Ellesea Loves Reading: 10/04/16

Tuesday, 4 October 2016

Release Day & Review: The Gossip by Jenny Holiday

Title: The Gossip

Series: New Wave Newsroom #2

Author: Jenny Holiday

Genre: New Adult Romance

Release Date: October 4, 2016

Length: 36k words

Format: Digital/Paperback

Digital ISBN: 978-0-9950927-3-0

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9950927-2-3

Dawn Hathaway is a realist. She’s not the smartest girl at Allenhurst College. She’s not the prettiest, either. So if she wants to be popular, she’ll need something else: power. What better way to get it than to start a gossip column in the campus newspaper? If she has to commit a few minor crimes in pursuit of the latest scoop, what’s the harm?

Arturo Perez loves being a campus cop. He knows Allenhurst’s nooks and crannies—and lately he’s been finding the campus gossip snooping into every one of them. He can’t deny that he enjoys bantering with the sassy schemer. But he also can’t shake the sense that there’s more going on with Dawn than meets the eye.

When tragedy strikes and Dawn needs help, how far will Art go to protect her?

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“You aren’t going to call my parents, are you?” Never mind that I only had one, and that Daddy finding out I was drinking probably wouldn’t even rate a phone call from him. I stuck out my lower lip and tried to make it quiver, not enough that I could be accused of purposeful manipulation, but enough—I hoped—that I was communicating some remorse.

“Nope,” said Officer Perez, totally unaffected by my emotional display. “You’re eighteen. Welcome to adulthood.”

“Welcome to adulthood, yet I’m not allowed to buy alcohol?”

“That is correct.” He handed my ID to the cop next to him, and that cop flipped open a little notepad and started writing on it.

“You’re a campus cop,” I said, letting my gaze rake over Perez’s belt. It held a baton and handcuffs and a few other things I didn’t recognize, but no gun. The other guy had a gun.

He glanced at the patch on his right biceps that read ALLENHURST COLLEGE PD. It was stretched taut over the muscle. “And you have a talent for stating the obvious.”

“Do you even have jurisdiction here? Because we’re not actually on campus.” We were a mere two blocks from it, but still. If he wasn’t going to respond to my remorseful-little-girl act, maybe I could wiggle out through a procedural loophole.

“That’s why this guy”—he jerked his thumb at the colleague I’d come to think of as Good Cop—“is writing your ticket.”

“Teamwork,” Good Cop said, smiling as he ripped off the ticket and held it out to me. “Allenhurst PD at your service, miss.”

“Oh, so you need a real cop to close your deals.” I was being a brat for no reason now, but I hated the fact that this big guy, this big gunless guy, could just step in and ruin everything.

The big gunless guy in question took a step toward me. God, he was big. Maybe he didn’t need a gun because of those tree-trunk arms. They looked like they were more than sufficient to take on any villain. “Perhaps you’d prefer that instead of issuing you that fifty-dollar possession ticket, I have my ‘real cop’ friend here arrest you,” he said. “And hey, while we’re at it, we’ll get your friends for furnishing alcohol to a minor.”

“You can’t do that!”

He took another step, leaving only a few inches between us. My eyes were level with the middle of his chest, so I had to crank my neck back to maintain eye contact. He was probably doing it on purpose, trying to intimidate me and compensate for his lack of a gun.

He smirked. “Perhaps you’d care to add resisting arrest?”

Before reading The Fixer, the first book in this New Wave Newsroom series, I was a bit apprehensive because of the covers for each title. Now that I've read the first two books, I can see how clearly they fit the personality of each female protagonist.

Dawn Hathaway's plans sensationally backfire when she's caught trying to illegally acquire alcohol for an upcoming party hosted by the Delta Chi Fraternity. With a $50 fine and missing out on getting into the Alpha Phi Sorority, she decides to reinvent herself as a gossip columnist for the campus newspaper. When a story she writes ends with a death, she needs help and the cop who's had her on his protective radar since their first run-in is more than happy to comply.

Arturo Perez loves his job as a community police officer at Allenhurst. Yet, lives with the guilt of not living up to his father's expectations...moving back home to join Boston PD. When he meets Dawn Hathaway, he knows deep down, he needs to put his plans on hold and stay in his current role. When a family emergency occurs, he decides to implement his plans but doesn't expect the local gossip columnist to make him see his predicament from an entirely different angle.

This time around, I know the song this novella is based on "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" and equally love all the references to 1980's...Erik Estrada and LEG WARMERS! Both the protagonists have daddy issues and are equally complex as they try to make life changing decisions which make them happy rather than pleasing other people. There's no sugar coating the serious issues the plot throws up however the novella maintains a fun and entertaining vibe. A lot packed into the pages and the author does a magnificent job by showing palpable character development.

You don't have to read the series in order, but be warned...once you've read one, you'll want to read the others.

