ARC Review, Excerpt & Giveaway:All Played Out by Cora Carmack

We are absolutely thrilled to bring you the Review & Excerpt Tour for Cora Carmack’s ALL PLAYED OUT! 

ALL PLAYED OUT 

is a New Adult Contemporary Romance

 and is the 3rd book in the 

Rusk University Series, published by William Morrow, 

an imprint of HarperCollins.

 

Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** iTunes

About ALL PLAYED OUT:

First person in her family to go to college? CHECK. Straight A’s? CHECK. On track to graduate early? CHECK. Social life? …..yeah, about that….

With just a few weeks until she graduates, Antonella DeLuca’s beginning to worry that maybe she hasn’t had the full college experience. (Okay… Scratch that. She knows she hasn’t had the full college experience).

So Nell does what a smart, dedicated girl like herself does best. She makes a “to do” list of normal college activities.

Item #1? Hook up with a jock.

Rusk University wide receiver Mateo Torres practically wrote the playbook for normal college living. When he’s not on the field, he excels at partying, girls, and more partying. As long as he keeps things light and easy, it’s impossible to get hurt… again. But something about the quiet, shy, sexy-as-hell Nell gets under his skin, and when he learns about her list, he makes it his mission to help her complete it.

Torres is the definition of confident (And sexy. And wild), and he opens up a side of Nell that she’s never known. But as they begin to check off each crazy, exciting, normal item, Nell finds that her frivolous list leads to something more serious than she bargained for. And while Torres is used to taking risks on the field, he has to decide if he’s willing to take the chance when it’s more than just a game.

Together they will have to decide if what they have is just part of the experiment or a chance at something real.

Excerpt

I groan, and flip the page in my spiral so I won’t have to look at the words anymore. Starting small with the alcohol had been a wise decision. Perhaps I should do the same with other big items on my list. But how did one get smaller than sex and hooking up? I couldn’t just put “kiss.” I’d done that before, and a few more kisses weren’t going to make any difference in my confidence when it came to sex.

Really, it’s the unknown that bothers me. Not just on this list, but in everything. So maybe that’s what I need to get used to.

I skip to the bottom of my list and add …

17. Kiss a stranger

I tap my pen against the page, surveying the words, and decide that kissing a stranger is a good stepping-stone. Then a voice comes from over my shoulder, making me jump up and drop my spiral in shock.

“Do I count as a stranger?”

I press my hand over my thundering heart and turn to face the subject my rumination.

“You scared me.”

“My bad.” Contrary to his words, Torres doesn’t look the least bit sorry.

He bends to pick up the spiral, and I lunge forward to stop him. “Wait! Stop!”

It’s too late. He already has ahold of it, and lifts it up above his head, completely out of my reach. He’s got nearly a foot on me in height, and when I try to jump, I barely get my unathletic self a few inches off the ground.

“Give that back.”

“Hold up, sweetheart. I just want to take a little peek.”

“Don’t you dare! It’s private.”

Frantically, I try to recall what was written on that page as he holds it above his head in an attempt to read.

“‘Go skinny-dipping’?” he says, his eyes dancing suggestively. “Whatever this is ... I like it.”

I step toward him, and he angles his body to the side so that the spiral is farther away, but we’re still close.

“‘Pull an all-nighter.’ ‘Sing karaoke.’ ‘Flash someone.’ Oh, sweetheart, tell me this is a list of things you want to do. Please, God.”

“It’s none of your business. That’s what it is.”

“Unlucky for you, I’m a nosy person.”

He starts to turn the page back, and my heart tumbles in fear. He cannot see the first page. Not ever. I hurl myself at him, practically climbing up his body in an attempt to retrieve my list. And all he does is laugh, and stand there as if there isn’t a whole person hanging on to him.

“Asshole!” I say, pushing at his chest.

“Come on, you can do better than that.”

“Nosy bastard.”

He rolls his eyes. “Well, if that’s all you’ve got ...” He starts to turn the page again, and there’s thunder in my ears, and my lungs feel all twisted up inside my chest.

“Fuck you,” I say once, quietly. Then I repeat it, louder, my voice raspy from fear and exertion. “Fuck you, Mateo Torres.”

And I resign myself to the fact that I’m not going to get my spiral back until he’s had his fill of humiliating me. But to my shock, he bends and picks up my pen from where I’d dropped it when he surprised me. Then he draws a line through something on the paper.

