Stain by Francette Phal Release Day Review

Synopsis

"You're like the sun...and I'm the stupid moon. Always chasing after you."

I didn't know it was possible to fall so deeply into someone. To drown so strongly into their bottomless depths coming up for air was unfathomable. Until he comes along, with his sun-hot radiance, and eclipses the candle that is me. He's Lucifer before the fall, beautiful but the devil is in the way he looks at me. In the way his touch brands his name across every inch of my skin. His kisses possess my soul in the most sinful of ways.

Maddox Moore is my beginning and my end. Protector, friend, and lover—he's become my sole religion. At his side I become fearless, in his arms I burn to cinders, and in worshiping him I lose myself and discover the person he sees in me. But nothing is forever. Moments are ephemeral. No matter how much you want something life inevitably reminds you that you can't have it.

I'm damaged. He's broken. We're both covered in stains. Stains that make it impossible for us to hold onto each other.

MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY 18+

Warning: This book contains graphic content which may not be suitable for sensitive readers.

  

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Purchase Link

AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1J9M0Iu

 

Giveaway

Win 1 of 5 signed copies of Stain by Francette Phal and a Surprise Swag Pack

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About the Author

Francette lives in Massachusetts with her amazingly supportive husband of ten years and her darling two year old son. Reading amazing books has led her to writing and she’s dabbled in fan-fiction before self-publishing her own works. She’s constantly thinking up new stories to write and does her best work when music is playing in the background. Romance is where she’s most comfortable but she hopes to one day venture in mystery novels. She has a weakness for coffee ice cream, tropical fruits and a good glass of wine.

Connect with Francette

Website: http://francettephal.com   

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Goodreads Fan Group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/176393-francette-phal-group 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/francettephal/   

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REVIEW

Stain by Francette Phal

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Maddox and Aylee are orphans, almost adults and victims of physical and sexual abuse. Before even knowing the other's story, they're drawn to one another. Dealing drugs, delivering violence and working the sex industry are how he stays ahead of his demons. She cuts herself and tries to disappear. Outwardly, he's a gangbanger and she's a good girl. No one knows what they really are inside.

Stain is a dark story, but in its way, the courtship between Maddox and Aylee is sweet. Seeing two damaged people, who previously seem dead inside, open up and fall in love is a beautiful thing. Of course, in the life they've been given, romance isn't really an attainable quality.

This author has a talent for making anti-heroes that you can't help but love. Maddox isn't as bad on the evil scale as some, but he isn't exactly a good guy either. He has major anger issues and has no need for people except to use them. This isn't the darkest book ever, but just a warning; it does have rape and murder themes. If your reading tastes lean this direction, you should definitely check it out.

***copy given in exchange for an honest review***

FGMAMTC 

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents 

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POUGHKEEPSIE BEGINS by Debra Anastasia Review

Summary:

It ends with the beginning. This legendary, indie, cult-favorite series ends its tale with the story of the Poughkeepsie brotherhood before the tattoo. Before the train station, before the church, before a criminal empire there was a foster home and three teen boys who chose each other as family, because the ones they were born into didn’t exist

Still in high school, Beckett is already laying the groundwork for a grander life ahead, one where his brothers want for nothing and get some respect for once. But even as he plans, Beckett must decide if he’s ready to make that choice—diving in to a life that trades his chance at a future, his chance at something as simple as first love with a girl named Candy Cox, for their chance to find happiness.

Blake, Beckett, and Cole’s devotion to each other is forged by fists and the driving need to belong somewhere, to do more than just survive this life. Readers of the series know they each get there in the end, but before we count smiles, we must first shed tears. These early days of the Poughkeepsie brotherhood will play on your heartstrings before serrating them with a knife; they’ll lift your soul with music, only to leave you with nothing but a desperate prayer for hope.

And when you reach the end of the beginning, you’ll be ready to start the series all over again.

Buy Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1HevknR

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1Y2d98U

Amazon AU: http://bit.ly/1MxLcSh

Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1MUj7GV

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iTunes: http://apple.co/1Qrqg17

Google Play: http://bit.ly/1Y3kuVF

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1NeYnaX

Poughkeepsie Begins #1: http://amzn.to/1HevSdp

Poughkeepsie #2: http://amzn.to/1X4DWEh (.99¢)

Return to Poughkeepsie #3: http://amzn.to/1X4E07g

Saving Poughkeepsie #4: http://amzn.to/1HevXO2

Find the whole Poughkeepsie Brotherhood Series here: http://amzn.to/1X4DjdT

Free App as a present from the boys:

INSERT IMAGE PRESENT:

Okay, here's the log in info:

web: http://omnificpublishing.com/PT0111513/chapter-one.html

Mobile app http://poughkeepsieapp.com/Poukeeidebrannnxiv_/

Navigation is on the upper right side. 

