day. Our entire life revolves around heroin and our bodies rely on it to function. It’s not about getting “high” anymore because I never feel lifted or high-spirited, or overly anything these days. We wake up feeling low and we need it to feel normal. Maybe they should change the expression to “getting normal” or “avoiding feeling like shit,” instead of “getting high.”

Today will be different though. Today I have a date with my good friend rehab, and in six hours from now, my daily routine should change dramatically. Mick isn’t going, but I’m fine with that. He’ll do his own thing when he’s ready. I’ve been planning this for a month now, and finally the phone call came: a bed opened up at the local in-patient clinic and today is the day to report.

I’ve been to rehab before, and will mostly like go again after this stint, but everything is about to change. This time around, major plans have been made for when I get out of rehab.

Those plans involve me and a sharp set of butcher knives, but I’ll explain that later.

Perhaps you’re wondering how I got this way. Or perhaps you don’t give a damn. Either way, this is my story. It’s not a story about addiction. This is a story about murder.

- ABOUT THE AUTHOR -

CARISSA ANN LYNCH

Besides my family, my greatest love in life is books. Reading them, writing them, holding them, smelling them…well, you get the idea. I’ve always loved to read, and some of my earliest childhood memories are me, tucked away in my room, lost in a good book. I received a five dollar allowance each week, and I always — always — spent it on books. My love affair with writing started early, but it mostly involved journaling and writing silly poems. Several years ago, I didn’t have a book to read so I decided on a whim to write my own story, something I’d like to read. It turned out to be harder than I thought, but from that point on I was hooked. My first and second books were released by Sarah Book Publishing: This Is Not About Love and Grayson’s Ridge. I’m a total genre-hopper. Basically, I like to write what I like to read: a little bit of everything! I reside in Floyds Knobs, Indiana with my husband, three children, and massive collection of books. I have a degree in psychology and worked as a counselor.

- SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS -

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Enter for a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card (INT!) or a SIGNED PAPERBACK of Have You Seen This Girl? by Carissa Ann Lynch (USA!).

ENTER HERE: http://on.fb.me/1MeqntF

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Blog Tour: Unraveled The Gatekeeper Chronicles by Diana M. Given

Title: UNRAVELED (The Gatekeeper Chronicles, #2)

Author: Dina M. Given

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Release Date: August 31, 2015

Blurb

Emma Hayes, a mercenary turned monster hunter, finds herself the secret savior of Earth as she attempts to battle creatures, called Monere, and keep unsuspecting humans safe.

Emma already has blood on her hands, and the tide of Monere keep coming. She quickly learns that not all battles can be won with a gun and she must decide whether to take up Sharur, the magical battle axe, which may trigger a latent and terrifying magical ability within her.

Emma’s monster hunting skills also catch the attention of a government operative who enlists her help to discover the identity of another hunter. This investigation leads Emma deep into the heart of a supernatural organized crime Syndicate, and all of her notions about the evil nature of these creatures are called into question when she meets The Syndicate’s leader.

Can Emma unravel the true nature of the Monere and come to terms with her own magical ability before the next gateway opens, threatening the future of humankind?

Purchase your copy today!

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Excerpt

With this proximity, I could see each hard angle of Alex’s face and body. I had either never had the luxury of this kind of quiet downtime with him, or perhaps I had never allowed myself to really look at him before, but I did now.

His light hair was longer than usual and mussed from the excitement of the evening. A stray lock fell across one brilliantly green eye, the color of a lush rainforest. His body tensed, showing off every taut muscle through his thin T-shirt.

He was beautiful, but he didn’t know it, or if he did, he had never used his looks to his advantage. I had never seen him flirt, throw around an enticing smile, or pin someone with a smoldering stare. Although he could certainly do it, he probably thought that kind of influence was a form of cheating. He could be such a Boy Scout, but it was charming and made him trustworthy, and to trust someone was more important than a bad boy attitude any day.

