Legal Disclosure

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Priestess Awakened by Lidiya Foxglove


Priestess Awakened (Guardians of Sky and Shadow, #1)

*I received a free copy of this book which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for.

Book one in the new Guardians of Sky and Shadow series. How are you gonna end a book like that? It was totally awesome and I was wondering what crazy thing was going to happen next when it said to look forward to the next book. Obviously I will have to get my hands on that with an ending like this, but the beginning was just as awesome. We start by meeting Phoebe a former member of a traveling singing group who is unhappy with her life though she is about to find out that fate has an entirely new role for her. There is some really incredible world building then we get to find out the Phoebe is actually an important priestess who can save the world from monsters if she can find all the members of her personal guardian group. This of course sets things up for her reverse harem but I was loving the way it all seemed to be working for them and they way she has to awaken each one was unique. I have to say the addition of the book just made me giggle but an instruction manual does seem to help with the fighting. This is a well written reverse harem romance fantasy novel that I highly recommend to fans of the genre. I fell in love with it so it gets 5/5 stars.

Blog Tour, Review, & Giveaway for Wading Through Shallow Water by Toni Morrow Wyatt


Wading Through Shallow Water
by Toni Morrow Wyatt
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Bookstore owner, Dee Dee Montgomery, was born with a gift. Not only does she possess magical powers, she is able to tell the history of an object by touching it. Fiercely independent, the last thing Dee Dee is looking for is love.

When author, Alex Winter, loses his wife to cancer shortly after the birth of their son, writing becomes his therapy. His book, Moving Past the Hurt, spurs a book signing tour, which leads him to Dee Dee's bookstore.

Just when Dee Dee's world is about to turn into a fairy tale, a tragic accident rips it all away.

Kate Waterhouse, Alex's ex-sister-in-law, pops into town as things are falling apart, bringing her handsome, arrogant brother, Blake.

Determined to claim what she believes is rightfully hers, Kate must locate her family's Book of Shadows. As Kate's evil plot unfolds, leaving lives on the line, Dee Dee must face the Waterhouse siblings or risk losing everyone she loves.
Amazon * B&N * Smashwords

REVIEW
*I received a free copy of this book which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for.

What a sweet romance novel. Meet Dee Dee an orphaned witch who grew up repressing her gifts. She meets Alex a widowed writer and they proceed to have the cutest romance. Things are great until he has a car accident that takes his memories. Enter the wicked witch of the West and the suspense side of the story kicks in. I have to say this is one psycho woman to say the least. This is a fascinating story that will keep the reader hooked as it moves from part to part with lots of interesting tidbits in between. Great for fans of clean romantic suspense novels. I really enjoyed it so I give it 4/5 stars.
Toni Morrow Wyatt grew up in a small town in Illinois. Her love of reading and writing was the greatest gift her mother gave her. In later years, she opened her own independent book business named, Kindred Books. In 2006, she folded the business and moved to the San Antonio/Boerne, Texas area, where she lived for three years. Her newest novel, Wading Through Shallow Water is set there. 


Her flash fiction piece, “A Knock of Chance” was published in From the Depths literary journal in 2012. Her first novel, Return to Rocky Gap quickly followed. Her award winning short story, Spuds Dawson Has His Day was published in the Belle Reve Literary Journal. Her young adult suspense/mystery, A Killing Among Friends, was released in 2015. You can also find it in Twisted: A Thriller Collection. Last year, she released A Walk Between the Winds, which was co-authored with her mother, Margaret Chism Morrow. 

When not writing, she devotes her time to her family, reading as much as she possibly can, and research. She currently lives in North Carolina with her husband and two sons. 

Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts and a giveaway!


Blog Tour & Giveaway for Lex Talonis by Greg Smith


Lex Talionis: An Eye For an Eye
Kramer & Shadow Crime Series Book 3
by Greg Smith
Genre: Action Crime Thriller
One woman’s thirst for revenge unleashes the dogs of war in this action crime thriller. The first stage of her plan makes 9/11 pale in comparison – but she is not finished. She has one more target in her sights.


