Rented Heart Virtual Book Tour

About Rented Heart

Ex-surfer-turned-businessman Liam Mallaney moved back to Holkham, Norfolk, to mourn the loss of his husband. Grief and loneliness keep him a solitary figure, and he likes it that way. There’s no room in his broken heart for anything else.

Rentboy Zac Payne left London and most of his demons behind, but he still only knows one way to make a living. When he spots Liam in a club one night, it seems he’s found his mark. But Liam proves nicer—and their connection far deeper—than he’d bargained for.

Their arrangement quickly becomes too complicated for Zac, who has other things on his mind: namely his BFF and wayward flatmate, Jamie. Zac owes Jamie the world, and even as Jamie’s drug addiction destroys all they have, Zac won’t leave him behind.

Besides, Liam knows nothing of Zac’s home life, too caught up in his own head to think much beyond the crazy heat he and Zac share. But when trouble comes to Zac’s door, putting his life in danger, Liam must set his grief and anger aside to pick up the pieces of Zac’s shattered heart and his own.

Purchase now at Riptide: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/rented-heart

About Garrett Leigh

Garrett Leigh is a British writer and book designer, currently working for Dreamspinner Press, Loose Id, Riptide Publishing, and Black Jazz Press. Her protagonists will always always be tortured, crippled, broken, and deeply flawed. Throw in a tale of enduring true love, some stubbly facial hair, and a bunch of tattoos, and you’ve got yourself a Garrett special.

When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible. That, and dreaming up new ways to torture her characters. Garrett believes in happy endings; she just likes to make her boys work for it.

Garrett also works as a freelance cover artist for various publishing houses and independent authors under the pseudonym G.D. Leigh. For cover art info, please visit blackjazzpress.com.

Social media:
Website: http://garrettleigh.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighbooks
Cover art enquiries: blackjazzdesign@gmail.com

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Rented Heart, one lucky winner will receive $25 in Riptide Publishing credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on September 17, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

 

Rhapsody (Bellator Saga #5) by Cecilia London

“I’m never going to stop loving you, Caroline. It’s just not possible.”
Major Caroline Gerard returns from a dangerous mission battered and bruised. Terrified to confront the emotional and physical gap between her and her husband, she’s determined to do whatever it takes to avoid reality. 
Commander Jack McIntyre has been tasked with saving American democracy, but he has to save his marriage first. He’s desperate to regain the passionate connection that he and his wife once shared. And a man on a mission will sacrifice anything to succeed. 
In the meantime, the rebellion is in need of a catalyst to spur international action to stop President Santos’ increasingly unstable behavior. As Caroline and Jack repair their hearts, each day brings new secrets and new challenges, and a revelation that could shatter everything they thought was true. 

I don’t think I’ve ever read a series that kept me on such an emotional roller coaster. The books that made up the first trilogy in the Bellator Saga were a mix of past and present and centered around Caroline and her memories, her torture at the hands of the Fed and her escape. After all readers went through with her in the beginning, I never would have guessed that I would spend at least half of the second trilogy totally irritated with her.

Okay, so it’s not that I didn’t totally understand what Caroline had been through. As strong as she was, it would have been hard to come out of that horror in one piece. I also understand her confusion about Jack… but this was Jack. He was suffering too. Not only from their shared loss but from the crippling guilt that he had to live with. And then… just when things were about to turn around, I ended up being mad at Jack. Totally unreasonable, I know, but it wouldn’t have been the first time that Cecilia London brought out the worst in me.

It seems with every installment in this series there’s just a little bit more… well… of everything. More revelations, more heartbreak, more intensity, more danger and in the case of Rhapsody – a lot more heat. By the end of Rhapsody, things still weren’t perfect, but they were a heck of a lot better and as far as this reader is concerned, it’s about time! I was so tired of being upset with Caroline and the way she treated everyone. Even though I understood there were a lot of underlying reasons, which included her way of punishing herself, I was right there with Jack as every step forward inevitably pushed him two steps back. Thank God he had more patience than I did.

Pretty much every book in this series has ended in a cliff hanger and Rhapsody was no exception. This one ended in a jaw dropping revelation that… well… Let’s put it this way… one of the first things I thought when I finished the book was ‘how in the heck am I going to review this?’ When I posted that thought on social media, the author helpfully commented that I should ‘just talk about the sex’… Did I mention that Cecilia London is very close to the top of my ‘Evil Author’ list?

If you haven’t read any of the books in the Bellator Saga, I strongly encourage you to pick up Dissident. The series starts with a bang and doesn’t let up. It’s full of intrigue, scary politics, heated romance, danger, humor, violence and yeah, more than just a little bit of smexiness… The author pushes pretty much every button that can be pushed and best of all, makes you think… what if? *shivers*

Rejecting Destiny (Through the Veil #3) by Christi Snow

She has one final chance to embrace her destiny or lose it all.
Twenty years ago Bethany Harris fell in love with Aaron Vaughn, but then she shattered his heart. When the Veil fell two years later, she became the leader of the Western States. She wasn’t ready for the job, but she stepped up and did it. She couldn’t have done that without Aaron’s friendship and support.
Since then they’ve become lovers in the physical sense, but Bethany continues to keep her distance. She lost the right to Aaron’s love a long time ago.
Now things have changed. What once defined their world may no longer be true. With the turmoil that follows, Bethany must lead her people into a terrifying new era. She’s reeling and doubting herself more than ever. But when Aaron brings home her biggest challenge, it may be one too many.
To succeed she has to face her biggest fear…trusting the strength of the relationship between her and Aaron, or else risk losing it all. She could lose her job, her people, but most of all the man she’s loved almost her whole life.

Oh Bethany and Aaron… readers may not have learned much about these two up until Rejecting Destiny, but this book definitely made up for that.

I have to warn you, this one made me just a little bit teary… well maybe more like a lot teary. Which kind of took me by surprise. Not that I didn’t already know that Christi Snow was capable of making me shed a tear or two. She’s proven that more than once. Let’s just say she pulled at all my vulnerable heart strings in this one. I think the real reason I was caught off guard was because as emotionally distant as Bethany seemed, I didn’t expect her to break my heart, but she did… big time.

On the other hand, having Aaron break my heart came as no surprise at all. I loved him from the beginning. So, how did these two break my heart? There were so many little twists, turns and surprises in Rejecting Destiny I don’t want to spoil it for you. Just know that every tear was totally worth it.

Beyond what was going on between Aaron and Bethany, there was a lot going on in the Western States. Changes were happening that no one could explain. People were shaking things up and pulling strings while forces were at work that were totally unexpected. Some were positive and the jury’s still out on the others.

Oh, and for the record, I sorta fell in love with a couple of new characters along the way and I’m hoping that readers will get to know them a lot better. Needless to say, I can’t wait for the next book in the Through the Veil series.

 

Counterbalance Virtual Book Tour

About Counterbalance

John loves his job as head rigger for Cirque Brilliance. The heavy scarring over half his face makes it a little hard to meet new people, but John’s got a good crew and a nice found family, and he’s content with his lot in life.

When Cirque hires talent for a new show, John meets Bao, a bright, ever-cheerful acrobat. Bao seems drawn to John and becomes a constant presence at his side—talking to him during downtime, spending time with him at lunch, and generally seeking out his company.

John doesn’t know what to make of this. Sure, he likes Bao—maybe a little too much, honestly—but he’s had enough experience to know that Bao couldn’t possibly like him back. Or so he thinks, anyway. Fortunately, Bao seems determined to prove him wrong.

Purchase from Riptide: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/counterbalance

About Aidan Wayne

Aidan Wayne is a big believer in character-driven stories with happy endings. This is not to say that stories can’t contain a little (or a lot) of grief, just that at the end of it all expect there to be bandages and hugs. They particularly like to write about minority characters because damn it, they deserve happy endings too.

When not writing, Aidan enjoys practicing aerial, martial arts, and ASL, and watching reality cooking shows. They are probably in the middle of twelve projects as you read this.

Tumblr: justsayins.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/justsayins
Website: aidanwayne.wordpress.com

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Counterbalance, one lucky winner will receive $20 in Riptide Publishing credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on September 17, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Unraveled (Elemental Assassin #15) by Jennifer Estep

