Piper J. Drake's Absolute Trust Blog Tour with a Spotlight, Excerpt and Giveaway

 

I am so excited to have Piper J. Drake here at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight, Excerpt and Giveaway.

Thanks Piper and Hachette Book Group/Forever for allowing me to join your Absolute Trust Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Piper!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: ABSOLUTE TRUST
Author: Piper J. Drake
Series: True Heroes, #3
On Sale: December 20, 2016
Publisher: Forever
Mass Market: $6.99 USD
eBook: $5.99 USD

Add to Goodreads

Hot military heroes, the women who love them, and the dogs who always have their backs. ABSOLUTE TRUST is the third book in a high-adrenaline romantic suspense series from Piper J. Drake.

LOVE IS THE GREATEST RISK OF ALL

After multiple tours of duty, Brandon Forte returns to his hometown on a personal mission: to open a facility for military service dogs like Haydn, a German shepherd who's seen his share of combat and loss. It also brings him back to Sophie Kim, a beacon of light in his life and the one woman he can't have. But Forte's success means he's made enemies in high places. Enemies who are now after Sophie.

When Forte enlisted and left without saying goodbye, Sophie did her best to move on. But with her first love back in town, looking sexier than ever, she's constantly reminded of what they could have had. Then after he risks himself for her, Sophie realizes she'll have to put her life in the hands of the man who broke her heart, knowing the danger — and the sparks between them — could consume them both.

BUY THE BOOK HERE

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THE SERIES

EXTREME HONOR, #1
ULTIMATE COURAGE, #2
ABSOLUTE TRUST, #3

Series Page on Goodreads

Excerpt

Sophie Kim must’ve come directly from work because, under her very sleek, black trench coat, she wore a matching pencil skirt. Three-inch red heels popped in contrast to the severe black of the rest of her outfit. Which did all sorts of things to him. Naughty things. The kind of things that were so good that they were really bad. Especially when a woman was off limits.

“Hey! Is that the new guy?” Sophie slowed her approach, keeping her gaze locked on Forte’s face.

She’d been around tiny dogs all her life, but she’d spent enough time at Hope’s Crossing Kennels over the last couple of years to have learned how to meet the much bigger dogs in Forte’s care. Training working dogs was his thing. Or in Haydn’s case, retraining.

Always a work in progress.

Sophie had been here when Forte had come back from active duty, too battle weary to continue deploying. She’d helped him with the accounting when he’d established Hope’s Crossing Kennels and had generally integrated herself into the private world he’d created for himself, Rojas, and Cruz while they all rebuilt lives for themselves.

Sophie’s bright smile faded as she waited for him to answer. She always sensed when he got too caught up inside his own head.

“Yeah.” Forte came to a halt and murmured the command for Haydn to sit.

Instant obedience. Despite his injury, surgery, and current need for recovery, the dog was as sharp as he’d been on active duty. The mind was eager, ready to work. The body, not so much.

Sophie’s smile renewed, the brilliant expression stopping his heart, the way it had every time he’d seen her since they’d first met way back in high school. She came to a stop in front of them, barely within arm’s reach. “He must be doing well if you’ve got him out here for some field work.”

While they spoke, Haydn watched them both. Then he sniffed the back of Sophie’s hand, which she’d been holding conveniently within reach.

Usually, he preferred if a person asked to be introduced, but this was Sophie. If she’d approached anyone else, she’d have requested permission to say “Hi” to the dog. But between the two of them, everything was an exception.

It showed how well she’d come to know the way he worked in the last few years. He’d changed with every deployment. It happened. And she’d adjusted and accepted those changes in him without a word when he came back. She was the steadfast, forever friend.

He’d never told her why he’d left in the first place or why he’d come back. She was so good at just accepting him that she might never know. And he was a coward for not telling her.

“What’s your plan for him?” Sophie glanced down at the dog, now that he’d sniffed her hand. “Haydn, right?”

“Yeah.” Forte cleared his throat. “He’s got a couple of weeks of physical therapy first. Then we need to coordinate with the Air Force on his adoption.”

“Ah.” Understanding in one syllable. She had the kind of caring heart to fill in the gaps when something went unsaid. “His handler didn’t make it.”

Part of why Sophie was one of the only people Forte felt easy around was because she got it. Only needed to explain once. And she listened the first time. Sometimes no explanation was required at all.

“Where’s your car? We’ll walk you.”

“Right across the street.” Sophie jerked her head in the direction of the small parking lot.

