HAPPY RELEASE WEEK: IRRESISTIBLE YOU (CHICAGO REBELS) BY KATE MEADER

Three estranged sisters inherit their late father’s failing hockey franchise 

and are forced to confront a man’s world, their family’s demons, 

and the battle-hardened ice warriors skating into their hearts.

IRRESISTIBLE YOU

Chicago Rebels #1

Kate Meader

Releasing Aug 14, 2017

PocketStar

 

Hot in Chicago series author Kate Meader returns with her all new, scorching Chicago Rebels hockey series, featuring her signature “steamy sex scenes, colorful characters, and riveting dialogue” (Romantic Times). Three estranged sisters inherit their late father’s failing hockey franchise and are forced to confront a man’s world, their family’s demons, and the battle-hardened ice warriors skating into their hearts.

Harper Chase has just become the most powerful woman in the NHL after the death of her father Clifford Chase, maverick owner of the Chicago Rebels. But the team is a hot mess—underfunded, overweight, and close to tapping out of the league. Hell-bent on turning the luckless franchise around, Harper won’t let anything stand in her way. Not her gender, not her sisters, and especially not a veteran player with an attitude problem and a smoldering gaze designed to melt her ice-compacted defenses.

Veteran center Remy “Jinx” DuPre is on the downside of a career that’s seen him win big sponsorships, fans’ hearts, and more than a few notches on his stick. Only one goal has eluded him: the Stanley Cup. Sure, he’s been labeled as the unluckiest guy in the league, but with his recent streak of good play, he knows this is his year. So why the hell is he being shunted off to a failing hockey franchise run by a ball-buster in heels? And is she seriously expecting him to lead her band of misfit losers to a coveted spot in the playoffs?

