Latest New Releases

What an EPIC release day!!!! There are oodles of new books to check out on here along with some fantastic sales and price drops including my #1 most favorite book in the whole wide world (*squee*) so happy reading and happy one-clicking, everyone!!!

 

❤  NEW RELEASES ❤

 

MENDED (Connections) by Kim Karr — New Release

This is a new standalone second chance romance in the Connections series about Xander & Ivy. When the only girl he has ever loved steps back into his life while he’s on tour, Xander knows he should keep his distance. But he can’t resist pursuing her for a second chance.

 

DEVIL’S GAME (Reapers MC) by Joanna Wylde — New Release

Biker fans!!!  The heroine of this book is the daughter of the club president. When she meets a handsome stranger who isn’t afraid to treat her like a real woman and isn’t afraid of her father, she thinks he’s the one. What she doesn’t know is that he’s from a rival club and isn’t who he says he is… (#1 Reaper’s Property, #2 Reaper’s Legacy, #3 Devil’s Game)

 

UNTIL NICO by Aurora Rose Reynolds — New Release

This is the latest book in the popular Until series!! Each one is a standalone (should be read in order) with very protective, Alpha male heroes. Here’s the reading order: #1 Until November ($0.99), #2 Until Trevor ($0.99), #3 Until Lily ($0.99), #4 Until Nico (NEW).

 

MACKENZIE FIRE by Elle Casey — New Release

This book is the standalone sequel to one of my top favorite romantic comedies, Shine Not Burn (think hot cowboys, sexy times, and a whole lotta laughs), and I’m SO excited to read it!!! This one tells Ian’s story. I would suggest starting with Shine Not Burn if possible!

 

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Here’s a quick recap of the books I reviewed in May. It was a really great reading month with lots of books that I’ve now added to my favorites list so be sure to check them out!! Happy reading everyone!! 🙂

 

Beautiful Broken Promises by Kimberly Lauren (My Review) 

This standalone was amazing from start to finish! If you love books with kind, loving, and fiercely protective heroes, courageous heroines, deep emotions, and stories that will surprise you in the best of ways, then this is absolutely one you should read. This wasn’t just a romance, it was about the bonds of people willing to go to the ends of the earth to help each other, save each other, and be together. The ultimate heart-warming experience! ➜ “Every day I wish I had found you sooner so I could love you longer.”

 

 

Changing Course (Wrecked & Ruined #1) by Aly Martinez (My Review) 

This was a very unique standalone romance and the first one I’ve read with this plotline. This was also the book that pulled me out of a huge 5-day book hangover. The moment that I started this one, it drew me right into the story and I couldn’t put it down!!! It was heart wrenching, angsty, smoking hot, swoony, romantic, funny, emotional… and I totally fell for the hero, Brett. What an amazing guy!! I just love the protective, tortured heroes… *dreamy sigh* …. They make my heart melt!!!

 

 

Stolen Course (Wrecked & Ruined #2) by Aly Martinez (My Review) 

While this book can be read on it’s own, it’s closely interconnected with the first book (posted above) so I strongly recommend reading them in order because this one picks up right after that one left off even though it’s about a different couple. The hero of this couple, Caleb, is a police office and and the best friend of the hero in the first book and his life was also derailed in the same accident that changed Brett’s life so this book is about his healing and his second chance at love. I loved it!!

 

 

Carnage by Lesley Jones (My Review) 

This book gave me a 5-day book hangover!! It was a passionate, gut-wrenching love story. A non-stop, messy, emotional, beautiful, devastating roller coaster ride from start to finish and honestly, I LOVED it!!!!! It made me FEEL every emotion. But please note that this is not your typical romance story. It completely shattered all my book rules and is just not the kind of book that I usually read but it’s the exception to my rules because it’s now a top fav!! But just please go into it with a very, very open mind.

 

 

Loving Mr. Daniels by Brittainy C. Cherry (My Review) 

This was such a beautiful story!! It took me by surprise in the best of ways. It was so much MORE than just a forbidden student-teacher romance. It was a love story and it was a life story. All kinds of love, all kinds of life. I laughed, I cried and I totally loved it!! It’s a standalone romance and I highly recommend checking it out, especially if you were a fan of Slammed!! ➜ “It was easy to call us forbidden and harder to call us soulmates. Yet I believed we were both. Forbidden soulmates.”

 

 

The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen (My Review) 

This was a really sweet New Adult college romance!! It was about a heroine who expected to start college as a varsity hockey player but a serious accident had her starting school in a wheelchair instead. Across the hall, was another would-be hockey player who was “too-delicious-to-be real” with his leg broken in two places. He was way out of her league. Also, he was taken… As they both coped with disappointments no one else understood, they became friends… “until one night when things fall apart. Or fall together.”

 

 

Nowhere But Here by Renee Carlino (My Review) 

This was a standalone romance with a beautiful story, beautiful writing and a beautiful message!! It’s about a reporter who goes to interview a reclusive tech genius turned winemaker in the Napa Valley, and instead finds love in the most unexpected of places…I laughed, I swooned, I wiped happy tears away, and I fell in love. This story warmed my heart and left me with the most wonderful feeling!

 

 

 

Push by Claire Wallis (My Review) 

This book blew my mind!! It was totally brilliant! Check this out ➜ He’s calm, collected, & makes her feel safe but he has a very chilling past: his six previous girlfriends have all disappeared without a trace. <— WOAH, right?? I just had to read it and it was… Addictive. Intense. Unputdownable. Crazy. Twisted. Romantic. Sexy. Just totally unique and unlike anything else I’ve ever read. There’s a cliffy, BUT even me, the most anti-cliffhanger girl ever still loved it!!!!

 

 

 

Wow!!! Today’s new release list has me super excited! There are a lot of awesome-sounding books on it!!! Also, there are a lot of limited time sales happening right now (scroll down the page for those) that include many of my favorite books, books from my to-read list, and also a few new books that sound intriguing so here, I’ve updated the previous list with several new additions for you to check through!

Happy reading!!!

❤  SALES & NEW RELEASES ❤

 

FLAT-OUT CELESTE by Jessica Park — New Release

Woohoo!! This new release is getting fantastic ratings!!! It’s a standalone spin-off of one of my favorite books, Flat Out Love (read my review), and it follows Celeste as she heads to college and falls in love!! I am so excited to read this!!! *happy dance* (PS: You can either read this on it’s own, or after Flat Out Love. It’s up to you!)

 

READY FOR YOU by JL Berg — New Release

This second-chance romance is a complete standalone that is part of the highly-rated “Ready” series!! I love the sound of it from the blurb!! Here are all the books in the series: When You’re Ready, Never Been Ready, Ready For You (each one is about a different couple).

 

THE DEVIL’S CONTRACT by Claire Contreras — New Release

This is a new dark contemporary romance that is the first of a 2-book series. Here’s the blurb ➜ “He gave them a choice. She took it. He made her promise two years. She should have known there was a catch.”

 

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Here’s a round up of some of the latest releases and sales, along with some of my recommendations. There are lots of awesome books to choose from here!! Happy reading, everyone 🙂

REASONABLE DOUBT: VOL #1 & VOL #2 by W. G. Williams — $0.99

The second volume of this reader-favorite novella serial was just released!! ➜ “My rules are simple: One dinner. One night. No repeats. This is only casual sex. Nothing more. Nothing less. At least it was, until “Alyssa”. ($0.99 each)

 

CONFESSIONS OF A LITIGATION GOD by Sawyer Bennett — New Release

This standalone erotic novel follows the story of Matt & McKayla from the Legal Affairs series!! You do NOT have to read the other series first. And it comes with a warning from Matt: “if you assume the risk and read my tale in public, then I recommend you carry a spare set of panties with you. You will need them and you have been warned.”

 

POINT OF NO RETURN by Tiffany Snow — New Release

The KATHLEEN TURNER series (romantic suspense) has been recommended to me by SO many readers and the fifth book was just released!! I’m told there’s quite the love triangle – one guy is a Navy SEAL turned high-profile attorney and the other is an assassin-for-hire!! Here’s the full series reading order: #1 No Turning Back, #1.5 Turn On A Dime, #2 Turn To Me, #3 Turning Point, #4 Out Of Turn, #5 Point Of No Return

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Here’s a round up of some of the latest releases and sales, along with some of my recommendations. There are lots of awesome books to choose from here!! Happy reading, everyone 🙂

 …

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to interview Claire Wallis, the author of a new book “PUSH” which has had so many of us going crazy wanting to know more about the story and the characters, trying to theorize about what’s really happening and what’s going to happen, and sparking many long discussions and debates about the book among readers.

First, here’s some info on the book in case you haven’t read it yet….

And without further ado, here are Claire’s interview answers!!

Hi Claire! 😀

Your new book, PUSH, was absolutely fantastic!! It was a refreshingly original and wildly addictive roller coaster ride from start to finish that has taken the reading world by storm. Readers are desperate to know more so thank you so much for doing this interview today!

Thank you for hosting me! I’m so happy to know that readers are enjoying David and Emma’s story. And I really appreciate the opportunity to provide a little insight into the book.

First, I have to ask, where did you get the idea for this story? It’s such a unique concept and so many of us are just fascinated by it. Can you share your inspiration for it?

Though it only took me about eight months to write PUSH, the genesis of David came years before. I always sleep with a pad of paper and a pen on my nightstand because I tend to remember things at 2am and then promptly forget them if I don’t write them down immediately. Most mornings I wake up to a page or two of notes and ideas. I never really aspired to write fiction, but for some reason, inspiration struck one night and I scribbled down a single page of words from David. On that original page, he is quite different than he is in PUSH, but the core of who he is, is still the same. That page of notes sat in the bottom drawer of my nightstand for three or four years. Then one day, I decided to try to turn it into a novel at the prodding of a friend.

When you started writing this book, did you already know where the story was going to end up? 

When I started writing PUSH, all I knew was what would happen at the very beginning and at the very end. How I was going to get from Point A to Point B was a complete mystery.

Can you tell us a little about your writing process?

I’ve heard that many authors like to build an outline or create some kind of synopsis or overview before they sit down to write the actual book, but apparently, that’s not how I roll. I wrote PUSH in a very linear fashion, chapter-by-chapter without ever looking back. As I finished each chapter, I would send it to my friend for her review. Then she would call me to discuss what was happening in the story and cheer me on. I never really thought about what would transpire next; I just let the words come out.

David is such a complex, enigmatic character. Despite his darker side, many readers (including myself) have found him very compelling. He’s the kind of character you both love and hate. What was it like to write a character like him? And how do you feel about him? 

I love David. But I understand why so many readers might struggle with their feelings about him. Inside, you know that you shouldn’t love him, but you kinda can’t help yourself. What’s important to realize is that the part of David that you might find yourself falling for, is the very same part that Emma falls in love with. She doesn’t know about his darker side, and even though you do, you can’t help but fall right with her.

That being said, I know that David’s wicked parts are hard to reconcile. That’s the emotional struggle that makes this story so challenging, and yet so thrilling, for so many readers. I chose every word very, very carefully in the sections about David’s past because we don’t actually ever get to hear David’s voice – except in conversations and during the prologue and epilogue. Instead, we have to learn about him through the words and thoughts of others. It’s very difficult to connect with a character when you never hear their thoughts or perspective on things, so I had to work hard to find another way to “build” David that still enabled readers to connect with him, despite not knowing what’s going on in his head. I’ve heard from readers who felt a whole range of emotions about David throughout the story. Anger, compassion, lust, confusion, pity, sympathy, hatred, love. The truth is, I didn’t set out to make readers feel any specific thing – I just hoped they’d feel SOMETHING. Because no matter which feeling is evoked, it’s what makes you turn the page.

That being said, it was really awesome to create this extremely complex person that I knew would be both loathed and loved right from the very start. And I got to mold him completely through the narration of a handful of other people. I gotta say, the whole thing was pretty damn fun.

If David was real and he asked you to have coffee with him, would you say yes? And if so, what questions would you ask him?

Of course I would say yes! David fascinates me. I would love to hear his voice and see his mesmerizing personality, live and in person. I suppose I would ask him if he is content with who he is. If he’s comfortable in his own skin.

Do you have actor/model muse for David? If so, who is he? 

Nope. But when I first pictured him standing outside of Emma’s door on the day they met, I saw a physical mixture of this guy that hangs out at the coffee shop where I often write and a heavily-tattooed acquaintance of mine who works as a farm hand.

Is there a solid psychological explanation for why David is the way he is? Or, is he as much of a mystery to you as he is to us?

I’m not a psychiatrist, so I haven’t a clue if there’s an official psychological explanation behind who David is. But I do know that he’s no mystery to me. I know his struggles and his motivations, his demons and his dreams.

PUSH has really gotten a lot of attention since it’s release! What’s it like to read through all the fan reactions?

It makes me feel all gushy inside. It’s very validating to know that your story has the ability to make people think and feel and question themselves. One of my biggest worries about this book was that readers wouldn’t “get” it. That they wouldn’t be able to see beyond what David does. I worried that people would read the prologue and slap a label on him and never even bother to delve deeper into who he really is. I worried that readers wouldn’t even try to form some kind of connection with him because of his past. Or, worse still, that they wouldn’t even want to try to understand him. I know that there is nothing typical about David or this story, as far as NA romance reads go. PUSH doesn’t fit neatly into any box. And that is challenging – but everything I’ve been hearing from readers indicates that they’ve relished the opportunity to step out of the box and really enjoyed the ride. They want to understand David. They want to connect with him. And they want someone to tell them that it’s okay to be feeling all the things they are feeling.

Both my agent and my editor at MIRA Books took a huge risk on this book. We all went into this knowing that there’s a possibility for controversy to start swirling around the book at any given moment. And that’s okay with all of us; especially me. Because, again, it indicates that the story made someone FEEL something that surprised them. Something that they didn’t expect to feel. And that’s why we read, isn’t it? To feel something different.

Your story features characters who are deeply affected by troubled pasts, would you say that David and Emma are who they are because of what they went through or in spite of it? 

That’s a difficult question to answer. I don’t think either David or Emma fits neatly into one of those categories. I think they are a product of both. Emma is an angry person because of what she had to endure throughout her childhood, but she’s strong in spite of it. And David is David. He is who he is both because of and in spite of his troubled past.

PUSH is the kind of book that makes you desperate to talk with friends about it when you’re done. In our discussion group, we’ve been going back and forth trying to figure out how subtle elements of the story are connected. Was it your intent for people to be searching for all these hidden clues, coincidences, and double meanings?

It wasn’t necessarily my intent for people to look for them, but I love that you are! They are there on purpose because they are part of the web of the story. They are intended as another step toward building the complexity of the characters and of the story itself. Disconnects and empty blanks in stories bother me as a reader, so I tried my damnedest to connect everything in some way. When I read reviews of PUSH that say that something was left open-ended, I just want those readers to realize that maybe I wasn’t ready to answer everything yet. 

How would you describe PUSH to someone who hasn’t read it yet?

It’s a f*cked up love story between two complicated, and very smashed-up, souls.

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat about PUSH!! This book is definitely one of the ones that has stood out for me and many other readers this year and I absolutely can’t wait to see what’s in store for David and Emma in the sequel!! 

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Note from Aestas to the readers: Regarding the sequel, at this point there is still no official information available. But as soon as any news is announced, I’ll be sure to make a post about it so be sure you’re following on Facebook and by Email so that you don’t miss it!! 

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