Review Tour: Cross Crease

Cross Crease

by Elizabeth Hartey

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GENRE:   Contemporary Sports romance

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BLURB:

Heaven

I was fourteen the first time I laid eyes on the smoking hot goalie. Damon Wolfe was the most gorgeous boy I’d ever seen. All it took was one glance, one sentence and my heart was his. 

But I was too young and he was too broken.

Seven years later, he’s the biggest off-the-ice-player in the NHL and I’m his virginal best friend—a problem I have the perfect solution to. But Wolfe refuses to help me out. He claims he doesn’t want to ruin our friendship. 

Yet, somehow, his eyes say something different whenever he looks at me. The way I see it, it’s only one night. What’s the worst that can happen?

Wolfe

The first time I looked into those sparkling turquoise eyes, I was a goner. Heaven had a mouth full of braces and bruised knees but she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. With one look, she sent all my inner demons running. 

But she was just a kid and I was too damaged. 

Seven years later, Heaven is now my best friend. My best friend with a single-minded mission—to get laid. 

She wants me to take her virginity and teach her about sex. But she's so far out of the realm of anything my blackened heart deserves it's laughable. 
So, how come I’m not laughing? How come my best friend is all I think about? More importantly, what am I going to do to protect her—from me?

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Excerpt:

You know the Dolly Parton song, Here You Come Again? Sure you do. Everyone does. Once you hear it, the tune is on autorepeat in your head for a week. Think about the lyrics. Can you hear them? Well, that’s what it’s like every time I see D. Every. Damn. Time. I have to stop it. I have to stifle the racing beat in my heart and vagina whenever he’s in the same room as me. 

I’m a strong, powerful woman in control of my own destiny. I’m a strong, powerful…I’m a professional. I can do this. I will do this. I can treat Damon Wolfe for a groin strain. I can check his range of motion, stretch his adductors, and do an ice massage on his inner thigh without the slightest flutter of my ovaries. I can. 

I absolutely, positively will not succumb to his gorgeous face, sigh-worthy body, and mind stupefying smile. I can’t play this game with him anymore. I may be a strong woman, but my heart is a stupid, weak fool. I won’t let D crush it ever again. My brain is in control from now on.

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Author Bio:

As a lover of the northeast United States, 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. A dreamer at heart, romance is the genre she spends most of her time writing and reading into the wee hours of the morning. When not juggling work responsibilities and writing, she enjoys hiking the beautiful hills and woods around her home, swimming, knitting, travelling, and spending time with her family. She is an avid hockey fan, which means she has to compromise with her husband, one night of hockey for her, in exchange for one night of football for him.

Website

My Review

I requested to read and review this book for three reasons.

1. I read and reviewed one book in this series.

2. The main male character is a hockey player.

3. The blurb

🔥 Once again a this book has a very high "heat level" for a contemporary romance novel. Actually I think that is is higher than the second book of the series. 🔥

While this is the third book in this series, it is only the second one by Elizabeth Hartey that I read. This time around I knew what to expect as far as the "heat level" was concerned. I knew what to expect when it came to hockey talk. With Wolfe's past I would have expected him to be a little bit more broody.

The first book in the series, Cross Stroke, is now on my "want to read" shelf.

Rating: 😃😃😃😃

*** I voluntarily requested and reviewed an avanced reader's copy of this book.

Release Blitz: Baking Me Crazy

Baking Me Crazy, the first in the romantic comedy Donner Bakery Series of standalones, from Karla Sorensen is available now!

I'm Levi Buchanan, and until five years ago, I thought the legend of my family's curse was a load of crazy, Southern nonsense.

No curse can make you fall in love at first sight. No curse can force a true, deep, passionate, all-consuming love that will haunt you all the days of your life.

Then I met Jocelyn Abernathy and I realized how completely wrong I was.

The problem is, Jocelyn guards her feelings like well-armed soldier. She's the most beautiful, stubborn, infuriating woman I've ever met. Every time she talks, I want to kiss the living daylights out of her. But I can't.

