Title: Lily Love
Author: Maggi Myers
Expected Release: July 1st, 2014
Monday, January 27, 2014
Friday, January 24, 2014
Game Changer by Paula Marinaro
Game Changer by Paula MarinaroMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I LOVED THIS AND CANT WAIT TO READ MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR....
OMG This is an awesome read
View all my reviews
Friday, January 17, 2014
Cover Reveal
Title: Lost Without You (Lost #2.5)
Author: BJ Harvey
Expected Release: Jan 30th
Hosted by: The Book
Avenue
Long before he moved to New York to protect Elle Halliwell, Shay McCarron felt like
a drifter.
Working with his best friend, Brax, he took whatever job he could get to survive
until mob boss, Victor Bertorelli, offered them both the opportunity of a lifetime, a
life line.
Now working security and close protection for some of Georgia’s richest families,
the boys are living the high life. High profile jobs, nights of easy women, and copious
alcohol...with their very lucrative, if not slightly illegal occupation, the boys think
they’re sitting pretty.
Brenna, the youngest daughter of mob boss, Victor Bertorelli, hates her family’s mob
ties, their morals, the whole damn thing. She wants to get as far away from them and
the notorious Bertorelli name as she can.
Until the blonde haired, green eyed, cocky as hell Shay storms into her life and
succeeds in capturing her attention, and her heart.
Unfortunately, it’s the very world they live in that will tear them apart
forever.
Get to know the history of the best friend who gave his all in the highly acclaimed
Lost series.
Shay
After waiting ten minutes in Victor’s kitchen, and another ten minutes in my car
as it rumbled loudly in the driveway, the princess is finally seated in the black
leather bucket seat beside me, arms crossed and looking none too happy about her
predicament.
“You going to sit there and pout like a spoiled brat not getting her own way, or you
actually going to talk to me?” I look over at the raven haired woman in my passenger
seat who still has my groin tight and my breath lost.
She looks my way and scowls. “I don’t even know your name! And anyway, why
would I want to talk to one of my father’s underlings who probably doesn’t know his
head from his ass? Hell, even your hot ass muscle car is probably paid for with dirty
fucking money.” She smirks, and I see it—that spark. The fire that I saw burning in
her eyes this morning when we met.
I stop at an intersection and wait for the traffic lights to change. “Seems there are a
few things we need to clear up, cupcake. My name is Shay, and this hot ass muscle
car is mine and mine alone. No dirty fucking money involved. And I can assure you
right now, I definitely know my head from my ass. You know what else?” I lean in
towards her ear. “I also know where your ass and head are, and right now one is
stuck so far up the other, it’s a wonder you don’t need breath mints.”
BJ Harvey is the Amazon Bestselling Author of The Bliss Romantic Comedy Series
and The Lost Romantic and The Lost Romantic Suspense Series. An avid music fan, you will always find
her with headphones when writing, and the speakers blaring the rest of the time.
She’s a wife, a mom to two beautiful children, and a full-time university student. BJ
resides with her family in what she considers the best country in the world—New
Lost in Distraction Purchase Links:
Lost For You Purchase Links:
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Cover Reveal-Then There Was You by Melanie Dawn
Chris King never saw it coming…
In some ways, closing the book on my first love was the worst day
of life. I was gutted, and yet I was completely at peace with my
decision. I walked away knowing that I did what was best for her,
unsure if I could ever recover. Little did I know that one concert
would change the entire course of my life. There I stood, signing
autographs and snapping pictures with fans when a familiar face
in the crowd catapulted my mind back in time—Salem Honeycutt,
once a balm to my pain and a calm in my storm. Yet again, her
smiling face gave me hope. Only one question remained: did she
still see me as a wayward teenage boy who was completely off
limits, or could she see the man I'd become…focused and driven,
yearning for another chance at love?
For Salem Honeycutt, postpartum bliss seemed like a lie...
No one told me that I’d hate my baby when I brought her home
from the hospital. No one told me that I’d want to put a pillow
over my husband’s head and smother him in his sleep. No one told
me that I’d want to slap every person who gave me the ever-so-
cliché advice to ‘cherish every moment.’ No one told me that I’d
despise my life the minute I became a mother, but I did. Then I
met Chris King, the kid who made me want to pull myself up from
the dark recesses of my mind and face each day. This kid, whose
passion for life and talent for music, touched my soul deeper
than I could ever touch his. Chris gave me a reason to live. I was
once affectionately known as Mrs. H., Chris’s juvenile detention
counselor. This is our story.