This man sitting before me had sacrificed his own safety several times to save me. His job had initially been to keep an eye on me for Alcina and the Mage Council, and kill me if need be. Not only did he defy his orders, but he did so spectacularly when he saved my life in Citi Field and sided with a shifter to ensure my escape. He defied his people and his prejudice for me.

The sultry air in the subway car seemed to grow warmer and closer as these thoughts smoldered low in my belly. A rush of longing and gratitude swept through me. Alex must have sensed it because he chose that moment to lift his head, and our eyes locked. His expression reflected everything I was feeling, and I was consumed by a desire to see whether the Boy Scout would ever explore bad boy territory.

I stood slowly, as if trying not to spook a nervous horse that was on the precipice of bolting, before lowering myself onto the futon next to Alex. His eyes followed my every movement, sweeping across each curve of my body. His expression didn’t change, but his body stilled, all of that nervous fidgeting coming to a grinding halt.

I slid so close to Alex my thigh rubbed against his, and he reacted like I had electrocuted him with my touch, his leg jerking at the sudden sensation, but he didn’t move away from the physical contact.

“Thank you,” I said so softly it seemed as though all of the upholstered fluff in the room had absorbed the sound.

“For what?” Alex asked, his eyes now resting on my leg where the clothing had burned away to reveal the newly healed, creamy skin.

“For everything,” I said with a small laugh, and he looked up then met my gaze. “Seriously, you saved my bacon a few times now, and I don’t think I ever thanked you. I know you didn’t have to do it, and I know it went against your orders. You put yourself at serious risk for me.”

His warm hand slipped into mine, and I embraced the unexpected touch, wrapping my fingers around his. “Emma, no matter what happens I want you to know that you mean everything to me. You always have. Even though I may have lost my way, that truth will never change. I need you to believe that.”

The burning sincerity in his eyes was proof enough.

“I do,” I said, squeezing his hand gently for emphasis. It felt a lot like he was saying good-bye. Maybe all of this was just too much for him.

Tears sprung to my eyes, unbidden, and I turned away to hide them. Alex hadn’t missed them, though.

With his free hand, he cupped my chin tenderly and turned my head to face him again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He looked on the verge of tears himself.

“You didn’t. It’s just that… Well, there haven’t been very many people in my life who have cared enough to want to help me, or to try to save me.” Even though I didn’t know exactly what Alex had meant by his last statement, I felt compelled to let him know I wanted to be there for him too. “If you ever do lose your way, I promise I’ll help you find it again.”

Our gazes were locked together in a need for connection. I became hyperaware of the sensation of my thigh pressed against his and the comforting touch of his hand in mine. My leg shifted minutely, as if it had a mind of its own and wanted to increase the sensation of that subtle touch, calling attention to it. It had the desired effect.

Alex watched me through heavy lids, and I could suddenly feel the air thicken with anticipation. We were so close. All I had to do was lean in a couple of inches.

I wasn’t sure if I moved, but Alex’s eyes darted to my lips, which I licked unconsciously. He sucked in a hard breath as his own lips parted, and I could see his muscles bunching under his thin T-shirt as his body prepared to move toward me.

Unhidden (The Gatekeeper Chronicles, #1)

Amazon US | Amazon UK

It’s not always easy to differentiate between the good guys and the bad guys, especially when your heroine is a trained killer and she may be falling in love with her evil hunter…

Emma Hayes, a former military Special Forces Operative turned mercenary-for-hire, finds her tightly controlled world turned upside down when she is attacked by horrible monsters.

Emma must use every skill in her arsenal to stay alive as she tries to solve the mystery of why she has been targeted. Her list of enemies keeps growing - from Zane Shayde, an evil Mage, to a secret branch of the US government - and she doesn't know if there is anyone left she can trust.

To complicate matters further, Emma is inexplicably drawn to Zane in a way she doesn’t quite understand, even knowing her life is forfeit if captured. Who is he and why does he have this affect on her? How can she fight a being that calls to her, body and soul?

Emma is left haunted by questions, doubts and fears as to why she has been targeted, when they will come for her next, and how she will possibly be able to survive against an enemy she doesn't understand.

