After years of running, Wyatt Svenson has now parked himself in Bishop, Arkansas, trying to do the right thing and parent a son he didn’t even know he had until recently. Over six feet tall and packed with muscles and power, Ty likes to get his hands dirty, fixing his motorcycle at night and keeping his mind away from the mistakes he’s made. Then his pretty neighbor shows up on his driveway, doesn’t bother to introduce herself, and complains about the noise. First impression? She should loosen up. Funny that she turns out to be his son’s elementary school art teacher—and the only one willing to help his troubled boy. Ty needs her. In more ways than one.

Though Shelby Monroe is safe in her structured life, she is drawn to Ty’s bad-boy edge and rugged sexuality. What if she just lets it all go: her worries about her mother, her fear of heartbreak, and her tight self control? What if she grabs Ty and takes a ride on the wild side? “What if” becomes reality—intense, exhilarating . . . and addictive. But Ty wants more than a secret affair. He wants it all with Shelby. But will she take a chance and open her heart? Ty is determined to convince Shelby to take the biggest risk of her life: on him.

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Excerpt

“We’ve been back for a week and he’s been in the office almost every day,” Colleen said, lifting her own mug—no cats to be seen—from the hot plate. “Fighting, mouthy, stealing from classmates.” She turned her giant chair back around to face the door and the computer, her kingdom. “And his father is a piece of work, clearly the apple doesn’t fall far from that particular tree. Mark my words: that boy is nothing but trouble.”

Mrs. Jordal taught fifth grade and had for about a hundred years. There wasn’t a problem or a type of kid she hadn’t seen a dozen times before. And Shelby really liked the fact that her class, no matter how many handful kids she had, was always calm. The kids were respectful.

It was tough at the beginning of every new year because something happened to kids between fourth and fifth grade. Some hormonal surge that made them all short-circuit. But by Thanksgiving, Mrs. Jordal had those kids in line.

Christmas break, however, caused some regression. Shelby took a deep breath, girding her loins, before she walked in.

“Hello, class,” she said as she entered the room. All the kids looked up from the free reading they’d been doing and some of them answered her. Some waved. Scott and John whispered behind their hands. One boy in the back with shaggy red hair blinked, slowly and worried-seeming.

Oh no, his expression said, before he schooled it into a predictable but ill-fitting sneer, not another new thing.

His whole vibe screamed “new kid.”

Mrs. Jordal stood from behind her desk and walked over, limped actually. She needed hip replacement surgery but was being stubborn about it. “Hello, Ms. Monroe,” she said. “Welcome back.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Jordal. Anything exciting in the fifth grade in the new year?”

“We have a new student.” “That’s what I heard.” “Casey?”

The redhead waved with one flip of his hand. Funny, that hormonal surge inspired all of the kids to walk that line between being respectful and being sent to the principal’s office to varying degrees. Even the good kids started fifth grade with a little attitude.

This kid was really trying hard to seem like a badass. “Nice to meet you, Casey.” Shelby set down her coffee and bag beside Mrs. Jordal’s desk, in front of the Regions of America bulletin board. “I thought, in honor of our new student . . .” Every eye in the classroom went to Casey and he shrank down in his seat, glowering. “We’re going to start on a new project today and it’s going to last for the next three weeks. It’s called Things About Me.” From her bag she took the stapled packets of paper and began to hand them out. “You get three images, but no words, to convey what you know to be true about yourself.”

“About anything?” Jessica Adams asked. She honestly looked terrified at the idea. Jessica was a girl who needed to be told what to draw. Most of the kids did, but that was the fun part of fifth grade—they were just beginning to realize they had ideas of their own. Largely inappropriate, but the ideas were tied more to identity than ever before.

“Anything.”

“Like I know this is lame?” Scott Maxwell said, and John James high-fived him.

“If you think that’s true, sure.” She gave Scott the packet of papers and then stood next to him for a moment, her hand on his shoulder. Scott had been in her summer art camp for three years in a row and was doing an after-school class on Thursdays, working in clay. He was a good kid and she liked him as much as she imagined he liked her. The poor kid was just short- circuiting. “But you have to figure out how to draw it. How to convey it without using any words.”

A couple of the kids started to groan, realizing how hard this was going to be.

She took out two examples and taped them to the blackboard with masking tape.

“What do you think these mean?” she asked.

One was a picture she’d drawn in the manner of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. She stood in a field surrounded by beautiful swirls and explosions of color and texture. The other was a picture of her Art Barn, filled with kids who were part human, part foxes, all mischief.

“Is that me?” Scott asked, pointing to one of the kids in her picture.

She squinted at the picture. “You know, I do see a resemblance.”

“Are you saying we’re all animals?” “Not exactly.”

“She’s saying you’re all foxes,” Casey said.

She smiled at Casey, who beamed at her attention before he remembered he had a sneer he was trying to make stick.

I’m on to you, she thought, and felt that surge of affection she always felt when she saw past the too big veneer of the “problem kids.”

“Why do you think I picked foxes?” “Why do you think you picked foxes?”

Shelby blinked, not at his tone, but the way he’d re- phrased the question. She wondered if Casey with the shaggy red hair and freckles, slouching in his chair as if at the advanced age of eleven he’d seen it all, had spent some time with a psychiatrist.

“Because you’re all sly and mischievous and looking for trouble,” she answered. “But you’re still cute.”

“What about the other one?” Jessica asked.

The room was silent and Shelby turned to look at the picture again. The figure in the middle was clearly her, even though she’d drawn herself from the back. The blue tee shirt she wore said Art Barn across the shoulders, and any kid who took a class out at the barn got the exact same shirt.

“Art is everywhere?” Jessica asked, giving it her best shot.

“You need to get your eyes checked?” Scott said.

She bent forward, to look him in the eye. “Do we need to have a conversation in the hallway?” she whispered, and he blanched, shaking his head.

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GIVEAWAY

Three winners will receive an ebook copy of Wild Child and Never Been Kissed. 

Title: Beauty and the Mustache 

(Knitting in the City #4) 
Author: Penny Reid
Genre: Romance, Humour
Release Date: 9 Sept 2014

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Why am I waiting on this? - I'm a big fan of Penny Reid and I've heard and loved all her books in the Knitting in the City series. The heroine in this installment, Ashley, is a bookaholic, so I already like her. And according to Penny's Pinterest, her character inspiration for the hero includes Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy TV series), Travis Fimmel (Viking TV series) and Ben Dahlhaus (male model) - now that's what I call irresistible. Now, I can't wait to meet Drew in September :)

Step right up and meet Jay Fields: Illusionist. Mentalist. Trickster.

I think in triangles. You think in straight lines.

I show you a table and make you believe it’s a chair.

Smoke and mirrors, sleight of hand, misdirection. I trick and deceive

But most of all, I put on a good show.

The world thinks I killed a man, but I didn’t. Bear with me. It’s all a part of the plan.

Revenge is what I want. I want it for me and I want it for her.
I want it for all six of us.

She doesn’t remember me, but she’s the reason for everything. She’ll be my prize at the end of all this – if I can hold onto my willpower, that is. Maybe I’ll slip up a little, have a taste, just a small one.

So go ahead and pick a card. Come inside and see the show. Look at my hands, look so closely that you can’t see what’s happening while you’re so focused on looking. I’ll be destroying your world from right here in the spotlight.

You’ll never see me coming until it’s too late.

I’ve only got one heart, and after I’ve pulled off my grand deception I’ll hand it right to her.

So, sit back, relax, and let my girl tell you our story. You’re in for one hell of a ride.

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Excerpt

Making my way down the narrow staircase that leads out of the building and onto the street, I bump into a tall man with golden-brown hair. I wouldn’t normally notice a man’s hair so specifically, but this guy has some serious style going on. It’s cut tight at the sides and left long on the top, kind of like a sexy villain in a movie set in the 1920s. I stare up at him, wide-eyed. He’s wearing a very nice navy suit with a leather satchel bag slung over his shoulder. Even though it was the first thing I noticed, his hair pales in comparison to the wonder that is his face. I don’t think I’ve ever been up close to such a handsome example of the male species in my life. 

Why can’t men like this write to me online? I ponder dejectedly. 

Because men like this don’t even know the meaning of the term “socially awkward,” my brain answers. 

My five-foot-something stares up at his six-foot-whatever, and I think to myself, what’s a prize like you doing in a dive like this? Actually, now that I’m looking at him, he does seem vaguely familiar, but I can’t put my finger on where I’ve seen him before. 

Probably on the pages of a fashion magazine, if his looks are anything to go by. 

If it hasn’t already been deduced from the fact that I can’t even find a date using the romantic connection slut that is the Internet, then I’ll spell it out. I’m useless with men, and I’m talking all men. Even the nice approachable fellows. And I’m not looking at a nice approachable fellow right now. I’m looking at a “chew you up and spit you out” tiger. 

Rawr. 

Since the entrance to the building is so narrow, we have to skirt around each other. I give him a hesitant smile and a shrug. His eyes sparkle with some kind of hidden knowledge as he lets me pass, like beautiful people know the meaning of the universe and are amused by us ordinary folks who have to bumble along in the dark. 