He’d have a better chance of leading Harper on a merry skate to his bed…

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REVIEW:  IRRESISTIBLE YOU (CHICAGO REBELS) BY KATE MEADER 

EXCERPT

Excerpt from Irresistible You 
© Kate Meader

He looked uncomfortable standing there, balancing on his skates, ready to spring for the door. But she knew he wouldn’t sit while she stood because his mother had raised him to respect women. Something fluttered in her chest at that notion. DuPre might be a lot of things—ladies’ man, good ol’ boy, thorn in her side—but she suspected he would never hurt someone weaker than himself. 
“You’ve got three minutes, Harper.”
“Do you remember what I told you in Boston, DuPre?”
“Somethin’ about needin’ me to instill leadership and help these boys get to the playoffs.” Warm honey flowed through her veins at the timbre of his voice. She could have sworn her panties slipped an inch. 
“I did say that. I meant it. And I thought you understood.”
He rubbed his chin, the scrape against stubble delicious to her ears. All he was missing was a Stetson, a blade of grass, and some flighty piece in a cropped tank and Daisy Dukes. “I understood the words because you’d put them together in a highly entertainin’ way, and to certain ears, they might make sense. Then I told you what needed to happen to ensure my cooperation.”
This nonsense stopped here. “Is that why you’re playing like you can barely walk, much less skate? What’s wrong, old man? Feeling a touch of arthritis in your joints?”
For a brief moment, she thought she might have found his weakness: vanity. But no. He merely threaded his arms over his chest—over the Rebels logo of a big C with a hockey stick and a cutlass crossed behind it—and cocked his head.
“You’re gonna have to use a little more finesse, Harper.”
More surprising than the fact Remy had used the word finesse correctly in a sentence was that he didn’t seem annoyed with her. He seemed . . . amused. As if she were a toy he could happily bat around like a kitten would a semiconscious mouse.
Applause sounded, signifying the beginning of the final period. Neither of them moved, hands metaphorically hovering at their hips like Old West gunfighters. 
“The trade deadline,” she said, feeling livid and helpless. “Give me that.”
“The all-star game.”
Three months. The all-star game, held in late January, was traditionally viewed as the halfway point of the season. On the cusp of the busy trade period, it led into a month of bartering and haggling as everyone lined up their teams for the big push to the playoffs.
At her hesitation, he leaned in, those cobalt blues flashing. It wasn’t enough to unholster her gun; she should have already taken her shot, and that delay was her undoing.
“Would you rather three months of my full effort or a whole season of my skatin’ like I’m playin’ squirt hockey?” 
“You can’t seriously be reducing this to a game of ‘would you rather’?”
His voice dropped to an intimate tone, her panties another inch with it. “If you shake on it now, I’ll begin that full effort tonight.” 
The siren blared in the distance, followed by the home crowd’s roar. Five zip. Harper didn’t enjoy being blackmailed, but she enjoyed losing even less. 
She thrust her hand forward impatiently. He took it in his firm grasp. That electricity setting her skin aflame was her body telling her she’d made the right decision. Nothing else.
“You have a game to finish.”
He held on, and now he inclined his head so close she could count each and every one of those pretty-boy eyelashes. Her pulse rate spiked, and she was certain he could sense it. Sense her heart thumping rabbit kicks, her vein pulsing in her throat. 
“We’ve shaken on it now, minou, so don’t you dare think about welshing. I might sound like I spend my spare time spitballin’ from the rockin’ chair on my porch, but don’t let my accent fool you none. I’m not the kind of man you want for an enemy. We clear?”
She might have rolled her eyes if she wasn’t just a wee bit impressed by his chutzpah. Still, he needed to be informed that while he might have won this battle, the war was far from over. 
“Try not to trip on your way to the rink, DuPre.”
He laughed, deep and robust, clearly delighted with himself. Idiot. His thumb pressed against her inner wrist, and a crackle of energy leeched from him into her body. 
“You feel that, Harper?” 
She snatched back her hand. “If you mean my goodwill evaporating with every second you’re standing here, then, yeah, I feel it.”
“I think we’re havin’ a thing.”
They were. Oh, God, they were. “Why are you still here again?”
His mouth curved. “Lady, I got the distinct feelin’ these next few months are gonna be fun.”
He picked up his stick and, with more grace than a six-foot-two brute wearing skates on dry land should possess, he left the locker room.

 

Originally from Ireland, USA Today bestselling author Kate Meader cut her romance reader teeth on Maeve Binchy and Jilly Cooper novels, with some Harlequins thrown in for variety. Give her tales about brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron or a fire hose, and she’s there. Now based in Chicago, she writes sexy contemporary romance with alpha heroes and strong heroines who can match their men quip for quip.

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Pre -Order for Love Story (Love Unexpectedly) By Lauren Layne

Over the course of one wild road trip, 

feuding childhood sweethearts get a second chance at love.

LOVE STORY 

a Love Unexpectedly novel

by Lauren Layne

Releasing February 14th, 2017

Loveswept

Over the course of one wild road trip, feuding childhood sweethearts get a second chance at love in this charming rom-com—a standalone novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Blurred Lines and Good Girl.

When Lucy Hawkins receives a job offer in San Francisco, she can’t wait to spread her wings and leave her small Virginia hometown behind. Her close-knit family supports her as best they can, by handing over the keys to a station wagon that’s seen better days. The catch? The cross-country trip comes with a traveling companion: her older brother’s best friend, aka the guy who took Lucy’s virginity hours before breaking her heart.

After spending the past four years and every last dime caring for his sick father, Reece Sullivan will do just about anything to break free of the painful memories—even if it means a two-week road trip with the one girl who’s ever made it past his carefully guarded exterior. But after long days of bickering in the car turn into steamy nights in secluded motel rooms, Reece learns that, when it comes to Lucy, their story is far from over. And this time, they just might have a shot at a happy ending.

Although listed as a title in the Love Unexpectedly Series, all books in the series stand alone. 

“Spock, we’re giving you Horny!” my mom blurts out, apparently fed up with my denseness.

Her utterance is too much for my siblings to handle and they both burst out laughing, retreating into the kitchen to rejoin the party where there’s wine.