Melanie Dawn is a thinker, a dreamer, and a hopeless romantic.
When her head isn't in the clouds, she spends her time as a jack
of all trades to her family. Melanie resides in the hills of North
Carolina with her husband, her three children, and her cat. She
enjoys lazy summer afternoons cruising around the lake on the
pontoon boat with her family.
Melanie graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in
Psychology and earned her MA in School Counseling from
Appalachian State University. She spent the first six years after
graduate school as a middle school counselor. Those were years
she deems as some of the best years of her life. That is, until she
had children of her own. The last seven years have been spent as
a stay-at-home mom. She has learned some tough life lessons,
like what the inner absorbent pellets of a diaper look like scattered
in the washing machine. She has also learned the strength of the
willpower of a two year old lacking a nap. Through it all, Melanie
has learned how to roll with the punches and appreciate the time
she has been able to spend at home with her children.
Now that her last child has started Kindergarten, Melanie is ready
to add a new chapter in her life. That chapter begins with her debut
novel—So Much It Hurts.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
It All Started with a Lima Bean
It All Started With a Lima Bean by Kimi FloresMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
OMG, this has got to be one of the sweetest stories I have ever read. It has made me laugh cry and then laugh some more.
I was given this book in preparation for an ARC from this series and o boy was I surprised. This was so sweetly romantic I loved it.
This is a story that starts out sad but ends greatly.
Caleb is a single father who loses his wife and is struggling to get his life together for the sake of his daughter, Abby is a woman who has had a little trouble with men growing up. Madison is the cutest daughter ever.
This story has family,friends and love, life and a little bit of drama all rolled into a sweet story.
Can't wait till the next installment...
View all my reviews
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Cover reveal
Title: An Exceptional Twist (Intertwined Hearts #2)
Author: Kimi Flores
Release Date: Jan. 30th, 2013
Hosted By: The Book Avenue
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Undeniable by Emma L. Smith
Undeniable by Emma L SmithMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I received this book in exchange for my review...
This book was so good. I was hooked in the first couple of pages. At first I thought this was going to be some book when the woman is mistreated and leaves her husband and falls for the really cute guy at the office who has been pining for her for almost 7 yrs and just wants to be with her because he secretly loves her and would do anything to have her and show her how valuable she really is. O wait that is exactly what this book was about and I loved every page LOL
This is a story about Kate and her journey from a life that could be so much better than what it is for her right now. Cole is the man of her dreams(if she was being honest with herself) and he has wanted her for so long but respected that fact that she was married until one day he sees her at her desk without her skirt(LOL) She has a deadbeat husband who does nothing all day while she works.
This was a very good read and I am glad I discovered this wonderful author!
View all my reviews
Wide Open
My mouth tasted like vomit. That wasn't unusual. The arm
creeping over my middle wasn't unusual either nor the way I felt
completely repulsed and sick. I worked so hard, drinking, doing
any drug that I could get my hands on, sleeping with any girl that
looked in my direction and didn't slap me for my foul mouth as I
told her all the things I wanted to do to her. Slurred, really.
I knew it wouldn't be long until Mason was there to pick me
up. The small get-togethers, he wouldn't get wind of, but the big
ones, he always came and tried to save me. It had been about a
month since I'd seen him. He just didn't get it. I didn't want to be
saved.
At least, not at first.
I hated him. I hated him with every fiber of my being for what
he did to Mom. I couldn't stand to look at him let alone live with
the bastard. So I started going out all the time just to get away
from him, only seeing Mom during the day when I skipped school
and Mason was at work.
But she never remembered me the right way, so it was
pointless to keep seeing her. I just tortured myself by staying
there and I wouldn't feel guilty for leaving. Finally, I spent so much
time away that it felt like I didn't live there anyway and stopped
going home.
Mason texted me so much that I eventually just tossed my
cell out of the window of my friend's car one night. They laughed
and laughed, whooping and telling me how free I was. We
smoked enough dope to chill for the next day and a half. I never
went back to school after that. I never went back home either.
Why would I? No one understood me, no one really cared
about me. They all just wanted me to 'make something of myself'.
But how can you do that when you don't even know the
parts that make you up, the parts that make you you, the parts
that piece together and make you feel whole. I hadn't felt whole in
a really long time. I felt older than I was. I may be a seventeen
year old, but inside I felt like I was fifty.
