Thursday, October 12, 2017

Cover Reveal: Art of Seduction by Monique Orgeron (October 12)

Title: Art of Seduction
Series: A Stern Family Saga, Book 1
Author: Monique Orgeron
Genre: Contemporary Romance w/ Suspense
Release Date: November 10, 2017 




Love was never supposed to be part of the end game.



Fallon’s life has been a road paved in misery and loneliness,

then one day she’s propositioned with a way to change it all.
From that day forward, she planned on never looking back.
That is, until, she met her target, the man who could destroy everything.
Fallon’s a survivor, but can she survive him?

Gabriel is independent and brutal.
He learned early on about his mother’s games.
For years she has tried to control every aspect of his life.
Born to be her successor, he refused to be her chess piece.
But when a mysterious woman shows up, Gabriel’s life is turned upside down.
Is she his mother’s pawn?
Soon, both of them will learn the games Gabriel’s mother, Catherine Stern, plays are for keeps.

Secrets and deception always find a way of being revealed.


FALLON

As I walk into the casino, I begin to get nervous and find myself stumbling. I have to stop and take a minute to gather myself. I chant over and over again in my head. “I can do this.” With my newfound confidence, I find the cashier’s box. I give my name, and in return I am handed a tray full of chips, different values of chips equaling to a hundred thousand dollars. I almost have a heart attack. I can’t believe she would give me this much to play on. What if I lose it all?

A man comes around the cashier’s box, introducing himself, then escorts to a table full of men; five, to be exact. I quickly scan and take notice they range from different ages and builds. As I sit, I feel all the stares, one particularly. A very handsome man sits right across from me. He has a strong build with wide shoulders. I take in his large hands and how they look so strong. His face is a masterpiece, as if it is chiseled out of stone, with brutally soft looking lips. He has dark hair, and his eyes are intoxicating. They are amber in color, and seem to be focused on me.

I sit with proper posture, making my breasts accentuated, my cleavage in full view. It gets the attention I intended it to, though the man across is still just staring at my face; however, it isn’t long before he slowly begins to appreciate my dress. Step one accomplished: get noticed. The game begins, and two hands are played, but I bide my time as I start to get a feel for my opponents. Once I feel confident I have them pegged, I begin to play. I win a few and lose a few, and even fold some hands I know are winners. I don’t want to get anyone angry; money is not my goal at this table. I am not playing to win their money; I am playing to gain their attention and desire, especially from the man sitting across from me. A couple of them try to talk to me, to gather information that I am not willing to give.

I lift my eyes as I fold my next hand. A man brings a humidor box to our table and lays it in front of my desired man. Mister tall, dark, and handsome proceeds to open it and offers one to the other gentlemen. He skips me, which kind of pisses me off. I think, How dare he overlook me?!

I make a noise with my throat and ask, “Is there a reason I wasn’t offered one? I love a good Cuban, just as I am sure you do.”

He looks me in the eyes to see if I’m serious, then says, “Please forgive me. I don’t know many women who can handle a good Cuban, as you put it.”

I respond, “I can handle a lot, and you should not presume to know what a woman can, and cannot handle.”

With interest, he hands me one and I begin to roll the cigar between my fingers in a sexy manner, for the exact purpose to see who would get a rise from it; it gets more than I would have thought. The mouth of the man on the side of me drops as he clears his throat. My mystery man obviously appreciates the view as I light my cigar, puff on it a few times, then blow out a perfect circle. His mouth tilts all the way up, and his eyes burn through me. I knew from the minute I sat down this was the man Catherine wanted me to learn more about. He acts as if he owns the place. His ego is as large as he is, but I get the feeling he can live up to his ego.

The next hand is dealt, and a sexy blonde wiggles her way into position next to my mystery man. She leans on his shoulder, whispering something into his ear, which does not get the desired effect I am sure she wanted; however, it gets me an ugly scowl from the blonde. I, in return, ignore the look and go on with my hand.

I tell the good looking man, “I think your lady would like some of that attention you are giving out. I appreciate it, but as you can see,” looking around at my captive audience, “I have enough to share, and I won’t be accused of being greedy.”

He looks thrilled by my bluntness. I look down at my cards; I am given pocket twos. The board shows a pair of kings. I make a bid, but modestly; a lot could change on the next card. I really don’t have a good hand. From my position, it is just a play to see what the others will do. I am called by three of the five men, then the turn card is revealed: another two. I decide to slow play the hand, letting my opponents take the lead so I can, learn which of them feels confident. One of the men makes a small bid but looks weary. Two of them fold their hands. My mystery man raises the bid, and I call after watching him for a minute. I figure he might have three kings. Posture is everything in this game, and unless the woman who is trying to hang onto him has him thrown off, he does not have a winning hand. The other man also calls the bid; however, I am pretty certain he has nothing. The river card is revealed, and it changes nothing. I know I’ve won this hand. I need to decide how to get as many of his chips as I can, and this is where skill comes into it. I place a higher bid than before, showing some restraint, but not enough to seem overconfident. The man on the side of me folds. Mystery man raises, and I give him an appreciative look and venture to go all in. He in return gives me a curt smile that says, “Baby, let’s play.” We flip our cards. He has a three of a kind, kings. Impressive, but not as impressive as my full house: three twos over kings. I smile at him and gather my winnings as he stares, sending a shiver through my whole body. It causes my body heat rise, and I know I am blushing. His smile continues to rise as he belts out in laughter.

After calming down, he tells me, “I appreciate your skill. I like a woman who knows her way around the game.”

I think my panties melted at his voice; it is deep, smooth… like a fine brandy. Warm and inviting.

“Well, I appreciate the chips.”

As I stand to leave, I watch all the men follow my lead and stand like gentlemen.

With a small smile, I tell them, “Gentlemen, good game.”

        
As I start to walk, my man- Huh? my man? - Surprisingly, it sounds right in my mind asks, “What’s your name?”

Not wanting to reveal any information about myself, I smile and say, “Mine. My name is mine.”

I wink and start to walk. I don’t look back. It is a show of confidence, but I know he is watching. I can feel his glare on every curve of my body. Tonight, was the best night I ever had. I felt wanted, desired, and for the first time it was wanted. But the best was feeling in complete control.




Written by Monique Orgeron’s eldest, most beautiful, and intelligent daughter. (My sister is going to hate this part.)



My mom happens to be the most caring, loving, and stubborn person I know, well anyone knows. She gives 100% percent of herself to everyone and has given up so much of herself for my sister and I. For twenty-one years she has poured her heart and soul into making sure we know that we are loved and that we can do anything we put our minds too, but it was about time she figured that out about herself. 

Up until this year I hadn’t seen my mom do anything for only her, but this book has allowed her to travel the world through the pages of a book, make new friends, and feel the joy of doing something exciting. 

There is a new light behind her eyes and it is just making me feel more joy than she can ever imagine. While she might be annoying most of the time, I am so thrilled that she is finally allowing herself to grow as a person and not spend all of her energy on her family. 

It has been a long journey of self-discovery for my mom; she has gone from domestic supermom to domestic goddess throughout the process of writing. 

We are so very excited and proud of you! I love you as big as the world.

-Bria and Tony






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Tour : Reluctant by Marla Josephs (October 9-13)

Title: Reluctant
Author: Marla Josephs
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 12, 2014 


Fallon has had a long and rough couple of years. She's ready now to work on putting the past behind her and focus on putting her life back together. A trip to see her best friend to hang out and create some new happy memories seems just the way to start off her new life. However, the first person she meets is Reid Snow, who threatens her peace of mind. Fallon does everything to resist his bad boy charm. The last thing she needs is someone else bringing drama into her life. But, when tragedy strikes Reid is the one who she turns to.



Reid Snow has gone from an unknown to a well known. He never had a problem in the female department until he's taken in by a gold digger who is after more than just his good looks. Before becoming a well known actor, women always wanted him for himself. Determined not to be suckered again, he finds himself extremely attracted to the best friend of his best friend's sister. The only problem is, he's not interested in anything more than casual hook-ups. But, even if Fallon would give him the time of day, which she doesn't seem inclined to do, starting something with her could jeopardize his friendship with his best friend.



Fallon ended up not stopping for lunch and drove straight through. Because she’d left so early, she ended up arriving in the late afternoon. Once she brought her suitcase and things in, she decided to take a swim. Alexa had a nice sized pool in her back yard. It was nice to play in, but also long enough for serious laps.

After some serious swimming for a good twenty minutes, Fallon did cool down laps for another ten minutes. Starting to feel the first twinges of hunger, she hopped out and headed for the kitchen to see what Alexa had to eat. She hadn’t really eaten all day. With her stomach upset over everything she ate, eating wasn’t high on her priority list these days. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to go out and get something. 

She walked in the sliding glass door drying her hair and froze at the sounds of movement in the kitchen. She looked up to see a strange man and woman going at it on the kitchen counter. At least the woman’s ass was on the kitchen counter, her blouse open and one hand belonging to the man standing between her spread legs was moving rhythmically under her skirt. She must have gasped, or made some other noise, because the man finally tore his lips from the woman’s, though his hand never stopped moving between her legs.

“What the hell? Who are you people? And, what are you doing here?” Fallon sputtered in shock.

The man turned the hottest look on her Fallon had ever seen. Instead of looking surprised, chagrined, or something appropriate, his eyes took a slow perusal down her body and an even slower one back up. 

“Shouldn’t I be asking that question?” he asked with a slow, knowing, and wicked smile spreading across his face. “It’s okay. Come on in. I won’t kick you out. I’ll be with you in just a moment, love. Just let me finish with her.”

Fallon’s eyes widened in disbelief. Was she somehow in the wrong house? She couldn’t be. She’d used the key. What was going on here?

“Excuse me?” Fallon demanded, taken aback and full of indignation. Who was this Cretan? “How did you get in here?” 

“The better question is, how did you get your delectable self in here?” the stranger said in a husky voice. The woman writhing insistently on the counter began to whimper under his steady fondling. For a moment, Fallon thought he would lose his concentration and take the obviously overheated woman right there on the counter, the way she was tugging and squeezing him. She seemed to not even care that Fallon was there.

Please, oh god, please,” she whined.

He’d turned to her, crooned something to her, and kissed her. Then he turned back to Fallon. Was this for real? This was some sort of sick joke, right?

“Did you follow me here?” he asked, fixing that sexy gaze on her. Fallon didn’t know whether she wanted to call the police or keep staring. This was unbelievable.

“Follow you? Kick me out?” She growled. His words finally penetrated her understanding and her outrage came to center stage. “This is my friend Alexa’s house. I don’t know who you are, or what is going on here. But, you’d better leave, or I’m calling the police.”

“You know Alexa?” Crazy Man asked. His eyes narrowed now and some of the heat lessened there. 

“Of course, I do. She’s my friend. Why else would I be in her house?” Fallon snapped in utter perplexity. His eyes widened and he jerked away from the woman in surprise. 

“You’re Fallon?” he asked clearly stunned. “But, Alexa said you wouldn’t be here until tomorrow.”

“Wait. How do you know my name?” Fallon asked cautiously. This was getting more and more bizarre by the second. Romeo there had frozen and was giving her his full attention now. He momentarily seemed to have completely forgotten the woman he was just finger fucking on the counter. She let out a whimper of protest.

“I promised I would be here to meet you and keep you entertained,” he blurted out.

“Look. I don’t know who you are, but I don’t need entertaining. Obviously, there’s been some sort of mistake,” Fallon said hesitantly. She didn’t know if she should risk the sudden movement of making a run for it or to take the time to grab her things and get the hell out of there. Deciding that he literally had his hands full pleasuring the more than willing woman with her ass on the counter, she figured it was safe to grab her stuff and go. She cautiously began to make her way around the counter, never taking her eyes from him. He never took his eyes off of her either, which was a bit disconcerting. As soon as she was around the counter, she dashed down the hall and into the guestroom.


Marla Josephs leads a busy life in Northern California with her husband and children. When everyone in the family isn't working or studying hard they are traveling and playing hard.

Now that her kids are older, she is very excited to be able to finally put her writing front and center.






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Release: Holding Onto Forever by Heidi McLaughlin (October 12-13)

Title: Holding Onto Forever
Series: The Beaumont Series - Next Generation #1
Author: Heidi McLaughlin
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 12, 2017



The road for Noah Westbury has been carved out for him, long before he knew who his father was. Making sure he worked hard to deserve the opportunities provided to him, Noah is exactly where he dreamed of being - starting QB for Portland Pioneers. Together with a Victoria Secret's model girlfriend by his side, life couldn't get much better. Except for the fact that standing in his path is Peyton Powell-James, his life-long friend and the one woman he can never have.

Peyton Powell-James always knew her future would be in football and dreams of having a successful sports journalism career once she graduates college. After being given an assignment to cover a professional game from the sidelines, Peyton believes that everything is going to plan, until one fateful night changes her life.

Harsh reality sets in for Noah and Peyton. One could lose everything, while the other one struggles to keep the families together.







“It was PERFECTION!” - Embrace the Romance 5 Stars

“HOLDING ONTO FOREVER just became my new favorite Heidi McLaughlin read to date!!” - Amber Boyd 5 Stars

“This story will leave you breathless page after page.” - Amy 5 Stars
“One of the best books I have read.” - Nancy Metsch 5 Stars





Heidi is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author.

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an over-hyper Beagle/Jack Russell, Buttercup and a Highland West/Mini Schnauzer, JiLL and her brother, Racicot.

When she's isn't writing one of the many stories planned for release, you'll find her sitting court-side during either daughter's basketball games.

Heidi's first novel, Forever My Girl, will be in theaters on October 27, 2017, starring Alex Roe and Jessica Rothe.




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