When investigations into a huge diamond heist point to their nemesis, Shelley Harper, being involved, Kramer and his canine partner, Shadow, are forced to take on a new team member. As they chase down the diamonds they uncover the truth behind the theft. Harper has joined forces with an international terrorist organization and intends using them and the diamonds as part of her diabolical plan to exact retribution from America on a monumental scale for the deaths of her family.

This is a strong story with an intriguing premise; one that can easily become all too real in this day and age. Kramer must struggle with his own doubts and demons as he leads his team against a malevolent opponent. They are faced with an almost untenable situation; one that has their survival highly questionable.

Who will be left standing when the dust settles?

Smith is the Hemmingway of crime fiction. Brutal, concise, and elegant.”
David Bailey, English Professor
Director and CEO at Bailey Education Professionals


You Can Run
Kramer & Shadow Crime Series Book 2
U.S. Marines, Capt. Kramer and his dog Sgt. Shadow survive hell in Afghanistan — but worse awaits them back home.


HOLD ON FOLKS!!! YOU CAN RUN is not your average crime thriller. Full of crime, absolutely! A thrilling ride, most definitely! But Greg Smith takes it up a couple of notches, pulls you, the reader, into a dangerous, action-packed FBI operation. You enter the world of 2 U.S. Marines who offer their services to bring down a diabolical kingpin.


The Pits
Kramer & Shadow Crime Series Book 1
After nearly 20 years serving in the Marine Corps, Captain Kramer thought he'd been prepared for anything life had to throw him. He returns from deployment to Afghanistan with a new dog, Shadow. Back in Oceanside, California he and Shadow are drawn into a struggle to oust local gangs involved in a bloody sport. Kramer and Shadow's activities capture the attention of the FBI who quickly enlist their help in an operation to bring down a major crime lord based in Florida. Captain Kramer, USMC and Corporal Shadow, USMC soon find themselves in their deadliest fight ever.


Even as a young child I was always conjuring up stories and filling them with colorful characters, sharing them with anyone and everyone who would listen. Since then, I’ve progressed quite a bit to formulating longer and more complex stories and sharing them with much larger audiences. As a professional storyteller, I’m adept at using my imaginative thinking and creative flair to bring my stories to life in engaging and entertaining ways.
Originally from Sydney, Australia, I moved to America in 1999 and now live with my wife, Trish, Sydney, our 12 year old Border Collie, and part-Bengal cat, The General (Bugsy), in our 36ft 5th wheel as we travel and explore the United States.

The advent of retirement opened a whole new world to me and now that it has come to pass, I am turning my artistic bent from graphic design and illustration to that of writing.


The Kramer and Shadow series is an action, adventure, crime thriller series that encompasses the world and has our two Marines fighting hard against organized crime at many levels - but always involving do-or-die confrontations.

My hope is to establish a fan base for my writing so that my readers can have an active role in helping me grow and develop as an author in the years to come. I invite you to join me in this adventure.

Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts and a giveaway!