***arc received courtesy of the publisher via Barclay PR***

More books from the New Wave Newsroom this fall!

The Fixer: Out Now!

Available at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

The Pacifist: coming Oct 25, 2015:

Pre-Order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

Jenny Holiday started writing at age nine when her awesome fourth grade teacher gave her a notebook and told her to start writing some stories. That first batch featured mass murderers on the loose, alien invasions, and hauntings. (Looking back, she’s amazed no one sent her to a kid-shrink.) She’s been writing ever since. After a brief detour to get a PhD in geography, she worked as a professional writer, producing everything from speeches to magazine articles. More recently, her tastes having evolved from alien invasions to happily-ever-afters, she tried her hand at romance. A lifelong city-lover, she lives in Toronto, Canada, with her family. She is represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan of Greenburger Associates.

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Release Day Blast: Safe From Harm by Kate SeRine

Safe from Harm
Protect and Serve #2

By: Kate SeRine

Releasing October 4, 2016
Sourcebooks Casablanca

Safe From Harm

Protect and Serve Series

There’s something about prosecuting attorney Elle McCoy that Deputy Gabe Dawson just can’t get enough of. Even with Gabe’s family legacy in law enforcement and promising career, Elle’s smart, sassy rejection of all his charm makes Gabe want her even more.

But Gabe’s confidence is shaken when he’s shot on the steps of the courthouse, protecting Elle from a terrorist intent on revenge. Worse, Elle isn’t out of danger yet. But as they race to counter the terrorist’s next move, Gabe determines to prove to Elle—and himself—that he’s a man worthy of her.

Link to Follow Blast: HERE

“Well, you’d better get going,” Gabe grumbled. “Don’t want to miss your ride.”

Elle took a few steps forward, coming to the side of his hospital bed. “I’m going. But first, I wanted to make one thing very clear to you, Gabe Dawson.”

“Yeah?” he said. “What’s that?”

She narrowed her eyes and leaned over him, caging him with her arms on either side of his head. “Don’t you ever again treat me like I’m some delicate flower who can’t handle the truth.”

Damn.

Having her that close was tempting as hell. For the first time, he noticed she had tiny flecks of gold in her eyes and a few more freckles on the bridge of her nose than he’d realized. God, she was beautiful—stunning, really. He had to muster all his willpower not to drag her into his arms and kiss the full lips that were currently pursed in irritation. But he forced himself to meet her gaze and lifted a single brow.

“Oh, I know you’re no delicate flower,” he said, his voice going deeper, betraying the effect of her nearness and giving his words a weight he hadn’t intended.

Her cheeks went a little pink, but she didn’t back away. “We’re in this together, whether we like it or not. And I’m not going to be kept in the dark just because I’m not a cop.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said, not bothering to suppress the grin tugging at his mouth. “You might like being in the dark with me, Elle.”

She blinked, her mouth opening and closing as if she wanted to say something more but was clearly speechless. Then she pressed her lips together and gave him a frustrated look. “You know what I meant, Gabe.”

At this, the little devil on his shoulder got the better of him, and he chuckled, letting his gaze drop down to those gorgeous lips. “Yeah, I know what you meant, Elle. Doesn’t change what I meant.”

When she didn’t immediately pull away at his advance, he took a chance and reached up, gently taking hold of her chin and guiding her lips down to his. But before he could make contact, she suddenly broke away from his tender grasp and straightened, staring down at him with a look of confusion and panic in her eyes.

Okay, well, that wasn’t exactly the reaction he’d been hoping for…

“I have to go,” she breathed. But she didn’t take a single step. “I really… I should go.”

He met her gaze, waiting, wondering at her next move. “You sure?”

She licked her lips, looking as if she was truly torn between going and staying. But then she lifted her chin, giving him that defiant look he’d grown so used to seeing from her. “Yes, I’m absolutely positive.”

Without another word, she turned on her heel and strode toward the door without so much as a glance over her shoulder.

But the little exchange was enough to offer Gabe the encouragement he needed. Maybe the brilliant, beautiful, iron-willed woman wasn’t quite as unaffected by him as she wanted him to believe…

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Kate SeRine (pronounced “serene”) is a hopeless romantic who firmly believes in true love that lasts forever. So it's no surprise that when she began writing her own stories, Kate vowed her characters would always have a happily ever after.

Kate lives in a smallish, quintessentially Midwestern town with her husband and two sons, who share her love of storytelling. She never tires of creating new worlds to share and is even now working on her next project—probably while consuming way too much coffee.

Kate is also the author of the award-winning Transplanted Tales paranormal romance series and the Protect & Serve romantic suspense series.

Connect with Kate at www.kateserine.com, Facebook.com/kateserine, or on Twitter @KateSeRine.

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Release Day Blitz: Follow Me by Tiffany Snow

Will you follow China Mack?