The girl next to me groaned and dug her nails into my side
just a little. "What time is it?" her raspy voice breathed against my
shoulder.
I leaned over the side of the bed and lifted my phone from
my pants pocket. My new cell was dead. "Don't know. Does it
matter?"
"I have to work tomorrow." She yawned and stretched.
I started to get up, but she grabbed my arm. I winced at the
burn on the inside of my elbow. I looked down at it, seeing the
bruising from the needles under her finger tips.
"I'm outta here." I shook her hand off.
"Wait. Why so eager to get away?" She rolled over on her
stomach, her naked behind peeking out from the sheet, her feet
swinging back and forth in the air. "You weren't so eager to leave
earlier."
I scoffed. "Passing out and wanting to stay are not the same
thing."
"Sometimes they are. Sometimes it just doesn't matter." She
watched as I zipped my jeans, commando. "I'll cook you
breakfast," she bribed.
I paused. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd eaten. I
was so thin that I had to belt my pants to keep them up. I always
crashed wherever I was or with a friend, ate whatever came my
way, but sometimes it didn't come very often. For all intents and
purposes, I was homeless, but had yet to sleep outside.
At her mention of food, my stomach decided to throw a
fit. "What do you want for it?"
"Got any blow?"
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the little
baggie. "Some."
"Split it with me," she said, biting her lip and sitting to let the
sheet fall away. I stared at her chest since she was offering the
view. She slithered up to me, unzipping my pants as she pressed
her lips to my ear and said, "Come back to bed for a while, we'll
hit the blow, and after, I'll make you some eggs."
"Why do you want me to stay?" I asked, not really caring,
but wondering why she was offering me more sex and breakfast.
"Because," she pushed my pants down my hips, "my
parents will be gone 'til tomorrow morning and there's nothing
better than sex after a hit."
I watched as she took the baggie from me with her fake
nails. She leaned forward and kissed my cheek before dipping
her pinkie nail in and sniffing the little she took up her nose. She
put her finger back in the bag and I took it, rubbing what was left
of the powder on my gums.
Normally, I would have bolted, but I didn't have anywhere
else to go anyway. The promise of food was almost as satisfying
as the sex I was about to have.
She set up the lines and after we did them, one after the
other, she pushed me down on the bed and straddled me. I rolled
with the drugged ecstasy that crawled slowly through my veins as
she groaned and moaned on top of me.
And that was how Mason found me.
The door opened and my head fuzzed over as I turned to
look at him. His eyes locked on mine before he turned away, but
not before I saw the disgust on his face. I gripped the girls hips to
make her stop since someone coming into the room wasn't a
clear enough cue for her. I pushed her off onto the bed and sat
up, scooting to the edge.
I stared at his back in the doorframe. "Leave. I don't need
you here."
"You do, Milo," he said before turning. He looked and he
saw all there was left of me. I suddenly felt like I was wide open
for him to see it all, for him to see all the rot and gore inside me.
He shook his head, his eyes searching my face. "God, help me.
You do need me."
I scowled. "No, I-"
"Milo…when's the last time you ate something?" He rubbed
his hair. I noticed how good he looked. He looked like he'd gained
some weight, the good kind. His arms and torso were bigger, new
tattoos peeking out from his shirt sleeves. I realized it had been
weeks since I'd seen him.
I stood and yanked my jeans on, spitting my words, hating
how good he looked, knowing that he was happy with that girl
that I'd seen before. "None of your fu-"
"Milo!" he scolded, just as a hand crawled around his arm.
The girl - his girl - looked around him, the sympathy pouring off
her in droves as she looked at me. He touched her arm, his
fingers caressing, smoothing. He looked back at me. "Don't use
that filthy mouth with Emma here."
She gulped as she looked at me. Her eyes lingered on my
stomach before she looked up at my face. She smiled, just
barely. "I've got some hot coffee in the car if you like mocha," she
offered.
He looked at her again as she came to his side. They barely
fit in the doorframe together. He circled her waist with his arm,
looking strung out and guilty. It angered me that he felt like he
deserved her or anything else that would make him
happy. "Trying to lure me out with hot coffee," I mused
angrily. "Wow, Mason. Getting the girl to do your dirty work for
you."
"Milo," he snapped.
"It's my coffee," she smoothed over, "but you're welcome to
it. I haven't drank any yet."
She rubbed his chest and he sighed. He looked at me again,
renewed determination in his eyes. "Let us take you to get some
food at least. Anything you want."