After the shocking revelations of the previous book, Bitter Bite, the world of Ashland’s become even more sinister, and Gin Blanco (aka Ashland’s most fearsome assassin, the Spider) no longer knows who—or what—she can count on. Only one thing is for certain: danger and new enemies await Gin in Unraveled, Book 15 in the New York Times bestselling Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series that RT Book Reviews calls “unbeatable entertainment!”
What could go wrong when you’re trying to unravel a decades-old conspiracy?
As the current queen of the Ashland underworld, you would think that I, Gin Blanco, would know all about some secret society controlling things from behind the scenes. I might be the Spider, the city’s most fearsome assassin, but all my Ice and Stone elemental magic hasn’t done me a lick of good in learning more about “the Circle”. Despite my continued investigations, the trail’s gone as cold as the coming winter.
So when Finnegan Lane, my foster brother, gets word of a surprising inheritance, we figure why not skip town for someplace less dangerous for a few days? That place: Bullet Pointe, a fancy hotel resort complex plus Old West theme park that Finn now owns lock, stock, and barrel. At first, all the struttin’ cowboys and sassy saloon girls are just hokey fun. But add in some shady coincidences and Circle assassins lurking all around, and vacationing becomes wilder—and deadlier—than any of us expected.
Good thing this assassin brought plenty of knives to the gunfight …

The more that Gin Blanco’s eclectic family experiences and grows, the more I fall in love with them. So yeah, we’re up to the 15th book in the Elemental Assassin series and it’s still going strong.

After everything that happened in Bitter Bite and Unwanted, I kinda agreed with Finn in thinking that they all needed a break. The only problem is that trouble seems to follow this crew where ever they go, so R&R is totally out of the question. Good thing that Gin never lets her guard down. I really love that about her.😉

Aside from the danger – because when it comes to Gin and crew, danger is a given – there was a lot of ground covered in Unraveled. Secrets were revealed, more than a few revelations were uncovered and a couple of mysteries were left to discover.

As usual, with pretty much every book in this series, the family connection is the best part. From the beginning to the end, they count on each other, which is just one of the reasons why this series never gets old. It pretty much goes without saying that I can’t wait for Snared, the next book in the Elemental Assassin series. Oh, and it looks like there’s even a new novella to look forward too – Nice Guys Bite is coming around December😉

Boyfriend Material (Ethan & Wyatt #2) by K.A. Mitchell

Physically, it’s easy for Ethan and Wyatt to be together—well, if “easy” means stolen moments when Ethan’s roommate is away, or sneaking away to a hidden nook in the library. Privacy is hard to come by in a dorm, but finding ways to connect is half the fun. 
Emotionally, though, that’s a different story. Wyatt isn’t sure if a relationship is something he can make last—years of having to hide his emotions have left him with a shaky sense of self-confidence. And when it’s time to head home for the holidays, their steamy on-campus connection may not translate so well to the real world…

This installment of the Ethan & Wyatt series was short and sweet, but that doesn’t meant it was lacking… especially in emotion.

The first book in this series was Getting Him Back, which introduced Ethan and Wyatt. It would have been easy to get frustrated with Wyatt’s hesitance to trust what he and Ethan had. Their relationship was still new and since readers had the advantage of being in Ethan’s head in Getting Him Back, we had a slight advantage. The tables were turned in Boyfriend Material and readers got a chance to find out exactly how insecure Wyatt really was… and why.

Even though Boyfriend Material was short and sweet (just under 100 pages) it covered a lot of ground. Wyatt may not have been able to totally trust what he had with Ethan, but even when they weren’t together, it gave him quality time with his uncle. That time gave him the confidence to believe that things for him could actually turn around.

Beyond Ethan and Wyatt, there were characters that I both loved and hated… some of those characters I wasn’t quite prepared for. Those confrontations made me love Ethan just a little bit more – they also didn’t gain Blake any brownie points. I really thought… well, you’ll just have to read Boyfriend Material to see what I mean. *sigh*

Needless to say, I’m really hoping that there’s more to come for Ethan & Wyatt.😉

 

Adulting 101 by Lisa Henry

The struggle is real.
Nick Stahlnecker is eighteen and not ready to grow up yet. He has a summer job, a case of existential panic, and a hopeless crush on the unattainable Jai Hazenbrook. Except how do you know that your coworker’s unattainable unless you ask to blow him in the porta-potty?
That’s probably not what Dad meant when he said Nick should act more like an adult.
Twenty-five-year-old Jai is back in his hometown of Franklin, Ohio, just long enough to earn the money to get the hell out again. His long-term goal of seeing more of the world is worth the short-term pain of living in his mother’s basement, but only barely.
Meeting Nick doesn’t fit in with Jai’s plans at all, but, as Jai soon learns, you don’t have to travel halfway around the world to have the adventure of a lifetime.
This is not a summer romance. This is a summer friendship-with-benefits. It’s got pizza with disgusting toppings, Netflix and chill, and accidental exhibitionism. That’s all. There are no feelings here. None. Shut up. 

I love the snarky, fun side of Lisa Henry. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the dark edginess of When all the World Sleeps (co-authored by J.A. Rock) but I didn’t become a full fledged fan until I read The Two Gentlemen of Altona (also co-authored by J.A. Rock) which was the first book in their Playing the Fool trilogy. Now I find myself wanting to check out the rest of this author’s books.

By the description you can tell which category Adulting 101 falls into. I absolutely loved Nick, even though some of his choices made me cringe. He could definitely be described as someone who didn’t look before he leaped. The only problem with this whole story that I had was that Jai seemed to have a pretty level head. He also had a long-term goal that made it important to keep his job, so why did he end up in that porta-potty with Nick? Regardless of why, I’m glad he did. Otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten to know Nick and readers wouldn’t have been treated to this fun story.

The more I got to know Nick, the more I liked him. He wasn’t nearly as scatterbrained as I first thought, but then I started thinking about it. Don’t we all know someone who just jumps into life with everything they’ve got? A person who has a totally different view on things and if you really pay attention can help you look at things like you’ve never looked at them before. Someone who lets every thought in their head at times flow out of their mouth and not think twice about it? That’s how I saw Nick. It’s much easier to love those people than to try to reign them in and why would you want to? It was fun watching Jai come to that realization about Nick.

Every once in a while, reading something light, fun and sweet is necessary and Adulting 101 was the perfect book to fill that need. Enjoy!

 

Lullaby (Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper #7) by J.L. Bryan

Life is more difficult than ever at Savannah’s only ghost-hunting detective agency. While Ellie copes with her mentor’s departure and other unwelcome developments, she also worries about the supernatural injuries keeping her boyfriend caught in an endless slumber. 
At the same time, Ellie and Stacey are called in to investigate an eerie entity haunting a baby’s nursery room. The ghost appears late at night, its face barely visible on the baby monitor, and sings a chilling song. 
Soon, Ellie learns there are more ghosts in the house, and at least one of them is a dangerous, child-hunting monster who must be stopped before it kills again.

My list of authors that I currently have a love/hate relationship with is steadily growing. J.L. Bryan holds a fairly comfortable place on this list because Lullaby is far from the first book that bestowed him that honor. He’s getting really good at leaving readers hanging at the end of books in the Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper series and even though I’m not giving the author a compliment, but I’m pretty sure he’s going to take it that way.

Lullaby began pretty much where Maze of Souls left off and as much as I hoped things would get better, I should have known better. Not only was Michael still in a coma, but his sister was blaming Ellie for his condition. The heartbreaking part was that Ellie wasn’t arguing with her. The fact that she felt betrayed by Calvin for selling the business to PSI just added to her depression. Things were definitely not changing for the better. If not for her obsession with Anton Clay, Ellie may have given up on the company all together.

The ghost that Ellie and Stacey were assigned to take care of in Lullaby was scary and dangerous, but an even bigger threat turned out to be a lot closer to home. Turns out Kara was a lot more evil and manipulative than they could have imagined. Working with the PSI crew is not going to be easy and Ellie and her friends are going to have to watch their backs.

As low as things were for Ellie, readers were given a bit of hope by the end… almost. In true J.L. Bryan fashion he had me turning the page to see what happened next and the story was over. Finished. Done. There’s definitely more to come so I’ll just sit here and wait patiently for the next installment. (Yeah, right.) *runs off to stalk evil author*

Fortune’s Favor (Heroes of Arcania #2) by Liz Long

Nova will learn it takes more than sheer strength to be a superhero. Her world implodes when Fortune strikes back for all the trouble she’s caused. His dangerous games put everyone around her at risk, especially when he decides to turn Arcania against its precious Heroes. Nova wants to protect Arcania, but how does she save a city that doesn’t want her help?
Cole has no idea how to deal with his sister Penelope, especially now that she’s learned the truth about their family secret. Thanks to Fortune, she’s headed down a dark path, one with no return. Torn between helping Nova and protecting his sister, Cole will be forced to make a choice. Tensions rise as Cole and Nova discover war will come to Arcania if they don’t get Fortune off the streets…or preferably six feet under.
Nova and Cole might have each other, but will they lose everything else in their mission to save Arcania?

Well, I’m just a little bit behind, but since I’m posting this the week after the last book in Liz Long’s Heroes of Arcania series, I’ll just pretend it was planned that way.😀

Fortune’s Favor picked up exactly where Super Nova left off. After Penelope’s seemingly betrayal and Henry’s kidnapping, Nova and Cole are both left devastated. Now they each have even more reasons to want to end Fortune’s reign of terror on Arcania.