They headed over, Sophie falling into step next to Forte. She didn’t try to take his hand or tuck her own around his arm. They weren’t like that. Besides, she knew he didn’t like to be all wound up with a person when walking out in the open.

As they approached her car, Sophie juggled her shopping bag to pull her keys out of her purse and triggered the trunk.

“Need help?” Forte came up alongside the car, scanning the area around the parking lot out of habit.

“No worries.” Sophie lifted the trunk door and carefully placed her shopping bag inside the deep space, leaning in to move things around to where she wanted. “I need to make sure this is arranged so stuff doesn’t shift. It's delicate!”

He was not going to admit to anyone, ever, how much he was willing to stretch his neck to catch sight of her backside while she was leaning over.

Haydn sniffed the side of the car. The big dog was very engaged, his relaxed attitude changing to a sharper set of movements. Forte tore his attention from Sophie.

Haydn had detected something out of place. Something wrong. Forte’s stomach tightened into a hard knot. Nothing wrong should be anywhere near his Sophie. It didn’t matter that they were in a sleepy town on the edge of a river in the middle of a peaceful country. It didn’t matter that there shouldn’t be any real danger here.

Haydn deliberately sat and looked up at Forte. It was a clear signal. One Haydn had been specifically trained to give as a military explosives detection dog.

Shit.

“Sophie. Step away from your car.” He’d explain later. Be afraid later. Rage. Worry.

Later.

She popped up from the trunk. “Huh?”

“Do it.”

They had to move now.

She complied, thank god. He gave Haydn a terse command, circled around to grab Sophie and get more distance. He steered her across the parking lot toward a big dumpster. It’d serve as good cover. Then he reached for his smart phone.

They got a couple of yards away, and Sophie craned her neck to look back at her car, even as she kept moving with him. She always did as he asked immediately, but she had a brain, and she insisted on explanations after she complied. “What —?”

Behind them, the trunk hatch came down with a solid thunk.

Forte let out a curse and grabbed her, pulling them down to the ground and rolling for the cover of other cars as an explosion lifted the entire driver’s side of her car.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Piper J. Drake (or "PJ") spent her childhood pretending to study for the SATs by reading every interesting novel she could find at the library. After being introduced to the wonderful world of romance by her best friend, she dove into the genre.

PJ began her writing career as PJ Schnyder, writing sci-fi & paranormal romance and steampunk, for which she won the FF&P PRISM award as well as the NJRW Golden Leaf award and Parsec award.

PJ's romantic suspense novels incorporate her interests in mixed martial arts and the military. The True Heroes series is inspired by her experience rescuing, owning and training a variety of retired working dogs, including Kaiser, a former guard dog, and Mozart, who was trained to detect explosives.

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Weekly Book Reads (Dec 19)

 Weekly Book Reads

Weekly Book Reads is a weekly Monday Meme that is hosted by Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews:

Post the books read last week and books you plan on finishing this week.

Read Last Week:

1.  You Don't Know Me - Nancy Bush
2.  Betrayals - Kelly Armstrong
3.  Crepe Factor - Laura Childs

Weekly Book Reading:

1.  Absolute Trust - Piper J. Drake
2.  Shadow Rider - Christine Feehan
3.  Field of Graves - J.T. Ellison

Library Haul 2016 (Dec 18 - 24)

Library Haul

Here's the list of books/manga/manhwa/yaoi manga I picked up this week at the library:

Softcover:

1.  Shadow Rider - Christine Feehan

Hardcover:

1.  Field of Graves - J.T. Ellison

Bunny Express Saturday 2016 (Dec 17)

Bunny Express Saturday is hosted every Saturday at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews.

I received these in the mail this week.    

In the realm of the Dark-Hunters there is a code of honor that even immortal bad boys must follow:

Harm no human. Drink no blood. Never fall in love.

But every now and again a Dark-Hunter thinks himself above the Code. That's when I'm summoned. Who am I? I'm the one thing the fearless fear. Step over the line, and it's my wrath you will face. Nothing can touch me. Nothing can sway me. I am relentless and unfeeling.

Or so I thought until I met a Dark-Hunter who goes by the name of Danger ― it's not just her name, it's how she lives her life. She doesn't trust me at all. And who could blame her? I'm here to be judge, jury, and the executioner of her friends. Yet she is my key to saving some of them. Without her, they will all die.