Because when we met, she didn't need true love. She needed a best friend. And that's what I've been to her... for five years.

But when Jocelyn meets a handsome stranger her first day working at Donner Bakery and she lets him buy her a dill pickle cupcake, I realize with ominous regret that I may have missed my window with my best friend.

If I can't get her to see past our friendship, my new curse may be to watch the love of my life move on with someone else.

'Baking Me Crazy' is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is book#1 in the Donner Bakery series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

About Karla Sorensen

Karla Sorensen has been an avid reader her entire life, preferring stories with a happily-ever-after over just about any other kind. And considering she has an entire line item in her budget for books, she realized it might just be cheaper to write her own stories. It doesn’t take much to keep her happy…a book, a really big glass of wine, and at least thirty minutes of complete silence every day. She still keeps her toes in the world of health care marketing, where she made her living pre-babies. Now she stays home, writing and mommy-ing full time (this translates to almost every day being a ‘pajama day’ at the Sorensen household…don’t judge). She lives in West Michigan with her husband, two exceptionally adorable sons and big, shaggy rescue dog.

Website

Book Blast: Live Soldier

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $75 Amazon/BN gift card via the Rafflecopter at the end of the page. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

THE APOCALYPSE WILL BE TELEVISED.

You know what they call me.

Camera-eyed killer. Spawn of the ruins. Man who stole a city.

These are not the names of a saint. But every legend has an origin story. And because of what I am, you can experience mine in real-time.

Fair warning, though: my life contains instances of drug use, bio-terrorism, aquatic street fighting, unsolicited retinal surgery, advanced warfare, amateur sex and straight-up murder.

But if you're sick of sanitized heroes... then log in, lose yourself and become the Live Soldier. Because you've never met a marine like me.

Read an Excerpt

The balcony is moving, I realize dimly. No - the entire labyrinth is shifting, rearranging itself into a single great platform. A low dais now occupies its center, a ring of security guards creating a perimeter around it. But these alterations have nothing to do with the drug; robotics and stagecraft are at work here.

Then the world’s color inverts: white turning to black, blue become red etc. I’ve barely adjusted when direction follows suit, and now everything is upside down. Oh crap, this will be the Anex, how much did she -

A (to me) golden clad figure floats up (and therefore down) from nowhere, until her bare feet make contact with the dais. Fantastically tall and smooth cheeked with flint-grey eyes, purple hair pulled back from a sharp widow’s peak. Letiva made young again.

“Welcome,” she says, “to the newly completed set of my upcoming feature!”

The crowd is enthralled, but the Ladder is positively smitten. He takes a step in her direction, but his legs aren’t cooperating and - more distressingly - he has begun to emit a high pitched mechanical whine. I think it’s a hallucination at first, but the crowd can hear it too. Everywhere I look people are clapping hands over their ears, backing away from the Ladder as he careens straight for Letiva. Her security detail closes in -

- and I’m blown off my feet. Everything goes black, shifting abruptly to blue, a deep bass roar accompanying. Now I’m falling, spinning like a top, until an impact hits me with a façade of deep, gutsy red. This holds for some time, fading gradually into pearly white unconsciousness.

About the Author:

Liam is a Canadian who recently moved to Australia after getting kicked out of England for apologizing too much. He works on the commercial side of design agencies as a job, where his seething jealousy of the creative staff boils over into writing.

Website: http://www.liamclay.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelivesoldier/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TheLiveSoldier
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18795742.Liam_Clay

Purchase link only $0.99: https://www.amazon.com/LIVE-SOLDIER-Die-Famous-Book-ebook/dp/B07LDL8972/ref=sr_1_1

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday Post # 32: Is It Just Me .....

.... Or is September seemingly unending?

 I am actually looking forward to October. It is the start of the hockey season and a couple of relatives will be in town.

