Dreamland Book Blog: November 2016

Tuesday, November 29, 2016 No comments

The Fighter and the Baroness

Sunniva Dee

Publication date: November 29th 2016

Genres: New Adult, Romance

Victor Arquette knows the meaning of sacrifice. Destined to legendary status in mixed martial arts, his life is founded on it. Dedication equals sacrifice, and sacrifice means around-the-clock training, no partying, no junk food, no alcohol—and no women.

Helena von Isenlohe is the heiress to Kyria Castle. Due to her father’s lack of financial prowess, the restoration of the ancient German estate rests on Helena’s shoulders. A failed attempt leaves a wealthy man alone at the altar—and the fleeing bride on a plane to the United States.

A chance meeting, and Victor and Helena’s chemistry is undeniable. Except, her presence clutters his focus. Victor shouldn’t crave their nights, shouldn’t be concerned where she is or with whom. And meanwhile in Germany, Kyria Castle deteriorates at a suspicious speed, indebting Helena further to the man she left behind.

Victor and Helena believe in duty. They embrace sacrifice. But when love strikes, it strikes hard, and sometimes you have to choose where your heart is truly at home.

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Sacramento Regular

HELENA

My cheeks warm with embarrassment at the people waiting behind me. A female employee helps me unclasp the diamond bracelet and matching necklace. The crown though is impossible to get out of my princess ’do.

“Can I wear it through the security portal?” I ask, broken shoes in one hand.

“No, I’m sorry. It will buzz,” the security person explains. “The portal is created to alert us to most metals besides gold and silver.”

I can’t tell him I wear gold. Real, irreplaceable, century-old heirlooms. He wouldn’t believe me anyway. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to try.”

He lifts his arms in subtle agreement, a have-it-your-way, and I enter the booth, walk out without incident. Employees from two checkpoints stare at me while I pick my stuff off the band. I shake my head, slowly at first, but then I have nothing to say, no witty comeback, and my flight instinct kicks in. I get up on my toes so I don’t stumble in the too-long skirt and stride as slowly as I can into the transit hall.

I need to not stress the hell out. Just, I wish someone was with me to talk me down. I could call Elfriede. I don’t have my phone. I need a new phone. God, how pathetic am I?

Once I’m sure security isn’t following, I haul butt down the corridor. Tiles are cold under bare feet, it turns out. I’d step into my shoes again, but one of them is broken. Would people stare less if I limped and my heels creak-clacked against the floor?

A high-end fashion store beams in the distance. “We’ll help you blend in. Hurry, hurry,” it calls. I run. Benches are in the way. I’m getting clumsy. I’m panicking. Suddenly, a potted palm tree appears out of nowhere, half-blocking my view of the Promised Land, and my torso doubles around it as I slam to the ground.

I let out an ungraceful oomph. And realize I’m not on the ground after all. No, there’s an arm around me, and miraculously I’m on my feet, wobbly but sort of erect.

“You all right?” an American accent asks.

“I was going to Cloe’s over there,” I explain in German, pointing feebly and not feeling as regal as I’ve been taught. Dark eyebrows contract from within a tanned face above me.

“Sorry?” His arm is still strong around me, really freaking strong, and somehow I’ve got a death grip around it while trying to pry him off.

I translate the same stupid sentence to English. “I was going to Cloe’s. It’s over there.”

His brows are perfectly thick or thin and their arcs are so perfectly perfect they look like they’ve been combed, but then the furrow between them smoothens and I discover his eyes.

Oh.

Between studies, teaching, and advising, Sunniva has spent her entire adult life in a college environment. Most of her novels are new adult romance geared toward smart, passionate readers with a love for eclectic language and engaging their brain as well as their heart while reading.

Born in the Land of the Midnight Sun, the author spent her early twenties making the world her playground. Southern Europe: Spain, Italy, Greece--Argentina: Buenos Aires, in particular. The United States finally kept her interest, and after half a decade in Los Angeles, she now lounges in the beautiful city of Savannah.

Sometimes, Sunniva writes with a paranormal twist (Shattering Halos, Stargazer, and Cat Love). At other times, it's contemporary (Pandora Wild Child, Leon's Way, Adrenaline Crush, Walking Heartbreak, and Dodging Trains, coming in late March 2016).

This author is the happiest when her characters let their emotions run off with them, shaping her stories in ways she never foresaw. She loves bad-boys and good-boys run amok, and like in real life, her goal is to keep the reader on her toes until the end of each story.