About the Author

Dina Given lives in rural New Jersey – home of farms, horses and the largest hot air balloon festival in North America – with her husband, two crazy kids, and one rescue dog. She is an exercise enthusiast and avid lover of food and wine (hence the need to exercise). Dina also works full time for one of the largest healthcare companies in the world. She attributes her ability to juggle family, work and writing to her obsessive, hyper-focused, Type A personality.

Connect with Dina

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Blog Tour: Fitting the Pieces (The Riverdale Series Book 3) by Janine Infante Bosco

Title: Fitting the Pieces

Series: The RiverdaleSeries Book Three

Author: Janine Infante Bosco

Blog Tour: September 21^st thru September 30^th

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#fittingthepieces

You’ve laughed with them. You’ve cried with them. Now it’s time to say goodbye to the Lanza Family, in the final installment of The Riverdale Series.

Luke Lanza is a man who has always done the responsible thing. He has faced a lot of challenging obstacles in his life from raising his daughter on his own, to building a successful business, even being the only viable donor that could save his brother’s life. Knowing this about his brother and knowing that he was going to die, Jake asked him to look after the love of his life. Now Luke is torn between the promise he made to his brother and the pull of something he’s never known before.

“Promise me, I need to hear you say it, Luke.”
Luke swallowed. “I promise I’ll take care of Cara, you don’t have to worry about her.” A tear slipped down his cheek as he finished his vow to his little brother.
Jake smiled slightly and closed his eyes. “I could always count on you.”

Cara Sloane is struggling with the loss of her first love and the power of addiction. Jake had been her rock for so long, with him gone she realizes how broken she is. She doesn’t want to feel anything, least of all the emptiness in her heart.

“I know you’re at peace and I should be thankful for that, but I can’t be. I never realized what a selfish person I was. You were suffering and all I could do was pray for you not to leave me.”

A tragic accident leaves Luke and his family pleading with Cara to change the course of her life. Can Cara face her demons and learn there is life after Jake? Can she learn that she can hold onto to the beautiful memories they made together and still live her life?

“I don’t want to fix her because she’s broken.” He said with his own voice sounding a bit broken. “I want to help her because losing her too isn’t an option.”
Individually they try to heal, together they wonder if they can fit the pieces of their broken lives.

“Dance with me.” He repeated and held out his hand to her.
She laughed. “Luke, you don’t dance.”
“You’re right, I don’t.” He held her gaze, giving her his best charming smile.
“Dance with me Spunky.”
“But…” She stopped, curiosity getting the best of her, she placed her hand in his. “You don’t have to dance with me, Luke.” He ignored her and listened for it, waited for it. The beat started, the music making those who didn’t dance instantly want to. Bailando. That was the name of the Spanish flirty music that filtered the tent. Cara bit her lip as the rhythm of the music overcame her, suddenly she felt the overwhelming urge to let go and just dance with him. She looked at Luke. It wasn’t a slow song, poor guy, he’d do anything to make her smile.
She looked around and noticed they were alone on the dance floor and all eyes were on them. She could feel the stares as she stood still for a moment and just watched him. He placed one hand on her hip, his fingers digging in his eyes were directly on hers as he took one of her hands, bringing it around his neck. She couldn’t tear her eyes from his, noticing that there was something lurking in the depths of those dark brown eyes, something she had never seen before. He took her free hand in his and nudged her feet apart with his.
Strangely, she didn’t know what to do with herself she had been dancing for years but always had taken her lead from Jake. They hadn’t been a couple when they went dancing either, it was just something they did and they did it well. She felt Luke’s leg slide between hers, tried her best to focus, to listen to the music and will her feet to move, but it was Luke who moved first. He gripped her hip tighter and then blew her hair away from her ear as he dipped his head.
“Can’t do it all by myself, Spunky.” He whispered huskily. “Move those hips of yours. Show me what they can do…” Oh my God! Cara felt her cheeks redden and then she was spun under his arm and forced to abide by his demand. Her hips sashayed from side to side as she closed in on him. He moved fluidly, his feet gliding around the wooden floor effortlessly. It was natural or so it seemed to her, as he brought her closer. She tried to focus on the words of the song, finding it damn near impossible. Enrique Inglesias was singing that he couldn’t wait any longer. And by the looks of it, neither could Luke. He spun her under their arms, once, twice, three times before bringing her body close to his. His hips rotated and he thrust them into hers. He was all hard lines and the hardest part of him was pressed against her thigh.
She swallowed and peered at him from under the fringe of her lashes. She bit down on her lip and tried to block out the stares that seemed to be burning right through her. She grabbed onto the tie that hung loosely around his neck and began to move her hips slowly, tantalizingly to the beat of the music. She heard the sharp intake of breath he took and then she turned around, still holding onto his tie as she continued to tease him with her hips. Forgetting herself for a moment and just enjoying him she ground her ass into his crotch, feeling his every desire press against her.
That perfect ass dug right into him, fitting against him perfectly. He forgot about counting steps and just held onto her hips, letting her curves be his guide and together they moved to the sultry beat. He wasn’t a dancer. He may never dance again, but the dance that he was doing with Cara, would be burned into his memory.

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Fitting the Pieces – Book 3 in the Riverdale Series
by Janine Infante Bosco

This is the third and final book in this series, the series should be read in order. If you are a fan of love stories this is the series for you. You will laugh, you will cry and get a bit hot and bothered by the Lanza brother’s and their friend Nick Foti. The couples in this series go through some really tough emotional times. In the end they support each other and help to heal each other. From the first book Pieces, to the second Broken Pieces and now the third book Fitting the Pieces I wanted to be a part of this group of people. The author tells a real story with real subjects and real emotions.

Luke Lanza has always been the responsible guy, the one to always know when to do the right thing. He took on being a single dad without complaint. Started his own repair shop and has grown it into a flourishing business. He has always had the help and support of his family. Tragedy strikes the Lanza clan when they lose one of their own. Jake Lanza was Luke’s little brother, he was supposed to save him but somehow he failed him. So when Jake pleads with Luke on his deathbed to look after his fiance Cara, Luke promises he will without hesitation.

“Promise me, I need to hear you say it, Luke.”
Luke swallowed. “I promise I’ll take care of Cara, you don’t have to worry about her.” A tear slipped down his cheek as he finished his vow to his little brother.
Jake smiled slightly and closed his eyes. “I could always count on you.”

But when Luke starts to find himself falling in love with the beautiful Cara he doesn't know what to do with his feelings. Betraying his brother’s memory by lusting after his girl is not an option for the steadfast Luke. Can he deny his growing feelings and make the sacrifice to live without her? When he discovers Cara’s life spiraling out of control his need to protect her kicks in and he helps her through the most difficult time in her life.

“I don’t want to fix her because she’s broken.” He said with his own voice sounding a bit broken. “I want to help her because losing her too isn’t an option.”

When Cara Slone finally admitted that she was in love with her best friend Jake Lanza her life couldn't have been better. Until he loses his battle with cancer and leaves her feeling alone, lost and broken. Wanting to escape the pain Cara starts using prescription drugs so she can stop feeling. She hits rock bottom when she nearly kills herself driving while high on pills. Desperate she finds herself begging the one person she didn't want to depend on for help. Jake’s brother, Luke.

“I know you’re at peace and I should be thankful for that, but I can’t be. I never realized what a selfish person I was. You were suffering and all I could do was pray for you not to leave me.”

Is there really such a thing as true love a second time around? Or has Cara had her one chance at true love and lost it?
Can you help who you fall in love with? Even if Luke can’t love her, he will save her from herself.

My Review:

When we met Cara in book one she and Jake were inseparable from age fifteen. He was her rock, her savior, her hero in all ways. Cara is lost without him to hold her up, keep her safe. She doesn't know what to do with her feelings of loss, so she does the only things she can and stops feeling. The drugs allow her to forget, to stop dreaming of Jake's voice, his touch. She can’t live without him her life is over so why bother living. Not the most mentally healthy way to deal with her grief but Cara is lost. Luke has been trying to help her guide her, keep her safe. But she resists his help at every turn. Until a tragic accident makes Cara realize she is hurting herself and the only family she has ever known, the Lanza’s. In an effort to mend her broken life she asks Luke for help and checks into rehab.

In rehab Cara learns about her daddy’s issues and tries to deal with them as best she can. She also tries to deal with her tremendous grief over not having a life with Jake. While she is in rehab she begins to remember a particular incident involving Luke while she was high on drugs and suddenly changes how she looks at Luke. He has been nothing but committed and helpful in her recovery they begin to start a comfortable friendship they never had before. But she notices different things about Luke that in all the years she has known him never stood out to her before.

“You’re hot.” She blurted freely and then closed her eyes mentally kicking herself.

Cara and Luke’s building friendship to something much more progressed slowly as it should. Luke wanted her but he was giving her the time to figure out what she really wanted. Cara was conflicted feeling that Jake’s family would think badly of her. One brother dies and she picks up the pieces with the one left behind. Luke is the ultimate sexy, hot, alpha male, protective guy that we all want to have fall in love with us and take care of us. To top it all off he is a dedicated father to his daughter Ava, the interactions between father and daughter really tug at your heart.

“I know I promised to be patient.” He said gruffly. “I can’t wait any longer Cara. I physically can’t wait anymore.” He leaned into her and with the sexiest voice she had ever heard he all but purred his plea into her ear. “I need to be buried deep inside of you…”

This series was about family and the love and support that we all need and thrive on. These characters held each other up when they needed it. They were there to give each other the honest truth that sometimes we don’t want to hear. Nick and Sam are back to have their baby and get married. Nick steps up as more of a brother since Jake passing. Deb and Joe are highlighted more in dealing with their son’s death and their other son’s growing feelings for his brother’s girl and feeling like he failed his brother and family. The whole family including young Ava has a hand in bringing Cara and Luke together.

“I was just telling Cara a bit of our story.” Deb said before standing up and walking over to her husband.
“Pretty good story, no?” Joe asked Cara, throwing a wink in for good measure.
“One of the best ever written.” Cara said sincerely.
“Makes you want to go write your own, no?” Joe smiled at her before looking at his wife.

Pieces – Book One

Buy Links:

Amazon

Goodreads

Broken Pieces Book Two

Buy Links:
Amazon

Goodreads

Jake’s Journal Book 3.5

In honor of the one year anniversary of the series you can now get your hands on Jake’s Journals.

Read his inner thoughts as he goes through the hardest time in his life. Read his letters to Cara as he pours out his heart and soul to her, though his works and drawings he wished to create. Discover the plans he had for his loved ones and the promises he left behind.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Goodreads

1. Stay with Me by Sam Smith

2. Chandelier by Sia

3. Not Strong Enough by Apocalyptica, Doug Robb

4. I Want You To Need Me by Celine Dion

5. Sober by P!nk

6. I Don’t Dance by Lee Brice

7. Hero by Mariah Carey

8. The Search is Over by Survivor

9. I Loved her First by Heartland

10. Bailando by Enrique Iglesias

11. I’ll Remember by Madonna

12. Take My Breath Away by Jessica Simpson

13. Who Are You by Carrie Underwood

14. See You Again by Wiz Khalifa fea. Charlie Puth.

Direct Link: https://open.spotify.com/user/12149079410/playlist/6fz0q3HRWgsfeX4qU3yfow

Janine Infante Bosco lives in New York City, she has always loved reading and writing. When she was thirteen, she began to write her own stories and her passion for writing took off as the years went on. At eighteen, she even wrote a full screenplay with dreams of one day becoming a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

Now in her early thirties Janine is dedicated to her family, her boys the lights of her life. In her spare time, she wrote the Riverdale Series a labor of love and family that she is so very thrilled to share with you. Hope you enjoy the Lanza’s.

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