But as we try to save them, Dangereuse St. Richard is a deadly distraction. Something about her is reawakening feelings I’m not supposed to have. Especially compassion, which is a deadly emotion in a race against evil.

The only hope mankind has is that I do my duty. And yet how can I do my duty when it means that I will have to sacrifice the only woman I've ever loved?

Although still not quite a dog lover, Maggie Patterson meets with her new group of dog-loving friends for “Yappy Hour” every Friday night in the sleepy seaside town of Pacific Cove, CA. Both she and her sister Rachel have put the past murderous summer behind them, with Rachel even securing a headline feature for the Wine & Bark in the famous Doggie Day magazine. But when her sister comes down with a case of salmonella poisoning, Maggie is left to run the business in her absence. Even worse, Maggie overhears an argument between her friend Yolanda and Bonnie, who runs the Chic Chickie shop. Then poor Bonnie turns up dead.

With evidence pilling up against Yolanda, the Roundup Crew is desperate to find the real killer and convince Maggie to investigate. With the help of charming detective Officer Brad Brooks, Maggie finds that everyone has a motive, even some of her beloved Roundup Crew friends. Maggie must put her new job as a purser on hold while she tracks down a murderer. Will Maggie’s investigation kill her budding romance with Officer Brooks? Sometimes getting to the truth is not for the faint of bark…er…heart. Between running the bar, managing her love life, and solving a murder in time for the editorial spread, things are about to get a little hairy in this laugh-out-loud cozy mystery.

Thanks Minotaur Books and St. Martin's Press!

Hawk MacKinney's Westobou Gold Blog Tour with a Spotlight, Excerpt, Guest Post and Giveaway

 

I am so excited to have Hawk MacKinney here at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight, Excerpt, Guest Post and Giveaway.

Thanks Hawk and Goddess Fish Promotions for allowing me to join your Westobou Gold Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Hawk! 

Guest Post

How do you research for your writing?

Aim initial research for your writing in the directions you want to take the tale being knitted together. The internet is a big crutch, but it can take one down a wreck of a black hole. Caveat: It’s even better if the writer has a foundation or experience in the subject being approached. For example – If you are writing science fiction where quantum physics and the large hadron collider are changing things almost by the hour, you should be a scientist or at least work in that field. That goes double for nonfiction. Check references that look to be what you’re after. Then verify your information at your local library especially helpful are suggestions from reference librarians. Reference librarians can be sources for tidbits that turn a tail, or verify the all-honest internet. They are priceless. Reference librarians scare me…there are NO secrets from such experts. Reference librarians still use antique equipment of a pencil and note pad which are gems among the smart-phone clutter. They must be aliens from an advanced society. Local libraries are my haunts – several times a week when parts and scenes are being jig-sawed into place.

Once the edges of your work are sort-of in place in a rough edit, fill in the research points you’ve marked for more detailed descriptions. Use your characters by letting them show what you want. Don’t TELL the reader.

Edit, edit, edit BUT don’t overkill for that creates sloppiness. This writer is speaking from experience. With final edits, finer points will pop up revealing what needs to be expanded or which areas of confusion can be deleted. A scene or character or section that is not flowing well will become obvious. Remember your reader. Don’t add useless minutia that bores readers, but add depth to description and details.

Westobou Gold
by Hawk MacKinney
GENRE: Mystery/Suspense

BLURB

The Indian Queen would risk torture and worse to keep her secrets from these barbarians in suits of metal and their search for cities of gold. They never found the gold. Empires rose; empires fell, the centuries passed. Legend became fireside myths, but no treasure was ever found. Yet, among the grey-green drapes of wisteria and wild jasmine along the misty shrouded lowlands of bayous and marshes of the Westo River, the folktales persisted.

In the lazed creep of a near-tropical dawnlit the pungent Turkish coffee permeated Moccasin Hollow.

Beyond the kitchen door Lucky, Craige Ingram’s German shepherd gnawed a favorite bone. Looted burial mounds seemed a world away until plundered mounds on Moccasin Hollow land brings amateur archeologist PI Craige Ingram into the crosshairs of kidnapping. Stealthy hideaways are concealed in old colonial brick-lined river grottos beneath the big house of Ardochy plantation. Sex-tape underage blackmail and thrill killings on federal land spur a medical examiner’s preliminary postmortem to more than a hired cleaner’s quickie cover-up passed off as drug deals gone sour. Greed tangles a witch’s pigswill of illicit affairs and murder-to-hide-murder. Shady investigators and shadier politics stir an unexpected concoction that threatens the lives of those at Moccasin Hollow in a spiteful plot against ex-SEAL Craige Ingram and the woman he loves.

Excerpt

Leeza picked one of her days off when Crawforde was out of town. She second-guessed herself as she thought how to go about it, and found herself making the turn onto the curved weeded Ardochy drive and parked next to the old granite buggy steps. She walked around to the front door and turned the ornate brass bell ringer; listened to its clang-ding echo. Waited. Nothing. She gave the brass knob another twist.

The door opened a crack, “Who’re you? What you want?” The door opened slightly more, “What you doin' on this property? Radcliffe and Ardochy is closed for renovation. Won’t be open till restorations are complete.”

The gruff bushy-brows startled her. A bit of sweetness couldn’t hurt, “I wanted to visit Ardochy.”

“Both are private property. I asked you what you were doin' here?”

“Are you the caretaker?”

“I don’t see that’s none of your business. Ain’t your place to ask questions. You’re on private property.”

“I’m doing a research paper for my history professor at the university in Columbia about the confederate battles near Aiken.”

“The Battle of Aiken?” The door opened wider.

“The McGiffern family and the name of Ardochy has come up several times. The university librarian told me most of the McGiffern papers were still in Redcliffe and Archochy.”

“Far as I know they’re all still on the shelves, but they’re book-wormed and full of silver fish. Pages are rotten. Fall to pieces in your hand. Ink faded, barely readable. I think the fellow handling the McGiffern properties is making arrangements to move them.”

“I’d be ever so grateful if you could show me. I know it’s imposing, but I won’t take long.”

Grumpy face disappeared; the door opened, “Only for a few minutes. I got things to do.”

Leeza gushed, “Thank you ever so much.” In the stifling afternoon humidity she felt a twinge uneasy as she followed him up the age-worn creak of solid wood stair steps that spoke of by-gone years. The long hallway talked to her, and she caught the slow steady tick-tock of a great clock somewhere.

“Library is right in here,” the caretaker ushered her in.

The moment she walked into the smaller room Leeza was bewildered, near to the point of being overwhelmed. Crawforde’s office had nothing like this. The narrow shelves were crammed with frayed folio volumes and stacks of handwritten papers and letters. “I expected this room to be bigger.”

He said, “This isn’t the main library. This room was Miss Theosia’s. Where she took her afternoon tea and sit and read.”

On the small desk with its rickety chair lay large leather-bound volumes, one trimmed in blue. Too big for her to hide and sneak out, “All these books and papers.”

“Still laying right where Miss Theosia last left them. Nothin’ fake about this place. Old man Virgil told me once when the landings flooded and the river got high, how he saw pottery and bones sticking out along the washed-out river banks. When the water went down Virgil went back and reburied the bones. Never told nobody what else he found. If he found anything he wouldn’t have told nobody. Folks talked about him. How Virgil was a dumb field hand. He wadn’t one bit dumb. Times when Redcliffe was a workin’ plantation and when the field bell rung after supper, I’d often see him sitting in that very chair with one of these books on his lap, readin’ away. He read every one of these books, sometimes more’n once.” Quick look at the shelves, “Some got wet during times they was hid in the tunnels and caves along the river ’twixt here and Savannah. Tunnels are older than Redcliffe. Indians likely lived in the first ones. McGiffern's been hiding things in the tunnels since before this place was built.” With a wicked chuckle, “Early on it was corn squeezin’s bein’ shipped to Savannah Towne. Ain’t safe to go in them no more. All soggy when the river’s high. Timbers gone rotten. Most clogged with cave-ins. Lots of critters, turtles and snakes. Easy to get buried; no one’d ever know. Mud an’ river an’ rot can make a body disappear real quick if’n gators don’t take it first.”

“I’m terrified of snakes.”

He said, “Plenty of them about.”

Leeze recalled what her fifth grade teacher once said — how a book's value comes from what’s inside. Leeza said, “One of my teachers knew about some of the tunnels.”

“She must’a been one of your old teachers.”

Leeza said, “Could I take just little look inside one or two of these? History of people’s lives right here in these pages.” Same as Crawforde had her do with his old volumes, she slipped on a pair of soft white cotton gloves, “I’ll be extra careful.”

The caretaker said, “A professor once looked through these books. He put on a pair of gloves exactly like that.”

“The professor I work for uses gloves when he’s handling his old volumes.”

“I’ll leave you be. When you’re done, I’ll be at the lower landing.” He shuffled out, Clomping down the creaking steps down one step at a time.

Leeza had used FIND and parts of the filename to locate the one she wanted with its small colored snapshot he’d taken. When she found the note, she printed a copy.

“Confirm El Escorial title printed in Madrid – check Ardochy library – name on the spine with embossed Coat of Arms – list of kings and queens, consorts and mistresses, madness and intrigues, courtiers, notables of each reign - Cortez, Portuguese Magellan - Fidalgo y Ranjel - Cutifachiqui – Westobou treasure – DeSoto –”

She turned to the endless shelves. Her eyes searched for the title with Madrid on the cover. Leeza had heard old-timers talk about Indians and their settlements along the Savannah. She reached a smaller volume down from the shelf. Several loose handwritten pages fell out. The flaky edges crumbled. Across the top of one page, “Westo tribes centered along upper Savanno River.” More faded words inked or penciled along the margins, across the top of the fragile sheets. “Traded mostly with Edisto and coastal tribes - bartered furs for sea treasures- ”

There were more words in cursive she couldn’t read or understand; more scribbles in English, but the faded ink was almost unreadable. “DeSoto kidnapped a Chief's daughter - Chief died from the sickness the medicine man had never seen -” Underlined one word, “smallpox” Followed by, “ - fear for her people. Daughter gathered tribe’s sacred objects - hid them near the burial mounds of their forefathers.” She flipped through the folio pages for any other notes. Nothing shook loose until her fingers trailed the uneven bumps between the last folio page and heavy back cover, and found more notes between the original binding and the newer binding laid over the original. Leeza turned to the spine. She could just barely make out Madrid underneath the later cover.

She took out the pages she’d printed, and opened the book with the blue trim. The stylish handwriting scribed so many decades was long gone. She flipped through a few more pages, then eased closed the aged cover, and took the stairs back down.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Internationally acclaimed author and public speaker, Hawk MacKinney began writing mysteries for his school newspapers. He served in the US Navy Reserve for over 20 years, and was a tenured faculty member at several state medical facilities, teaching postgraduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem, Israel. Since retiring Hawk has authored several novels that have received national and international recognition. Moccasin Trace, a historical novel, was nominated for the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award. The Cairns of Sainctuarie, his science fiction series, includes The Bleikovat Event and The Missing Planets, with a third book in the works. Hawk’s latest project focuses on The Moccasin Hollow Mystery Series. Book 1 in the series, Hidden Chamber of Death, was released early 2016.

http://www.hawkmackinney.net/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011826991252

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/698008.Hawk_MacKinney

GIVEAWAY

Hawk MacKinney will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f2065/

Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:

https://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2016/11/vbt-westobou-gold-by-hawk-mackinney.html

Paige Tyler's Wolf Unleashed Blog Tour with a Spotlight, Excerpt and Giveaway

I am so excited to have Paige Tyler here at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight, Excerpt and Giveaway.

Thanks Paige and Sourcebooks for allowing me to join your Wolf Unleashed Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Paige!

Title: Wolf Unleashed
Author: Paige Tyler
Series: SWAT, #5
ISBN: 9781492625988
Pubdate: December 6, 2016
Genre: Paranormal Romance

SHE BRINGS OUT THE WOLF IN HIM

Lacey Barton can’t deny her crazy attraction to Alex Trevino, but that doesn’t mean she has time for the gorgeous SWAT officer. She’s hell-bent on discovering who’s behind the brutal dogfights sending countless mauled animals to her veterinarian office. The trail leads Lacey to a ring of vicious drug dealers and suddenly she’s in way over her head — right smack in the middle of a SWAT stakeout.

With Lacey in danger, Alex’s wolf side is unleashed. But when she witnesses Alex shift, she’s even more terrified.  Now it’s up to Alex to crack the case — and earn back Lacey’s trust and, ultimately, her heart. 

Paige Tyler is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of sexy, romantic fiction. Paige writes books about hunky alpha males and the kick-butt heroines they fall in love with. She lives with her very own military hero (a.k.a. her husband) and their adorable dog on the beautiful Florida coast.

Social Networking Links

Website: www.paigetylerauthor.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaigeTylerAuthor/

Twitter: @PaigeTylerAuthor 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2300692.Paige_Tyler

Buy Links

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2eYkzJV

B and N: http://bit.ly/2f6Yj3j

iBooks: http://apple.co/2dZy66Z

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Enter to win one of five copies of Hungry Like the Wolf, the first book in Paige Tyler’s SWAT series!