“Congratulations. You’ve officially completed number sixteen. ‘Cuss someone out and mean it.’”

He hands me the spiral, then the pen, before folding his arms over his chest and meeting my eyes with a carefully blank expression. I glance down at the item on the list that he’s crossed out, and I don’t know whether I want to laugh or stab him with my pen. Maybe both.

What I thought about All Played Out

 

Nell's got a list, and Mateo Torres wants to help her cross all the items off that list. From the moment they meet, Mateo is intrigued with the girl genius, and he appoints himself to help.  He even adds a few things to the list himself. Nell finds herself attracted to the charming wide receiver, and she's letting him help. After all, there are a few items on her list that are tailor made to do with the gregarious Rusk football star.

What follows is a falling in love story that is so much fun, and so very sexy as I've come to expect from this series. Torres is still the loud-mouthed, smooth talking footballer, but when he gets together with Nell, he drops some of the bravado he exhibits in front of his teammates and becomes a bit of a different guy -- he's still a little pushy, but he takes his time with Nell and they start by building a friendship that easily goes on to much more. 

I loved who Torres became when he with Nell, and how she transformed her social life under his influence.  But mostly, I just liked these two together, whether they were checking items off the list, putting more on, or just having fun.  Of course they are going to fall for each other when their chemistry is off the charts.

When the conflicts come, Mateo Torres has to make some decisions about himself, his place on the team, and how much he's going to let past history influence his current relationship with Nell. To me, All Played Out was just about Torres as it was about Nell.

I love this series. It captures so many aspects of college life perfectly.  The characters are engaging and familiar.  I loved Torres a lot more than I thought I was going to and thought he was perfect together with Nell. I loved seeing her open up, and especially liked the friendship she develops with the other ladies toward the end of the story.  There's also enough of the characters from the previous books in the series to satisfy the craving for more of them, too. 

All Played Out was a whole lot of fun and a wonderful addition to the series. Recommended. 

ARC provided for review. 

And don’t miss the first two books in the
Rusk University Series…

ALL LINED UP, Book 1

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iTunes

ALL BROKE DOWN, Book 2

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iTunes

 

For more of what’s next in
The Rusk University Series, go here!

Add Book 4, ALL CLOSED OFF,
to your Goodreads now!

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

All Played Out Review/Excerpt Tour

May 7

BookAngelBooktopia-Review & Excerpt
Book Vigilante Reviews-Review & Excerpt
DanaSquare-Review & Excerpt
Britt’s Book & Life Blog-Review & Excerpt
Love at First Page-Review & Excerpt
LuloFangirl-Review & Excerpt
Red Hot + Blue Reads-Review & Excerpt
The Book Hammock-Review & Excerpt
WanderLust Book Reviews-Review & Excerpt

May 8

Ali’s Reviews & More-Review & Excerpt
Bloggers[Heart]Books-Review & Excerpt
BookCrushin-Review & Excerpt
Fictitious Delicious-Review & Excerpt
Kindle and Me-Review & Excerpt
NC 2 DC-Review
Sanaa’s Book Blog-Review & Excerpt
The Reading Realm-Review & Excerpt

May 9

Addicted to Books-Review & Excerpt
Booklovers For Life-Excerpt
Crazy Chaotic Book Babes-Review
Musings of the Book-a-holic Fairies, inc.-Review & Excerpt
Confessions of a Y.A. and N.A. Book Addict-Review & Excerpt
Short and Sassy Book Blurbs-Review & Excerpt
This Wacky Momma Reads-Review & Excerpt
Winter Haven Books-Review

May 10

Anatea’s Bookshelf-Review & Excerpt
BookStacked Blog-Review & Excerpt
Stacks Waiting-Excerpt
Behind Closed Covers-Review & Excerpt
buttermybooks-Review & Excerpt
Random Book Muses-Review
One Guy’s Guide to Good Reads-Review & Excerpt
Ticket to Anywhere-Excerpt
What a Nerd Girl Says-Review & Excerpt

May 11

Always YA At Heart-Review & Excerpt
Book Briefs-Review
Girl Meets Books-Excerpt
Books by Migs-Review & Excerpt
Kimberlyfaye Reads-Excerpt
Prisoners of Print-Review & Excerpt
Snuggling On The Sofa-Review
Travels N Reads-Review & Excerpt
Words With Sarah-Review & Excerpt