Any questions? Find me here: http://on.fb.me/1MVcrSB

Win an eSet of the Series here! 

Excerpt: 

Beckett smiled as he walked into the locker room. The Westlake kids had picked their day well: there was a substitute PE teacher, currently handling an “injury” to one of the smaller Westlake kids, who was pretending to have a possible concussion. But by covering their tracks, they’d given Beckett his opportunity. 

Blake entered the locker room after class, as they’d discussed. Cole showed up right behind Beckett, a bathroom pass in his hand. The attackers had followed Blake in, just a few feet behind, slapping lockers on their way. The Westlake kids were on the football team, and their testosterone was new and flooded their systems when they were in groups. Like now. 

Blake walked past his locker and came to stand next to Beckett and Cole. The numbers were off, but if Beckett had money, he’d still bet it on his side of things. 

“Oh, you think those two are gonna help?” one of the Westlakers taunted. “We don’t want your kind here. Fucking foster kids. Parents hate you so they dump you in here, and we have to deal with you in your hand-me-down clothes.”

“Shit, my parents probably pay the taxes that buy your goddamn food every night,” offered another.

The insults came fast and free. 

Beckett was about to start, to intimidate them, threaten them, but Cole was quicker, and he kept his courage at the end of his fist. He jumped and hit the nearest kid with a punch that nailed the top of his skull. 

Beckett watched the kid’s eyes roll up in his head. 

“Shit.” Beckett came in hard. This wasn’t his first fight, and it wouldn’t be his last. Blake, who the Westlake guys had wrongly assumed was an easy mark, came back swinging as well. Beckett picked off the guys closet to him, but became distracted when he saw Blake falter. As a result, two of the meatheads got him in a restraint, a third landing a punch in his fucking rib. 

Meanwhile, Cole wasn’t Cole anymore. There were no rules to how he fought, no line he wouldn’t cross. Like a bull with a laser focus, he got to the guys by Blake and took them down. Now standing, Blake came in with Cole, stopping Beckett’s assailant from getting in another shot. All the aggression, all the punches they were never allowed to return to Rick came to the surface now. This was a battlefield, and while the kids from Westlake had wanted to bully someone, Cole, Beckett, and Blake knew how to fight to survive. 

Together they worked, and even with the crappy odds of three against ten, they dominated. 

The substitute teacher ran into the locker room, hollering, “What’s going on? You shouldn’t be in here. You didn’t have to change.”

There were bodies and blood everywhere. No one spoke. The Westlake kids knew better. They all just waited the teacher out. Finally one of the smartasses piped up, “Didn’t want our clothes getting sweaty. We’ll get dressed. We’re cool.”

The other boys in the class peeked in the doorway. Obviously the show Mr. Fake Concussion had put on was over. When the teacher finally gave up and told them she’d meet them outside, the Westlake kids helped each other up. The ringleader walked over to Beckett, hand extended. 

“Hey, we’re cool, dude. Right?”

Beckett took his hand and squeezed it tight, pulling the guy close, whispering just for him in his ear. “You want a serial killer? You fucking found one.”

He maintained eye contact until the guy finally looked away, wrenching his hand free. “You’re crazy. Jesus.”

Cole, Blake, and Beckett let the Westlake guys leave first, staying in the locker room until it emptied out. 

“You think they’ll stay quiet?” Blake wondered.

Beckett nodded. “They will.” He didn’t tell his partners he was planning to visit the Westlake ringleader over the weekend at his home. Or that he’d found a starter pistol in Rick’s basement and painted the orange tip black. Beckett had every intention of threatening the guy until he crapped his pants and made sure his football friends never pulled this shit again. On his brothers. On anyone. He looked at Cole, then Blake. 

Each of them had blood streaming down their forearms. The part of their arms that signaled a need for solace in the forest now dripped with violence. 

Beckett held up his arm in an arm-wrestling stance. “Grab on.”

Blake complied, then looked to Cole. “You too.”

The three-way handshake brought them close together. Beckett was hopped up on adrenaline, but he knew this was real. He knew it deep. 

“Brothers?” he asked.

“Brothers,” Blake responded, smiling.

“Forever,” Cole added solemnly.

Poughkeepsie Begins by Debra Anastasia

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This story made me aww, swoon, cringe, cry and fall in love. I adore a tale about friendship/brotherhood even more than a romance (this has both). I also can't get enough when the characters are survivors of hell yet still possess good hearts. Poughkeepsie Begins has everything I want and need in a book.

Blake, Beckett and Cole come from terrible backgrounds. Many heartbreaking details are given. In a world trying to swallow them up, they find a safe harbor in each other.

Beckett is also at a crossroads in his life. He can try to hang his everything on the chance of first love, or he can follow a dark path into a world of big payouts and big consequences.

I highly recommend this read. The plot felt authentic, no eye rolling moments. I experienced the strength and pain soul deep. I also gave several smiles to Beckett's charm. It pulled all my heartstrings and left me wanting more. The storyline is beautiful, ugly, sad and uplifting all in one go.

***copy given in exchange for an honest review***

FGMAMTC 

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents 

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MIDDLE OF KNIGHT by Jewel E. Ann Review

Book 2 in the Jack & Jill Series - NOT a standalone.

The living seek forgiveness. The dead seek revenge.

A first love.

A last breath.

A haunting past.

Armed with a sinful past and an equally sinful body, Jackson Knight absolves his vow of celibacy to pursue Sergeant Monaghan’s unsuspecting—older—housekeeper.

Ryn Middleton, on the cusp of turning forty with a snarky daughter, a killer dog, and an abusive ex-husband, finds Jackson’s advances humorous and unbelievable. After intense negotiations including Vera Wang, Ed Sheeran, and sex four times a day, Ryn accepts Jackson’s marriage proposal on their first date.

What could possibly go wrong?

While struggling to lay claim to the woman of the dreams he never had, Jackson is forced to deal with a grief-stricken Jillian trying to hold on to her past without letting go of her future—the doctor who took her heart and the Sergeant who gave her a new one.

Beyond the hope for light, lies the middle of darkness, the illusion of truth, and a haunting past.

*WARNING - Contains explicit language and sexual content and subject matter pertaining to physical/sexual abuse.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25109557-middle-of-knight

http://amzn.to/1N9z3Fr

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Middle-Knight-Jack-Jill-Book-ebook/dp/B016DVHE1W/

http://www.amazon.com.au/Middle-Knight-Jack-Jill-Book-ebook/dp/B016DVHE1W/

http://www.amazon.ca/Middle-Knight-Jack-Jill-Book-ebook/dp/B016DVHE1W/

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/middle-of-knight

Jewel is a free-spirited romance junkie with a quirky sense of humor.

With 10 years of flossing lectures under her belt, she took early retirement from her dental hygiene career to stay home with her three awesome boys and manage the family business. 

After her best friend of nearly 30 years suggested a few books from the Contemporary Romance genre, Jewel was hooked. Devouring two and three books a week but still craving more, she decided to practice sustainable reading, AKA writing. 

When she’s not donning her cape and saving the planet one tree at a time, she enjoys yoga with friends, good food with family, rock climbing with her kids, watching How I Met Your Mother reruns, and of course…heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, panty-scorching novels.

http://www.jeweleann.com

https://www.facebook.com/authorjeweleann

https://twitter.com/JewelE_Ann

https://www.pinterest.com/jeweleannauthor/

https://instagram.com/authorjeweleann/

http://www.amazon.com/Jewel-E.-Ann/e/B00IJYHDIG/

REVIEW

Middle of Knight by Jewel E. Ann

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

End of Day introduced us to the issues and quirks of Jill. Middle of Knight gives us a way more in depth look of how she came to be who and where she is. Also, we get to go behind the curtain in Jack's life.

I went from laughing out loud to going awww to tearing up. It really worked me over. I got wrapped up in the romance between Jessica & Luke, Jillian & A.J., and Ryn & Jackson. Each is beautiful and bittersweet in it's own way.

Besides the natural wins and losses in life like love and death, there are also the things people do to each other happening. A little light is shown on the mysterious G.A.I.L. There are past and present times and several cast members included in this tale. Everyone brings his or her own stories into the overall plot.

The characters are so multidimensional and each is unlike any other role in any novel. They aren't beauty queens, heartthrobs, bad boys (or girls), heroes, antiheroes or villains. Many of them are so eccentric and unexpected. You can never guess what cool thing they're going to do or say next, but whatever it is, it's always true and original to the person they are inside.

I cannot wait to see where this series goes in the next book.

***copy given in exchange for an honest review***

FGMAMTC 

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents 

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Afraid To Fly by S.L. Jennings Release Blitz Review

Afraid To Fly

The Fearless Series: Book Two

S.L. Jennings

Synopsis

I’d like to tell you that I’m ok.

That the meaningless sex with countless women has somehow numbed the pain. That it’s deciphered the constant confusion in my head. Eased the self-hatred that sinks into my gut every time I look in the mirror.

I’d like to tell you that time heals all wounds.

That we evolve and grow into well-adjusted, stable adults, set on a path to right the world’s wrongs. That we are not our past…we are not our pain.

I want to tell you all those things. Hell, I want to believe all those things. But I’d be lying. I’m good at that. Living a lie is the only way I truly know how to survive. But the day I saw her, I stopped surviving. I stopped existing. And for the first time in 24 years, I started living.

She brought me back to life. Set me free and sent my soul soaring. Made this useless shell of a man feel like…something. Something whole and real and good.

She saved me. Although she believes I wasn’t even worth saving.

 

Excerpt

It was if my body had known what my soul needed to mend itself from the verbal assault that had left me open and bleeding. Sex was that healing balm for me. And this was exactly the place where I could find it.

None of the dancers here were prostitutes, and I never paid to get laid. Ever. They fucked me because they wanted me. And I fucked them because I needed them. It was an even trade.

Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t stick my dick in just anything, and other than Cherri, had only been intimate with two other girls there: Skylar, a hot sophomore at UNC Charlotte, stripping her way through college, and Velvet, a tattooed, purple-haired vixen from England who fucked like a porn star and cursed like a sailor.

Right now, I needed Velvet. If anyone could make me forget the last twenty minutes, Raven’s razor-sharp words and myself, it was her.

My legs carried me inside, despite the numbness I felt. I didn’t want to be here, but I needed to be. And once I had the soft silkiness and warmth of a woman’s skin against me, I’d feel a helluva lot better. Luckily, Velvet was there for a day shift, working the lunch crowd in her usual getup of velvet and chains. Today she wore a cut-out thonged romper that left little to the imagination. And that was fine by me. I was tired of thinking anyway.

“Hey love,” she smiled as I approached. Her lips were painted a deep, dark eggplant purple that almost looked black. I’d have the color smeared all over me within the hour, most of it in places invisible to the public.

I didn’t waste any time. I didn’t have it in me to go through the motions and pretend I was here for anything other than sex. I leaned in close to her ear, letting my lips brush her earlobe in that sensual way I knew would get her hot, and whispered, “Back room in 10.” Then I quickly made my way to the bar to slam a shot of tequila.

She was there when I arrived, lounging on a plush loveseat with her heeled boots propped up on the arm. She looked at me with sin gleaming in her heavily lined eyes and gave me a slow, Cheshire grin. “Someone’s awfully anxious today.”

I was already loosening my tie as I stalked towards her and said, “Clothes off, boots on and get on your knees.”

   

  

Fear Of Falling

The Fearless Series: Book One

S.L. Jennings

I can’t remember the last time I felt completely safe. Security seemed more like a luxury to me, reserved for those who were fortunate enough to have picture perfect childhoods. For those who didn’t bear the ugly scars that keep me bound in constant, debilitating fear. I’ve run from that fear my entire life. But when I met him, for once, I couldn’t run anymore.

He scared the hell out of me in a way that excited every fiber of my being. It wasn’t the tattoos or the piercings. It wasn’t the warmth that seemed to radiate from his frame and blanket me whenever he was near. It was just…him. The scary beautiful man that threatened to alter 23 years of routine and rituals, and make me face my crippling fear.

My name is Kami and I am constantly afraid. And the thing that scares me the most is the very thing I want.

“Don’t worry,” he smiled, pulling me into the hard warmth of his chest. “I’ve got you. I’ll always catch you when you fall.”

And just like that, Blaine had staked his claim on the untouched part of me that no living soul had ever moved. He had captured every fear, every reservation, and crushed them in the palm of his inked hand.

Amazon: http://bit.ly/FearOfFalling

About the author

S.L. Jennings is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance, reality TV junkie, obsessive coffee drinker and collector of crazy.

Facebook / Twitter / Website

 

REVIEW

This story is very deep. I teared up several times. Dom is one of the sweetest and most tragic personas ever. I loved him right away. He had a total crap past and has turned it into motivation to save others from the same. The man he is now combined with all of the flashbacks of his experiences— Oh! My heart. Be prepared for floods of emotion.

I didn't connect as much with the female lead or her story. I think I absolutely loved this book until around 80 percent. I still really liked the story overall, but some of the last 20 percent took away from the previous amazing connection and flow.

Dom will always stand out as one of my favorite characters. He touched a special place in my heart. The author really outdid herself creating such a lovingly conflicted role. He's the perfect sweet dream.

***copy given in exchange for an honest review***


toni

FangirlMoments and My Two Cents

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