Oh what I wouldn’t give for wine right now.

“I, um . . . you’re giving me the car?” I ask.

“Because yours broke down,” my dad explains, walking forward to thump Horny’s dented hood.

“And this one’s . . . not broken down?” I ask skeptically.

Look, it’s not that I’m not grateful. My parents are trying to give me a car, I appreciate the sweetness of the gesture, it’s just . . .

Here’s the thing about Horny: he barely got us three kids through high school. I mean, Horny is the car that sputtered and shook making it the 3.2 miles to Jefferson High, no matter who was behind the wheel.

I’m even going to come all the way clean here and say that early on in my freshmen year, I was embarrassed showing up in Horny. Then I realized I was lucky to have a car at all, and well . . . I dunno, I guess Horny became a part of us Hawkins kids’ charm, because the station wagon was practically an institution from Craig’s high school reign all the way through Brandi’s.

But poor Horny quit working years ago. Much to Brandi’s chagrin, he gave up the ghost a mere two months before her high school graduation, and she spent the last bit of her senior year being picked up by my parents.

“He’s going to take you to California,” Dad says, giving the car another thump.

“Really?” I step forward and run a tentative finger along the familiar panel. He’s had a bath, so at least that’s something. “Because last I knew, he wouldn’t even make it out of the garage.”

“Yeah, well, we neglected him for a while, but he’s right as rain now,” Dad says, puffing out his chest as though Horny’s a fourth child.

“Like, as in he actually starts?”

“Purrs like a kitten,” my mom says with an emphatic nod, even though I know she doesn’t even like cats. “We didn’t believe it, but we took him to church on Sunday and there were no issues.”

I literally bite my tongue to keep from pointing out that this is hardly a feat. Sacred Presbyterian is 0.8 miles away from the house.

“You took Horny into a shop?” I ask, starting to warm to the idea of having a car again. I’m a little touched, actually. Money is tight for my parents. Dad’s a PE teacher, and Mom gives a mean winery tour, but the gig’s never paid much.

“Not exactly, it was more of a bartering situation,” Mom says.

“Yeah?” I say, going around to the driver’s seat, already giddy with the prospect of telling Oscar I’ll be able to come see him in Miami after all, even if I won’t exactly be riding in style.

“Reece agreed to fix him up.”

I’m lowering myself into the car as my dad says this, but I reverse so quickly I hit my head. My skull doesn’t even register the pain, because I’m too busy registering the hurt in my heart at the familiar name. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Reece,” my mom says, giving me a bemused look. “He’s always been handy with cars.”

“He fixed up the car in exchange for what?”

And then I feel—I actually feel—the air change around me as the side door to the garage opens, and a new presence sucks all the air out of the space.

I don’t turn around. I don’t move. But I feel his eyes on me. Over me.

“Reece is headed out to California too,” my oblivious mother chatters on. “It worked out perfectly actually. Now you two can ride together, and your dad and I don’t have to worry about you alone in the middle of nowhere with a twenty-something-year-old car.

They think the car is going to be the problem here? It’s not the car that’s toxic to me. It’s him.

Reece Sullivan. My brother’s best friend. My parents’ “other son.”

Slowly I force myself to turn, and even though I’m prepped, the force of that ice-blue gaze still does something dangerous to me.

He winks, quick and cocky, and I suck in a breath, and I have to wonder . . .

I wonder if my parents would feel differently about their little plan if they knew that their makeshift mechanic is the same guy that popped my cherry six years earlier under their very roof.

And then broke my heart twenty-four hours later.

Lauren Layne is the USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen romantic comedies. She lives in New York City with her husband (who was her high school sweetheart--cute, right?!) and plus-sized Pomeranian.

In 2011, she ditched her corporate career in Seattle to pursue a full-time writing career in Manhattan, and never looked back.

In her ideal world, every stiletto-wearing, Kate Spade wielding woman would carry a Kindle stocked with Lauren Layne books.

For a list of all her works, please be sure to check out her official website!

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Something to Prove by Shannyn Schroeder Spotlight, Excerpt, Guest Post & Giveaway !

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www.Tastybooktours.com

Blurb

Two ambitious people team up to prove themselves to their families—and find there may be more to their partnership than just business… 

Elizabeth Brannigan is determined to show her father she’s capable of running the family business. Saving his struggling Chicago bar seems like the perfect project. But she’ll need a little help dealing with the rough crowd. Who better to assist her than the handsome co-owner of a thriving Irish pub? Of course, with so much work to do, there are bound to be a few late nights… 

Colin O’Leary’s father passed away before he could prove to him that he wasn’t a screw-up. Now he wants to show his brother he’s responsible enough to own a bar of his own—and Elizabeth may be able to help him. But when their professional aspirations clash, tempers—and passions—flare. Are they mature enough to mix business with pleasure—or will they have to choose between the two? 

Buy Links:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/something-to-prove/id686497843?mt=11 

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/something-to-prove-shannyn-schroeder/1116524336?ean=9781601831835 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Something-to-Prove-O%60Learys-ebook/dp/B00EF51JF6

Book Excerpt

Elizabeth has been researching bars in the area and has just arrived at O’Leary’s. This is the first time she meets Colin.

This bar was doing something right. 

The bartender came over as she was reading the menu. “Hi. What can I get you tonight?”

She looked up and swallowed hard. The man in front of her was mouthwateringly gorgeous. His mussed black hair framed a face dominated by a happy-go-lucky smile. She lost her ability to form coherent sentences. “Uh…”

He tilted his head and studied her face. “You look beat. Tough day?”

She nodded. What was wrong with her? She didn’t do this around men. She’d had no fewer than eight different men try to pick her up tonight. This one was just doing his job, and she had to fight for focus.

“How about an Irish coffee?” Dark brows arched over navy eyes.

She cleared her throat. “Sounds good.”

He walked away. She studied the menu. It wasn’t fancy. Like the rest of the bars, it offered burgers and hot wings, but they had more traditional pub fare, like fish and chips and shepherd’s pie. Her mouth watered at the thought of real food. The drink menu was plain as well, but at least displayed a list of drinks with the basic ingredients. Pictures and descriptions would’ve been better, but this bar had already exceeded the competition from the other Chicago neighborhood pubs she’d visited.

The bartender returned with her Irish coffee. She sipped and found it perfect. The whipped cream puffed and floated on top and she used her straw to scoop some up. She ran her tongue over the cream-laden straw and heard a groan.

She looked up to find the bartender looking at her. Replacing the straw, she waited for an explanation.

His mouth quirked up at the corner. “Sorry. I couldn’t help it. That was downright sinful.”

Her cheeks flamed. She was blushing? No. The alcohol from earlier in the evening was catching up with her and colliding with her exhaustion. He broke eye contact and mumbled, “Give me a holler if you need anything else.”

He walked away and picked up a conversation with other customers. She tried not to be obvious in studying him and the way he interacted with people. This was something the other bars had been missing as well. A personal touch.

She finished her drink, tossed cash on the bar, and took a few moments to wander toward the back of the bar. There was a small stage, a jukebox, and dartboards. Down a dimly lit hallway were the bathrooms. Too tired to think, she opted to leave. Part of her wanted to talk to some of the patrons, get their perspective as to why they came here, but it would have to wait.

By morning, hopefully Meg would have information about The Irish Pub and, with any luck, the books wouldn’t be as bad as she imagined. As she wound her way back toward the front, raucous laughter exploded at the bar. The sexy bartender was enjoying something.

He caught her eye as she passed. His laughter made his eyes twinkle with mischief, his smile lighting his face, like he had the best life in the world. She wondered what it would be like to feel that even for a night. It wasn’t that she was unhappy; she liked her life very much, in fact, but it had been too long since she’d experienced a laugh that shook her whole body.

Guest Post

Something to Prove – Meet the Heroine: Elizabeth Brannigan

Elizabeth Brannigan comes to Chicago to check into a property her father owns because it’s losing money. When she discovers a run-down bar, she decides that this is the perfect project she can use to prove to her father that she has what it takes to be CEO of the family business. She’s smart and tough and spends a lot of her time stressed out, which affects her health. Because she has always felt like she’s needed to prove herself, she has a hard time relaxing and just having fun.

Elizabeth is a businesswoman first and foremost. She’s driven and dedicated. There are parts of her that she keeps tight control of and tucked away from everyone. For example, when she’s nervous, she gets clumsy. She’ll trip over her own feet or crash into people. As you can imagine, there’s sometimes collateral damage when she’s feeling even the good nervousness of lust. Elizabeth also snores (most unladylike) and when she really lets go of an all out laugh, it comes out more like a snort. She immediately tries to cover it and hide it, but lucky for her, the hero, Colin, won’t let her. In fact, Colin gets her to lose a whole lot of control. 

Elizabeth has a lot to learn about herself over the course of the book. For so long, all she thought about was becoming CEO that not only does she not have a backup plan, but she also has no plan for her personal life. She has no idea what she wants. Unfortunately, it takes a bit of her life unraveling for her to figure it out.

As a character, Elizabeth was much more difficult to write than Colin. Because a character like this often comes across as too hard-edged, I had to dig to really find out what would make her more human and likeable. I loved when she got flustered and couldn’t quite hold onto her control of everything.

Author Info

Shannyn is a former English teacher, who now works as a part-time editor while raising her three kids.

Even though she wrote from high school through college (mostly poetry), she’d never considered a career as an author. Writing fell by the wayside as she focused her energy on creating lesson plans and new and fabulous ways to torment her teen students. One group in particular dubbed her “The Torture Master,” a title she carried into motherhood.

After the birth of baby number two, Shannyn resigned from teaching and fell in love with reading romance novels. She read so many books so quickly that her husband teased, “If you’re going to read so many damn books, why don’t you just write one?”

So she did.

That first book is safely buried on her hard drive, but the process set Shannyn on the path to where she is today—agented with a debut ebook coming out with Kensington in late 2012.

She is recovering from her Diet Coke addiction, fears putting her foot in her mouth on social media, and has a renewed appreciation for the bad girls of the world.

Author Links

http://www.shannynschroeder.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shannyn-Schroeder/536050196443173 

https://twitter.com/SSchroeder_ 

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6575201.Shannyn_Schroeder

Giveaway 

Nook Simple Touch ($79.00 Value),

TWO Digital Copies of Winner’s Choice O’Leary Romance or 

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Release Day & Giveaway for Tango Love by Nicole Flockton

Tango Love

By: Nicole Flockton

Blurb

A sexy short story about being in love with your best friend — and discovering it takes two to tango.

Melinda Jones has been in love with her housemate, James Brady, since he moved in...but she has no intention of ever telling him. Except it seems James has his own plans...and they include asking her to share a sexy tango — then a little dirty dancing in his bed.

For Melinda, it's the best night of her life...until she wakes up alone the next morning. Is she destined to spend her life dancing by herself, or will James step up to be the partner of her dreams?

Buy Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tango-Love-novella-Nicole-Flockton-ebook/dp/B00GXUXOGS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385851346&sr=8-1&keywords=tango+love+nicole+flockton

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/tango-love-novella

Link to Follow the Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/11/now-booking-release-day-tasty-book.html

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18805750-tango-love?ac=1

Author Info

On her very first school report her teacher said ‘Nicole likes to tell her own stories’.

It wasn’t until after the birth of her daughter and after having fun on the community board of eharlequin.com that she finally decided to take the plunge and write a book.

The stories she writes are contemporary romances with either a medical setting or in the boardrooms of high powered business. Nicole enjoys taking two characters and creating unique situations for them.

Apart from writing Nicole is busy looking after her very own hero – her wonderfully supportive husband, and her two fabulous kids.

Excerpt

“What’s a pretty girl like you sitting at a bar all by herself?”

That voice. So smooth, like warm chocolate sauce sliding down your throat. Such a shame it was the lamest pick-up line in history. That voice deserved something so much better.

Melinda Jones turned, a light shiver tingling down her spine as she locked eyes with a pair of deep blue ones.

“Please tell me you don’t use that line all the time.”

His laughter rumbled through her soul, and goose-flesh rippled down her arms. She was in serious trouble. The man should be locked up. No woman was safe from his voice or his laugh. No wonder he had such a good success rate with the opposite sex.

“Only for you, babe, would I use a line like that. I know I’m pretty safe from getting a swift hit in the ribs with your elbow.”

“It just gets better and better. I’m going to dance, excuse me.”

And with that, Melinda dumped her wine glass on the bar, slipped off the chair and headed for the dance floor to join her friends. It was stupid to feel so hurt but she did. James didn’t know she had feelings for him, so she really had no reason to be angry. To him, she was just his house-mate; the girl he could joke around with and test his pick up lines on.

The fact that she’d fallen in love him was her problem. He was the perfect house-mate. He cooked, cleaned, ironed and listened. He even watched chick flicks with her sometimes.

He was the perfect guy and to him, she was just Melinda; the girl whose house he shared. He’d never once batted an eyelid when she’d brought guys home. In the beginning, she hadn’t batted an eyelid when he’d done the same and bought girls home. The fact that she hadn’t gotten laid in over six months wasn’t his issue. It was totally hers.

The realization she’d fallen for him had been one Friday night when they’d been sharing Chinese. He’d said something and she’d looked over at him and WHAM that was when it had hit her. She’d fallen for him.

Mooning over a guy who wasn’t into you was the least attractive trait in a woman. How many times had she’d told her friends that? Now it was time to take her own advice and get over her feelings for James.

Melinda danced with her friends. She laughed at their jokes and gave the impression she didn’t have a care in the world.

“I’m getting a drink!” She shouted to her friends over the incessant thump of bass. They nodded and continued to dance.

Melinda headed towards the bar, wishing she’d worn her favorite, comfortable Jimmy Choos, instead of the new ones she’d bought that day. The shoes may have had sex written all over them, but they were pinching her toes.

She sat down on a recently vacated bar stool and ordered a fresh glass of white wine. Waiting for the bartender to return with it she looked around the club. The crowd had built while she’d been dancing. The testosterone level had risen tenfold.

As she gazed around, her eyes stopped at a pair of broad shoulders. His t-shirt fit him like a second skin.

Now that was the type of distraction she was looking for. She wanted—no needed—a body that night. Anything to take her mind off the one body she couldn’t have. It didn’t really matter that he wasn’t the hottest guy on the earth. At that moment Mr Heavenly Shoulders turned in her direction and locked eyes with Melinda.

Yes the night was definitely looking up, she thought.

Melinda gave him her come-hither smile. The invitation she was sending his way was very clear. The wink he gave in return told Melinda he was interested in taking her up on her offer.

The bartender arrived at that moment with her fresh drink. She reached for it, bringing it slowly to her lips, all the while watching and waiting for Mr Heavenly Shoulders to make his way to her. He’d taken two steps when he stopped abruptly, the flirty look stripped from his face.

He shrugged the heavenly shoulders she’d been imagining wrapping her arms around as if to say, “Thanks but not tonight.” He turned back to his friends.

“What the…?” There was no possible way she’d misread that look in his eye.

“He was only after one thing, you know.”

Melinda whirled around and faced the owner of the voice. The last voice she’d expected to hear warning her off a man. “Of course I knew exactly what he wanted. I invited him. I wanted to have wild animal sex with him.”

Author Links

http://www.nicoleflockton.com/

https://www.facebook.com/NicoleFlockton

https://twitter.com/NicoleFlockton

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6479388.Nicole_Flockton

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