Post Rewind

📌 23rd = Cover Reveal: A Favor for a Favor

📌 24th = Release Blitz: Kiss Me Tonight

📌 25th = Book Blast: Fire Song

📌 26th = Blog Tour: The Boyfriend Contract

📌 27th = Blog Tour: Coming Home to the Cowboy

Moolt Cartoon of the Week

No cartoon this week

"Heads Up" - Upcoming Posts

🔼 Oct. 3rd = Book Blast: Live Soldier

Currently Reading

📖 Rescue Me (by: Valerie Twombly) = 6%

*** Please Follow : Blog's Instagram

*** If you don't know what to say on this week's Sunday Post topic, you can comment on any other part of the post or just say "hi".

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Blog Tour: Coming Home to the Cowboy

Title: Coming Home to the Cowboy

Author: Megan Ryder

Genre: Western Contemporary Romance

Release Date: September 23, 2019

Cover Designer: Tule Publishing and Lee Hyatt

Hosted by:Buoni Amici Press, LLC.

Buy links:

Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2H5xUQj

Apple books: https://apple.co/33vOouH

Nook: http://bit.ly/2MgQzNk

Kobo: http://bit.ly/33yqJd9 

Book Description:

The town bad boy with hidden pain…

Champion bull-rider and all-around fun guy Chase Summers is everybody’s friend, but his affable personality hides a lifetime of pain. Having been abandoned as a young child at the steps of a church, he learned young that he was unwanted. The only thing that saved him from isolation was his foster dad and life on Redemption Ranch. Now he spends his time on the rodeo circuit, sending home his winnings to help the ranch succeed, and his nights with buckle bunnies, making sure no one gets close enough to touch the pain deep inside. 

The town good girl who saw the good in everyone…

When accountant and small business advisor Hailey Spencer is hired by Redemption Ranch to implement their guest ranch ideas, she and Chase are thrown together. It's not long before he is introduced to the son that she had with his best friend. The best friend who would've following Chase anywhere...even the bull riding circuit with it's deadly potential. With Hailey hanging on to resentment and Chase racked with guilt, the two try to fight their age-old attraction – in vain. Chase knows Hailey deserves more than a broken-down cowboy for her son and her heart. 

Can Chase resist the call of the rodeo and man up for a woman he's loved for years or will he leave for the allure of the road?

Goodreads book link:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14121151.Megan_Ryder

Excerpt:

Chase Summers leaned against the tunnel wall leading out to the arena, thumbs hooked in the loops of his comfortable old jeans and wearing his lucky flannel shirt under the competitor's vest with his sponsor's badges decorating the lapels. He barely heard the dull roar of the crowd, the pounding country rock music, sounds he could filter out as he focused on his ride. People milled about, other cowboys waiting for their rides, watching the competition, or those who had finished and were seeing who made the next round with them. The sports medicine team pushed past Chase and ran to the arena to help one of the riders who had just gotten thrown and was slow to get up. Chase didn't go look, couldn't afford the distraction, not this close to his ride. Couldn't let the risks mess with his head, not yet. He'd check the status later on the injury list.

It'd been a bad season so far. Bull riding was one of the most dangerous sports there was. Yeah, people complained about football. Two men lining up to attack each other in the pursuit of a ball. Not that he didn't love football or respect the game, but those men weighed a couple hundred pounds. Put a guy who weighed a couple hundred pounds, maybe, against a fifteen hundred to two thousand-pound bull who didn't play by any rules except to kick the shit out of you. Then see who had it rougher.

Despite the dangers, he'd ride the bull any day. The rush, the adrenaline, the reward was intense. But this season there seemed to be more injuries than usual, more of the top guys out for extended periods. The number one rider was kicked in the face just two weeks ago and needed major reconstruction, leaving the field open for someone like Chase to catch up.

He took a deep breath, letting the smell of dirt, bull, and rawhide permeate his lungs, then he let it out slowly, expelling the thoughts of injuries like a bad odor. The scents reminded him of the ranch, the only home he'd ever known, the home he never thought he'd actually have and wouldn't have except for the generosity of his mentor and foster father, Douglas Rawlings.

J.D. McIntyre strode up next to him, his chaps and jeans coated in dirt from his fall in the ring and clapped him on the shoulder. "You up next? Who did you draw?"

"Oleander," Chase replied, nodding to his sometime traveling companion and hell-raiser.

J.D. snorted. "Better you than me. That bull looks sweet and docile but turns into a righteous demon in the chute."

Chase shrugged and checked his gloves. "He's worth the points. I'll need them for the lead."

J.D. shook his head. "Well, someone had to draw him. If anyone can, it'd be you. Go beat the Brazilian and bring home the trophy. I'm out of the running for now. Damned Quick Draw tossed me in 2.8 seconds."

Chase grunted. Quick Draw was living up to his name again. But J.D. was his only other real competition outside of Antonio Pereira. Antonio was ranked number three overall, but he hadn't gotten as high a bull as Chase or J.D. If Chase could ride Oleander, he could take the competition from Antonio and gain serious ground in the overall rankings.

He heard his name being called to the chute.

"See you on the other side." He nodded to J.D. and strode to the ride-chute where Oleander was already being led.

Oleander was a beast of a bull, docile as most of these creatures were outside of the arena, calm, almost amiable. He was mostly white with a few splashes of black to break up the albino quality. He settled quietly in the chute, no banging against the metal walls, no fighting the handlers. Chase eyed the bull who steadfastly ignored him, as if he were bored with the proceedings, but Chase knew better.

Chase climbed the metal fencing next to the bull and handed the rope to the handler. He grabbed the opposite fence across the bull, making sure to get a good grip, then he set his boot solidly on Oleander's back, letting the bull know he was there. He waited a few seconds, pausing to the let the bull do his customary buck, an introduction from Oleander, a preliminary howdy-do. He then slid his legs around the bull, keeping his toes pointed forward to ensure his spurs stayed away from its flanks. He warmed up the rope, checking the slack, then rubbed the rope to get the rosin sticky and hot on his glove. He punched the rosin rope away and warmed the handle, to improve his grip. Then he positioned the bull rope for the ride.

Through this, Oleander stayed fairly docile, almost asleep, but Chase wasn't fooled. No bull was assigned the final round of any tournament if he wasn't a tough contender, and Oleander was one of the toughest. Several competitors swore this damned beast used psychological warfare against many of the riders to beat them. No one had ever ridden him successfully; Chase was fixing to be the first.

When the rope was situated to his satisfaction, he took the final piece of wrap and slid up the back, put his feet toward the shoulder of the bull, and nodded.

The chute opened with a clang and they were off.

Oleander came alive in a whirlwind of motion, shoulders and back arching then colliding with the ground, designed to jar the rider's teeth. At the same time, the bull's back end came up, and twisted to throw Chase off balance and hopefully off his back, but Chase was prepared and moved with the bull. Chase kept his legs clasped around the bull's body, shifting and moving as the bull flung his body about in a ferocious attempt to dislodge the human interloper from his back. All the while, Chase waited to hear the blessed bell indicating that he had successfully made the eight seconds needed to beat the behemoth between his legs.

But all he heard was the sound of grunts and snorts and bull snot flying. Then, finally, the sound of victory. The bell sounded and Chase made his move to dismount, but the bull made one unexpected sideways turn and a blunted horn came straight right for Chase's head.

Blinding pain.

Darkness.

About the author:

Ever since Megan Ryder discovered Jude Deveraux and Judith McNaught while sneaking around the “forbidden” romance section of the library one day after school, she has been voraciously devouring romance novels of all types. Now a romance author in her own right, Megan pens sexy contemporary novels all about family and hot lovin’ with the boy next door. She lives in Connecticut, spending her days as a technical writer and her spare time divided between her addiction to knitting and reading.

Social Media links:

Website:  https://www.meganryder.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeganRyder1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeganRyderAuthor/

Newsletter:  https://www.meganryder.com/subscribe.html

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14121151.Megan_Ryder

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganryderauthor/