Virtual Tour/Excerpt: North to You by Tif Marcelo

In this warmhearted and charming debut, a food truck chef and 

her long lost Army love clash when they cross paths in San Francisco.

NORTH TO YOU

Journey to the Heart #1

Tif Marcelo

Releasing June 5, 2017

Pocket Star

Camille Marino has got a full plate. As the sole guardian of her eighteen-year-old sister and the head chef and owner of a food truck, she’s used to life being a juggling act. With food to cook, social media accounts to manage, and a little sister to look after, she doesn’t have time for much else.

That is, until Drew Bautista walks back into her life.

Drew is Camille’s former high school crush and he returns to San Francisco to repair his relationship with his father before he ships out for deployment. By helping his father renovate his failing Filipino restaurant, he hopes to win back his respect. But when sparks fly between Drew and Camille—his father’s major competition and sworn enemy—Drew is conflicted. Should he join his father in the war against her food truck? Or surrender to the woman who’s given him a second chance at love?

Excerpt

Above the low hum of the traffic, the people, and the planes passing overhead, a bell chimes. Then two, then three. Soon, surround-sound church bells, signaling the start of the new day, sweep over the breadth of my view.

“Wow.” The music becomes the backdrop of the city I thought I knew. My eyes follow the path of Market Street and the twinkling outline of the Bay Bridge. It scans to the Transamerica Building, which cuts the ombré of the night sky down to the yellow of the city lights. Sights now enhanced, brought to greater depth and meaning.

“Right?” he whispers next to me.

“Beautiful.”

“She is definitely beautiful.”

My breath hitches at Drew’s statement. He leans against the barrier, his back to the city lights. His eyes are solely on me.

This man and I know nothing about each other as adults except for what we revealed in the last hour. He knows nothing of my dreams and hopes. I don’t understand the life he’s chosen. And yet I’m bound to him with leftover feelings that are so innocent and pure, feelings I’m not sure where to place now that they’ve been pulled from memories packed away.

One thing is sure. Right now is perfect.

I approach him, place my hands on his chest.

He rests his fingers lightly on my waist. “Camille—”

I stop him with a kiss. Tonight has been crazy, magical, fuzzy, and weird, and I don’t want to think about consequences, my overloaded plate of responsibilities, of everything waiting for me down there, in the city below.

Tif Marcelo believes in and writes about heart-eyes romance, the strength of families, and the endurance of friendship. A veteran Army Nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Public Administration, she is a craft enthusiast, food-lover and the occasional half-marathon runner. As a military spouse, she has moved nine times, and this adventure shows in some of her free-spirited characters. Tif currently lives in the DC area with her own real life military hero and four children.

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Virtual Tour/Excerpt: Called Out by Jen Doyle

Fans of Jill Shalvis should prepare to swoon over Jack and Lola's HEA.

CALLED OUT

A Calling It Novel

Jen Doyle

Releasing May 29, 2016

Carina Press

Jack "Ox" Oxford is used to being alone. Granted, when you screw over your friends, being alone isn't always a choice. Playing for the Chicago Watchmen is a last-ditch effort to save his career…and right some of his past wrongs. He's not expecting a warm reception, but he's also not expecting a flat tire to change everything.

Recovering control freak, single mom and semiprofessional chaos wrangler Lola Deacon McIntire doesn't need an arrogant ballplayer to swoop in and save her from anything, much less her flat tire. And she definitely doesn't need her body to betray her and decide this is the guy to wake up her rusty libido. She isn't about to upset her sons' lives for any man—much less one who so clearly doesn't think he's dad material.

Jack never thought he'd find someone who wanted to build a life with him, but the more time he spends with Lola and her boys, the more it starts to feel permanent. Even tough-as-nails Lola concedes there just might be a future here—the big, beautiful, messy future neither of them was looking for—but only if Jack will accept he deserves it.

Catch up on all the Calling It titles

Excerpt

The only person who didn’t seem to notice was Jack. She didn’t particularly expect any special treatment, and it was clear he wasn’t interested in a long, happy life together any more than she was. But when he pushed his plate aside and started to say his goodbyes, she did have to turn her back to make sure her face didn’t betray her disappointment.

When he did finally come up behind her to say goodbye, it was without leaning in and whispering in her ear, and he kept his hands far away from her. It was clear that whatever had happened between him and Deke—and Lola could read a room enough to know that something had happened—meant things were about to come to an end.

Lola was okay with that. She hadn’t really expected anything after the other morning anyway. Still, it was an effort to plaster a smile on her face, especially when he nodded his head toward the hallway. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Lola sighed. “Cover me?” she said to Mary. And then she turned to move past him and walked straight ahead.

“So,” she said when they got to the back hallway. She didn’t think it counted as breaking up when they weren’t together, but she’d never actually been broken up with before so she wasn’t sure. And although she wasn’t willing to make it easier for him, she wasn’t about to make it hard.

“So,” he said. He was nervous. This was going to be worse than Lola had thought.

Well, it wasn’t going to be worse than having Tuck show up in his police uniform the night of the accident, or spending all those long lonely nights when Dave was deployed wondering whether he was still alive.

“Obviously,” Jack said, “we have two very different lives.”

Yep. Lola nodded for him to go on.

“And we both know I am not by any means a catch.”

It kind of depended on how you defined it, but this wasn’t the time to agree or disagree. She clasped her hands behind her back.

“This is probably a really, really bad idea.” He ran his hands through his hair and Lola tried not to think about how cute he was. How cute it was, to have the big, bad Iceman be so nervous because of her. Even if it was because he was about to tell her that he never wanted to see her again.

“But how would you feel about seeing me tonight after you get off?”

“I’m sorry?” That was not what she’d expected him to say.  

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Not get off. That innuendo was not intentional. I meant after you’re done with your shift.”

Wow. He wasn’t even making double entendre jokes. This was seriously strange. And not how she’d expected this to go.

He started pacing.

“I, uh…” He cleared his throat. “Jules mentioned the babysitter puts your kids to bed and stays over on the nights you work late.”

“She did?” Jules was so much more of a troublemaker than she led anyone to believe.

Jack nodded. “I was thinking maybe I could pick you up and take you to dinner somewhere.”

And now Lola was irritated. Never mind that ten o’clock was too late to have dinner. “Seriously? We’re doing the dating thing?” She may have had her breakdown earlier, but it didn’t change her overall goal. “What part of ‘fuck me against the wall’ did you not understand?” Lola was fairly certain she’d been clear on that.

Jack tensed before straightening up to his full height. Then the Jack she knew was back and in front of her—crowding right up against her, pinning her between him and the wall. This time his grin was natural and easy and entirely carnal—just the way she liked it. “I never said fucking against the wall was off the table. I just thought maybe you’d like to grab a bite first.”

Resisting the impulse to say that she would, actually, like to take a bite out of something first, she set her lips in a grim line. Was this truly what he wanted? Or was it just what he thought she wanted, despite what she’d said? Trying to keep the frustration out of her voice, she said, “I don’t want to go on dates, Jack. I don’t want a boyfriend. I don’t want another thing to add to the list.” She wasn’t pulling punches. Not today.

Although he winced and said, “Ouch, babe. That was harsh,” he didn’t seem overly upset. Especially not as he slid his thigh between her legs, looking entirely as if he were going to eat her up. “I don’t want to go on dates, Lola.” He brought his hand up between them. “And I really don’t want a girlfriend.” Though he seemed utterly calm, she could feel his heart beating as rapidly as hers was. “But I do have a list, and it includes fucking you repeatedly, and not just against the wall.” Then his hand closed over her breast, and he pinched the increasingly sensitive tip, and to her annoyance, she couldn’t hold back her gasp. Right here in the hallway of her family’s restaurant.

“I do, however,” he said, “have higher standards than an unheated, unfinished farmhouse.” Her breath hitched as he rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, twisting just enough for a moan to make its way out of her throat.

“Hey,” she managed to say. “That’s my unheated, unfinished farmhouse you’re talking about. Be careful what you say.”

He smiled but didn’t reply. Unless you counted taking her earlobe between his teeth and giving enough of a tug for her to feel it shoot down to her core.

“Okay.” She needed to work at not being quite so easy. “I suppose that could be added to my list, too.”

“Great.” His voice low and raspy, he didn’t pull back. “So what do you say?”

She let her head fall back against the wall as she closed her eyes. Dorie was right. The date itself didn’t matter. She had no illusions about Jack and she wasn’t looking for a replacement for Dave. But she was a thirty-six-year-old woman who had a whole lot of living left to do. She took a deep breath as she opened her eyes, “Okay.”

In a startlingly gentle way, he brushed her cheek with his thumb as he smiled. “I’ll be back at ten to pick you up.”

Keeping the wall at her back, she nodded. “It’s not a date.”

“Not a date,” he repeated, bending down and touching his lips to hers, giving the slightest of reminders as to what his mouth was truly capable of. Then he backed away, keeping his eyes on her until he disappeared from sight.

A big believer in happily ever afters, Jen Doyle decided it was high time she started creating some. She has an M.S. in Library and Information Science and, in addition to her work as a librarian, has worked as a conference and events planner as well as a Communications and Enrollment administrator in both preschool and higher education environments (although some might say that there is very little difference between the two; Jen has no comment regarding whether she is one of the “some”).

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Virtual Tour/Excerpt: The Whole Way Home by Sarah Creech

A ferocious talent on the brink of making it big in Nashville 

must confront her small town past and an old love she’s never forgotten

THE WHOLE WAY HOME

Sarah Creech

Releasing June 6th, 2017

William Morrow

A ferocious talent on the brink of making it big in Nashville must confront her small town past and an old love she’s never forgotten in this engaging novel—a soulful ballad filled with romance, heartbreak, secrets, and scandal from the author of Season of the Dragonflies.

Playing to packed houses while her hit song rushes up the charts, country singer and fiddler Jo Lover is poised to become a big Nashville star like her idols, Loretta, Reba, and Sheryl. To ensure her success, Jo has carefully crafted her image: a pretty, sassy, down-to-earth girl from small-town Virginia who pours her heart into her songs.

But the stage persona she’s built is threatened when her independent label merges with big-time Capitol Records, bringing Nashville heartthrob JD McCoy—her first love—back into her life. Long ago Jo played with JD’s band. Then something went wrong, they parted ways and took their own crooked roads to stardom. Now, Jo’s excited—and terrified—to see him again.

When the label reunites them for a show, the old sparks fly, the duet they sing goes viral, and fans begin clamoring for more—igniting the media’s interest in the compelling singer. Why is a small-town girl like Jo so quiet about her past? When did she and JD first meet? What split them apart? All too soon, the painful secret she's been hiding is uncovered; a shocking revelation that threatens to destroy her reputation and her dreams. To salvage her life and her career, Jo must finally face the past—and her feelings for JD—to become the true Nashville diva she was meant to be.

Excerpt

JD Gunn stood up from his wooden pew in the Ryman and joined the entire audience as they clapped and whistled for Jo to return to the stage for an encore. It felt good being on this side of the stage for once, just another audience member looking up with awe at a stellar performer. Nashville’s finest musicians, critics, and business folks gathered in these pews to witness her performance, alongside some of the most devoted fans he’d ever seen. JD’s ears were ringing from all the screams unleashed for her.

He and the band cut their Northeast tour short a day to come to the Ryman for Jo’s induction into the Grand Old Opry family. He and his band had been members for five years and he tried to make it to every new induction. Now he was second-guessing that decision. He figured enough time had passed between them that his presence here wouldn’t bother her, that maybe she would’ve expected to see him and be happy about it. But there was something about the way she looked at him, like there was a glitch in her system. And Jo Lover, who was master of her instruments, one of the finest musicians he’d ever known, messed up that easy Loretta number.

JD put his fingers in his mouth and let out a cattle whistle. His bass player Rob stood next to him and shouted Jo’s name over and over. Rob wore the same black and white Willie and Waylon outlaw t-shirt he’d owned since middle school. JD was an only child and Rob was the closest to a brother that JD had. JD and Rob snuck out the house and hitched a ride away from Gate City to attend that Willie and Waylon show together. Rob waited in line for almost an hour to have his shirt signed. When it was finally his turn and he had the chance to talk to Willie, he almost didn’t speak, just stood there adjusting his thick glasses. JD shoved him and Rob finally said, “You guys are so cool” and Willie said, “So are you, kid.” Rob talked about it for months. Still brought it up when they got drunk. All they wanted back then was to be those guys. Swore they’d grow up to be outlaws and not ruin their bodies at the quarry like their fathers had. They swore they’d find something better to do with their hands.

Born and raised in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Sarah Creech now teaches English and Creative Writing at Queens University of Charlotte. She lives in Charlotte, NC with her two children and her husband, the poet Morrie Creech.

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Release Day Blitz: Love in Transit

Love in Transit

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

About Love In Transit:

You know those people that have a house full of motivational slogans? Embrace Every Moment, stamped on their coffee mugs. Always Kiss Me Goodnight painted above their perfectly made beds.

I’m not one of those people.

This morning I overslept, then slipped on a stray sock and banged my toe into the nightstand. The elevator in my building broke and I had to run down six flights of stairs. And then my local coffee shop was closed. For health code violations. 

What’s that? Not the end of the world? You want me to suck it up?

Did I mention I’m wearing a wedding dress… on the subway?

It’s a Good Day for a Hot Mess. Someone embroider that on a pillow. 

Get your copy today!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU |

Amazon CA | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Goodreads

Connect with the Authors:

Jana Aston

Ainsley Booth

Kitty French

BJ Harvey

Raine Miller

Liv Morris

 Enter the Fantastic Giveaway:

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Monthly Wrap Up: May

It’s officially the start of summer and for me, that means relaxation and reading. I don’t really do any kind of vacation but I do just relax and go with the flow no rules or schedules which leaves me with plenty of time to read. So let's get down to business and see how May was book wise for me.

Books Read

* 23. The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green

* 22. The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand

 21. Starting Over by Barbie Bohrman [audio]

 20. The Breakdown by B.A. Paris

*=Super Faves

Books Received via Publishers

The Salt House by Lisa Duffy

Girl Last Seen by Nina Laurin

The One that got Away by Leigh Himes

The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green

Perennials by Mandy Berman

The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Single Minded by Lisa Daily

Same Beach Next year by Dorothea Benton Frank

The Bookshop at the Water’s End by Patti Callahan Henry

Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf

Thank you so much to the following amazing publishers:

St. Martin’s Press, William Morrow, Little Brown & Co, Hachette, Park Row, Random House and Touchstone

Arcs via NetGalley/Edelweiss

Last Ballad by Wiley Cash

Home for Summer by Holly Chamberlain

Audiobooks via Hachette

The Dinner Party by Joshua Ferris

Purchases

Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat? by Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella 

Arcadia by Lauren Groff

Upcoming Reads

Hello Sunshine by Laura Dave

Every Wild Heart by Meg Donohue

The Bookshop at the Water's End by Patti Callahan Henry

Well that’s my month how was yours? Please feel free to link up yours I love to see all things bookish!