"No." I searched for my shirt and tugged it on roughly. I
realized it was inside-out too late, but left it. I didn't care.
"Come on, Milo. You can still hate me, but do it while you're
eating something." I gave him a droll look. "Milo…you look like
hell, bro."
"Aw, thanks," I sneered.
"I'm serious," he said quietly. "Please, Milo."
He begged me. He had never begged before, just ordered
me around, dragging me to my room, and then I'd sneak out
before he woke up. He'd never tried to feed me before.
"Come with us, Milo," his girl asked. "There's an omelet
place five minutes from here that's pretty amazing."
I gritted my teeth. I didn't want his charity. As if she read my
mind his girl said, "I'm buying."
She smiled and tilted her head. I sighed, sticking my dirty-
socked feet inside my boots without tying them. "Whatever. I eat,
then I'm out." I looked over at them and glared. "Don't try to stop
me from leaving."
"We won't," she insisted. She rubbed Mason's arm and
looked up at him sadly. She looked as if she were about to cry. I
had no idea why. It couldn't be for me. I didn't even know this
chick.
I lead the way from the room. The girl I'd left on the bed
yelled something at us. I could tell she was mad, not
understanding what was going on, but I just kept walking. I was
pissed, really, because she had gotten my last hit and I hadn't
gotten off before Mason interrupted us.
Mason's car wasn't parked on the street. I looked for it, but
blondie passed me and went to a big truck in the driveway. He
got a new truck? How the heck did he have money for that?
I didn't say a word as I climbed into the backseat. She
handed me the coffee and I snatched it from her hands, tossing
the lid off, and gulping it down. It burned my tongue and lips, but
my fogged brain was past the point of caring or stopping. As I
finished it, I watched as she scooted all the way over to press
against his side. They whispered things back and forth that I
couldn't hear. The drive was short. Blondie had been right about
that. We piled into a booth in the back, them on one side and me
on the other, and I didn't even pick up the menu.
It pissed me off just smelling the food. My stomach growled
so loud and hard it hurt. I was cold and rubbed my neck. When
the waitress came, I ordered a root beer and a western omelet
with cheese and hashbrowns. Mason ordered the same and the
girl got waffles.
Before an awkward silence could settle in, she started
talking. "I'm Emma, by the way." She smiled. I stared at their
intertwined hands on the tabletop. Mason had never had a
girlfriend before, really. He wasn't the touchy-feely type either. I
was oddly fascinated at the way his thumb ran over her knuckles,
over and over.
"Hi, Emma," I spouted sarcastically and let my gaze settle
on her face instead.
She was one of those girls who was gorgeous by design and
didn't even have to try. Her eyes, her nose, her cheeks. They all
seemed to fit so perfectly. Her lips - they were Mason's favorite
thing, other than her legs, which I knew were his absolute
favorite. He'd always been a legs man. And she had some nice
twigs on her, from what I'd seen. I settled my eyes lower on the
barely-there sliver of cleavage that peeked from her top.
It was the first time I'd seen a girl blush in what felt like
years. The girls I kept company with didn't blush. They were
beyond that point, beyond the level that allowed them to feel
embarrassed about sexual things. They'd done it all.
This girl… I shook my head and smirked at Mason. "Not
sampled the goods yet, brother? She's mighty skittish."
"Shut your face, Milo," he stood and growled.
I was actually taken aback a little. This was as worked up as
I'd ever seen him. And over a girl of all things? Holy crap. He was
in love with this chick. I felt my hatred soften a little before
snapping it back in place. I rubbed my neck again on that itchy,
cold spot.
"Whoa, Nelly," I joked. "Calm the eff down. It was just an
observation."
I laughed. It sounded strange even to my ears. It sounded
like a sick person's laugh. I glanced at Emma and actually felt a
little bad at the embarrassed way she tucked her hair behind her
ears. I squinted. Was there a story there that I didn't know?
"I'm Milo," I mocked. "Nice to meet you, princess."
"We've met before and you know it," she countered easily.
"Yeah," I muttered and rubbed my cold neck. "I remember.
You held my hair back as I puked." I laughed condescendingly.
"Basically." She smiled, not falling for my ploys to piss her
off. "You're welcome, by the way."
I didn't respond to the beauty queen. I just pointlessly
stirred my root beer. She was beautiful to the point of distraction,
sweet and annoying all wrapped up in one, and I could tell that
she had my brother wrapped around her finger whether she knew
it or not.
And it pissed me off. Mason shouldn't be so freaking happy.
And he was, I could tell. He watched her when she wasn't
looking. His entire presence shifted when she did. The waitress
brought our food soon thankfully, and just as I was taking a bite, I
saw the ring on Emma's finger.
"You're getting married?" I heard my gravelly voice say.
Emma pulled her hands off the table into her lap, as if
unsure if I was supposed to know that. Mason lifted his arm
around her shoulder and pulled her close, kissing her temple. It
shocked the hell out of me how much I wanted to be happy for
him.
"Yeah," he said low. "I asked Emma to marry me."
I didn’t ask when or how. I didn’t care.
"And she said yes," he continued harder.
"That's great," I spouted sarcastically with a mouthful of food.
"And mom's doing fine, too, by the way."
"I didn't ask," I growled and took another bite. I could see I
was going to have to get out of here so the food-shoveling kicked
up a notch.
"She has a nurse that comes and helps take care of her. I
work with her every day on her exercises, but she still can't walk.
She and Emma get along great, too. Emma was one of my
patients and lost her memory as well."
I jerked my gaze up to the beauty queen. She was watching
me with parted lips, her eyes practically begging me to give in to
Mason and stop the feud. I wondered if she knew what Mason
had done, how Mason had-
Mason leaned forward and glared as he barked, "Don't look
at her like that. And yes, I told her all about me. How I'm the devil
that destroyed your life and Mamma's. How I killed my best
friend." She gripped his arm, tugging on it and pleading with him
to stop. "She knows it all."
They stared at each other and I believed him that they had
talked about it. It looked like they had talked about it plenty, in
fact, but I could also tell that she kissed his boo-boos and made
him think that it was all OK.
But it wasn't.
I chugged my root beer and grabbed both pieces of toast,
wrapped them in a napkin and stuck them in my pocket, scooting
down the bench seat. "I'm out here."
"Will you just eat, Milo," Mason said in exasperation. "I'm not
going to make you come home. Just eat."
"You couldn't make me," I spat. I stood and leaned right in
his face with my palms on the table. "Always trying to run my life.
Good ol' Mason." I saw him flinch slightly at that. He stood, too,
licking his lips angrily in an attempt to calm himself. "I hate you so
much. You killed our mother."
"Our mother is alive," he replied loudly.
People in the restaurant were now privy to our conversation,
but I went even louder. "What she is isn't alive! When she doesn't
even remember me?"
"She remembers you," he countered.
"Not in the right way."
"She remembers you in the most important way. In the only
way that truly matters."
"What could be worse than her not remembering me as I
am?"
"Not remembering you at all," Emma said, barely. She
looked up, her eyes dark. "When I woke up from my coma, I didn't
remember anyone. Not my parents, or my friends, even the guy I
had been dating. I still don't." Mason sighed as if all of this was
exhausting. "It could be worse, Milo. She could not remember you
at all."
"Doesn't matter," I steamed ahead, unwilling to let them
deter me. "The fact is that you ruined my mom. It's pointless to
even go see her because she won't remember that I've been
there."
"Doesn't matter," he spouted back at me. "Doesn't negate
the fact that you should come see her."
"Ooh," I mocked. "Using big words on little high school drop-
out Milo. Whatever."
I turned to go, scratching my cold neck and feeling the
rawness of my skin begin to set in. He grabbed my arm and
before I knew it, I was looking at Mason holding his jaw as he
leaned back against the table. Emma fussed over the blood
coming from his lip with insistent ministrations with a napkin. I
hadn't even realized I hit him until my hand started to ache. The
entire diner was watching us with these looks of disgust on their
faces. Well, they were watching me.
I shook out my fingers, wincing but not regretting it. I turned
to go once more and heard Mason from behind me. "I love
you, bro." That stopped me in my tracks. I didn't turn around. "I
love you and I know that you won't ever forgive me. It took me a
long time to forgive me, too. I would still hate me if Emma hadn't
come along and showed me that I couldn't blame myself forever.
It was an accident, nothing but. I not only lost my best friend that
day because he wouldn't listen to me and drove anyway, and my
mom, the way she was, but I lost you, too. I take care of Mom; I
became a physical therapist to take care of her. But you, I don't
know what to do for you, Milo. I don't know how to help you. If you
ever need anything or want to come home, the door's always
wide open. Always. I love you, even if you can't love me back."