May 12

Book Labyrinth-Review & Excerpt
FMR Book Grind-Review
Margay Leah Justice-Review & Excerpt
New Adult Addiction-Excerpt
Reviews by Tammy & Kim-Review & Excerpt
Tar Heel Bibliobabe-Review
Vi3tbabe-Review & Excerpt

May 13

Babbling Chatter Reads-Review
Book Sojourner-Review & Excerpt
Bridger Bitches Book Blog-Review & Excerpt 

Grown Up Book Reviews-Review & Excerpt
ReadBetween the Books-Review & Excerpt
Reese’s Review-Review & Excerpt
What Sarah Read-Review & Excerpt  

Romance Addict Book Blog-Review & Excerpt
Reading is Sexy-Review & Excerpt

May 14

Bibliobelles-Review & Excerpt
Book Butterfly in Dreamland-Review
Hopeless Book Lovers-Review & Excerpt
jordansbookreviews-Excerpt
Nomi’s Paranormal Palace-Review
Ripe For Reader-Review & Excerpt
The Secret Life of a Bookworm-Review & Excerpt
Stay Bookish-Review & Excerpt
Never Judge A Book By It’s Covers-Review & Excerpt

May 15

Book Bitches Blog-Review & Excerpt
Books and Swoons-Review and Excerpt
Jen in Bookland-Review & Excerpt
I Dare You To Read-Review & Excerpt
Lost in Lit-Review & Excerpt
Zili in the Sky-Review & Excerpt
The Slanted Bookshelf-Review & Excerpt S
tuck in Books-Review & Excerpt

May 16

Closet Geeks and Slow Mo-Review & Excerpt
Dark Obsession Chronicles-Review & Excerpt
Making It Happen-Review & Excerpt
Mia’s Point of View-Review & Excerpt
In Clouds of Pages-Review & Excerpt
That Book Life-Review & Excerpt
The Book Belles-Review  

Stuck in YA Books-Review  

A Bookish Escape-Review

About Cora Carmack:

Cora Carmack is a twenty-something New York Times bestselling author who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She's done a multitude of things in her life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She now splits her time between Austin, TX and New York City and spends her days writing, traveling, and spending way too much time on the internet. In her books, you can expect to find humor, heart, and a whole lot of awkward. Because let’s face it . . . awkward people need love, too.      

Website ** Twitter ** Facebook ** Author Goodreads ** ALL PLAYED OUT Goodreads

Cover Reveal:Catching Serenity by Eden Butler

Title: Catching Serenity (Seeking Serenity, #4)

Author: Eden Butler

Genre: NA | Contemporary Romance

Release Date: July 14, 2015

Cover Designed
by Steven Novak of Novak Illustration

NOTE: Catching Serenity will be multi-media with illustrations
by R.N. Laing

Synopsis

It began with a look.

Just one, thrown my way. A mad, dizzying rush of desire cracking across the patio, bouncing around my friends, ignoring everything but the heat bubbling between his eyes and mine.

That’s when Quinn O’Malley came into my life.

We were inevitable.

We were senseless.

He wrecked me.

He saved me.

I still haven’t recovered.

Sayo McIntyre didn’t want the complications that came with Quinn O’Malley.

But life doesn’t care what we want. It gives us what we need.
CATCHING SERENITY is the last full-length novel in the Serenity Series.

••• Books in the Seeking Serenity Series •••

Amazon | Amazon UK | B&N | Kobo | iTunes | Smashwords

••• Giveaway •••

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

••• About Eden Butler •••

Eden Butler is an editor and writer of New Adult Romance and SciFi and Fantasy novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking and rum. Her debut novel, a New Adult, Contemporary (no cliffie) Romance, “Chasing Serenity” launched in October 2013 and quickly became an Amazon bestseller.

When she’s not writing or wondering about her possibly Jack Sparrowesque ancestor, Eden edits, reads and spends way too much time watching rugby, Doctor Who and New Orleans Saints football.

She is currently living under teenage rule alongside her husband in southeast Louisiana.

Please send help.

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Trailer Reveal:These Are The Men of Hard Ink

 

We are over the moon about this Trailer Reveal for Laura Kaye’s Hard Ink Series! 

HARD TO LET GO-

the final title in the Hard Ink Series,

 published by Avon Romance, 

is releasing June 30th!!

 

Laura has a very special treat, through June 29, anyone who pre-orders HARD TO LET GO, and Fills Out This Form, will receive a Hard Ink Series Short Story!

 Just fill out the quick form here!

Pre-Order at Amazon | B&N | iBooks| Kobo

Hard to Let Go on Goodreads

 

And now....The Amazing Hard Ink Trailer...

 

Link:https://youtu.be/qM45fjLJXXk

About HARD TO LET GO:

Beckett Murda hates to dwell on the past. But his investigation into the ambush that killed half his Special Forces team and ended his Army career gives him little choice. Just when his team learns how powerful their enemies are, hard-ass Beckett encounters his biggest complication yet—a seductive, feisty Katherine Rixey.

A tough, stubborn prosecutor, Kat visits her brothers’ Hard Ink Tattoo shop following a bad break-up—and finds herself staring down the barrel of a stranger’s gun. Beckett is hard-bodied and sexy as hell, but he’s also the most infuriating man ever. Worse, Kat’s brothers are at war with the criminals her office is investigating. When Kat joins the fight, she lands straight in Beckett’s sights . . . and in his arms. Not to mention their enemies’ crosshairs.

Now Beckett and Kat must set aside their differences to work together, because the only thing sweeter than justice is finding love and never letting go.

Pre-order before or on June 29, fill out the form, and get a Hard Ink Short Story!

And don’t miss the other Hard Ink books, now available!

 

Hard As It Gets

Hard As You Can

Hard to Hold On To

Hard to Come By

Hard to Be Good

Praise for Hard to Let Go: “Kaye wraps up her bestselling series with this action-packed story, highlighting her talent for alpha military heroes, hot romance, and an ensemble cast of characters who are unique and engaging. A supersexy, high-octane romantic suspense novel that concludes the popular Hard Ink series in a completely satisfying way.” ~Kirkus Reviews   

  

About Laura Kaye: Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over twenty books in contemporary and paranormal romance and romantic suspense. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.      

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Review:Moment of Clarity by Karen Stivali

MOMENT OF CLARITY 

(Book 3 of the Moments In Time Series)

Spending the summer together on Fire Island brought Collin and Tanner closer than ever, but back in their conservative college town, challenges confront them at every turn.

As they search for their new normal in their old environment, Collin's brother Sean surprises them with help when they need it most. But when word about their relationship gets out, trouble erupts with friends and family. When Collin's relationship with Tanner becomes an issue in his brother's custody battle, and Tanner struggles with his feelings for a heartbroken Wendy, Collin wonders if everyone he cares about would be better off without him in the picture. In order to save them both, Tanner must make it clear to Collin that their love for each other is all that matters. 

MOMENTS IN TIME is the paperback version and contains all three novellas (Moment Of Impact, Moment Of Truth and Moment Of Clarity) in once volume.Both books are available for pre-order at Dreamspinner Press.

They will be available at all major retailers on May 6, 2015

Links:
 
Moment of Clarity eBook

Moments in Time Paperback

What I thought about Moment of Clarity

In this third book of the Moments in Time series, Collin and Tanner return to school after their summer at Fire Island.  There are some difficult times ahead for the young men, starting with a fire in their dorm that pushes them into the gym for temporary housing.  They can't live openly like they did over the summer and it's taking a toll on them.  When Collin's brother offers them a place to stay, they take it, only to find out that their relationship is a cause for concern from one of the family members.  

When their dorm is finally ready, they both look forward to indulging their physical attraction to each other, but when some other students find out about them, things seem to go from bad to worse. Collin struggles with handling all that is happening to him, and in a misguided show of love for everyone he cares about, he takes drastic measures to put everything right.  

I really love this series.  Collin and Tanner's road isn't an easy one, and the hate that is directed toward them just because of their sexual orientation is sometimes tough to swallow.  I'd like to think that as a society, we've gotten past some of the situations that occur in this story, but I know these hateful situations still occur.  But even with all of this going on, Collin demonstrates the purity and innocence of first love with the sacrifice he makes for Tanner and his family.  My heart was definitely squishy (and my eyes a little wet) during the last 30% of the book and I loved it.    Moment of Clarity brought to mind everything that is so wonderful about "first love".

I recommend this LGBT trilogy and this series.  I was glad to hear there will be more. 

ARC provided for review.

This series should be read in order. 
Moment Of Impact(Book 1) and Moment Of Truth(Book 2) are  are on sale for 99¢ for a limited time. 

 DREAMSPINNER PRESS |  AMAZON (US)  

 AMAZON (UK)

AMAZON (AU)  |  ARe  |  BN