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Tuesday, November 29, 2016 No comments

Air

L.B. Gilbert

(The Elementals #2)

Publication date: November 28th 2016

Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Paranormal

Despite being the junior Elemental, Logan’s never had to worry about failing a mission before. Not until an overgrown and annoyingly attractive shifter comes along.

Being an Elemental is in Logan’s blood. Hers is the gift of Air, a vast power she’s still struggling to control. Then a Were named Connell hunts her down. His wolf is missing, and he blames her.

A den of werewolves is the last place Logan wants to be. The testosterone alone is enough to make her choke. But she has a mystery to solve. She will find out who is stealing wolves even if kills her.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the enemy has planned…

Book 1: Fire

Book 2: Air, Available November 28th

Book 3: Water, Coming Soon

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Connell tried to drag the Elemental toward him, but she didn’t budge. Instead, she glanced at his hands. For a second, he could have sworn amusement flashed across her face. Then she was gone—wind whipping him in the face so hard it stung.

Fuck!

He turned around in a circle, scanning the air and the land around him. God, he couldn’t lose her now. He needed to get his wolf back. Not having the extra other in his head was tearing him apart. The empty space inside him was like a crawling emptiness. Sometimes, it was in his head. Other times, it was in his heart.

I can’t believe I lost her. He’d had her in his hands, and then poof. At this

point, she could be anywhere. A strangled sigh escaped from deep in his chest. It sounded pathetic and broken, even to him. He checked the house to make sure she wasn’t there, and then he walked back out to his rented jeep. Damn it, he was going to have to start tracking her all over again.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

Stunned, Connell tripped. Pivoting on his heel, he turned to see the sprite standing on a huge boulder in the distance. He was so damn surprised to see her that he lost his tongue. He just stared at her like an idiot.

Apparently, she agreed. “I can’t keep calling you tall, dark, and stupid, now can I? What…is…your…name?” she repeated, over- enunciating each word.

He was too relieved to get upset over the fact she was talking to him as if he were slow. “Connell Maitland.”

The imp turned away and started addressing the air around her, “He says he’s one of the Maitlands. American accent, so one of the Colorado ones. Yeah. It’s severe. I haven’t seen anything like it. It’s like his wolf was torn out of him somehow. He thinks we did it. Hold on a sec—” Her words broke off as Connell started to run toward her.

A gust of strong air slammed him down to the ground before he cleared the rise.

“Stay there,” the sprite ordered in a glacial tone.

Frigid as the wind, he thought as he regained his footing. Hell, everything about her should be ice-cold. Instead, he felt like he was burning up around her. It was disconcerting. So was the hard edge in her voice. That kind of steel shouldn’t be coming out of such a tiny, doll-like girl.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s fine. He’s on a leash,” the imp said a touch smugly.

Connell growled low in his throat. At least that hadn’t changed. Prey the world over would still react instinctively in fear at that sound.

But the imp didn’t even blink. And she had heard him. She just hadn’t cared. She kept on talking like some gossipy housewife on the phone. Except she was addressing no one.

“Who the bloody hell are you talking to? Invisible fairies? Can anyone even hear you?” he asked incredulously.

USA Today bestselling author L.B. Gilbert spent years getting degrees from the most prestigious universities in America, including a PhD that she is not using at all. She moved to France for work and found love. She's married now and living in Toulouse with one adorable half-french baby.

She has always enjoyed reading books as far from her reality as possible but eventually the voices in her head told her to write her own. And so far the voices are enjoying them. You can check out the geeky things she likes on twitter @elementalauthor, facebook www.facebook.com/elementalsauthor, or www.elementalauthor.com

*If you like a little more steam with your Fire, check out the author's Lucy Leroux titles*

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Tuesday, November 29, 2016 No comments

Title: Home Tears

Author: Tijan

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense

Release Date: 2016

Dani’s survived a lot of sh*t storms.

Her mother died. Her two sisters loathed her. One aunt hated her. The other was strangely distant, but the worst storm—being dumped by her childhood best friend/high school boyfriend/first love for her younger sister.

There went the one person who was hers and with that, the main reason she stuck around. So, she left for ten years. But now she’s back, and nothing’s the same.

With help from Jonah Bannon, a reformed—kind of—bad boy she remembers from high school, Dani uncovers family secrets that have spanned generations. And along with those, she’s about to face the biggest sh*t storm of her life.

Only this time, she may not survive.

Receive an email alert once Home Tears is available for purchase

“Why’d you push me earlier?”

“It’s not important.”

But it was. She felt it in her chest. It was so important, and she needed him to say it again. She was salivating for the chance. She wanted to reassure him, and this time she felt it in her heart. She knew she wasn’t going anywhere. She wanted him to see it in her eyes, that she meant every single word.

She whispered now, “Ask me. Ask me again.”

His eyes met hers, narrowing slightly. He was looking into her, reading her.

She was letting him. There was no wall, no hesitation this time. She wanted him to know her, not just her body. All of her. A second passed. He was still searching in her. Another second. More. He waited a full thirty before asking, his voice so soft and tender, “What would you do if you found out another person cared about you? If you mattered to one more person?”

“Nothing.” She was trying to convey her feelings through her eyes. She wanted him to know so badly. “I wouldn’t run. I wouldn’t walk. I wouldn’t hide. I’d do nothing except stand and embrace it.”

His eyes darkened, an emotion passed in them, one that had her heart beating so fast again. “Yeah?” He let go of her hand, but touched the side of her face. He held her in the palm of his hand, and his thumb rubbed over her cheek. It was like he was smoothing away any lingering worries she might have. “What if I was that person?”

She leaned toward him, her eyes going from his lips back to his gaze. Both were pulling her in, making her yearn for more. “Then I’d say, I feel the same.” Her breath held in her throat. They were talking in code, but it was out now. She was telling him how she felt, and a second later, his lips were on hers.

This. She turned, wound her arms around his neck. This was everything.

Tijan is a New York Times Bestselling author that writes suspenseful and unpredictable novels. Her characters are strong, intense, and gut-wrenchingly real with a little bit of sass on the side. Tijan began writing later in life and once she started, she was hooked. She’s written multi-bestsellers including the Carter Reed Series, the Fallen Crest Series, and the Broken and Screwed Series among others. She is currently writing Fallen Crest Six (untitled) along with so many more from north Minnesota where she lives with a man she couldn’t be without and an English Cocker she adores.

To find what to read next of hers, go to http://www.tijansbooks.com/

WALLSTREET JOURNAL, NEW YORK TIMES, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

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Monday, November 28, 2016 No comments

Title: Damned if I do

(The Harker Trilogy #1)

Author: Erin Hayes

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Vampires, Dark

Published: September 15th, 2015

They killed my sister and infected me.

Now I have to pick up the pieces before I die.

I've spent the last five months trying to find the bastard who did this. Yet, even with the help of a hot amnesiac vampire named Jude, I've had zero luck.

Until now. And it could change everything. Even though I grew up in a family that hunted the supernatural, there were still things I didn't believe in.

Now I have to hurry for the slim chance that I could save us all. Because when you fight against immortal vampires, you're the one who's running out of time.

***This book contains mature language and violence, some of which may be unsuitable for younger readers.***

I voluntarily read and reviewed a free copy of this book provided by Xpresso Book Tours and the publisher. Thank you so much for the opportunity!

Ahhh...a vampire series after 4 years reading hiatus since Twilight.

Me after seeing the cover.

Me after reading the blurb.

Me after reading the prologue.

Me after that.

Damned if I Do, in all its gory-fying glory, truly depicts the horror and cruel nature of bloodthirsty vampires - which is probably my favorite part of the book! We're talking about grotesque dismemberment and heart-ripping described in vivid detail, it was horrifically engaging.

This book surprised me to no ends, with its fast-paced and action-packed storyline, the mystery behind the whole vampire ordeal keeps you intrigued and at the edge of your seat. Told from the perspectives of Edie (the vampire hunter) and Jude (the good/amnesiac vampire), we get the insights of both worlds as they raced against time to find a cure for Edie's infection.

Although I enjoyed most parts of the book, I have to say that the author was slightly too ambitious with the plot, trying to cram too many plot points into one book - One being Jude/Edie's relatioship. I wasn't feeling Jude and Edie's starcrossed romance and I felt as if a huge part of their story was left untold. Jude was first introduced as Edie's accomplice and the story picked up from when they've first met 5 months ago. It certainly was a refreshing approach to introduce two main characters in a book, unfortunately it backfired a little because Jude/Edie was too insta-love.

I was also disappointed in how quick the betrayer was revealed (although I've already got a pretty good guess who it was), I was expecting a more suspenseful build up and even thought that the reveal would be in the second book. Oh well. The author definitely did made up for it with the climatic fighting scene though! Imagine an epic battle in Underworld. Did I mention I love the Underworld series and Selene is my favorite vampire ever?