Book Blitz & Giveaway for Still by Camilla Monk


Still
Camilla Monk
Publication date: February 28th 2018
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
It always started like this, a pulse inside me, like a warning before the tide surged, roared… and froze everything.
Twenty-year old Emma just landed in Rome, to find the father who walked out of her life more than a decade ago and was too busy eating pizza to call. Traveling with her is a secret she’s carried alone since childhood: sometimes, around her, time stops. People and cars freeze, rain hangs still in the air and there’s only her left in the silence.
To make things worse, instead of her dad, Em runs into a past she’d rather forget in the person of Lily, her step-sis. Kind, beautiful, Harvard honors student Lily: the perfect daughter Em never was. As the two of them reconnect, Em starts to pick up some creepy vibes from Katharos, the mysterious archaeological foundation Lily works for—and more specifically the ancient stone table they’re digging up near the coliseum…
Faust, the blind hobo Em keeps running into, might be the key to piercing Katharos’s secrets. Actually, he might even have something to do with that pesky time-freezing thing. With Lily’s life on the line and no one else to turn to, Em chooses to trust this unlikely ally, but behind his charming smile and lunar antics, the guy comes with some serious fine print…
READ CHAPTER 1:
Officially, this is not my story. It’s not my face you saw on CNN and Rai News after it was all over. I didn’t lose my mother at a young age; as far as I know, she’s still alive, probably doing fine. My paternal grandfather wasn’t a world-class historian, and I didn’t enroll in Harvard at seventeen to follow in his footsteps—I was never really good with books and studying. Just didn’t have the brains for that.
But I was there. I went to Rome to visit my dad at the time—booked a round trip ticket and six nights in a budget guesthouse with my tips from Tuna Town. I know, I know . . . Keep your jokes; I’ve heard them all. We had the cheapest tuna rolls on Broadway, though, and fresh most of the time. Anyway, I hadn’t seen my dad since I was seven, so it might sound like the adventure of a lifetime. It could even have been my story: this girl who decides to burn her meager savings on a trip to Italy to find the mysterious genitor she hasn’t heard from in thirteen years. There’s a tearful reunion, they sort out their issues, and she moves to Rome at the end—to start a new life and all.
I’ll get to that part, but let’s start with the afternoon right after I landed. I was sitting on a bench in a tiny park square tucked by the Piazza di San Marco—little more than a patch of grass under a few parasol pines. With my ripped jeans, my old Eastpak, and a can of beer tucked between my knees while I munched on a two-euro slice of margherita, I probably looked like your average gutter punk to the untrained eye. The October sun was warm in my hair—a messy bun dyed a washed-out turquoise. I liked that color, even if my blonde roots looked a little greenish.
Washing down the pizza with a slow sip, I watched over the rim of my can as buses came and went from a station on the square. Tons of buses, white and red, vomiting families of tourists coming to visit Roman ruins and that castle thing overlooking the piazza. It kinda looked like a Greek temple, with columns everywhere, white marble, and a statue of a guy on a horse in front of it. Old stuff, very nice. I took a couple of pics, mostly to pass the time because I couldn’t muster the courage to hop on a bus and go knock on my dad’s door.
I had his address saved in Google Maps; well, I hoped it was his, anyway. I’d found it not long after discovering his Facebook profile a few weeks ago, but he hadn’t replied to my friend invite. Maybe social media wasn’t his thing. He must be in his mid-fifties after all, which, to my twenty-year-old self sounded like some sort of pre-mummification stage. I set my beer down on the bench and took out my phone to check my Facebook feed for the hundredth time. I chewed on my nails. No new notification.