I hated the fact that he made me want to turn around, to
make-up and forget everything that happened.
I hated him. I hated all he'd done. I hated how he tried to
reconcile every time I saw him. And I hated that he was getting
this great, perfect little life with a wife and kids.
I didn't look back again as I weaved through the tables on
my way out. He yelled my name and something about giving me
some money. I should have taken it and would have had it been
anyone else. But I didn't want his money.
I walked for a long time to a friend's apartment over the Irish
Mug bar. Not only would he let me crash, but more than likely he
had some smoke he'd front me. After Mason's little haphazard
intervention, I needed it. I crossed the street to the bar and heard
the honking before seeing the bright lights. I raised my hand and
saw the car screeching to a stop right in front of me. He cursed
and honked. I flipped him off and kept walking across the road. I
heard him peel away as I climbed the stairs on the side of the
building for his apartment. The bar was hopping, the music was
so loud I couldn't even hear my footsteps up the stairs.
I knocked, but knew he couldn't hear me, so I tried the
handle. When it turned, I pushed it open. He had called me a few
times, but I never checked my messages. My phone was just a
drug ferry basically. I never used it except for making a drug buy
or find a friend's how to stay at because minutes cost too much
for someone who never had money. I had odd jobs sometimes,
but after you don't show up on time for a few days in a row, they
can you. That was the only way I could buy minutes and buy
weed on a regular basis. But usually, I floated until my next
paycheck, whenever that may be, and some friends would front
me some things if I didn't have the money.
But I was a little behind right now and owed a few people.
OK, a lot of people, and a lot of money. Even my friend I was
going to see had threatened to cut me off if I didn't pay him
something. I usually just avoided the ones I owed money to.
I'd gotten into the other side of the business a couple times,
but didn't sell much of it when I smoked it or snorted it instead. I
had my foot broken once for not paying up when they realized the
drugs were all gone and it was me who had used them.
I still walked with a little limp because I couldn't go to the
hospital without them calling Mason or my mom. So my friend put
a makeshift cast on me and I practically dragged the thing for a
few weeks.
Nikko's place was dark and I couldn't hear anything but the
noise below us. I turned the corner to find him on the couch,
some girl on his lap. I turned around to keep her naked behind
out of my sight. I heard him curse.
"Milo! What the hell, man?"
"Sorry, uh…" I peeked back, but it was still too soon and
turned back around. "I wanted to see if I could crash here."
"Damn it, Milo…" He kissed her, I heard the smacking, and
told her he'd see her later, that he needed to take care of
something. She walked by me and gave me a sullen look for
ruining her night. I turned to find him pulling a black wife-beater
on. "Dude, you can't just come in like that."
"I knocked. The music's too loud." I stuffed my hands into
my pockets. "Let me crash, OK?"
"Milo." He shook his head. "You look like a heap of hell,
man."
"That's because I haven't had anything all day and my nosey
brother wanted to flaunt his hot girlfriend in my face."
He sighed. "There's nothing wrong with getting lit on the
weekends and making a living off of selling, but you...you're not
just having fun anymore. You're hooked. You're hooked, messing
with deals you shouldn't, and people are looking for you." He took
a step forward, but looked at me sadly. "I tried to help you. I knew
you had it rough at home, but…you can't stay here, man. Go."
Oh. It wasn't sadness he had for me, it was pity.
"Just for the night," I begged.
"I can't." He gulped and leaned against the kitchen
bar. "Mikey's looking for you. And…so is Roz. Go. Now."
The curses piled in my head. I knew I owed him money, but
for him to start actively looking for me wasn't good for my health.
But I needed a place to stay and I needed…something,
anything to make me stop shaking and scratching. It felt like ants
were in my veins and he needed to give me something. "Fine," I
bit out. "Just…float me a J."
"You already owe me for ten joints, not to mention all the
blow and nuggets I fronted you."
He looked around, nervous as all get out. My brain was in a
fog. I didn't care if I slept on a bench outside. My friends usually
came through for me, but lately they seemed less eager to let me
stay. So fine, he could throw me out as long as he gave me
something to tie me over.
"I'm good for it. My brother said he'd give me some money
until I get back on my feet. I've got a job lined up starting next
week," I lied. "It's just…been bad lately. I'm under so much
stress."
"Classic druggie line," he scoffed. "Get out, Milo. The longer
you stay here, the worst you're making it for me." We heard a car
door outside and he sucked in a breath. "Go, man, now!"
I went to the window and peeked past the dingy blue curtain
that the previous tenant had left and saw one of the guys who
always set up my buys from Roz. I shook my head, backing
away, and looked at him to help me. "Go out the back. And don't
say I never did anything for you," he growled and went to the front
door. "Go!"
I ran, but as soon as I opened the back door, there was
another guy there. "You got Roz's money?" he asked.
I stalled and started the typical plea. "Well, I'll have it-"
He didn't wait for anything else. His fist connected to my jaw
and I heard the crunch, knowing it was hurt tomorrow, as I went
down. He followed me and gripped my collar in his fist before
slamming my cheek with his free fist. He beat on me for so long
and hard all over that I blacked out. I came out of it a couple
times, but it was so blurry and the haze of pain was thick. I could
never grasp onto reality.
No time passed at all for me. I closed my eyes and the next
time I opened them, I was in a hospital bed. No one was there
with me. It was a regular room, not the ER. I lifted my head to
survey the damage and immediately regretted that hasty
decision. My head hurt so badly, I thought I might black out again.
I pushed with my elbows and made myself sit up. I touched my
head to find a bandage, my eye was swollen, my lips all busted
up, and my jaw was so sore, it hurt to even touch it, let alone try
to open my mouth.
I remembered being brought there, the cops, they asked
questions…
I had to get out of there.
Right then, that was the only thing that truly mattered. I had
rolled over on Roz. I owed so much money to so many people,
but none of that mattered compared to the fact that I told the cops
Roz's operating spots and their names and everything. He was
going to kill me.
I had no idea how long I'd been in the hospital and the lack
of drugs made me way more lucid than the drug-induced stages I
usually resided in. There wasn't any morphine in that drip
because I hurt all over so badly, I thought I might vomit. The fact
that they hadn't given me any morphine made me realize that
they knew I was a…drug addict. There, OK, yes, if I didn't get
drugs every day, I felt like I'd crawl out of my own skin. So, yes, I
was addicted. And they knew it because they hadn't given me
anything to help with the pain.
And I knew I was in deep.
It hit me all at once as I yanked the needle out of my arm
how bad things had gotten. I'd ran myself into the ground. It had
been way too long since I hadn't had anything in my system and
my hands shook as I eased off the bed onto the floor. I tried to
yank the hospital band off, but I was too weak. The name on the
band read John Doe. So they didn't know who I was. I pulled on
my jeans from the back under the bed. My body ached so bad all
over, but I knew I had to get out of there.
Once all my clothes were on, I peeked out the blinds to see
an officer standing by my room. I cursed under my breath. That
was probably the only reason the Roz hadn't come after me. But
the cops wanted me for something, and I could guess it was for
me to roll over on Roz. They didn't just guard anybody; only the
people who they wanted something from.
I pushed the food cart to slam into the bed and then jumped
behind the door. When he opened it, like I knew he would, I
waited until he came into the room. He cursed and moved
forward, bending to look under the bed. I scooted behind him
around the door and acted as normal as I could as I walked down
the hall. I heard him on his radio as he said that the suspect was
missing. Then he argued with them that he'd been by the door the
whole time. I turned into the first stairwell I saw and took them as
quickly as I could. I heard them coming from the lower floor and
stopped. I could hear the crackle of a radio, so I jumped through
the door with a peeling number four on it.
It led to an alcove in the hall and I waited for them to go up
as they passed. When it was quiet, I opened the door slowly and
crept my way down the stairs, out of the hospital, and into the
street.
I didn't know where I was going, but I knew I had to get
away. It was then that I knew I'd never see Mason or my mother
again.
I went to the highway, even though it was almost dark, stuck
my thumb out and waited for someone to stop and take me away -
give me a ride to anywhere but there.
Two Years Later
Milo
I sat and looked at the envelope. It had the results of my
GED exam. Finally, I was going to have a piece of paper that told
me I had finished high school instead of just dropping out and
being a runaway.
I flipped it over and over in my fingers. It wasn't like this was
an application into Harvard or anything. It was a GED, but it was
my GED. It was all I had.
"If you don't open that already, I'm going to stab you with my
fork."
I glared up at Joey playfully. "Shut it."