Release Date: October 4, 2016

Publisher: Montlake

Brilliant, quirky twenty-three-year-old China Mack is totally satisfied with her carefully ordered, data-driven life. A computer prodigy who landed a coveted programming job at the cutting-edge tech company Cysnet before even graduating from MIT, China is happiest when following her routine: shower before coffee, pizza only on Mondays, bedtime at ten thirty sharp.

But then things start to get a little…unpredictable.

First Jackson Cooper—Cysnet’s rich, gorgeous, genius CEO—assigns China to a dangerous and highly classified project for a government defense contractor. Her sixteen-year-old runaway niece suddenly arrives in town, begging to move in with China. And then there’s her sexy but oddly unsettling new neighbor, Clark…

Quickly the Cysnet assignment becomes disconcerting—and then downright scary—as key staffers turn up dead. China suspects she’s being followed and isn’t sure whom she can trust. For the first time ever, she’ll have to follow her instincts, rather than logic, if she’s going to survive.

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Jackson looked quizzical for a moment, then turned and headed for his office. “Follow me,” he tossed over his shoulder, and I rushed to obey.

I felt eyes on me as I walked. Jackson usually only met with the managers, not the staff directly. I reported to a guy named Brad who happened to be on vacation this week. I supposed that was why I was heading into Jackson’s office instead of Brad. Whatever it was, it obviously couldn’t wait.

“Have a seat,” he said, gesturing to the seating arrangement in his office. His desk stood to one side, diagonal to the windows that lined the wall. A sofa and two chairs were arranged facing each other on the opposite side, which was where he’d pointed.

Okay then.

Sofa or chair . . . sofa or chair . . .

I stood in indecision, frantically going through the pros and cons of each seat inside my head. The chair would be good but it faces the windows and there’s a glare. I’ll be squinting. Sofa is better but what if he sits beside me, then I’ll be craning my neck to see him and my feet won’t touch the floor. The other chair is in a better location but it’s higher than the sofa and if he sits on the sofa then I’ll be above him and that may be insulting since technically I’m not “above” him—

“China,” he interrupted my train of thought, brushing past me and taking the chair I’d been leaning toward choosing. “Have a seat.”

That was a command. I could recognize the tone. So I plunked myself down in the nearest spot, which put me on the sofa. Except I’d misjudged the softness of the cushions and I sank, putting me even lower than I thought I’d be, as I faced him. I forced a smile.

“Cushy couch.”

Okay, that was something a teenager might say. Not a grown woman with degrees piled behind my name and several years of experience under my belt. My smile turned into a grimace. I started fiddling with my pen and shoved my glasses farther up my nose.

“Brad would usually be the one to hold this discussion,” he began, “but since he’s out of the office right now, I thought I’d handle it.”

My palms began to sweat and I went cold. This sounded like the beginning of a conversation I wasn’t going to like. I searched my brain, trying to think of what I could’ve done to bring about a disciplinary meeting with the CEO.

“If this is about that argument between me and Toby last week, then I want you to know it’s resolved. He dinged my Mustang and refused to admit it, but when I had the paint samples compared, they totally matched.”

Jackson gave me an odd look. Okay, that wasn’t it then.

“And I’m not the one who keeps stealing Janine’s Diet Coke from the fridge,” I blurted. “It’s Megan in accounting. I caught her but she swore me to secrecy because she saw me borrow one of Blake’s Kit Kat bars that he keeps in the freezer.” I took a breath. “Borrow’s not really the right word, I guess, since I ate it. But I did replace it the next day.” I grimaced. “And ate it again. But I really am going to bring him more. I swear.”

Still nothing. His eyes were a bit wider though. Surely that couldn’t be a good sign?

“And I’m not the one that keeps adding h-o-g to Liam’s nameplate.” The guy’s last name was Hedge. Really, he was just asking for that one.

“Or—”

“Stop!”

I clamped my lips shut.

Jackson cleared his throat. “While I appreciate your willingness to, um, clear your conscience . . .” he paused, “none of those things are why I brought you in here.”

“Then why did you?”

“I was getting to that, before your impromptu confessional.”

Oh. I shut up again.

Tiffany attended the University of Missouri – Columbia, attaining two degrees in History and Social Studies Education. After working many years as an instructor and consultant in the Information Technology field, Tiffany now writes full-time.

Tiffany loves to read and has been reading romance novels since she was way too young to read such things. She has an unhealthy obsession for all things Doctor Who, prefers Pepsi to Coke and Absolut to both, thinks men who drink girly cocktails are wusses, has learned to never stop believing in her beloved St. Louis Cardinals, and can recite the entire scripts of When Harry Met Sally and Apollo 13. George Washington is cool, Bon Jovi still rocks the house, and Bruce Willis is the ultimate alpha-male hero.

Married with two wonderful daughters, Tiffany and her family make their home in Kansas City, Missouri, not far from where she was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri.