Zili In The Sky Book Blog

3 February 2015

New Release - Better When He's Bold

BETTER WHEN HE'S BOLD - Welcome to the Point #2

by Jay Crownover Release Day launch.

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: HarperCollins

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jay Crownover, comes the second book in a combustible new series, Welcome to the Point, that is sexier, darker, and better than ever.

There’s a difference between a bad boy and a boy who is bad. . . . Welcome to the Point.

In a dark and broken kingdom, a ruler has be fearless to control the streets and the ruthless people who run them. Race Hartman is just bold enough, just smart enough, and just lost enough to wear the crown. Places like The Point will always have bad things and bad people, but the man in control of all that badness can minimize the devastation. Race has a plan, but can he prevent total annihilation without destroying himself?

Brysen Carter has always seen the real Race—a guy too pretty, too smooth, and way too dangerous. Basking in his golden glow is very tempting, but Brysen knows she’ll eventually get burned. She has enough problems without the risky danger and mayhem that comes with a guy like Race. Too bad Brysen faces a threat close to home that might be more dangerous than anything The Point has ever produced.. And the only person interested in keeping her safe is the one man she can’t allow herself to have.

Sometimes being bold is the only way to stay alive. But can she let Race save her life . . . if it means losing herself to him?

Amazon * Amazon UK * Barnes & Noble * iBooks * Kobo * IndieBound * Other

And don’t miss the previous book in The Point Series!

BETTER WHEN HE’S BAD

Author spotlight:

Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men and The Point series. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she'll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.

Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter * Novel Goodreads * Author Goodreads

Excerpt:

I wheeled the Mustang into the compound and watched to make sure the gates swung closed behind us. The security lights flickered on overhead, casting her in an ethereal, bluish glow. Everything about her was refined and pure looking. God, I wanted to mess her up. I wanted my hands in her hair, my marks on her skin, and my taste in her mouth. I wanted her to look as rough as she made me feel on the inside. No one had ever riled me up like that before. Maybe because I was so used to just getting without having to ask, and Brysen never offered that to me. I always had to ask her what the next move was going to be, and her answers often surprised me. She was not a sure bet, and I think the challenge of that made her even more desirable.

“The lengths we go to in order to keep our family safe, to do right by those we love, is often a weighty burden to bear.” I got out of the car and went around to let her out of the passenger side. When I pulled her up, I pressed her back into the side of the car with the full length of my body and bent down so that my mouth hovered enticingly over the plump ridge of hers.

“I would do anything for Dovie, anything. I have done things for her that made me hate the man I had to be in order to do them, but it was in her best interest. I admire you being able to put your own life down and pick up a different one out of loyalty to your sister, but somewhere in there, you need to remember she’s going to have to learn to take care of herself. She’ll eventually have to admit that your parents are fucked and move on with her own life. Dovie found the one person in the world to love who has the ability to insulate her from anything the Point wants to throw at her. Your sister will eventually have to find her stability as well. She won’t need you forever.”

I saw something flare deep in those cerulean eyes, a spark of pain, maybe of realization that I was right, but then it was gone and she was pressing up on her tiptoes and sealing her mouth over mine. I let my hands glide down her sides and fall under her backside. She had the nicest butt on any girl I had ever seen, the nicest body really. There was no end to all her curves and dips, and anywhere my hands decided to land, they were filled with firm and sexy flesh. The brief glimpse I had had of her out of her towel the last time we were this close together had been enough to burn out the image of any other female I might’ve seen naked in the last few years.

Giveaway:

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Invaded - Alienated #2
by Melissa Landers

Melissa Landers is holding a special release week launch party for INVADED - To join in the celebrations here's a note from the lady herself. Don't forget to enter the giveaway...

Hey, fiction lovers. I’m Melissa Landers, author of the Alienated series (YA sci-fi from Disney-Hyperion), and today I’m bouncing with excitement because THE SEQUEL IS FINALLY HERE!

It’s been a year since we left Aelyx and Cara onboard the intergalactic transport, and INVADED begins with an emotional goodbye as they part ways—Aelyx returning to Earth to salvage the alliance, and Cara continuing to L’eihr to serve out her part of the student exchange. While they’re apart, our star-crossed lovers will face assassination attempts, betrayal, crippling self-doubt, and a sadistic alien Phys Ed class. (Because there’s no escaping PE, even in another galaxy.) When Aelyx and Cara finally reunite…well, let’s just say it’s combustive. ;-)

What do reviewers think? I’m glad you asked!

“Readers will love the seamless blend of suspense, humor, and romance set against an

interstellar landscape. Dual narratives and a tightly plotted mystery keep the suspense

running high, and the chemistry between Aelyx and Cara smolders.” –Booklist

“Excellent character development and integration between modern reality and science

fiction. Teens will be rooting for the galactic couple while enjoying the

action and suspense that runs through the two volumes.” –School Library Journal

“The protagonists' forced separation gives greater depth to their romance. Each

learns to turn a critical eye upon the flaws of their native societies while

confronting genuine obstacles to a future together. These complications only

underscore the growing sense of menace that propels the narrative to an action-packed

climax.” –Kirkus

I hope you’ll make tracks to the nearest bookstore and pick up a copy of INVADED! If

you’re snowed in, here are some easy links to bring the sequel right to you:

Amazon * Amazon UK * Barnes & Noble * iBooks *
Book Depository (free worldwide shipping) * Indie Bound * Indigo * Books-A-Million

Author Spotlight:

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her husband and three kids. She lives outside Cincinnati in the small town of Loveland, “Sweetheart of Ohio.”

For more information, or just to say hello, visit www.melissa-landers.com.

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads * Pinterest * Tumblr * Instagram

To celebrate my book birthday, I’m offering one lucky winner a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble and an autographed swag pack, complete with mini posters of BOTH books! This giveaway is open internationally, and due to sweepstakes laws, entrants must be 18 years or older to participate.

Best of luck, and happy reading!

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Poker Face - Cover Reveal

Poker Face
by Melissa Pearl

Cover Reveal - February 2, 2015

With Caity's life in the palm of someone else's hands, can Eric find her before her fate is sealed?

Find out in the dramatic, and much anticipated, conclusion to The Masks Series — Poker Face.

Release Date: February 27, 2015

Add to Goodreads

Want to read the first three books in the series?

True Colors * Two Faced * Snake Eyes

Author Spotlight:

Melissa Pearl was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has spent much of her life abroad, living in countries such as Jordan, Cyprus and Pakistan... not to mention a nine month road trip around North America with her husband. "Best. Year. Ever!!"
She now lives in China with her husband and two sons. She is a trained elementary teacher, but writing is her passion. Since becoming a full time mother she has had the opportunity to pursue this dream and her debut novel hit the internet in November 2011. Since then she has continued to produce a steady stream of books, ranging in genres from Fantasy to Contemporary Romance. She loves the variety and is excited about the books she has coming up in 2015.

"I am passionate about writing. It stirs a fire in my soul that I never knew I had. I want to be the best writer I can possibly be and transport my readers into another world where they can laugh, cry and fall in love."

Twitter * Goodreads * Amazon * Facebook * Website

VERUM by Courtney Cole

Release Day Launch

Genre: New Adult/Dark Romance/Psychological Suspense.

To celebrate the release NOCTE is on sale for only $.99 through tomorrow!

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * iTunes * Kobo

Add VERUM on Goodreads

The truth shall set you free.

My name is Calla Price and I’m drowning.

My new world is a dark, dark ocean and I’m being pulled under by secrets.

Can I trust anyone? I don’t know anymore.

The lies are spirals. They twist and turn, binding me with their thorns and serpentine tongues. And just when I think I have it figured out, everything is pulled out from under me.

I’m entangled in the darkness.

But the truth will set me free.

It’s just ahead of me, so close I can touch it. But even though it shines and glimmers, it has glistening fangs and I know it will shred me.

Are you scared?

I am.

Excerpt:

Together, we float to the surface, still intertwined. We break through the top and I suck in a breath and Dare is staring into my eyes.

There’s tension here, but not the bad kind. It’s the kind that ignites you, the kind that intoxicates you, the kind that once you taste it, you’ll crave for the rest of your life.

I’ve forgotten that I was going to be careful, that I was going to reject him on every level.

All I can remember, all I can focus on, is how very alive Dare DuBray is making me feel in this moment, how alive he always makes me feel.

For a girl who has been surrounded by death her entire life, this is a very big deal.

“I’m a little afraid of you,” I blurt honestly, and Dare still has his arms around me. Our treading water motions keep our legs rubbing together, the friction still there.

Hot,

Hotter.

Dare smiles, but there is no humor in it.

“Good.”

“Why?”

My honesty makes me seem innocent, but I don’t know how to play games. I have no experience with the opposite sex at all.

“Because that makes you feel something.”

But he’s hesitant now and he looks away. There’s something he wants to say, it’s balanced on the tip of his tongue, but he swallows it.

“What is it?” I ask softly. “Just tell me.”

He wants to, I can tell. His secrets are killing him. He just wants to be normal, he’s just acting out a role.

I don’t know why I feel like I know this. It’s just there, suddenly resting on my heart.

“You don’t have to be someone you’re not,” I murmur quietly. His dark eyes snap up to mine and he pulls his hands away. There’s something in his eyes now, something guarded, and our easy afternoon has come to an end.

“What makes you think I am?” he snaps. “Pretending to be something I’m not, I mean.”

I’ve somehow annoyed him, and I don’t answer because I don’t know what to say.

“I’m not being someone I’m not, Calla,” he says coolly as he strides from the water. “I’m being who you need me to be.”

I’m utterly confused, and I’m dripping wet.

“We don’t have towels,” is all he says when I follow him. My clothing soaks up the water and it is a very cold ride back home.

Dare doesn’t say another word and I leave him in the garage.

I don’t see him at dinner, and I don’t see him the rest of the night.

But as I lay in bed around midnight, I see his car leave the garage.

I don’t see him come home, and I’m awake for half the night waiting.

I have no idea where he goes when he slips away.

Somehow, I think he wants it that way.

There’s a fork in the road and even though I see it, I can’t avoid it.

One road goes left, one goes right, and neither of them end well.

I feel it in my bones,

In my bones,

In my bones.

I sing a song of nonsense, and it sings back. The notes echo and twist in the air, and I swallow them whole.

“Come out,” I call behind me, because I know they’re there.

I can’t see them, but they’re always watching.

Eyes appear, blood red, and they blink once, twice, three times.

“I can see you,” I announce and there’s a growl and then I’m crushed beneath the dark, beneath the weight, beneath the oppression.

“You don’t scare me,” I lie.

There’s savagery here, there’s grace.

But above all, there’s oblivion and no matter what I do, I will be sucked into it.

I know it.

I feel it.

I’m crazy.

And it doesn’t matter.

I’m the rabbitrabbitrabbit and I’ll never be free.

Don't miss the first book in the Nocte Trilogy...

Barnes & Noble * Kobo * Amazon * iBooks

Author Spotlight:

Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people.

Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Newsletter SignUp * Pinterest

Giveaway:
Nocte Trilogy prize pack: A t-shirt, a signed paperback and a St. Michael's medallion.
Sorry this one's US/Canada only (le sigh) but is a uber cool giveaway!!

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KEELA is live!!

Keela - Slater Brothers (#2.5)

by L.A. Casey

Releasing: February 1st

Keela Daley is stressed out with nightmares and memories from her past, they are haunting her. She has no time to dwell on them as she is moving out of her dog box sized apartment and into her first house with her fiancé. Moving house is a dreaded task, and Keela would love nothing more than for things to go quietly and smoothly, but when you’re engaged to a Slater brother, nothing goes quietly or smoothly. Nothing.

Alec Slater loves his woman. He also loves playing games and surprising her. Picking moving day to do both, turns out to be a failure of epic proportions. Alec wants to make it up to Keela for his mistakes, but as the day goes on, and things go from bad to worse, he doesn’t know if living with him is something she wants anymore.

What started out as a simple day of packing and moving house turns into the day from Hell. Unwanted house guests. Business propositions. Alcohol. Pregnancy tests. Panic attacks. Fighting. Arguing. Sex, and everything else that is crazy and represents the name Slater. Keela has a choice to make, and not one she will make lightly.

Keela adores Alec, and what Keela adores, Keela cherishes.

Amazon US * Amazon UK * B&N * iBooks * Kobo

“Hey,” Alec murmured in my ear. “Is everything okay?”

No, not at all.

“Yeah... I'm just stressed with the move,” I replied, playing it off like it was nothing.

Alec placed his hands on my arms and gently rubbed up and down. “Are you sure that's all?”

I nodded my head.

“Keela,” Alec began. “Talk to me, what's wrong?”

Everything.

“Nothin', I'm fine,” I assured him.

His silence spoke volumes, so I decided to give him a little piece of what I was thinking.

“I've just never moved into a house with another person before, especially not another person who is my fiancé. It's sinkin' in that we're for real. I was convinced for a long time that you wantin' me was some kind of fluke. I was expectin' you to realise that you could have anyone, so why settle for me? Then you'd up and walk out.”

Alec turned me to face him and leaned his head down so he could press his forehead against mine. “I don't know what else I can do to make you realise you're it for me. I don't see anyone but you. You're my life, Keela. I wish you knew just how much I love you and how lucky I am that you picked me. You don't know how beautiful you are, and I hope you never realise it because if you do, you'll realise you can do better than my sorry ass, then you'll up and leave me.”

Yeah, right.

“Stop it,” I mumbled and tried to pull back.

“No,” Alec stated firmly and held me still. “You are beautiful. You are perfect to me. You are my life. You are never going to convince me that I am worthy of you. Kitten, I love you so much it hurts. Please realise that.”

Oh, Christ.

I was about to cry. Again.

I quickly lifted my hands to my face and covered it completely.

“I hate you!” I said then burst into tears.

I hated everything.

I had this unbelievably beautiful person both inside and out, and he wanted me by his side for life, yet here I was doubting whether or not we were moving too fast. I wanted to be with Alec for the rest of my life, I swear I did... so why the hell did everything we were doing feel like it was too fast?

Alec took my emotional state as a good sign and put his arms around me and cuddled me to him. He thought I was overwhelmed by his profession of love, and I was, but what he didn't realise was that I was close to breaking down and revealing what was really wrong with me.

“Cry baby,” he murmured to me.

I lightly chuckled and pulled back. “I'm fine, it's just the stress of movin' that has me so teary.”

Alec nodded his head and kissed my forehead. “Let's go get a start on boxing and speed this day up. What do you say?”

I forced a smile. “I say lead the way.”

Get the series:

Dominic:

Amazon US * Amazon UK * B&N * iBooks * Kobo

Bronagh:

Amazon US * Amazon UK * B&N * iBooks * Kobo

Alec:

Amazon US * Amazon UK * B&N * iBooks * Kobo

Author Spotlight:

L.A. Casey was born, raised and currently resides in Dublin, Ireland. She is a twenty-three year old stay at home mother to a two year old German Shepherd named Storm and of course, her five year old – going on thirty – beautiful little hellion/angel depending on the hour of the day. She is the author of the Amazon Bestselling book series, Slater Brothers.