Joey had been my friend for a long time now. It felt like
forever, but had actually only been a little shy of two years. Joey
worked at the shelter that I crawled into a few nights after I left
the hospital. I hitchhiked for two days, sometimes with a ride,
sometimes walking or sitting on the side of the road. I was
starving, so weak I could barely walk, dehydrated except for a
bottle of water a trucker gave me. They pulled me into the shelter
at the church in some town.
Joey was the one who made sure I got a bed in the shelter
that night and for the next two months while I tried to straighten
myself out. There were many bumps in the road. I still wasn't sure
exactly how many days the hospital had kept me, because I
hadn't know even what day it was when I went in, but the detox
had begun then. I struggled with it, but had already gotten
through some of the hard part. They made it clear that drugs
would not be allowed in the shelter and anyone on drugs after the
rules had been explained would be removed.
To be completely honest, I fell hard off that wagon once or
twice. I couldn't believe how hard it was. That first pill or sip or hit
after days and days of not having anything was like pure ecstasy,
my body betraying me and making me believe it was what I
needed and wanted.
But Joey came and got me from wherever I was, yelled and
told me how I needed to get straight, snuck me back into the
shelter and made me promise never to do it again. Finally, that
promise stuck. It's been over a year since that wagon had caused
any problems for me.
https://www.goodreads.com/
My review: Will be posted soon
Purchase Links:
Monday, January 6, 2014
Changing His Game
SYNPOSIS:
*Warning: This book is for mature readers ages 18 and up. It contains sex, sex, and more sex with a porn star. It briefly touches on M/F/M and M/F/F.
Adult Films. XXX Movies. Porn.
These are the kind of movies I've never planned to watch. It was a taboo topic where I grew up. As a kid I had only heard of it in passing. In middle school my parents would talk about my creepy uncle Frank and how he should look for a job instead of watching "those movies" all day. In High School boys thought it was funny to ask my friends and me to star in the amateur adult films they were making. In college most of my guy friends watched them, but I never had. When I moved to California that changed.
After surprising my fiancé at home and catching him screwing another woman, I hopped in my car and started driving. I was running away from my old life and I needed a change. I remembered my friend Tawny inviting me to visit her in Los Angeles, so that's where I went.
I didn’t find Tawny when I got there, but I did find her gorgeous roommate, Jared. Our friendship started out rough, but he gave me a place to stay and helped me get back on my feet. He became my best friend. My best friend who millions of women happened to lust over.
Jared plays by a different set of rules, where anything goes. His lifestyle is unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed before and it scares me. When you live your life on the edge, eventually you'll fall over. I didn't want to see that happen to him.
At night he’s just Jared, my Jared, and I’ll deny it to anyone who asks, but I’m completely in love with him. During the day he’s Brandon Boner, and the world is in love with him.
Oh yeah, did I mention he’s a porn star?
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18480475-changing-his-gameMy Review:
First let me say I LOVE THE COVER OF THIS BOOK LOL...
Ok now I can give my review OMG he is so hot :D
Justine Elvira has done it again.
This is a story about a woman named Autumn who is a really good girl, she has a good life and does what she is expected to do until she comes home from school and finds her boyfriend having sex with another woman. Autumn decides to leave Michigan and go visit her friend Tawny who lives in L.A.
Now enter Jared aka Brandon Boner- when Autumn gets to Tawny's apartment she quickly learns that Tawny is out of the country but she is told she can stay in her room until she returns. While she is still a little shell shocked from learning her boyfriend is having an affair she enters into a house that is in mid swing to a really hot party. Jared who is totally hot and Tawny's roommate.
Jared and Autumn(who he nicknames Billy) begin a smooth friendship after she learns that he is a PORN star LOL, they relationship is so cute and so sweet.
This story was so cute - I mean come on a porn star and the girl next door get together and enjoy each others company ( don't get me wrong there are plenty of flirting and not too innocent touches going on but it was still cute)
After reading this story I am a little sad because I have finished reading it and I will have to wait until Justine releases another great story for me to fall in love with.
Purchase Links
AUTHOR INFO:
I am a mother and avid reader. I love so many different genres of books and began
publishing my own stories in 2013. Writing is my release and I love to share the
stories in my head with you. When I'm not writing I'm spending time with my
children. I want to give you a few random facts about me! I love the idea of love.
Chocolate is my kryptonite. I want my own HEA. Rainstorms bring me peace. Sleep
is underrated. I love alpha males. Apple rules my life.
www.facebook.com/justineelvirabooks
http://www.goodreads.com/justineelvira
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http://justineelvira.blogspot.com
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