I’m just about to step out the door when the tiger starts to speak. “I’m looking for Brandon Solicitors. Do you know if I have the right place?” 

I step back inside. 

He sounds like Mark Wahlberg when he’s letting his Southie roots all hang out. His deep American accent makes me want to close my eyes and savour the sound. But I don’t do that – because I’m not a complete psycho. 

“Yeah, this is the place. I work here, actually. I’m the secretary slash receptionist slash general dogsbody. It’s my dad’s firm,” I reply. Too much information, Matilda. Too. Much. Information. 

The tiger smiles, making him better-looking, if that’s even possible. And thankfully, he doesn’t comment on my fluster. “I have an appointment with Hugh Brandon at nine. I’m Jay,” he says, and takes a step closer to hold his hand out to me. My back hits the wall, his tall frame dwarfing mine. I don’t think he realises just how narrow this space is, and now I can smell his cologne. Wow, it’s not often that I get close enough to a man to smell him. And Jay Fields smells indecently good. 

“Ah, right. Jay Fields. Yeah, I have you pencilled in. You can go on upstairs, and Dad will take care of you,” I reply, shaking his hand and letting go quickly so that he doesn’t notice my sweatacular palms. “I’ve got an errand to run.” 

He stares at me for a long moment, like his eyes are trying to take in my every feature, but that can’t be right. When he finally responds, it’s a simple, “I won’t keep you, then, Matilda.” 

God. Why does the way he says “keep you” in that deep voice have to make my heart flutter? It’s been literally thirty seconds, and I’m already well on my way to developing a crush. He makes some keen eye contact with me, then turns and continues up the stairs to the office. I’m already on the street when I realise I hadn’t offered my name, and yet he knew.

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Giveaway

This is a giveaway for a signed copy of the book and will remain open for 24 hours only.

Power. Brute strength. Unforgettable moves. It’s no wonder Harper Gates hasn’t been able to get her fling with Gage “Savage” Ringer out of her head. Months have passed since she laid eyes—or any other body parts—on him. Months without a word of contact… until, sidelined by injury, he comes back to town.

Staying focused on his training seemed like a smart move to Gage, even if he thought about Harper every day. Seeing her again only makes it clear how much is at stake. He’s got one night to earn back her trust. One night to show her that behind his breathtaking skill and ripped body is a man who’ll give her everything she needs.

This is a short novella introducing us to the world of the fighters who will be featured in Ultimate, the new series by Lori Foster. 

It was sweet, light read about Cage and Harper finally coming together and admitting their feelings. Cage was not your typical bad boy fighter, all cocky and self-confident. He was a bit shy, keeping his feelings (for Harper and in general) to himself. His insecurities and his attempts to mentally sort through his relationship with Harper made him seem real and easy to relate to which made me really like him.

Harper was pretty great herself. She was determined to act on her attraction to Cage, to make the first step, even if she was by nature more reserved and has always been too much of Ms Goody two shoes to act naughty. Like Cage, all her behaviour made her seem genuine and very likable. She had an easy friendship with the other fighters and devoted time to help in the gym. Her attitude towards Cage was nothing simple - she loved him, yet she was afraid he might not share her feelings, she wanted to be with him, yet she was worried of being a burden for him in his professional development as a fighter.

These two good people were in love with each other but they needed some help to get together and naturally, the rest of the fighters were only to happy to step in. The easy camaraderie among the guys in the gym and their good-natured ribbing of Cage and Harper and especially, the priceless advice of Armie (I'm already looking forward to his story) was fun to read. 

Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it features books that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

Author: Cara McKenna
Genre: Romance, Bikers
Release Date: 5 August 2014


Pre-order: B&N / Amazon

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Why am I waiting for this? - One, I've a couple of Cara McKenna's previous books and I really enjoy the way she writes erotic romances. Second, I have a soft spot for biker stories and I hope this will be a good one. I already have an ARC for review and I can't wait to get to it.

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here are the rules:

After some absence I'm back with the Teaser Tuesday Meme. Today I want to share a few sentences (it's a longish excerpt but it's really powerful one) that I stuck with me for a while after I finished Shied of Winter by Nalini Singh. It's book 13 her Psy-Changeling series and I published my 4-star review of it on the blog last week.

Love was a concept of which Vasic had no comprehension, though he knew how to recognize the signs of it in others. Learning the subtle physical cues that betrayed emotional bonds had been part of his training, intended to give him tools he could use to exploit targets from the emotional races. He didn't, however, actually understand what it was any more than a trained animal understood the words spoken to it. 

He could ask Judd to explain it to him, but he suspected he simply didn't have the correct emotional foundations to comprehend the explanation.

Shield of Winter

(Psy-Changeling #13)

Nalini Singh

Synopsis

Assassin. Soldier. Arrow. That is who Vasic is, who he will always be. His soul drenched in blood, his conscience heavy with the weight of all he’s done, he exists in the shadows, far from the hope his people can almost touch—if only they do not first drown in the murderous insanity of a lethal contagion. To stop the wave of death, Vasic must complete the simplest and most difficult mission of his life. 

For if the Psy race is to survive, the empaths must wake…

Having rebuilt her life after medical “treatment” that violated her mind and sought to stifle her abilities, Ivy should have run from the black-clad Arrow with eyes of winter frost. But Ivy Jane has never done what she should. Now, she'll fight for her people, and for this Arrow who stands as her living shield, yet believes he is beyond redemption. But as the world turns to screaming crimson, even Ivy’s fierce will may not be enough to save Vasic from the cold darkness…

My Top Ten Favorite TV Shows

Sons of Anarchy - I love this show and despite the ending of the previous season which broke my heart, I can't wait for the final season, starting this autumn. #TeamJax

Title: Shield of Winter (Psy-Changeling # 13)
Author: Nalini Singh
Date of publication: 3 June 2014
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Shapeshifters

Author's links: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads


My rating: 4 Stars

For if the Psy race is to survive, the empaths must wake…

Having rebuilt her life after medical “treatment” that violated her mind and sought to stifle her abilities, Ivy should have run from the black-clad Arrow with eyes of winter frost. But Ivy Jane has never done what she should. Now, she'll fight for her people, and for this Arrow who stands as her living shield, yet believes he is beyond redemption. But as the world turns to screaming crimson, even Ivy’s fierce will may not be enough to save Vasic from the cold darkness…

Review

The Psy-Changeling is by far the best PNR series that I've read. I love everything about it - the complex world building, the hot and tender love stories, the humour, the action, the political intrigues, all this is presented in a captivating, sensual writing style of Ms Singh.

The previous book, Heart of Obisian, brought a sort of closure, Silence has fallen and the Psy Council no longer exits but in the new world the Psy race is faced with a dangerous infection spreading on the Net which could mean the end of their race.

This installment of the series focuses on the struggles of the Psy to save themselves from total madness and violence and the unlikely saviors - the Arrows and the Empaths. We got to see more and more of the Arrows in the previous two books and finally, here the hero is one of the most intriguing and damaged Arrows himself, Vasic. Taking the task to guard the empaths brings him to the door step of Ivy - who proves to be his own salvation.

The attraction between them is instant but their romance is slow and their discover sensual pleasure, joy and ultimately lvoe, step by step. Ivy reminded a lot of Sascha, since both are empaths, they have a lot in common - they are both vibrant, full of live, emotions, opposite of the Arrows and Vasic, in particular. He is nothing like Lucas, unfamiliar with love, tenderness, care but with a deep protective instinct. His transformation from total numbness, from deperate to hopeful to joyful was a pleasure to read. 

They discovered touch and pleasure together, using manuals and the sex talk Vasic had with Judd is one of the highlights of the book for me. Like a true soldier - he thought thing s through, studied them in-depth - he applied logic and practice and repetion to love and feelings, since this ws was the only way he knew how to function.

I really lvoed the romance in this book but I was not very happy with some plot developments. I liked seeing some of the couples from the previous books but I expected Sascha and Lucas to be much more involved in this story. I didn't care much about Kaleb and Sahara and since their story was already covered in the previous book, I felt their scenes here didn't add anything new to the story. There is also an episode with Hawke and Sienna discussing the situation with Ming but I felt it was out of place since the Ming issue was not resolved in this book.

I enjoyed the parallel secondary romance between Jaya and Abbott and would have loved it to have been further developed. I also very much liked Aden and his presence in this book as Vasic's best friend, together with Zie Zen who added yet another dimension to Vasic and his past. 

I was not particularly happy with how much attention was devoted to the problems with Vasic's gauntlet and it being presented as yet another obstacle before him and Ivy. I feel more focus should have been given to finding a way to cure the infection in the Net since it posed the main conflict in the story and yet it was far too simply and quickly resolved. 

The ending was all kinds of heartwarming and sweet and I loved it. Despite some issues I had with the plot, I still enjoyed Vasic and Ivy's romance a lot and I think the fans of the series will love this book as well. 

Purchase links: 

Ibook / Kindle / Kobo / Nook / Penguin

Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it features books that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

Title: Sway