Cross Drop by Elizabeth Hartey (Spotlight, excerpt, review, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

CROSS DROP

by Elizabeth Hartey

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GENRE: New Adult Contemporary Romance

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BLURB:

Nikki

I’m not a saint. Never claimed to be. I’ve played the game and scored my fair share—both on and off the field. This is why I should have known better than to fall for a hockey player. But I did. I fell fast and hard.

Now I’m left with the painful consequences, reminded every day of how reckless I had been by giving him my heart so easily—so willingly. Dalt broke me in the cruelest of ways, and because of him I’ll never be able to love again.

Dalt

Nikki changed me. She made me want to be a better man. My days playing off the field were over because she owned every little piece of my heart…until she left, leaving behind a gnawing ache where my heart used to be.

Now she’s back, and it’s painfully clear she hates me, ignoring me, pretending like I’m nobody to her. But that’s just too damn bad. I want answers. I want a goddamn explanation.

And most of all…I want her.

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EXCERPT

“Hey.” The intelligent greeting the only thing I could think of to say.

When she looked up and hit me with those baby blues I had to remind myself to breathe.

“Hey.” One word. That was it and she started walking off the field toward the field house. I stood baffled for a moment. I’d never had a problem talking to a girl before and they usually didn’t walk away from me when I did. I ran to catch up to her.

“Great game. You were amazing out there.”

“Yeah, thanks.” She just kept walking, even picked up the pace like she was trying to get away from me.

“I’m…I’m Dalt by the way.” Like an idiot I stuck my hand out to shake hers. She stopped and stared at my outstretched hand but didn’t make a move because her hands were full with her bag and some of the equipment.

“I know who you are, hockey boy.” The words ‘hockey boy’ came out like they tasted sour on her tongue. And she started walking away from me again. I couldn’t believe it. When I caught up to her, she stopped and turned to me.

“What do you want, hockey boy?” She threw me off my game so bad, I think I stuttered.

“I…um…your name would be nice for starters.”

“For starters?” She quirked a brow.

“Then I thought you might like to get a beer or a burger or something at the Thirsty Whale.” She scanned my body from head to toe and back up. Then the damnedest thing happened.

“No thanks. I don’t do dates. Not looking for a boyfriend. I just like to, you know, keep my options open.” Say what, now! Had she just turned me down for a date?

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Cross Stroke (book 1)

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Barnes and Noble

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

As a lover of the northeast US, Elizabeth moved with her husband to the Poconos several years ago to open a Chiropractic Clinic. Four children and a menagerie of animals later, she has finally found time to fulfill her lifelong dream of writing novels. The wild ride of writing books is one of the most difficult things she’s ever done in her life. But the opportunity to get her stories out of her head and down on paper and send them out into the world is also one of the most wonderful things she’s ever done. A dreamer at heart, romance is the genre she spends most of her time writing and reading into the wee hours of the morning. And having readers fall in love with her characters as much as she does is almost as exciting as giving birth (just not as painful!) When not juggling work responsibilities and writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, hiking the beautiful hills and woods around her home, swimming, knitting, watching old classic movies and travelling.

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway



The tour dates can be found here




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My review:


 

4 out of 5 stars

Cross Drop by Elizabeth Hartey is a new adult contemporary sports romance that features two college athletes who should be on top of the world. Dalt is a top hockey player and his girl, Nikki, is a soccer star, and they’re inseparable…until they’re not. Their incandescent attraction doesn’t die, but the obstacles that separate them may be too much to overcome unless they learn to truly communicate.

This is the second book in the ‘On the Edge’ series and centers around a charismatic couple who are remarkably compatible in their passions, both on the sports field and in private. I was reminded how intense everything is when you are that age even as I was glad that those times are (far) behind me. Occasionally I wanted to shake some sense into them, especially as Nikki keeps putting off her important revelation, which is a tribute to the author’s ability to create vivid characters.

There are plenty of intense and lusty scenes that evoke the joie de vivre that can characterize college life, as does the angst and mistakes that have to be lived through. I enjoyed getting to know these folks and watching them work their way through their issues, although I admit that I’m much more sympathetic to Dalt. The secondary characters are personable and there are cameos by the couple featured in the first book, and enough of their story is revealed that I would like to learn more. This is a fun and entertaining tale that will appeal to both new adult romance and college sports fans.

A copy of this title was provided to me for review

Hand Over Fist by Michael Ross (Excerpt, review and GIVEAWAY) GFT

Hand Over Fist
by Michael Ross

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GENRE: Thriller

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BLURB:

When an old friend disappears, Martin learns nothing is what it seems…

Martin Russell can barely face the future. With dismal life prospects and an estranged family, he is at the end of his rope. When an old friend, Hannah, elbows her way back into his life, Martin’s luck begins to turn around.

Hidden within the shadows of evil, there must be some good…

Ex-policeman Bobby Tanner lost everything one rage-filled night. Now he runs a reading group for alcoholics where he meets a young drug dealer, Zack, who disturbs him in a way that’s hard to define. Bobby soon discovers the teenager is in over his head and has been dealing with a despicable individual known as The Chemist.

The roots of evil run deeper than we imagine…

Martin’s lucky streak begins to unravel when Hannah suddenly goes missing, and he turns to a friend of a friend, Bobby, for help. Thrust into an underworld empire of corruption and half-truths, he learns his friend may not be who he thought she was.

In a shadowed world of deception, stalkers, and despicable drug dealers, Bobby and Martin must uncover the truth, and fast…

Several lives depend on it.

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EXCERPT

She did not recognise the number coming up on her mobile and hesitated slightly before answering, “Hannah speaking.”

“Why just the person, and how are you today, Hannah?”

A cold shiver ran from the back of her neck down to her ankles. She tried to keep her voice neutral. “Hi. I thought you were abroad just now.”

“Who says I’m not?”

A tremor of relief briefly visited her. “Oh, I see.”

“Actually, I’ve come back. I missed the old haunts. I can’t seem to get the place out of my blood.”

Was it her imagination or did those two words, “haunts” and “blood,” seem to resonate in her head? She needed to sound in control, and so her reply was firmly delivered, “And you rang me because?”

“Just to say hello, Hannah, just to say hello.”

With that, the phone went dead. Hannah’s immediate reaction was anger at the caller’s obvious attempt to unsettle her. She hit the recall button and redialled the incoming number but the other phone was already switched off. She was well aware that anger is sometimes a protective shield behind which lurks blinding terror, but sitting alone in her car, Hannah recognised that she had lost that shield and a fearsome terror instantly slewed through her entire body.

Amazon link

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 It was a strange and twisting road that led to the publication of my first novel. From my humble beginnings, as an office clerk, to ownership of a multi-million dollar business I always maintained my love for literature.

Born and raised in Bristol, England. I spent most of my life in business, my companies turning over in the region of $500 million. The majority of that time marketing cars, eventually owning the largest Saab specialist in the world, before a bitter divorce forced me rethink my priorities. Particularly between 2003 and 2005 when I had to accept that I was no longer a millionaire but literally penniless. I avoided bankruptcy by the skin of my teeth and slowly rebuilt my life.

This led me to the life changing decision to leave the bustling city and move to live halfway up a mountain in the Welsh valleys. At the same time I started a part time six year English Literature course at Bristol University, and attended creative writing classes at Cardiff University. I left school at sixteen and this was my first taste of further education and an immense challenge.

I eventually adjusted my thinking to the academic life, and on 30 June 2015 had confirmation of my 2.1(Hons) degree from Bristol University. At the same time I also won the prestigious Hopkins Prize for my essay on Virginia Woolf and the unsaid within her text. Now the university courses are finished it will, with any luck, gives me plenty of extra time that I can devote to my fiction writing.

Thanks to the university experiences, my interest in English literature has flourished over recent years. Hopefully I have evolved as a writer from my earlier work in short stories (over ninety of them.) Although interestingly my first three novels have all been developed from a long forgotten short story.

Life is, once again, very good, and I live very happily halfway up a mountain, in the Welsh Valleys, with my wonderful partner Mari, and our rescue dog Wolfie.

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Goodreads    Mike Ross

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The tour dates can be found here

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My review:

3.75 out of 5 stars

Hand Over Fist by Michael Ross is the first book in the ‘Out of Hand’ series and follows the events surrounding Martin Russell, a man who has experienced the destruction of his home life, and the changes wrought by his re-connection with an old friend, Hannah Williams.  It turns out that there are connections and undercurrents swirling around both of them, and the path they are on may not lead to a result that benefits everyone or anyone.

This contemporary suspense thriller introduces a cast of characters who operate in a gray area that sometimes dips down into a darker aspect of society.  The gritty action, surprising twists, and ethical quandaries that are presented start slowly and gradually work up to an exciting climax that is followed by an epilogue that leaves the door open for additional adventures involving many of the characters. 

It took me a while to get immersed in the story, partly because of the use of third person omniscient point of view which gave me such a sense of whiplash as perspective rapidly shifted between characters, but also because I didn’t feel a connection to many of the characters.  Despite this, I developed a somewhat grudging respect for some of the multitude of people whose lives are touching, even though I was troubled by their actions, and I struggled to decide whether I liked any of them.  The action is a little uneven for me, and some things were a little too abruptly contrived, but things do escalate until one becomes anxious to find out what the endgame is and who is going to be successful. 

There are nicely poetic word portraits painted, and an intriguing look at a set of flawed people and the lengths they go to in order to arrange their world to their specifications.  I confess to being a little unsettled by the way things turn out although it is in keeping with the tone of the story and adds to the realism. Those who like intense gritty suspense stories with atypical heroes will undoubtedly enjoy this tale.

A copy of this title was provided to me for review

Nighthawks by Jeremy Flagg (VBT, guest post, excerpt and GIVEAWAY) GFT

I have the pleasure of being able to share a guest post from author Jeremy Flagg, who muses...

JF:  I think the best thing about picking up a book is not knowing the adventure you’ll be taken on. So even though people may not have heard of me, this book is still worth checking out. A dark look at superheroes, a dismal future, and people trying to maintain their humanity are all themes that people who enjoy science fiction can connect with.

I grew up devouring comics as fast as my parents could purchase them. At any given time there were hundreds of them strewn across the house. This originally led me to create my own comic book. I was young and it mostly emulated the popular titles I was reading at the time. However, now twenty years later, I’m exploring more adult themes that I think readers will be drawn to. There are a group of people with superhuman abilities who want nothing more than to be human and they wrestle with this constantly throughout the book.

If you like comics, you’ll appreciate and enjoy the entire Children of Nostradamus series.

The book takes a different look at some notable historical moments, primarily the prediction of Nostradamus that the world would end in 2012. Being one of the most powerful psychics, he predicted the end of the world as we know it, and with that began the emergence of Children of Nostradamus, people gifted with abilities beyond mere human. The story and plot play with this idea of predicting the future. The catalyst of the story happens thirty years before the story begins and we watch the ramifications happen with each of the characters throughout not only this book but the entire series. The world has been reimagined but closely relates to “what could have happened” if only slight differences had been applied.

If you’re a fan of dark futures, this book is for you.

Overall, I wrote the book I’d want to read. I think the comic book geeks and those obsessed with dystopian futures will find this book right up their alley.

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Nighthawks

by Jeremy Flagg

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GENRE: Sci-Fi (Dystopian)

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BLURB:

Twenty-six-year-old painter Conthan Cowan takes art to a shocking frontier…

His debut exhibit features the transformation of his high school friend, Sarah, as she went from a shy, soft-spoken girl to a Child of Nostradamus—an individual gifted with extraordinary abilities. Living in a society where the Children of Nostradamus are captured by the government, Conthan’s exhibit draws attention from officials and protesters alike.

A government psychic may be dead, but that doesn’t stop her from manipulating the future…

The deceased White House aide is only remembered for her failed assassination attempt on the president decades before Conthan was born. Foreseeing her own death, she scribed letters to bring together specific Children of Nostradamus on a mission that will change the world.

On the night of the gallery exhibition, Conthan receives one of those letters…

ispers from the past direct him to visit Sarah, the subject of his paintings, who like many Children of Nostradamus, is being detained in a government research facility. It’s there he finds himself aligned with a rogue group of Children on a mission to prevent a dark future.

As a dark future unfolds, there's only one hope to stop the destruction of the world...

The Children of Nostradamus.

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EXCERPT

“Class I identified,” said the Corps soldier. “Immediate termination.”

Conthan looked up, confused, and realized that the gun was pointing directly at his face. He watched as the soldier pulled the trigger and the pain surged through his brain.

“Not today.” It was his voice, but he wasn’t speaking.

He realized he wasn’t in control of his actions as he held up his hand and pushed the pain through his body to his palms. The black spot returned and he watched as the laser emerged from the gun and vanished into another dark hole. He could see a similar spot appear just to the side of the soldier. The laser projected outward from the darkness, searing through the soldier’s head.

Conthan felt the pain release his body. He fell to the ground. He lay next to a gasping Jed Zappens. Conthan turned his head to see the man. “I’m sorry,” he muttered.

Jed sucked in a ragged breath and blinked several times, tears beginning to stream down his face. He reached into his breast pocket and dragged out an old folded envelope. “For you,” he said through clenched teeth.

Conthan voice had left him. He wanted to scream for a medic but he couldn’t find air enough to fill his lungs. He started to reach for the envelope but hesitated before snatching it from the dead man’s hands. He crushed it in his grasp as he watched the light vanish from the artist’s eyes.

“Run,” said a voice.

Conthan rolled his head to see that there was nobody left standing in the alley. He sucked in air and tried to sit upright. “Hello?”

“Run!”

He had killed a Corps soldier. He was now marked for death. As he ran, he could hear the echo of the soldier’s words. “Class I,” he had said. Conthan couldn’t shake the feeling that life as he knew it was over.

Amazon link

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

I’m high school graphic design and marketing teacher, at a large suburban high school in Massachusetts. Working as a high school educator and observing the outlandish world of adolescence was the inspiration for my first young adult novel, “Suburban Zombie High.”

My inspiration for writing stems from being a youth who struggled with reading in school. While I found school assigned novels incredibly difficult to digest, I devoured comics and later fantasy novels. Their influences can be seen in the tall tales I spin.

I took the long route to becoming a writer. For a brief time, I majored in Creative Writing but exchanged one passion for another as I switched to  Art and Design. My passion for reading about superheroes, fantastical worlds, and panic-stricken situations would become the foundation of my writing career.

I participated in my first NaNoWriMo in 2006 and continue to write an entire novel every November. Now I am the NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison to the Massachusetts Metrowest Region. I also belong the New England Horror Writer’s Association and to a weekly writing group, the Metrowest Writers.

LINKS:

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GIVEAWAY


a Rafflecopter giveaway

The tour dates can be found here