Tuesday, 10 March 2015
New Release: Unwritten by Melody Grace
Title: Unwritten
Series: Beachwood Bay #7
Author: Melody Grace
Release Date: March 10, 2015
He’s my best friend’s brother – and the only boy I’ve ever loved. Movie star, manwhore, and totally off-limits.
Until now.
I told myself it was time to move on, until one epic night changed everything. Now there’s no denying the way I feel when he touches me, or the reckless desire in his eyes.
Once we cross that line, there’s no going back. But can I risk it all for him when he’s still hiding secrets of his own?
I only have one New Year’s resolution, and it’s the same I’ve had for six years now:
Make Blake Callahan fall madly, deeply, and uncontrollably in love with me.
Every year, I write it in big block letters on the first page of my new journal, and every year, I finish out December with those some words still taunting me. But not this time. This year, I’ve decided, I’m really going to make it happen.
“Happy New Year!”
Noise floods through my thoughts. The party is in full swing around me, hundreds of people crammed into the amazing beachfront mansion. Music plays so loud I can feel it in my chest, and everywhere I look, people are flirting and laughing, getting ready for that midnight kiss.
I check my phone. Just a few minutes to midnight. My heart beats faster. If I’m going to do this, I need to do it now. I can see Blake out on the deck, looking illegally hot in a vintage white T-shirt and jeans that deserve an award for their services to womankind. I haven’t seen him in a couple of years, but clearly, he only gets more devastating with age. It’s the reason he’s tipped as the hot new Hollywood star, about to break out in his first big movie role. But to me, he’ll always be plain old Blake Callahan: my first love, my unrequited crush.
My best friend’s older brother.
I’ve always been too scared to cross that line, but tonight is different. Tonight, everything changes. I take a deep breath, slide the doors open, and step outside.
“Hello, stranger.” My voice comes, sounding flirty and bold. Good start.
Blake turns, and I swear, his jaw drops. I feel another tremor of nerves, but they melt away when I recognize the familiar look in his eyes, the one I’ve seen from plenty of guys since my transformation, but never from him.
Desire.
He blinks at me in disbelief.
“Zoey?” he says, sounding uncertain. “Holy shit, what happened to you?”
Play it cool, I remind myself. Easy, breezy, like he’s been the last thing on your mind.
I arch an eyebrow. “Good to see you too.”
I sashay over and lean in to kiss him on both cheeks, the way I learned in Europe. I leave a smudge of scarlet on his skin, so I reach up and wipe it away. He looks confused. “Sorry, Paris,” I explain, kicking myself for the familiar gesture.
“Uh, hey,” Blake recovers. “Welcome back. Is it just a vacation visit?”
“It depends,” I say.
“Uh, depends on what?” Blake asks. His gaze drifts down my body, all the way to my peep-toe sandals, the ones that usually make me feel invincible. But now, I feel stripped naked under his blue eyes, my heart beating so loudly in my chest I swear he can hear it over the muffled sound of the music inside.
You.
I bite back the truth. “You’ll see,” I answer cryptically instead. “But, yes, I’m back.”
“Tegan will be happy, I know she missed you,” Blake smiles.
“Me too.” I try to relax. This is Blake, I remind myself. Not some stranger. I know him. “I missed all of you guys,” I add, thinking of the whole Callahan family: Tegan, and their two other brothers too. “Europe is a long way from home.”
I take the spot beside him and lean out to watch the dark shadow of the ocean play along the distant shore. “So what’s your resolution?” I ask, trying to sound flirty.
“I guess… Make some great movies this year,” he smiles. “Not screw up and wind up waiting tables again to make a living.”
I laugh. “No way. We all knew you had the talent, it just took the world a little while to catch on.”
“You haven’t seen me act,” Blake retorts, teasing.
“Sure I have,” I remind him. “I remember a certain show you did one Christmas…”
“No!” Blake bursts out laughing. “God, why would you remind me about that?”
“Come on,” I tease him, “you were the hunkiest Ebenezer Scrooge that Santa Monica ever saw.” He dressed up as a surfer Scrooge and played scenes on the promenade for fifty bucks. His brothers never shut up about it; we teased him all year.
“Please tell me you don’t have photos, the tabloids would go crazy,” he groans.
“Your secret is safe with me.”
“I knew I could count on you.” Blake smiles, and I’m hit all over again with the force of him: that chiseled, handsome face, the smile, those magnetic blue eyes that always belonged on a movie screen. I feel the same flip in my stomach I felt the day we first met; time and distance have done nothing to lessen his effect on me.
I think I see something shift in his expression, a glimpse of desire, but it must be wishful thinking, because he turns away.
“You better get back inside,” he says shortly. “You’ll miss the party.”
Disappointment crashes over me.
I turn and slowly walk away, feeling like a fool. All my plans are for nothing; I tried and struck out again.
But did you really try? A small voice nudges me. Didn’t you promise to give it your best shot?
I gulp, then before I know what I’m doing, I whirl around and stride back to him. I put my hand on his arm, and pull him around to face me.
“It’s the New Year,” I say stubbornly, my heart racing.
“Not for another ten seconds.” Blake looks confused. They’re counting down inside, chanting the numbers.
Time is running out.
“Then I guess we’ll have to pass the time.” I take a deep breath, gathering all my courage, and then I reach up on my tiptoes and press my lips against his.
“Nine! Eight! Seven!…”
The voices fade away as I fall into the kiss. Blake’s mouth is warm, and I can taste the bourbon on his lips, feel the faint scrape of stubble on his jaw.
This is it. I’m finally kissing him.
But then I realize, Blake is frozen in place. He’s not kissing me back—but he hasn’t pulled away either.
I loop my arms determinedly around his neck and pull his body down against mine. As if it was the signal he was waiting for, Blake suddenly sweeps me into his arms. He spins me around, pushing me back against the railings as he kisses me hard and deep, and I come undone.
God… This is what I dreamed about, all those years of innocent fantasy. I must have played this moment a hundred times over in my mind, but nothing is as sweet as the feel of his lips claiming mine, the heat and desire blazing to life throughout my whole body.
He eases my lips apart and sinks his tongue deep into my mouth. I moan against him, arching up to press closer against his body. I can feel the taut muscle through his clothes, the gorgeous planes of his shoulders and back. His hands slide over my body, cupping my ass and molding me to him, until there’s not an inch of space between us. And all the while, his mouth is driving me crazy, teasing and demanding, his tongue sliding hotly against mine, igniting a fire in my bloodstream that spirals low between my thighs.
The sound of fireworks cuts through the haze. I pull away, breathless. Bursts of glitter and stardust light up across the bay, and there’s the sound of cheering inside. For a moment, I feel like the universe is celebrating our kiss, then I realize we kissed our way into the New Year.
Elation crashes through me. He kissed me back. I wanted a sign, and here it is: big neon letters saying “He wants you too.”
“That’s decided then,” I murmur to myself. Blake is standing there, looking shell-shocked. I smile. “Happy New Year.”
I turn on my heel, and quickly duck back into the house before I can ruin the moment. But just as quickly, my joy fades. Because now that I know there’s something between us, my feelings aren’t so safe anymore.
Loving him could destroy my friendships, my sense of family—everything that’s important to me in the world. Once we cross that line, there’s no going back.
So do I take that risk?
Melody Grace is the New York Times bestselling author of the Beachwood Bay series. A small-town girl turned SoCal beach lover, after spending her life with her nose in a book, she decided it was time she wrote one herself. She loves steamy romance novels, happily-ever-afters, and lusting after fictional menfolk. She lives in LA with her two kittens, Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers.
Author Links
New Release & Review: The Critic by Joanne Schwehm
WORDS
Convey a message
Andrea Jordan dreams of acting on Broadway, and she is at the cusp of achieving success. All her sacrifices start to pay off when she lands a role that will catapult her to stardom.
CAN
Express our thoughts
Award-winning theater critic Bentley Chambers possesses the power to make or break a career. Theatergoers consider his reviews to be gospel, and actors cringe at the thought of him in the audience. His words possess power.
HURT
A heart’s not made of stone
More than one actor has been sent packing after Bentley’s bad reviews, and Andrea could be next. She won’t stand by and let him shatter her dreams, but she never thought giving him a piece of her mind would also mean giving him a piece of her heart.
Will Andrea discover on her own the passion Bentley claims she lacks, or will he be the one to draw it out of her?
Words… choose them wisely.
***STAND ALONE NOVEL*** INTENDED FOR MATURE READERS***
Convey a message
Andrea Jordan dreams of acting on Broadway, and she is at the cusp of achieving success. All her sacrifices start to pay off when she lands a role that will catapult her to stardom.
CAN
Express our thoughts
Award-winning theater critic Bentley Chambers possesses the power to make or break a career. Theatergoers consider his reviews to be gospel, and actors cringe at the thought of him in the audience. His words possess power.
HURT
A heart’s not made of stone
More than one actor has been sent packing after Bentley’s bad reviews, and Andrea could be next. She won’t stand by and let him shatter her dreams, but she never thought giving him a piece of her mind would also mean giving him a piece of her heart.
Will Andrea discover on her own the passion Bentley claims she lacks, or will he be the one to draw it out of her?
Words… choose them wisely.
***STAND ALONE NOVEL*** INTENDED FOR MATURE READERS***
What
drew me to this book was the title. The hot guy on the cover helped
to endorse my pull towards this particular book too. The title
conjures up a
certain kind of male protagonist in my mind, and not only has the
author written him as I expected, she's exceeded my expectations
about him too.
Bentley
Chambers is an award winning journalist with the critically acclaimed
trade newspaper the Edge. He's revered for his theatrical reviews by
industry professionals who respect his honest opinion. His words
carry considerable weight. He's responsible for endorsing or ruining
a production or career within the theatrical world. He's the one
who's opinion counts.
Andrea
Jordan grew-up knowing her parents wanted her to attend an Ivy League
college, marry a rich professional man and then become part of the
country club set. Andrea had different plans and longed to tread the
boards of Broadway. Her parents refused to fund any potential
theatrical study, so Andrea attended a community college and
distanced herself from her family, whilst learning her trade. With a
leading role in an off-Broadway production, Andrea is close to
reaching a career ambition. That is until Bentley Chambers wrote
another scathing review of her latest performance.
I love
that Andrea takes ownership of her problem and seeks out the person
who seems hell-bent on ruining her career. That she takes on-board
the advice he gives:
“A
critic doesn't slingshot you into stardom. You need to control the
pull and release. The sling can only go back as far as you decide to
draw it.”
At the same time Andrea made me scream in frustration as she
repeatedly jumps to the wrong conclusion without sticking around long
enough to hear Bentley out. Causing herself and those around her
unavoidable distress.
Bentley
has been fascinated by Andrea Jordan ever since he saw her on stage
for the very first time. Back then he observed her to write his very
first review. Whilst he is captivated by her looks, he is less than
complimentary about her acting ability. Not that it isn't good, it
just lacks that certain je ne sais quoi. But there are more
facets to Bentley's personality and you soon begin to realise
that his harsh critiques are far from malicious. He just needs to
show Andrea how to let go of repressed emotions and to pour her
passion to her theatrical performances.
I've
not read any of this authors work before but I'll definitely seek her
out from now on. This is a well thought out and written book, with a
plot setting I haven't come across before which increases the overall
appeal of the book. The characters are well developed and
identifiable making it easy to empathise
with them throughout the storyline. The secondary characters add
interest only where necessary, especially Gina, Seth and Brett. To
begin with I had no idea if this book would be part of a series , so
I'm very extremely happy to learn that we'll see more of Brett, Gina
and Seth in the future.
4½
stars
***arc
received courtesy of the publisher***
Joanne Schwehm Bio:
Author of Unexpected Chance, My Chance (The
Chance Series), Ryker and The Critic.
Joanne was born and raised in Rochester, NY and
currently resides near our Nation's Capital with her husband and two sons.
Romance is one of Joanne's favorite things and thankfully, she is surrounded by it.
Joanne firmly believes when that unexpected chance comes, take it. Don't let it pass you by - you never know what you could be missing.
Romance is one of Joanne's favorite things and thankfully, she is surrounded by it.
Joanne firmly believes when that unexpected chance comes, take it. Don't let it pass you by - you never know what you could be missing.
Blog Tour Schedule
March 5
Textteaser Review
Beppe DM
Books Blog Excerpt
March 6
Sassy Divas Book Blog Review
March 7
Obsessed by Books Review
March 8
Mia's
Point Of View Review
March 9
Love
Affair With Fiction Excerpt
March 10
Ellesea
Loves Reading Review
March 11
Paging Through The Days Excerpt
The
Consummate Reader Playlist
What
Is That Book About Excerpt
March 12
Between The Lines Review
March 13
Reading
Addict Excerpt
March 14
Smokin'
Hot Books Excerpt
J
& J's Southern Spice Blog Review
Up
All Night Book Addict Review
March 15
grownupfangirl Guest
Post
Romance Obsessed Book Blog Review
Chelle's Book Reports Excerpt
March 16
Best Book Boyfriends Review
Those Crazy Book Chicks Excerpt
March 17
bookshelf dreaming Review
Refreshingly
Riki Review
Making
it Happen Review
Indies Steal Our Heart Excerpt
March 18
{Books
She Reads} Review
Naughty Book Eden Excerpt
The
Suburban Eclectic Review Review
March 19
Becca
the Bibliophile Review
This Mom Loves Alphas Review
The Phantom Paragrapher Review
New Release: Her Soldier by H.J. Bellus
Sergeant Jeremiah Abbner died in the line of duty serving his country. Or at least that's what the newspapers said...
The US Government handed him a new identity, and strict orders not to make contact with anyone from his past. As far as society was concerned Sergeant Jeremiah Abbner was dead, and buried six feet under.Not having contact with his ex-wife would be easy. She was a manipulator and a cheater.
Not seeing his daughter on the other hand would devastate him...
Beau Morgan, aka Jeremiah, settles down in a town far away from everything he's ever known. Coping with the trauma he's experienced and discovering a new life Beau finds himself the most aggressive he's ever been. His blood simmers with rage while his fists are thirsty to let it all out .
In the middle of his own living hell he never expected to run into an old familiar face. And to top it off, one who recognized him as Jeremiah.
He's vowed never to love again, but as circumstances land him in the arms of a woman, Jenni Lee, this time he may not have a choice, as she rarely takes no for an answer.
Can Beau Morgan control his temper long enough to settle into his new life? Or will resentment taint him forever?
AMAZON * AMAZON UK
That Girl
AMAZON
The Game
AMAZON
I'm just a simple girl who loves the country life.. .oh yeah! & a good corn dog! Throw in a little Vanilla Ice, and shits bound to get crazy! Be brave...
-Loves country life & music
-Gets the case of the "eff-its" often
-Loves Big
-Hurts Big
-love corn dogs & candy.... & (sex & candaaay)
-My heart is happy writing!!!
Hosted By:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)