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54ca7af7437/

LINK

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/NTRjYTdhZjdlZjllOTI4OGFhZGI5NGU3ODI3MzgxOjQzNw==/?

Excerpt

Dr. Barton was bent over rummaging through a bottom drawer of the built-ins on the far wall. Even though Alex did his best not to stare, it was impossible not to notice that she had an incredibly spectacular ass. He’d always been a leg man, but one look at her derrière and he suddenly decided he’d been missing out.

Then she stood up, turned around, and flipped her long, wavy blond hair over her shoulder, and he realized that the rest of her was equally stunning. While her baggy white lab coat hid a lot, he could still tell that she had an athletic build and some really nice curves. It was her face that made his heart beat faster, though. She had the most captivating pair of blue eyes he’d ever seen and full red lips just begging to be kissed. From this moment forward, whenever he pictured an angel, he would think of the beautiful Dr. Barton.

Alex smiled, and when she smiled back, he heard her heart thudding a little quicker. But then she looked down at Tuffie, and her entire expression changed. Hurrying over, she dropped down to one knee beside Tuffie, gently examining her ears and face.

She gave Alex an angry glare. “Please tell me you arrested the people who put this beautiful girl in a dogfighting ring. Even better — tell me you shot them.”

If Alex had thought her heart was beating fast before, it was nothing compared to the way it was thumping now. Clearly, Dr. Barton was very passionate about protecting dogs. In his book, that made her even more beautiful than she already was.

“I wish I could, but unfortunately, we never found the people who did it,” Alex said. “We rescued Tuffie when her owner was killed. He died trying to protect her from a psychopath armed with a rifle.”

Dr. Barton’s gaze went back to Tuffie, her expression turning from anger to sadness as she ran her fingers down the fresh scars along the dog’s chest and side. “Looks like she got shot anyway.”

“Yeah. It’s a miracle she lived long enough for my teammate and me to get her here in time for Doc Jones to save her. Thank God for sirens. I think we ran every red light in town.”

The veterinarian straightened, gracing him with another dazzling grin, and Alex felt his knees go a little loose. Damn, what a smile.

“I knew there was something I liked about you the second you walked in.”

Alex felt his face flush. “It wasn’t a big deal. I’m a cop. Saving people — and dogs — comes with the job description.” He cringed the moment the words left his mouth. Had he really just said something that lame?

Thankfully, the beautiful Dr. Barton didn’t seem to notice the cheesy line. Or if she had, she was too polite to laugh at him.

“And is bringing Tuffie to her appointments also in your job description?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.

Was her heart beating even faster than before? Unless it was his own heart pounding in his ears. That was a definite possibility. Because it seemed like he had a real thing for Dr. Barton.

He smiled. “It is if the rest of the SWAT team and I adopted her and gave her a new home.”

Alex knew it was a shameless grab to get further into the doctor’s good graces, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

“Not only did you save her life, but you adopted her too? I think Tuffie hit the lottery with you, Officer…?”

“Trevino,” he said, filling in the blank and offering his hand. “But please, call me Alex.”

She took his hand and gave it a shake. “Nice to meet you, Alex. I’m Lacey Barton.”

Her hand was small in comparison to his, her skin soft and warm, and Alex found himself holding on a bit longer than was customary. Lacey didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she appeared just as reluctant to let go as he did.

She pushed her hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. “I guess we ought to get on with Tuffie’s checkup. So you can get back to saving the world and everything.”

“Yeah, of course.”

Reaching down, Alex gently picked up Tuffie and set her on the stainless steel exam table.

“Nice muscle tone,” Lacey murmured.

Alex felt the compliment go right to his head. “Thanks.”

“Actually, I was talking about Tuffie,” Lacey said as she tenderly ran her hands over the dog’s shoulders.

“Oh.”

She looked up at him from beneath her lashes. “But yours is pretty good too.”

Alex chuckled. Damn, this woman was good. He had her by a foot in height and more than a hundred pounds in weight, yet she was playing him like a fiddle, and he didn’t mind one bit. He couldn’t remember ever having such an immediate and intense reaction to any woman he’d ever met. Suddenly, he wanted to know everything there was to know about her — and then some.

Lacey was more than accommodating, telling him about how she’d recently gotten a job here after working several years at a place on the west side of Dallas closer to Arlington.

“I loved it there, but this place is closer to my apartment,” she told him as she continued to examine Tuffie. “I’ve cut my commute time by about an hour and a half each way, so it’s like getting a whole extra day off to do stuff I want to do instead of sitting in traffic.”

“And what do you like to do with all this extra time?” he asked.

Lacey leaned over to read something in Tuffie’s medical records. Alex tensed, worried she’d found something wrong, but after a moment, she merely nodded to herself, then went back to checking Tuffie. “I do a lot of volunteer work at one of the nearby animal shelters,” she said. “I’m also on call to help out both Animal Services and the DPD Animal Cruelty Squad when they run into injured dogs.”

Whoa. A woman who spent her days taking care of dogs for a living, then did it during her spare time for free? That was definitely a woman Alex could appreciate.

“It’s pretty amazing that you give so much of your time to animal causes,” he said. “Getting called out at all hours of the day and night must be tough on your boyfriend, though.”

Lacey urged Tuffie over on her back, pressing carefully along one of the long scars that ran all the way from the base of her rib cage to the middle of her cute pink tummy.

“I don’t have a boyfriend right now,” she said, the corners of her mouth turning up. “My life is a little too busy for that at the moment.”

Bingo! Alex had already noticed she wasn’t wearing a ring. Now he knew she wasn’t seeing anyone. Could this get any better? 


In Wolf Unleashed, the fifth installment in Paige Tyler’s sexy and suspenseful SWAT series, Lacey, the heroine, sees a side of the hero, Alex, that she really did not expect. Namely, his wolf side!

We asked Paige Tyler about other fantastic stories that portray a character seeing another in a new light. What are her favorites?

Bella from Twilight. I’m one of those people who loved Twilight for what it was—a story of two people with a lot standing between them. In the beginning, Bella thought Edward was sort of rude, or at least really standoffish. But as she moves closer and closer to him, she discovers that there are reasons why he behaves the way he does. The conflict between Bella, her pale sparkly boyfriend, and her rather hairy new best friend (who would rather be something more), makes for a great story and illustrates the whole “looking beyond the surface” thing.

New Release 2016 (Dec 13)

 

New Release

Piper Prescott, proprietor of Spice It Up!, has persuaded Doug Winters, the mild-mannered vet she’s been dating, to demonstrate Indian cuisine at her shop. But before Doug’s presentation of classic chicken curry is completed, Ned Feeney, local handyman, bursts in with news of a murder.

Sandy Granger, the director of a local production of Steel Magnolias, was found strangled in the third-floor balcony of the Brandywine Creek Opera House. Sandy, it seems, had not endeared herself to cast or crew. Complaints about her ran the gamut from her management style to her lack of people skills. Everyone connected with the production falls under suspicion, including Piper Prescott’s BFF, Reba Mae Johnson, who made it well known how unhappy she is that she was cut from the cast.

When the spotlight for the dastardly deed shines on Reba Mae, Piper rushes to her friend’s defense. Who among Sandy’s detractors was angry enough to wrap a silk scarf around her neck ― and pull tight? Will Piper succeed in solving the case before she becomes the killer’s encore performance? And will she ever learn just how to prepare the perfect curry? As delicious as it is charming, this entry in Gail Oust’s mouth-watering Spice Shop Mysteries, Curried Away, is sure to delight both old fans and new.

Weekly Book Reads (Dec 12)

 Weekly Book Reads

Weekly Book Reads is a weekly Monday Meme that is hosted by Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews:

Post the books read last week and books you plan on finishing this week.

Read Last Week:

1.  Dark Carousel - Christine Feehan
2.  The Final Seven - Erica Spindler
3.  Immortal Nights - Lynsay Sands

Weekly Book Reading:

1.  You Don't Know Me - Nancy Bush
2.  Betrayals - Kelly Armstrong
3.  Crepe Factor - Laura Childs
4.  First Love Monster Vol. 5 - Akira Hiyoshimaru

Library Haul 2016 (Dec 11 - Dec 17)

Library Haul

Here's the list of books/manga/manhwa/yaoi manga I picked up this week at the library:

Hardcover:

1.  You Don't Know Me - Nancy Bush
2.  Crepe Factor - Laura Childs

Anne Elizabeth's The Soul of a Seal Blog Tour with a Spotlight, Excerpt and Giveaway

 

I am so excited to have Anne Elizabeth here at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight, Excerpt and Giveaway.

Thanks Anne and Sourcebooks for allowing me to join The Soul of a Seal Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Anne!

Title: The Soul of a Seal
Series: West Coast Navy SEALs, #4
Author: Anne Elizabeth
Pub Date: December 6, 2016
ISBN: 9781492622246

Love may be the toughest battle of all

Captain Bennett Oscar Sheraton

Navy SEAL, the best of the best

Dr. Kimberly Warren

Brilliant engineer, founder of secret space program.

When scientists on Dr. Warren’s super-secret space mission start dying, Navy SEAL Captain Sheraton is sent in as an astronaut candidate with a hidden agenda — find the person sabotaging the program.

Kimberly and Bennett’s instant attraction may prove to be a major distraction — or it might be the key to both of their dreams coming true.

Anne Elizabeth is a romance author, comic creator, and a monthly columnist for RT Book Reviews magazine. With a BS in Business and MS in Communications from Boston University, she is a regular presenter at conventions as well as a member of The Author’s Guild and Romance Writers of America. Anne lives with her husband, a retired Navy SEAL, in the mountains above San Diego. Visit her website at www.AnneElizabeth.net.

Buy Links

Amazon

Books-A-Million

Barnes and Noble

Chapters

iBooks

Indiebound

INTERESTING SEAL FACT

Real SEALs were filmed in the movie ACT OF VALOR. These Team THREE and FIVE guys are outstanding souls and they put themselves and their families on the line to share some of what they do.

EXCERPT

Bennett’s mouth dropped open. The place had been hit. Cushions, pillows, and even the mattresses had been slashed. Stuffing spilled out on the floor, and there were broken computer parts littered all around the room. “Not what I would call ‘preserving the scene,’” Bennett said.

“Nope,” said Melo. His usual upbeat demeanor was sullen as he moved methodically around the room, checking places he might stash information. “I’m not finding anything. Are you?”

Having moved into the middle of the room, Bennett’s eyes scanned the whole place. “Something’s missing. What’s missing, Jonah?”

“Besides their cell phones and weapons?”

Bennett nodded. “They both preferred the tiny stickers, not the big Ka-Bars our Frogmen fathers used. If those items aren’t here and weren’t on the bodies, then…”

“The killer has them,” finished Melo.

“Let’s write a program to scan for weapons and to turn those phones on. Those are good trophies too.”

“I’m on it, but it will take me some time. I do a lot of it in my head.” Melo tapped his temple with his finger. “By tonight, I’ll have something for you.”

“Good. We have a date to keep. Don’t want to keep Dr. Warren waiting.” Bennett stepped out of the room and closed the door behind his Teammate. He hated thinking about the position they were in. Being in the dark about who the enemy was could be very dangerous.

GIVEAWAY

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54ca7af7439

Laura Child's Egg Drop Dead Blog Tour with a Spotlight and Giveaway

 

I am so excited to have Laura Childs here at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight and Giveaway.

Thanks Laura and Great Escape Tours for allowing me to join your Egg Drop Dead Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Laura!

Egg Drop Dead (A Cackleberry Club Mystery)
Series: A Cackleberry Club Mystery (Book 7)
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Berkley (December 6, 2016)
ISBN-13: 978-0425281703
E-Book ASIN: B01CZCW4MW







Synopsis

In Laura Childs’s New York Times bestselling mystery series, Suzanne, Petra, and Toni — co-owners of the Cackleberry Club café — are back to track down another bad egg.
Maintaining good personal relationships with their suppliers is one of the secrets of the Cackleberry Club café’s success, so Suzanne doesn’t mind going out to Mike Mullen’s dairy farm to pick up some wheels of cheese. She’s looking forward to a nice visit with the mild-mannered farmer before heading back to their hectic kitchen.

But when she arrives, Mike’s nowhere to be found. The moaning of his cows leads her to look in the barn, where she discovers a bloodcurdling sight — the farmer’s dead body. Apparently not everyone was as fond of Mike Mullen as the Cackleberry Club.

Churning with grief and outrage, Suzanne, Petra, and Toni vow to find the farmer’s murderer — but as they get closer to the truth, the desperate killer gets whipped into a frenzy and plans to put the squeeze on them.

RECIPES INCLUDED!

About The Author

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fund raising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links

Webpage – http://www.laurachilds.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31

Giveaway

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/02887792469/

Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:

https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/books-currently-on-tour/egg-drop-dead-by-laura-childs/