A few taps and a tiny profile pic of a fifty-something guy with graying blond hair appeared. Big grin, a tan, and sunglasses—taken during a vacation, I gathered.
Gabriele Lombardi.
Lombardi . . . the last name I had never worn. The name of a quiet Italian dude who’d sometimes visit our Brooklyn flat on Sundays and take me to Coney Island for the afternoon. We never did any rides, just strolled up and down the Boardwalk and shared a hot dog. He didn’t know what to say to a six-year-old, so he’d be like, “Guarda, gabbiani!” Look, seagulls! Meanwhile, I’d eat my half of our hot dog in dignified silence because I already knew what a seagull was. I would have wanted to hear about his job instead, or if he’d left Rome because of all the slavery there, like in Gladiator. And maybe, if I’d been brave enough, I’d have told him about the secret weighing in my chest and keeping me up at night, but I was too shy—too awkward for any of that.
I had no idea, back then, that Italy was even farther than Florida, and that this occasional Sunday dad of mine didn’t have legit visitation rights because he’d never filed for paternity in the first place. I didn’t know there’d be one too many fights with my mom over alimony, one too many threats of suing his lazy ass, one last Sunday, one last hot dog, and that I’d never see him again after that afternoon, when the seagulls paused in their flight above our heads for a short eternity.
Whatever. Tough shit, I guess. I chugged another gulp of beer and listened to the city’s noise, the cars, and the laugh of strangers, getting reacquainted with what little Italian I’d learned from my dad as a kid, like a song I wouldn’t remember well, but whose melody lingered. The notes threaded with Roman voices to fill the gaping holes in my vocabulary, and I could tell that those two women worked in a hospital, or that the guys sitting in the grass were checking their phone to see how to get to Quartaccio—wherever that was. Not bad for a high school dropout with a record 0.6 GPA. I gave a snort when I noticed an ad on the side of a bus with the words test di admissione. College, the final frontier . . .
I manspread wider on the bench with a bitter sigh and craned my neck to look up at the azure sky. Maybe I should message him again, and say “Hey, I’m here in Rome”? But what if he thought I was a stalker and he freaked out? What if he didn’t want to be found? Okay, that one was far-fetched; he was on Facebook, after all. And yet goose bumps bloomed under my hoodie in a familiar mix of shame and dread. It was kind of too late for that, but I was starting to realize I’d fucked up—again. I’d pictured myself starring in my very own Lifetime movie and blown $700 on a stupid impulse. Now I couldn’t even find the balls to call him and simply ask, “Do you remember me? Do you want to see me?”
“Okay,” I announced, to no one in particular—scared a couple of pigeons though.
I slammed my beer on the bench. Night wouldn’t fall for another couple of hours, at least. Museum tickets and tourist stuff were expensive, but I could always take a stroll around the piazza to clear my thoughts—the forum with the old Roman ruins was right behind that palace with the horseman. No need to pay for a ticket to check it from the street and snatch a few pics. I grabbed my backpack and beer. I frowned down at the almost-full black can. Honestly, that shit tasted worse than a Natty Daddy you drink alone for breakfast, and I didn’t want to be the girl who drowns her sorrow in grandma’s rubbing alcohol.
But I didn’t like to waste either. I decided to leave it up for whoever wanted to grab it—a bit of street solidarity never hurt. I’d barely shrugged on my backpack before this old guy with dirty track pants and gaping sneakers popped up behind me. Bumdar alert: dude hadn’t even bothered removing the cardboard sign around his neck—a few lines in Italian hastily scribbled with a Sharpie. I made no attempt to decipher it; his toothless grin spoke for itself. I flourished my hand toward the can with a wink.
He took the can and toasted me with it, chewing out a few words in a raspy singing voice. It took me a couple of seconds to make sense of the jumbled syllables—he wanted to know what a nice girl like me was doing in Rome.
My lips parted to reply. No sound came out. A loud and familiar beat in my chest muted my voice. His. Everyone else’s.
Oh God. Oh no . . .
It always started like this: a pulse inside me, like a warning before the tide surged, roared . . . and froze everything. The bum had raised my beer to his lips; golden drops remained still in the air above his open mouth. The tourists stood paralyzed mid-stride. The children’s grins were empty masks; their legs were coiled, ready for a jump that wasn’t coming, like birds about to fly away. The cars and the buses had stopped. Over the suffocating silence, all I could hear was the blood drumming in my ears, my neck. I staggered back, buried my face in my hands. I didn’t want it anymore—this hideous disease I could tell no one about.
It’d been weeks, perhaps even months since the last time, and like always, I’d almost allowed myself to believe it’d never happen again. How the fuck do you sit down in front of a shrink—or worse, your social worker—and tell them that you’re doing great, except when time stops, and everyone and everything is frozen but you? Don’t worry, though, it’s been like this since I was a kid; I’m used to it. I mean, sure, I freak out a teensy bit when I wake up at night, and I see a drop of water hanging midair from my kitchen faucet, but it’s not as bad as it sounds. Nothing the right kind of meds and a straitjacket can’t fix, right, Doc?
It wouldn’t last. It never did. I massaged my skull and kept my eyes screwed shut, repeating the words in my head like a mantra: It’s almost over. It never lasts. Never. Just long enough to make me freak out in the middle of Central Park among frozen joggers and their dogs. Wax statues everywhere whose clothes wouldn’t wrinkle when I tried to touch them, water that wouldn’t wet my hands, and the silence, the silence drilling into my eardrums. I breathed through my nose. In. Out. Slowly, ticking endless seconds in my head until the hallucination passed.
Reality rushed back to me in a deep exhale. A car honked somewhere across the piazza, and the bum chugged down the rest of my can with a reassuring gurgle. A fat kid bumped into me; I was so out of it that I was the one who kept apologizing over and over as I stumbled away from the bench and toward the sidewalk. I needed to get away from the noise, the people. Right now. Scratch tourism; my new plan was to run straight to the guesthouse, check into my room, and stay curled in the dark until tomorrow.
Fighting the urge to climb on the first bus I saw, I resolved to ask for directions instead. Because my day hadn’t been shitty enough yet, might as well stack some cringeworthy social interaction in a language I hadn’t spoken in over a decade on top of it. I waved awkward fingers at a sweaty driver who sat slouched behind his wheel. “Quale . . . Autobus . . . Appia Alba?” Which . . . bus . . . Appia Alba?
My stuttering efforts were rewarded with a compassionate wince before he motioned at another station across the park with a doughy arm. “Si può prendere l’ottantasette.” I remained stuck in place, my jaw hanging limply as I slowly processed his instructions. “Ottantasette,” he repeated, before thankfully adding, “Eighty-seven.”
I gave an eager nod. “Grazie mille, signore.” Thank you very much, sir.
Well, things were looking up. If the bus didn’t freeze on its way to my guesthouse, I might even consider the trip a small victory. I strode toward the station at a brisk pace, passing the bum I’d given my beer to earlier. Dude had collapsed on the bench, using his cardboard sign to shield his leathery face from the sun while he napped. I thought of that old Phil Collins song: “Just Another Day in Paradise,” but I wasn’t really sad for him because I knew there were good and bad days on the streets, and to him, a sunny afternoon and free beer probably made for a good one.
Lost in my own thoughts, I didn’t pay attention to the elegant silhouette catching up with me until a soft voice said, “Em? Is that you?”


Author Bio:
Camilla Monk is a French native who grew up in a Franco-American family. After finishing her studies, she taught English and French in Tokyo before returning to France to work in advertising. Today, she builds rickety websites for financial companies and lives in Montreal, where she keeps a close watch on the squirrels and complains on a daily basis about the egregious number of Tim Hortons.
Her writing credits include the English resumes and cover letters of a great many French friends, and some essays as well. She’s also the critically acclaimed author of a few passive-aggressive notes pasted in her building’s elevator.

XBTBanner1

Book Blitz & Giveaway for A Hero's Haven by Tessa Layne


A Hero’s Haven: Resolution Ranch
Tessa Layne
(Flint Hills Military Heroes, #3)
Publication date: February 27th 2018
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Former Navy SEAL Cash Aiken assumed he could leave behind the trauma of war and settle into life as a bodyguard. Why not? He was big, smart, and nothing ever got past his eagle eye. But a split second of inattention nearly cost the life of his asset, and cost him his job. When his old buddy Travis Kincaid invites him to come work at Resolution Ranch, an organization helping wounded vets, he clings to the lifeline and hopes it’s a chance to start over. But Cash is stunned to discover that the beautiful woman he nearly let die is hiding out at the ranch, masquerading as a stable hand.
Country Music’s Superdiva, Kaycee Starr, is done with the music biz. After a terrifying encounter with a crazed fan, she goes underground and answers a help-wanted ad in a place the paparazzi would never think to look. Prairie, Kansas. While she finds solace and healing among the horses, handsome ranch hand Cash Aiken lights her up in ways she only wrote about in songs. He’s the only person she’s met who seems to ‘get’ her.
Cash and Kaycee fall hard and fast for each other, but when their secrets are exposed, will they have the courage to trust each other? And more importantly, themselves?
EXCERPT:
The barn door stood partially open and Cash parted it the rest of the way, stepping into the dim warmth. The sweet smell of dried clover and hay, laced with an undercurrent of oiled leather and the sharp tang of manure settled into his bones. He cherished the solace and security of the barn. He’d learned every nook and cranny the first week he’d moved to the ranch. And on really bad nights early on, working and sleeping in the barn had been his salvation. While he welcomed the addition of a desperately needed ranch hand, the thought of an interloper in his sanctuary unsettled him.
The scrape of a shovel against the floor drew his attention. Looping Samson’s lead around a post next to the tack room, he slipped down the aisle following the sound. He stopped short at the sight of a luscious heart-shaped ass bent in his direction. Of course, if the interloper looked like that
Sensations Cash hadn’t felt in ages stuttered to life. Legs for days? Check. Curves? If her ass was any indication, check. He couldn’t care less about hair color, but the sight of the thick long brown braid peeking out from under a felt cowboy hat and hanging down the owner’s shoulders launched his imagination into overdrive. Visions of winding its length around his hand and tugging, exposing a column of creamy skin danced through his head. His pulse went to the races as he watched her fluidly shovel hay into a wheelbarrow. The woman was poetry in motion. She moved with an easy grace that belied the difficulty of the task at hand. He’d shoveled hay for hours. He knew how taxing it could be on the body. Was this Kate?
CRACK!
What the fuck?
CrackCrackCrack
DUCK!” Cash shouted as he launched himself through the air at the woman, pulling her down on top of him to break her fall, then quickly rolling them over to cover her body with his.
A muffled squeak came from beneath him.
“Quiet,” he murmured into her ear, heart pounding, brain racing through a thousand scenarios of what could be going on outside. Whatever was happening, he’d protect this woman with his life. He’d failed to protect people he loved in the past, he wouldn’t fail again.
Another muffled noise came from the body squirming beneath him, and his attention was suddenly drawn to soft curves and heady perfume. “Stay still,” he ordered roughly, bringing his focus back to his surroundings. He couldn’t focus on where the attackers were with her writhing beneath him. Not when his cock was notched perfectly between her legs. She stilled momentarily, only to renew her struggle with vigor. He strained, listening for the telltale signs of an attack, scuffles, shouts, more gunshots. But, nothing.
He lifted his head, cocking an ear in the direction of the initial noise. The woman took advantage, yanking his beard so hard tears sprang to his eyes. He swung his gaze back to the firecracker beneath him and the world tilted sideways, snatching his breath with heart-stopping ferocity.
This wasn’t Kate. Oh, no. This was his worst nightmare come back to life. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Lying beneath him, green eyes flashing fire, was the last woman he ever expected to see face to face again, Kaycee Starr.

Author Bio:
Hi, I'm USA Today Best Selling Author Tessa Layne.
Thanks for stopping by! I write smokin' hot contemporary cowboy and military romances filled with tenderhearted tough guys and sassy strong women who capture their hearts.
Please join my email list at tessalayne.com for exclusive updates, previews, and other offers. You can find me hanging out in my Facebook reader group The Prairie Posse.
A little about me- I grew up in Colorado in the mountains at the edge of the Great Plains. There, I met my own smokin' hot Cowboy and we had a whirlwind romance to rival any novel. I believe in Happily Ever Afters, love fireflies, horses, and breathing clean country air. My favorite thing to do is to sit on the porch swing with a glass of Rose, listening to my Cowboy pluck his guitar!

XBTBanner1

Cover Reveal for The Rules of Rebellion by Amity Hope


The Rules of Rebellion
Amity Hope
Published by: Entangled Crush
Publication date: April 2nd 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
The Rules of Rebellion
1. Skinny dip (her idea)
2. Stargaze (his idea)
3. Prank someone (her idea)
4. Go on a date (his idea)

Leo Zimmerman has had a crush on his curvy friend Kylie Jenkins since forever, so when he discovers the girl with a flair for candy making has a newfound plan to rebel against her overbearing parents, he’s determined to be the one to help her carry it out. Who better than himself to show her the ropes of letting loose?
Sure, taking her to her first high school party, helping her sneak out of the house, or watching a sunset together isn’t exactly a hardship, but much harder is masking his feelings the more time they spend together. And when he suggests adding “a first date” to Kylie’s plan and she accepts…suddenly all his dreams seem to be coming true.
But Leo’s got a secret that could change everything between them, and it’s only a matter of time before it comes to the surface.

Author Bio:
Amity lives in beautiful northern Minnesota with her two sons, two cats and their Rottweiler.
She has a degree in elementary education and worked in that field for ten years before deciding to self-publish.
Her first self-published novel, Twisted, was listed by Amazon as a Top 100 Kids & Teens Kindle Book of 2012. It hit Amazon's Teen & Young Adult Contemporary Romance Best Sellers List in several countries. Truths and Dares held the #1 position on Amazon's Best Sellers in Teen & Young Adult Contemporary Romance eBooks in the UK.
If she's not writing, or spending time with her boys, she's most likely reading.

XBTBanner1

Giveaway for Pen & Xander by Laekan Zea Kemp


Pen & Xander
Laekan Zea Kemp
Publication date: October 31st 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pen Prado has a passion for cooking. Specifically, cooking her father’s food in her father’s restaurant. It’s the heart of their immigrant neighborhood, a place where everyone belongs, and second chances are always on the menu. Except for Pen. Despite the fact that there’s something almost magic about her food, her father can’t imagine anything worse than her following in his footsteps. And when Pen confesses to keeping a secret from her family, he fires her, ensuring she never will.
Xander Amaro is undocumented but that doesn’t stop Ignacio Prado from offering him a job at his restaurant. For Xander, it’s a chance to make amends and to sever his toxic relationship with the druglord, El Cantil–a man whose been like a father to him since his own disappeared. Soon after, his mother abandoned him too, leaving behind a void that not even his abuelo can fill. Until he meets Pen.
Both seeking a place where they feel like they truly belong, they end up finding each other, and in the face of tremendous fear and self-doubt, they end up finding themselves.
Goodreads / Amazon

Excerpt:
The room empties until there’s no one left but a few people snoring. Pen stays put too, standing across from me. Her cheeks are flushed from the alcohol, her expression stoic.
“Should we call it a tie?” I say.
She slides a shot glass over to me. “There’s no such thing.”
“Okay…” I reach for the coin. “Call it.”
She calls heads. She wins.
I try to steady my voice. “Go easy on me.”
“Truth or dare.”
“Truth.” It’s the only game I want to play with her.
“Okay. Where are you from? Originally?”
I sigh, relieved. “Puebla. I moved here when I was twelve.”
“My turn,” she says, not wasting any time.
“Truth or Dare,” I counter.
“Truth.”
The question immediately forms on my tongue—who are you…really?—but it’s too harsh, almost accusatory. I mull over the words again and finally settle on, “Are you really as brave as you seem?”
She doesn’t smile. “Yes. And no. Your turn.”
“Truth,” I say.
“Are you as cool, calm, and collected as you seem?”
I huff out a laugh. “Sometimes.”
“And other times?”
The laugh slips from my lips. “I’m a fucking mess.”
“My turn.” I can’t tell if the abrupt back and forth is driven by her desire to reveal something about me or to be revealed herself. “Ask me another question.”
“Why did you drink before they could say who your brother…you know…?”
Pen glances at the window seat where Chloe is asleep against the sill. She rolls, sensing our eyes, and Pen lures me onto the front porch. The breeze is warm, the night sky hidden behind grey clouds. I expect Pen to explain but instead she’s silent, proving once again that Chloe’s secrets, unlike everyone else’s, are safe with her.
Beneath the light whistle of the wind, crickets chirping, I say, “You’re a good friend.”
She ignores the comment, sitting on the lid of an old paint can. “It’s your turn.”
I sit down next to her. “I’m ready.”
She narrows her eyes. “Okay, for all the marbles this one’s a two-parter. One truth and one dare.” She stares at the street, cheeks burning.
When she faces me again mine are too.
“Truth,” she breathes. “Do you want to kiss me?”
I don’t look away or even blink. “Yes.”
She doesn’t look away either. “Dare.” She swallows, leans in. “Do it.”
My hands move first, trusting that the only way to make them stop shaking is to press them to her skin. My thumbs graze her cheeks, fingers in her hair. It’s soft and she’s warm and for a long time I just look at her, closing the space centimeters at a time while I take in the lashes that are stuck together by mascara, the birthmark buried under her left eyebrow, the small dimple on her chin. I stare, sorting every piece into things that feel good and things that hurt like hell, into things I never want to forget and things I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure I never have to.
But before I have a chance to savor those first few breaths slipping between her lips, they’re pressed against mine, falling and climbing their way back up. I taste her lipstick, her tongue, and it makes me dizzy. Her hands are on my knees, pinning me there, and then they’re on my waist, on my shoulders, both of us gripping each other like we’re clinging to the edge of a cliff. Afraid of falling off. Or hoping that if we do, we’ll fall together.
Suddenly, Pen stops moving.
She stops breathing, my wild heartbeat the only sound.
I open my eyes and she’s not staring back. She’s staring at the street. At the car parked in front of Angel’s house, cigarette smoke slithering up from the open window, flesh and ink viper flexed against Jago’s forearm as he hangs it over the side of the door.
I’m on my feet and so is Pen. She shudders, angry, and unafraid. But I’m terrified. And not just of Jago seeing me here but of Jago seeing her. I don’t know how long he’s been watching us but I can tell by the way his mouth twitches that he knows who she is. To Ignacio Prado. To me.
The engine purrs as the car pulls forward. Just in time for Angel to step outside. For Jago to say hello to him too.
“Get inside, Pen.”
She straightens, shoulders heaving.
“Pen…”
“No.” Her stare sharpens. She charges down the steps. “He’s not gonna fucking do this.”
Angel wrenches her back. “Are you out of your mind?”
My heart races.
“Stay away from us!” Pen shouts, trying to tear herself from Angel’s grasp. “Stay away from the restaurant. Fucking stay away!”
She seethes but the faster her breaths, the more transparent she becomes. Beneath the anger, beneath the shock, her eyes glisten with something like fear. And it’s all my fault.
Jago hangs his head back, a whistle cutting between his smile. He leans on the gas, letting the engine growl, and then he speeds off.
Pen glares until he rounds the corner and then she finally lets Chloe pull her inside. I stay put, afraid of facing Angel. I know Jago’s been following me and because I wasn’t being careful I led him right to Angel Prado’s house. To Pen. Her rage wasn’t directed at me but what she doesn’t know is that it should have been.
“I’m sorry, Angel. I didn’t mean for—”
“It’s not you,” Angel stops me. “It’s…” he shakes his head, “it’s not you.”




Author Bio:
Laekan is a writer and explorer extraordinaire who grew up in the flatlands of West Texas. She graduated from Texas Tech with a BA in Creative Writing and is the author of the multi-cultural New Adult novels The Things They Didn't Bury, Orphans of Paradise, Breathing Ghosts, and the Young Adult Paranormal series The Girl In Between. Her upcoming contemporary romance is slated for release during the summer of 2017!