Tragically Flawed by A.M. Hargrove

Available Today!

Book Summary:

Riviera Benson has a talent…one she discovered by accident. She’s a painter, but canvas isn’t her medium. She creates her lovely masterpieces on walls and ceilings of million dollar homes as murals and faux finishes. Her art is in high demand now, but life wasn’t always that way. Riviera has secrets from her past she intends to keep tightly locked away…terrifying secrets that keep her awake at night…that prevent her from getting close to anyone…anyone that is, until she meets Shan.

Benjamin Shandon, owner of Shandon Homes, works like a thousand demons are chasing him…because perhaps they are. His business has boomed, ever since the forest fire swept through the canyon and destroyed hundreds of million dollar homes. He demands excellence in everything…from his employees to his women. He slows down for nothing, keeping a schedule that no sane person would want. But Riviera interrupts everything, twisting his guts inside out, and wedging her way into his heart, destroying a promise he made to himself.

Will they let their pasts control their future, or will they decide to let go and allow their hearts to discover each other’s?

My Review:

This one was a heart-wrencher. Riviera, survivor of terrible abuse, escapes to find a new anonymous life. On her very first day of her first painting job she gets accosted by Shan–and the fire is lit.

It takes months for them to become comfortable with each other, but the chemistry can’t be denied. Riviera’s boss, Marsha Sue, isn’t happy–she always wanted Shan for herself. And Shan? In Riviera he’s finally found peace, and maybe a bit of forgiveness, for the tragedy that claimed his best friend’s life years before. He’s not willing to let her go–even if it puts his life on the line…which of course it does.

Good thing Shan knows how to call in his favors just in time!

On thing is for certain, this book deals with demons–no, not paranormal demons!–those joy-stealing fears and regrets we all hide deep within. Riviera must accept that her years of sexual and physical abuse do not define her character, while Shan must come to terms with the tragedy he didn’t cause, yet blames on himself. Their personal tragedies soften them for each other in just the right way. It’s a reminder that redemption is available, if a person is strong enough to seek (and accept!) it–and that happy endings exist for any of us.

I liked it. And the steamy scenes were gravy. (This title not suitable for the young-ins, folks.)

Interested? You can purchase TRAGICALLY FLAWED for your very own Kindle or Nook! Yea!

About this Author:

One day, on her way home from work as a sales manager, A. M. Hargrove, realized her life was on fast forward and if she didn’t do something soon, it would quickly be too late to write that work of fiction she had been dreaming of her whole life.  So, she rolled down the passenger window of her fabulous (not) company car and tossed out her leather briefcase.  Luckily, the pedestrian in the direct line of fire was a dodge ball pro and had über quick reflexes enabling him to avoid getting bashed in the head.  Feeling a tad guilty about the near miss, A. M. made a speedy turn down a deserted side street before tossing her crummy, outdated piece-of-you-know-what laptop out the window.  She breathed a liberating sigh of relief, picked up her cell phone, called her boss and quit her job.  Grinning, she made another call to her hubs and told him of her new adventure (after making sure his heart was beating properly again).

So began A. M. Hargrove’s career as a YA/NA and Adult Romance writer. Her books include: Edge of Disaster, Shattered Edge and Kissing Fire (The Edge Series); The Guardians of Vesturon series (Survival, Resurrection, Determinant, reEmergent and Beginnings); Dark Waltz and Tragically Flawed.

Other than being in love with writing about being in love, she loves chocolate, ice cream and coffee and is positive they should be added as part of the USDA food groups. Catch up with A.M. Hargrove in the usual places:

Twitter    Facebook    Pinterest    Goodreads

And!

A Giveaway! WOOT!

A. M. Hargrove’s offering up an iPAD mini (O_O)

and a custom-designed necklace (Ka-ching!)

Click the linky-link below to get started!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and keep reading, my friends!

Into the Fire (Hot Nights Series #1)
by Amanda Usen
AVAILABLE NOW!!!
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Summary from Goodreads:
Jackson Calabrese has a lot of nerve. He beat Lila Grant in the Culinary Academy competition using her recipes. Now, he’s opening a restaurant and wants her help? Fine, she’ll fix his menu, but it’s going to cost him.

Heir to the Calabrese restaurant empire, Jackson can buy anything he wants, except creativity, so he buys Lila’s instead. He can craft perfect paella, but to take New York by storm he needs her innovative spark.

Skillets aren’t the only things hot in the kitchen, and an uneasy truce ignites into passion. They’re great in bed, but Jackson doesn’t trust her, and Lila is contemplating revenge. The restaurant opening approaches, the menu is completed, and the tables are set for one final act of betrayal. How can love bloom in the midst of such a hot mess?

Available in these fine locations:

Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo

***Guest Post***

Fabulous Fall Soup

My Hot Nights series is set in the kitchen because I’ve spent a lot of time in kitchens over the last twenty years, first cooking professionally and then in culinary school, where I met my husband. After graduating, I spent a decade working as a pastry chef before I began teaching pastry arts classes at a local community college and writing romance novels about chefs…while sitting at my kitchen table. Full disclosure: sometimes I write at my desk in my bedroom, but during the summer it’s a lot easier to oversee the chaos of my three kids from the kitchen table—or at least pretend to see!

Speaking of kids, we all went back to school on the same day this year, and while I was school shopping, I fantasized about fall soups. School supply shopping can get rough, and I needed a happy place. My mouth watered as I pondered my favorite fall soup, a rich chicken broth with sausage, fennel, Swiss chard, white beans, and tortellini, kicked up with just enough red pepper flakes to make things interesting. This soup literally brought me back to life after my first child was born, and it figuratively brought the heroine of LUSCIOUS, my second book, back to life. It’s filling, friendly, and easy to throw together on a school night, especially if you have some leftover cooked sausage on hand. And don’t forget the crusty bread!

Tortellini and Sausage Soup with Beans and Greens*

Serves 6

2 Tbsp olive oil
12 ounces cooked sausage
2 medium onions, small diced
5 carrots, small diced
1 four-inch fennel bulb, thinly sliced then chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
10 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 cups chopped fresh kale, escarole, Swiss chard or other green
1 15 ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 9 ounce package frozen cheese tortellini
Parmesan or Asiago cheese for garnish

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and fennel. Cook until limp.
2. Add garlic. Saute one minute, until it smells heavenly.
3. Add broth and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer. Cook until vegetables are tender.
4. Meanwhile, cook tortellini separately, so they don’t suck all the broth out of your soup.
5. When pasta is drained and the vegetables are tender, stir in white beans, sausage, and greens. Simmer until greens wilt.
6. Put 6-8 tortellini in each soup bowl then add soup. Serve with grated cheese.

* If you want to make this soup a day ahead, do not add the tortellini until you plan to serve it.

Excerpt from INTO THE FIRE by Amanda Usen

“Have you lost weight?” He tensed, wondering if that were a safe question to ask a woman holding a sharp object, no matter how small.

She snorted. “Only twenty pounds.”

“Why? You weren’t overweight.”

“Hunger will do that to a girl. It also helps that I never make that truffled mac and cheese I couldn’t resist back in school.” Her eyes were blue and sharp as she raked him from head to toe. “You don’t look like you’ve spent much time being hungry, but I imagine the prince of the Calabrese restaurant empire doesn’t suffer from plebeian problems like where his next meal is coming from. You have more important things to worry about—like where to buy the biggest, fattest goose livers.”

He had more to worry about than that, but he wasn’t looking for her sympathy. He picked up another hors d’oeuvre and stuffed it into his mouth. “Yup, got no problem keeping my weight up.”

She snorted again and bent to cut even strips from a roasted red pepper. She set the knife aside and coiled a strip on top of each shortbread. After the red pepper came a lump of creamy goat cheese. He could imagine how good they would taste now. Woodsy rosemary. Earthy mushrooms and olives. Sharp pepper and tangy goat cheese. He reached for one more, but she batted his hand away from the tray.

All the way through culinary school, they’d battled for top ranking, his speed and technical brilliance competing with her ability to take a classic flavor profile and turn it into something new and exciting. He looked at the tray of exquisite hors d’oeuvres, and tension shot up the back of his neck. If he had her gift for flavors, he wouldn’t be working twelve-hour days and his new menu would be ready to roll.

He took a deep breath and slowly released it, dispelling the headache before it could get its claws into him. He imagined her offering the tray of hors d’oeuvres to him with a seductive smile instead of smacking his hand. He replaced her French maid’s uniform with something even sexier—a silky, black negligee that displayed her magnificent breasts and made her red-gold hair glow. He added a glass of champagne to her imaginary tray. Then he added another one.

“Take a picture, it will last longer.” Her voice shattered the inviting image in his head. He blinked and found her glaring at him. “Have you seen enough yet? Or have you run so low on inspiration you want to see the rest of my hors d’oeuvre menu? Here,” she thrust a paper into his hand, “let me spare you the time and trouble. You can have my notes, with all the components neatly labeled. I’ll come up with some new ones.”

He feigned nonchalance as he glanced at the list, but every item made him hungry. “If it were that easy for you, you would have beaten me.”

The cold fury in her blue eyes warned him to step back from the table. Instead, he leaned closer. There was one more thing he wanted to know. Maybe it would help him put this whole thing behind him. She was too good a chef to go down in flames without a damn good reason. “Why did you choke during the competition?”

The anger in her eyes went from ice to blue fire. “That’s low, even for you, Calabrese,” she hissed. “I don’t know why you came back here, but you aren’t going to get an apology from me, and I’ll be damned if I’ll offer congratulations. How about this? You’re welcome. Now get the hell out of my kitchen.”

“Make me.” He snagged an hors d’oeuvre from the center of her tray and popped it in his mouth. It was every bit as good as he had imagined. His alluring mental picture of Lila returned, but this time, she was in his bed. “Come on—I dare you to throw me out of your kitchen. I bet we’ll both enjoy it.”

He didn’t think she’d actually do it, and her rough shove caught him by surprise. He stumbled as she bulldozed him across the room, fortunately catching his balance before they reached the door. He swerved to the right, spinning so that his back hit the wall instead. Expecting to push him out into the hall, she kept going and slammed into him. He wrapped his arms around her waist. “Now this is what I’m talking about.”

He expected her to protest, to yell, or maybe even slap him, but instead she gasped and froze. Her eyes were shut and when she opened them, he saw the same stark desire that had consumed him for months. He couldn’t have stopped, even if he’d wanted to. He bent his head and kissed her.

About the Author
Amanda Usen knows two things for certain: chocolate cheesecake is good for breakfast, and a hot chef can steal your heart. Her husband stole hers the first day of class at the Culinary Institute of America. She married him after graduation in a lovely French Quarter restaurant in New Orleans, and they spent a few years enjoying the food and the fun in the Big Easy. Now they live in Western New York with their three children, one hamster, two guinea pigs, a tortoise, and a new-to-them beagle. Amanda spends her days teaching pastry arts classes and her nights writing romance. If she isn’t baking or writing, she can usually be found chasing the kids around the yard with her very own hot chef husband. Visit Amanda to find recipes for many of the yummy dishes in her books. She can also be found on Facebook and Twitter chatting about romance, writing, or recipes.

***GIVEAWAY***

Grand Prize: (US only)

1-Cajun Wine Charm, 1-Apron  AND

4-inch mini icing spatula (great for frosting cupcakes or spreading just about anything), mini apple-shaped cutting board, microfiber dishrag.

International Giveaway:

$15 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz Organized by:

http://www.yaboundbooktours.blogspot.com/

Taste the Heat (Love and Games #1)

by Rachel Harris

Available NOW!!

Summary from Goodreads:

One sexy fire captain. One Cajun chef, One combustible kitchen…

When chef Colby Robicheaux returned home to New Orleans to save her family restaurant, the last person she expected to reconnect with was her brother’s best friend and her childhood crush. As tempting as a sugar-coated beignet, Jason is one dish she doesn’t want to taste. Colby is counting down the days till she can leave the place where her distrust of love and commitment originated and go back to Vegas.

Fire captain Jason Landry isn’t looking for love, either. He knows he should focus on finding the perfect mother for his daughter, but when he first sees Colby, all grown up and gorgeous, he can’t help but be drawn to her. And when she suggests a no-strings-attached fling, Jason doesn’t want to say no.

As their relationship grows more intense, Colby finds that Jason isn’t as easy to leave behind as she thought. Could turning up the heat on something real be worth the possibility of getting burned?

WHOA! This one sounds De-Lish–Capital DEEE! Pick it up here and there…

Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo│iBookstore

***Guest Post***

A Dash of Spice: Are YOU Hungry For Love?

I love food. Growing up in New Orleans, events focused around meals were as big a part of my childhood as cartoons and chocolate. From seafood boils and barbeques, to red beans Mondays and fish-fry Fridays, my family and friends gathered together often with one objective in mind: to celebrate life via yumminess.

When I sat down to write Taste the Heat, I went in wanting to share this unique culture with the world. Over the years, Hollywood has certainly provided comedic fodder about my hometown, but rarely do they capture the strong family bonds and the deep-rooted love for community that makes up our lives. History is made and life is shared around our meals, and what better way for me to show that—and take it up a notch—than feature a trio of siblings who own a Cajun Restaurant.

Our feisty middle child, Cajun chef Colby Robicheaux, kicks off this culinary series of love and games, but she’s far from the lone cook in this book. Jason Landry, aka our hottie fire captain hero, knows his way around the kitchen, too. And when these two collide on page, you best believe there’s sparks. Because you see, food is more than just nourishment for our bellies. Or even a reason to gather with loved ones. Food is a universal language. Eating, and preparing a meal for someone special, is a sensual experience. And I have a lot of fun—some may say too much fun—exploring that in Taste the Heat.

So this is my official warning: you will be hungry reading this book. Heck, you’ll be hungry reading the entire series (Seven Day Fiancé featuring rugged big brother Cane releases October 14th). And to warn you properly, I thought it only fair to share one of my favorite excerpts… Bon appetit!

Delicious Excerpt:

Colby inhaled deeply, trying to get a hint of what Jason cooked. Not picking anything up, she asked, “What’s for dinner?”

A muscle clenching and unclenching in his jaw was her only clue—and not much of one—before he said, “That’s a surprise.”

Curious, she let him pull her farther inside. But instead of heading toward the dining room as she’d expected, or even toward the more intimate kitchen table, he led her into the living room. He gently backed her against the leather sofa. “Take a seat.”

Okay. No need for concern here, she told herself, sinking into the soft cushions. Just because she absolutely hated surprises, didn’t trust them, and hadn’t had a good one since her life fell apart twelve years ago, she didn’t need to go mental. This was a date, and dates were supposed to be fun. Spontaneous. She could go with the flow.

Besides, it was possible he wanted to talk before they ate. Or watch a movie, breaking out the TV trays like they did when they were kids. She could handle that. It wasn’t romantic, but she didn’t need romance. She and Jason were just two old friends hanging out, throwing in some much needed benefits, and getting their freak on.

Do people still even say that?

Colby shook her head, her inner-monologue only confirming how long it had been for her. And how badly she needed this. She put on her sexiest smile and glanced up at him, feeling it freeze on her face when she glimpsed the object in his hands.

A black silk blindfold.

Now that was the type of surprise she could get behind.

“And the night takes a turn for the intriguing.” She bit her lower lip as Jason started rubbing the soft material between his long, work-roughened fingers. She cleared her throat and asked, “But shouldn’t we eat first? You know, shore up our strength?”

Jason chuckled. “This is for eating.” At her nose crinkle of confusion, he sank to his knees in front of her. “I’m going to feed you blindfolded.”

Oh my.

She didn’t know what she had expected from tonight, but this certainly wasn’t it. Not that she was complaining. She knew very well how sensual food could be. And how turning off one sense heightened all the others. Colby swallowed hard as Jason leaned forward, gently stretching the elastic band of the blindfold.

“Do you mind?” His voice was a husky whisper at her ear. All she could manage was a small shake of her head. Already her pulse was taking flight and heat was pooling in her belly.

What will it be like later? Was it possible to self-combust from anticipation alone?

He chuckled lightly under his breath, most likely hearing the pant of her breath. She’d be embarrassed if she weren’t so damn excited. As he secured the band around her head, the spicy scent of his aftershave flooded her senses, making everything electric. Goose bumps skittered down her spine as his palm smoothed the back of her hair. Just before tugging the silky material over her eyes, Jason looked into them and said, “Bon appétit, Chef.”

A pop of a joint and the rustle of fabric told Colby that he was moving. The pad of his footsteps on the carpet grew faint, letting her know he was walking away, probably into the kitchen to get their dinner. She still couldn’t pick up any scents, but then, the thrum of expectation coursing through her body made it hard to concentrate. Soon those same soft footsteps returned, growing louder as Jason neared. “I hope you don’t mind, but I outsourced dinner. This is a three-course tasting.”

She stopped herself from saying that all she wanted to taste at that moment was him. The admission seemed a bit over the top—even if it was the truth. Instead, she said, “Can’t wait to see what you brought me.”

The sounds of preparations stilled and then the warmth of Jason’s hands pressed on her thighs. “Colby, before we start, I just want you to know that I care about you. And all I ask is that you trust me.”

 “I do trust you.” Right now, in this moment, she couldn’t think of anyone she trusted more.

He squeezed the sides of her legs and moved away, taking the heat of his skin along with him. A clink of glass meeting glass then, “Open your mouth and suck.”

Colby barked a laugh. The teasing tone of his voice told her he knew exactly how that had sounded. “So that’s how you’re gonna play it, huh?”

His seductive whisper came at her ear. “Gotta keep you on your toes.”

About the Author

Rachel Harris grew up in New Orleans, watching soap operas with her grandmother, and staying up way too late sneak reading her mama’s romance novels. As an adult, she continues to stay up late reading romances, only now she does so openly.

A Cajun cowgirl now living in Houston, she firmly believes life’s problems can be solved with a hot, sugar-coated beignet or a thick slice of king cake, and that screaming at strangers for cheap, plastic beads is acceptable behavior in certain situations.

She homeschools her two beautiful girls and watches reality television with her amazing husband. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult Fun, Flirty Escapes, and LOVES talking with readers!  

Find Rachel and her books here:

Website│Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook│Pinterest

***GIVEAWAY***

Grand Prize: (US only)

1-Cajun Wine Charm, 1-Apron  AND

4-inch mini icing spatula (great for frosting cupcakes or spreading just about anything), mini apple-shaped cutting board, microfiber dishrag.

International Giveaway:

$15 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz Organized by:

http://www.yaboundbooktours.blogspot.com/