Blog Tour Review!- Face-Off at the Altar (Assassins, #9) by Toni Aleo

Title: Pieces (Patchworks #1)  

Author: Toni Aleo

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: June 27th 2016 by Toni Aleo Books LLC

Plot: Markus Reeves is sucking. Big-time. Toiling away on a minor-league hockey team hundreds of miles away from home, he's watching his dreams of an NHL career fade away. Add in the lingering guilt he has over the dramatic demise of his relationship with college girlfriend, Mekena, and he's a mess on and off the ice.

But the family of his heart, the Sinclairs, won't let Markus suffer any longer. When he arrives himself back in Nashville for a trial run on the Assassins, it feels like his life may be making a turn for the better. If only he could get Mekena to forgive him...

Mekena Preston has been hurting since fleeing Nashville following the horror of Markus's betrayal with her sister. Now a professional photographer, Mekena finds herself in the same place at the same time with Markus to celebrate Lucy and Benji Paxton's wedding. Neither of them has been able to move on—and they're starting to wonder if they really want to.

They're headed for a face-off at the altar unless they can confront their past and unearth the truth about what really happened on that fateful night.

☆✮ My Review ✮☆

☆ I received an Ardent Rose PR in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ☆

The Assassins is by far my favorite hockey themed romances thus far and this one was another gem of a romance.  While I could not remember all of the details from the previous books to get all of the lowdown from a few characters that we met from the Assassins novels, I could easily follow along and invest myself with the story and its characters.  They were very easy to like and relatable.

Sure, I'm not going to lie, I did come across elements of angst, heartbreak, and sometimes frustration and complication that sometimes made me anxious and excited at the same time.  But, don't let that interfere with your reading experience.

I really enjoy the voice of author Toni Aleo in this and I think sports fans, obviously hockey ones, and romance lovers will enjoy the journey of both Markus and Mekena.  Definitely an one-click no brainer!

My Rating:

♥♥♥♥

☆✮ Excerpt ✮☆

“You are, by far, the most patient man I know.”

Baylor grimaced as she took Dawson from Markus’s outstretched hands. He smiled as Dawson looked at him innocently. He knew the little guy didn’t mean to puke all over him and he wasn’t upset, but he was trying to figure out a way to get to the house and shower before he had to talk to Mekena. He highly doubted that baby puke would be an aphrodisiac. Maybe it would be? Huh.

He wasn’t going to try, though.  

As Baylor cuddled Dawson against her, Markus waved her off. “It’s no big deal. He’s a baby.”

She smiled shyly. “Yes, but Ashlyn pooped on you too.”

He grinned as he shrugged, trying not to laugh. It was a tough rehearsal for Dawson, Ashlyn, and Markus. Puke and poop were big-time stars during the hour of watching the Sinclairs and Grace Justice try to put together a wedding. He wasn’t sure what was funnier, Jace glaring as Jordie walked with Avery, or Ashlyn farting and then realizing she had just shit all over him. It was a toss-up, but then Dawson decided to puke down the front of his shirt, and he figured he was now a substitute for a baby rag. “I volunteered.”

“Still, we’re really sorry,” Avery said, holding Ashlyn close as she rocked her back and forth. “I understand if you don’t want to watch her ever again.”

“Nonsense,” he said, laughing as he tucked his hands into his pockets and looked around. He spotted Mekena at the front of the altar, taking pictures of random things. He wasn’t sure if she was done, but maybe he could slip away. “How much longer until y’all are done?”

“We’re done, but Lucy and Benji have some pre-wedding pictures they’re having done with Angie.”

“So Mekena isn’t done?”

Avery smiled. “Nope, she’s got a bit.”

“Can you pass a message for me?”

“Sure.”

“Let her know that I went back to the cabin to shower and clean up?”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll tell Jace to tell her since I’m taking Ashlyn to bed.”

“Cool, thanks,” he said, kissing her cheek and then Baylor’s, before rubbing Dawson’s head. “I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

Before he could get far, though, Baylor smiled. “Thanks again.”

“Anytime. I mean that.”

Avery smiled. “Thanks.”

“Also, good luck,” Baylor added.

Flashing them both a big grin, he nodded. “I need it.”

Heading out the back, he made it back to the cabin quickly. When he entered, though, Mr. Right was sitting on the windowsill howling. “Whoa, man. What’s up?”

Meoooooowwwwwwww, he wailed, with his mouth wide open as his hair stood on end.

“Bro, I don’t know what to say. I don’t speak your language. Are you singing? Do you want me to sing too? Meoooowwwwww,” he said, and Mr. Right looked back at him, almost with a glare. “We should add some beat to that and make a remix,” Markus joked as the cat wailed. Deciding that was a good idea, he pulled out his phone and started to beatbox as the cat wailed, recording it on his SnapChat. The cat must have realized what he was doing because he looked back, scowling, and Markus hid his phone. He didn’t want to admit it, but Mr. Right kind of freaked him out.

☆✮ About the Author ✮☆

My name is Toni Aleo and I’m a total dork.

I am a wife, mother of two and a bulldog, and also a hopeless romantic.

I am the biggest Shea Weber fan ever, and can be found during hockey season with my nose pressed against the Bridgestone Arena’s glass, watching my Nashville Predators play!

When my nose isn’t pressed against the glass, I enjoy going to my husband and son’s hockey games, my daughter’s dance competition, hanging with my best friends, taking pictures, scrapbooking, and reading the latest romance novel.

I have a slight Disney and Harry Potter obsession, I love things that sparkle, I love the color pink, I might have been a Disney Princess in a past life… probably Belle.

… and did I mention I love hockey?

Author's Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Tsu

☆✮ Buy Links ✮☆

Blog Review & Excerpt Tour!- Jaded Hearts (Loaded Replay, #1) by Harper Sloan

Title:  Jaded Hearts (Loaded Replay, #1)

Author: Harper Sloan

Publication Date: December 13th 2016 by HEA Forever Publishing, LLC

Plot:  Signing with Brighthouse Records was supposed to be everything we ever wanted—our better life. Our chance at everything we never had but always wanted. All our dreams would finally come true and we were on top of the world. It was our chance at the happiness we never had in life.

Our every desire was at our fingertips and the power of that feeling was all consuming. But then it took every dream we thought would come true and it slapped us in the face with the cold hard reality.

Dreams were just that…something that floated on the cusp of untouchable, taunting you with every graze of your fingertips before slipping even further away. 

Happiness…that feeling is a joke.

In the end it became painfully obvious that each of us would always have each other, but we would forever be alone.

*Jaded Hearts is the first book in the Loaded Replay series.*

☆✮ My Review ✮☆

☆ I received an ARC via Inkslinger PR in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ☆

Fans of Harper Sloan's Corps Security series can rejoice with Ms. Sloan's latest series, Loaded Replay.  As a fan of that series myself, I was excited to see an inkling of that still preserved and manifested into this series spinoff.

I was also enthused to experience a novel centered on a female rockstar.  Usually, it's male manwhores, which is cool and all, but I like to see a change up and in this we got it.

Here, our rockstar gal is Wrenlee Davenport, lead singer of mega popular Loaded Replay.  Wrenlee is like any relatable character and yearns to get control of her own life again, find true love, and find some inkling of quietness.

That' easier said than done after some run ins with stalker fans and crazies that they bring in Corps Security.  Enter Chance Nash.

Now, from here, I'm sure you guys can kind of guess how the story will go without me telling you.

It's a forbidden type of love: business versus pleasure.

Over all, a really great start to this addictive and mesmerizing series.  I really look forward to where Harper Sloan is going to take these characters and cannot wait to see where she leads us next.

My Rating:

♥♥♥♥

☆✮ Excerpt ✮☆

Goddamn, that smile is dangerous.
Who am I kidding?  He is dangerous.  
I do my best to ignore him, but it’s impossible.  The steady brush of his arm against where mine is resting on our shared armrest constantly reminds me how much my body wants his touch.  The scent of his delicious cologne hits my senses, making me want to climb in his lap and rub my face over his chest to get a potent lungful of it.  
I can’t even remember the last time I was this horny, which is pathetically sad, since it was probably around the same time I actually got laid.  Years.  I think.  Close to three.  Maybe that’s why I’m a hot mess lately.   I turn my head to study the side of his face and wonder if I can use this situation to my advantage.  I mean, after all, we are in a ‘relationship’ now.
He turns and gives me a questioning arch of his dark brows, but I brush it off in favor of playing Disney Emoji Blitz on my phone.  
By the time we had hit cruising altitude, I could hear the other men around me snoring away but not Chance.  He’s fiddling with his phone, completely ignorant of the fact I’m about to start humping his leg.
“Excuse me,” I breathily say, unbuckling my belt and standing to move around him.  I stand there, my head bent slightly because of the overhead, and wait.  He doesn’t move, though.  Instead, he drops his phone to his lap and gives me his complete attention; his eyes even dance a little like he’s finding this whole damn thing funny.  “Excuse me,” I repeat, no longer breathy, and seconds away from coming.  
No, that’s a lie.  I’m still breathy and very much seconds away from soaking my panties even more than they already are.
His large hands grab my hips, and he guides me down on his lap with no resistance from my treacherous body.
“Not what I meant,” I say through clenched teeth, trying to sound harsh and offended, but I just sound dazed and turned on.  I wiggle in his hold, trying to get free, but he’s too strong for me.
He leans up in his seat, his chest hitting my back and buries his face in my neck.  I’m sure anyone who saw us would see a loving couple who just can’t keep their hands to themselves.  He’s playing a dangerous game, though, because the second the solid, hard length of him presses against my backside, I forget this is supposed to be a game and squirm a little more.  His teeth nip at my shoulder at the same time his groan hits my ears.
“Stop moving, Wren,” he demands, tightening his fingers on my hips.
“You’re the one who put me on your lap.”  I curl my fingers over the empty seat in front of me and squeeze my eyes shut when I feel him growing harder under me.
“Yeah, because the flight attendant who just walked by had her phone out and pointed right at us.  She’s doing a shit job of making it look like she’s doing something with her paperwork.”  His hand comes off my hip, and he cups my jaw, turning my head to the side just when I was about to look up at where I last saw the attendant, forcing me to shift until all it would take is me throwing one leg over his body to be face-to-face.  “Do not look at her,” he stresses; the sudden movement of twisting my body makes me bounce slightly in his lap, rubbing my legging-clad ass against his erection.  His eyes drop to my mouth where I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and groan.
“Give me a reason not to look,” I dare him.
“You don’t want to go down that road, Wren.  I’ll protect you from the world, but you need to protect yourself from me.” 
“No one is asking you to.”
Not even knowing if we’re still being watched, I twist my torso the rest of the way, pulling my legs up until they’re bent at his stomach between us.  Now that I’m facing him completely, I bring my hands up to curl them both around his shoulders before dragging them up to wrap around the corded muscles at the sides of his neck.  His nostrils flare, but he doesn’t stop me.  I give him the chance, but it never comes.  Dropping my head, I press my lips to his.  I explore his lips with small pecks and little licks of my tongue, learning his mouth before pressing more firmly.  He sucks in a breath when I open my mouth and slowly drag the tip of my tongue over his bottom lip.
And then his control snaps.
His hands—still at my hips—lift me effortlessly until my legs are no longer folded between us, but now digging into the hard armrests with my knees pushing into his thighs, my back hitting the seat in front of me.  His mouth opens, and his tongue meets mine, no hesitation whatsoever, as he deepens the kiss.
Our breathing echoes around us, making it sound like everyone on this plane could hear us, but I know it’s just because our faces are so close.  I let out a moan, one that he swallows, that turns into a whine when he pulls back.
“That can’t happen again,” he softly scolds, just as breathless as I am.
What the hell?  I might not have been into this whole fake-boyfriend-slash-bodyguard thing before, but I’ll be damned if I’m not going to take advantage of the situation.  Especially now that I know how alive he makes me feel.  Three years since I had pleasure from anything other than my own hand, and if that kiss is anything to go by, what Chance could make me feel is ten times more powerful than anything I’ve ever felt in my whole life.  
I’m not passing that up.
Nope.
No fucking way.
“We’ll see about that.” 

☆✮ About the Author ✮☆

Harper lives in small town Georgia just a short drive from her hometown of Peachtree City. She (and her 3 daughters) enjoy ruling the house they dubbed 'Estrogen Ocean', much to her husband’s chagrin. Harper has a borderline unhealthy obsession with books; you can almost ALWAYS find her with her eReader attached. She enjoys bad reality TV and cheesy romantic flicks. Her favorite kind of hero--the super alpha kind!

Harper started using writing as a way to unwind when the house went to sleep at night; and with a house full of crazy it was the perfect way to just relax. It didn't take long before a head full of very demanding alphas would stop at nothing to have their story told.

Author's Links:

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

☆✮ Buy Links ✮☆

Blog Tour Review & Giveaway!- A Veil of Vines by Tillie Cole

Title:  A Veil of Vines  

Author: Tillie Cole  

Publication Date: November 27th 2016 

Plot: To most people, princes, princesses, counts and dukes are found only in the pages of the most famous of fairytales. Crowns, priceless jewels and gilded thrones belong only in childhood dreams.
But for some, these frivolous fancies are truth. 
For some, they are real life. 
On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, people have always treated me as someone special. All because of my ancestral name and legacy. All because of a connection I share to our home country’s most important family of all.
I am Caresa Acardi, the Duchessa di Parma. A blue blood of Italy. I was born to marry well. And now the marriage date is set. 
I am to marry into House Savona. The family that would have been the royals had Italy not abolished the monarchy in 1946. But to the aristocrats of my home, the abolition means nothing at all.
The Savonas still hold power where it counts most.
In our tight-knit world of money, status and masked balls, they are everything and more. 
And I am soon to become one of them.
I am soon to become Prince Zeno Savona’s wife…
… or at least I was, until I met Achille. 
And everything changed.

☆✮ My Review ✮☆

☆ I received an ARC via Ardent Rose PR in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!! ☆

This was my first Tillie Cole read but not my last.  As soon as I read this plot concept it already appealed to me.  I've always been fascinated with Italy and its aristocracy so seeing it come to life in a modern setting caught my attention right away.

I'm not going to lie, some of this story just felt like a fairytale.  Stuff you would read just in stories.

BUT!  Don't let that damper your reading experience.  It was still a super cute read that I found beautifully written.  I think what wowed me was the exotic scenery that Tillie creates.  I felt as if I was transported to one of those rare wonders that you only wish you could first hand experience.

As for the characters, Caresa and Achille were kind of like a Romeo and Juliet minus coming from feuding families.  What  I mean by this is the fact that Caresa already is betrothed to someone, A PRINCE at that, and Achille is no one-- hence, them being star crossed lovers in fair Italy.

As for Zeno, the Prince.  He was actually much different from what I thought he was going to be.  Sure, he had a lot of the cliched characteristics we expect from the rich, powerful and good looking, but there was also a humane side to him that made him ultimately in the end relatable and endearing.

I can't go into more about the story as I don't want to divulge any spoilers as to what happens or who wins the girl so I'll end my review around here.  I do wish Tillie would consider writing a sequel for the other man.  I REALLY do.

Happy reading ladies!!

My Rating:

♥♥♥♥

☆✮ Excerpt ✮☆

Caresa

As my papa’s G5 began its descent, I looked out of the window beside me and waited for the plane to break through the clouds. I held my breath, body tense, then suddenly the burnt-orange remnants of daylight flooded the plane, bathing the interior with a soft, golden glow. I inhaled deeply. Italia.
Fields and fields of green and yellow created a patchwork quilt below, rolling hills and crystal-blue lakes stretching as far the eye could see. I smiled as a sense of warmth ran through me.
It was the most beautiful place on earth.
Sitting back in my wide cream leather chair, I closed my eyes and tried to prepare myself for what was coming. I was flying to Florence airport, from where I would be swiftly taken to the Palazzo Savona estate just outside of the city.
I would meet Prince Zeno.
I had met him twice before—once when I was four, of which I had no memory, and again when I was ten. The interaction we’d had as children had been brief. If I was being honest, I had found Zeno to be arrogant and rude. He had been thirteen at the time and not at all interested in meeting a ten-year-old girl from America.
Neither of us had known at the time that that our betrothal had been agreed upon two years prior. It turned out that the trip my papa had taken to Umbria when I was eight was to secure a forever-bond between the Savonas and the Acardis. King Santo and my father had planned for their only children to marry. They were already joined in business; Zeno’s arranged marriage to me would also strengthen both families’ place in society.
I thought back on my New York farewell of nine hours ago and sighed. My parents had driven me to the private hangar and said their goodbyes. My mama cried—her only child was leaving her for a new life. My papa, although sad to see me go, beamed at me with the utmost pride. He had held me close and whispered, “I have never been more proud of you than I am right now, Caresa. Savona Wines’ stock has plummeted since Santo’s death. This union will reassure all the shareholders that our business is still strong. That we are still a stable company with Zeno at the helm.”
I had given him a tight smile and boarded the plane with a promise that they would see me before the wedding. And that had been that.
I was to marry Zeno, and I hadn’t protested even once. I imagined to most modern-day women living in New York, the process of arranged marriages sounded positively medieval, even barbaric. For a blue blood, it was simply a part of life.
King Santo Savona died two months ago. The shareholders of his many Italian vineyards, the stakeholders in Savona Wines, had expected his son, Zeno, to immediately step up and take charge. Instead, Zeno had plunged himself into the party scene even harder than before—and that was quite a feat. Within weeks my papa had flown out to Umbria to see what could be done.
The answer: our imminent union.

☆✮ About the Author ✮☆

Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.

After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.

Tillie has now settled in Austin, Texas, where she is finally able to sit down and write, throwing herself into fantasy worlds and the fabulous minds of her characters.

Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.

When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, while convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that extra square of chocolate.

Author Links:

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

☆✮ Giveaway! ✮☆

One winner gets a Signed Copy of A Veil of Vines + Limited-Edition The Future Mrs. Marchesi T-Shirt

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/910f235f2/

☆✮ Buy Links ✮☆