Needless to say, a lot happens in Fortune’s Favor. More secrets are revealed. Crazy alliances are made and the danger never slows. Henry finds himself caught in the middle in more ways than one, but that doesn’t stop him from taking more crazy chances. Both Nova and Cole are suffering from guilt as well as an urgency to find a way to stop Fortune.

From the beginning I’ve loved the connection between Nova and Cole. Nova started her fight against Fortune because of Star, but as the story’s processed, it’s turned into much more than that. Cole’s goal has always been to do the right thing, regardless of the danger to himself, but the strength in those convictions and his alliances are put to the ultimate test by the end of Fortune’s Favor. The jury’s still out on exactly how far Penelope will go to prove her point… Things should be extremely interesting in Unbreakable, the final book in the Heroes of Arcania series.

On a side note, I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that I didn’t even consider a connection between Liz Long’s Donovan Circus series and Heroes of Arcania until this book. It’s sad to say that I’m afraid I may have never really ‘gotten it’ but the author made it blatantly obvious in Fortune’s Favor. *face palm* That’s okay, oblivious or not, I love the connection and hope I notice even more.😉 As I mentioned, Unbreakable was released last week, so if you’re one of those people who doesn’t like to start a series until it’s complete, you’re in luck.

Bout-of-Books 17 Progress

As usual, I’ll keep this post front and center for the duration of Bout-of-Books 17 so it’ll be easy for everyone to see how I’m doing. Once again, no goals other than to read and have fun and no real theme to my reading either. My usual eclectic mess is even messier than usual this time around. I’ve got about 3 books that I’ve started but haven’t finished so I’m going to attempt to get them knocked out this week. That may or not happen, but it’s a worthy goal… that is if I had a goal, which I don’t… other than having fun😉

8/22
Number of books & pages I’ve read today: Approx. 93 Pages

• Continued Gambling on Love by Jane Davitt (Approx. 93 Pages)

Total number of books & pages I’ve read: Approx. 93 Pages
Today #insixwords: Playing Catch-up is so Much Fun ;) 
Books:

• Continued Gambling on Love

8/23
Number of books & pages I’ve read today: 1 Book; Approx. 51 Pages
Total number of books & pages I’ve read: 1 Book; Approx. 144 Pages

• Finished Gambling on Love by Jane Davitt (Approx. 51 Pages)

Today #insixwords: Not Exactly a Stellar Reading Day😦
Books:

• Finished Gambling on Love

8/24
Number of books & pages I’ve read today: Approx. 136 Pages
Total number of books & pages I’ve read: 1 Book; Approx. 280 Pages

• Continued Bound by Faerie (Stolen Magic #1) by W.B. McKay (Approx. 100 Pages)
• Started Cowboy Kinky (Kinky Chronicles #4) by Jodi Redford (Approx. 36 Pages)

Today #insixwords: A Kinky Cowboy & Morrigan’s Daughter o.O 
Books:

• Finished Gambling on Love
• Continued Bound by Faerie (Stolen Magic #1) 
• Started Cowboy Kinky (Kinky Chronicles #4)

8/25
Number of books & pages I’ve read today: 2 Books, Approx. 122 Pages
Total number of books & pages I’ve read: 3 Books, Approx 402 Pages
Today #insixwords: Love finding new authors to follow ;) 
Books:

• Finished Gambling on Love
• Finished Bound by Faerie (Stolen Magic #1) 
• Finished Cowboy Kinky (Kinky Chronicles #4)

8/26
Number of books & pages I’ve read today:
Total number of books & pages I’ve read: 
Today #insixwords: Friday was a total reading bust😦
Books:

8/27
Number of books & pages I’ve read today: 1 Book, Approx. 107 Pages

• Finished Counterbalance by Aiden Wayne (Approx. 79 Pages)
• Continued Kindness Goes Unpunished (Walt Longmire #3) by Craig Johnson (28 Pages)

Total number of books & pages I’ve read: 4 Books, Approx. 509 Pages
Today #insixwords: Finally found time to read again 🙂
Books:

• Finished Gambling on Love
• Finished Bound by Faerie (Stolen Magic #1) 
• Finished Cowboy Kinky (Kinky Chronicles #4)
• Finished Counterbalance
• Continued Kindness Goes Unpunished (Walt Longmire #3)

8/28
Number of books & pages I’ve read today:
Total number of books & pages I’ve read: 
Today #insixwords: 
Books: