Naomi's Reading Palace: January 2014

Release Day Blitz ~ Lost Soul by T.G. Ayer

Title: Lost Soul

Author: T.G. Ayer

Series: Dark World #2

Genre: YA Paranormal

Published: 31st January 2014

With her sister missing and her mother and Anjelo stuck in the Wraith World, Kai must find a way to save them all. But the Wraith poison has brought her to her knees and only Logan's fire can help ease her pain.

Uncertain who to rescue first, Kai's decision is made for her when she discovers her sister Greer is stuck in the Greylands and slowly going insane. Desperate to save her, Kai will go to incredible lengths to obtain a portal key to the land of the dead - and maybe, she’ll go one step too far.

From deathtalkers to demons, trackers to ghosts, Kai must fight against betrayal and evade the clutches of danger to set her sister free. Can she save Greer from a horrific death - and will she ever be able to forgive herself if she can’t?

Title: Wild Ones

Author: Kristine Wyllys

Series: The Lane #1

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Published: January 13th 2014

Bri Martin likes her skirts too short, her heels too high, and trouble close at hand. So when big, brooding underground boxer Luke Turner comes into the bar where she works and starts a fight before she brings his first drink, she can't help being intrigued. Luke is everything she never wanted and everything she can't resist.

Soon, Luke is showing up everywhere Bri is, and she can't break free of his hold on her, nor does she want to. When her best friend turns on her, it's Luke who is there. When Luke's opponent comes after her to send Luke a message, it's he who comes to her rescue.

Before Bri knows it, she's caught in the midst of a rivalry between her boyfriend and her boss, both of whom are not content to settle their scores inside the ring. She swore she'd never live this life, so like the one she once ran from. But only by confronting her past can she decide where her future lies…and whether Luke can be a part of it.

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Title: The Wind Whisperer

Author: Krista Holle

Genre: YA Fantasy

Published: November 11th 2013

At fifteen, Anaii is the most important member of her tribe—and the most mysterious. Ever since Anaii can remember, the spirits of the wind have whispered of fertile hunting grounds and imminent enemy attacks. But when her people are ambushed by a brother clan without any apparent cause, the spirits remain eerily silent.

As the village prepares to retaliate, Anaii is pressured by her best friend, Elan, to marry him. It’s an old plea—Elan has spent a lifetime loving her, but Anaii only sees a childhood playmate out of an imposing warrior. Stifled by Elan’s insistence, Anaii escapes into the forest where she meets Jayttin, the beautiful son of the enemy chief.

Enamored by Jayttin’s carefree spirit and hope for peace, she repeatedly sneaks away to be with him, but when her deception is discovered, Elan is devastated. Pledging his lifelong affection, Elan gives her a passionate kiss, and Anaii begins to see her friend in a new light.

While Anaii is tormented over which man she must choose, the wind whispers of a new threat that could destroy both tribes. Only a union will afford a chance at survival, but the reality of that union is based on one thing—which man Anaii chooses to die.

Swoon Thursday is a super HOT meme created by the fabulous girls over at YA Bound.

Wild Ones

Author: Kristine Wyllys

Series: The Lane #1

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Published: January 13th 2014

I enjoy bad boy boxer stories and this was another fun one to add to the list!!

The hand on my elbow slipped down till it was cupping my ass. With one swift movement, I was hoisted up against an unyielding body, the skirt of my dress riding up as my legs automatically wrapped around his waist. He was everywhere at once. My hair, my neck, gripping my thighs, my ass, back up to squeeze my face, then back down to my waist where his fingers cruelly dug into my hips. His skin was a sinful cologne, a medley of cigarettes and beer, aftershave and sex that filled my nose and overwhelmed the rest of my senses. His tongue battled mine, fighting for dominance, only to retreat and he sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, nipping it with his teeth. I think I tasted blood.

I wanted to tell him I didn’t kiss and I certainly didn’t kiss boxers, but then his tongue was back and I forgot why it was exactly that I didn’t kiss and what the big f*cking deal was with boxers anyway.

~ Kindle Arc Loc 865

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine where I have the chance to spotlight an upcoming release that I’m eagerly anticipating.

Prince of Shadows

Author: Rachel Caine

Genre: Young Adult

Expected Publication: February 4th 2014

A thrilling retelling of the star-crossed tale of Romeo and Juliet, from the New York Times bestselling author of the Morganville Vampires series.

In the Houses of Montague and Capulet, there is only one goal: power. The boys are born to fight and die for honor and—if they survive—marry for influence and money, not love. The girls are assets, to be spent wisely. Their wishes are of no import. Their fates are written on the day they are born.

Benvolio Montague, cousin to Romeo, knows all this. He expects to die for his cousin, for his house, but a spark of rebellion still lives inside him. At night, he is the Prince of Shadows, the greatest thief in Verona—and he risks all as he steals from House Capulet. In doing so, he sets eyes on convent-bound Rosaline, and a terrible curse begins that will claim the lives of many in Verona…

…And will rewrite all their fates, forever.

Click on the banner above to view the tour schedule

Title: Wild Things

Author: Chloe Neill

Series: Chicagoland Vampires #9

Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

Expected Publication: February 4th 2014

Since Merit was turned into a vampire, and the protector of Chicago’s Cadogan House, it’s been a wild ride. She and Master vampire Ethan Sullivan have helped make Cadogan’s vampires the strongest in North America, and forged ties with paranormal folk of all breeds and creeds, living or dead…or both.

But now those alliances are about to be tested. A strange and twisted magic has ripped through the North American Central Pack, and Merit’s closest friends are caught in the crosshairs. Gabriel Keene, the Pack Apex, looks to Merit and Ethan for help. But who—or what—could possibly be powerful enough to out-magic a shifter?

Merit is about to go toe to toe, and cold steel to cold heart, to find out.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Wild Things

Chloe Neill

Chicagoland Vampires #9

Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

Expected Publication: February 4th 2014

I just love this series and had to share a quirky tease today!

“Eyes on your own man candy.”

“My man candy’s already dressed,” she said between bites of what looked like chocolate sludge. “Yours is . . . less so.”

And mine was clearly enjoying the attention. He linked his hands behind his head, showing off his well-toned chest.

“Down, boy,” I murmured.

“Yes, boy,” Catcher said. “Quit flirting with my girlfriend.” Ethan only smiled.

~ Kindle Arc Loc 899

Title: Two Moons Over Cedar Hill

Author: Sofie Couch

Genre: YA Suspense

Published: October 9th 2013

Cedar Hill is more than a farm. It’s a way of life and those who have lived there are connected to it as inextricably as the primitive trees that give it its name. Salter Lyons, an enslaved craftsman, has struggled to find balance between his love of the farm and his love of a woman from whom he is separated by race, society, life and death. And with his murder, a family’s fortune is lost and Salter is trapped in limbo. One hundred, fifty years have passed, and Christina Breeden has left her home at Cedar Hill, she thinks forever, until one day when she receives a deathbed phone call from her mother, Mayella Breeden asks her daughter to return so she might make amends before she dies. The ruse works to draw her estranged children back to Cedar Hill, but everyone soon learns that the farm has gone to the dogs – in a very literal way. Thirty years ago, undocumented migrant farmers died, leaving their young son an orphan and adrift in his non-native country. Since then, Jorgé Lopez has lived with the family that illegally employed his parents, falling between the gap in generations. The only thing he has ever coveted is family and a home of his own, yet he watches as the people around him make seemingly little effort to maintain the family and farm with which they have been blessed. Mayella has secrets too dark and too personal to share with the farm manager of Cedar Hill or her twin children. She knows that confessing her own sins and asking forgiveness from her children would provide her immediate comfort, but would do little toward righting the wrongs of 150 years ago. Instead, Mayella ensures that her death sets in motion a chain of discovery that may make restitution for both the living and the dead who are bound to Cedar Hill.

Nomi’s Weekly Wrap Up is a combined meme with the Sunday Post hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking The Shelves hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. I’ll share news, post a recap of the past week and tell you what will be happening on my blog in the week ahead. I will also tell you about the books and goodies that I have managed to pick up.

Happy Australia Day!! I have had a fantastic weekend, celebrating it with my family; which included surprise visits from my Mum, Aunt and Uncle. So I apologise for having my Weekly Wrap Up late!! I also hope you had a great Sunday, no matter where you are!!

The Chicagoland Vampires - Wild Things blog tour is on this week and I hope you are able to check it out and enter the giveaways! I picked up a few books from NetGalley and 99c beauties too!

read more "Nomi’s Weekly Wrap Up #72"

Title: All the Pretty Poses

Author: M. Leighton

Series: Pretty #2

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Expected Publication: January 26th 2014

He never wanted to be a hero…until she needed him to be.

Strength…
It took Kennedy Moore years to put her life back together after Reese Spencer shattered it. But she did. Now, years later, strong and independent, she is in pursuit of a single dream—to dance with the Altman American Dance Theater. Unfortunately, Kennedy is learning that a girl from nowhere with no money and no contacts might never be able to reach her goal.

That is, until Reese reappears, offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that Kennedy just can’t refuse. In exchange for working on his yacht for a few short weeks, he’ll get her an audition with the famous dance troupe. All Kennedy has to do is keep her head down, work hard and resist Reese. That sounds easy enough, right?

Weakness…
Reese doesn’t want to make it easy for Kennedy. Seeing her again has started a fire in his blood—an unwelcome one. It took him years to forget about her before, so this time he has a plan. It’s simple: Get Kennedy on his yacht, seduce her, get her out of his system, move on with his life. That sounds easy enough, right?

But the one thing Reese didn’t plan for was Kennedy herself—a girl so strong yet so broken, she makes him want to rescue her, to take care of her. To save her. Even if he has to save her from himself.

White Trash Beautiful (White Trash Trilogy, #1)

Title: White Trash Beautiful

Author: Teresa Mummert

Series: White Trash Trilogy #1

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Published: July 9th 2013 by Gallery Books (first published September 1st 2012)

A word-of-mouth bestseller that’s captivating readers with its honesty, grit, and headstrong heroine, White Trash Beautiful is a story for anyone who has ever felt trapped in life, cheated by love—and longed for something more . . .

Cass Daniels isn’t waiting for her knight in shining armor. She knows that girls like her don’t get a happily ever after. Not if you live in a trailer with your mom, work at a greasy spoon diner, and get leered at by old men. Maybe that’s why she puts up with Jackson—her poor excuse for a boyfriend, who treats her like dirt. Cass has learned to accept her lot in life. That is, until he walks into her diner. . . .

His name is Tucker White, and he’s different from any man Cass has ever known. Tall, tattooed, and bad-ass gorgeous, he’s the lead singer of the rock band Damaged. From the moment they meet, Tucker sees something in Cass he just can’t shake. Something beautiful. Something haunted. Something special. And he’s determined to find out what it is—if only he can get her to open up and let him in. . . .

Title: Bound by Lies

Author: Hanna Peach

Series: Bound #1

Genre: Contempoaray Romance/Suspense

Expected Publication: January 2014

Our love is on his terms. He contacts me only through notes − unpredictable and untraceable. When we meet, he can touch me, but I’m not allowed to touch him. When we make love, it’s only after I have been bound and blindfolded. It’s the only time I truly feel alive. Which is why I play along with it. For now.

Caden Thaine is the most sinfully beautiful man I have ever seen. But more than that, his touch sets me on fire. And dear God, do I ache for him. I don’t know where he lives or even what he does. But this doesn’t scare me. My only fear is that one day his messages will stop.

I know he’s hiding something. But that’s okay. I am hiding things too. Like my real name and... who I really am. But what we have is enough. Sort of. And everything works.

Until I decide to follow him.

Soon our dark pasts will collide and I will discover just how much we are both bound by lies.

Adult romantic suspense. +18 years.

Title: Masquerade

Author: Nyrae Dawn

Series: Games #3

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Published: January 7th 2014

A biker. A tattoo artist. A love to last a lifetime.

Maddox Cross has always had to be tough. When his father went to jail for murder, the teenager took care of his sister and mother. Now on his own and working security at a night club, Maddox wants to become a tattoo artist-a dream that comes closer to reality when he falls for the hottest, most tatted woman he's ever seen. She's wild and beautiful, and Maddox will do anything to be with her.

Bee Malone came to town to open up her new tattoo parlor, Masquerade. Since being kidnapped as a young girl, Bee has had trouble getting close to anyone. But when she meets Maddox, she sees that under his hard biker's body is the sensitive soul of an artist. What starts out as a sizzling one-night stand soon becomes so much more.

Bee wants Maddox to join her tattoo business, but letting him into her life means revealing all her most intimate secrets. And as the past begins to intertwine with her present, Bee fears their love may not be as permanent as their ink . . .

Swoon Thursday is a super HOT meme created by the fabulous girls over at YA Bound.

Bound by Lies

Author: Hanna Peach

Series: Bound #1

Genre: Contempoaray Romance/Suspense

Expected Publication: January 2014

I have fallen hard for this amazing series! It is written by an Indie author who has ventured out of her comfort zone into something a little darker. I hope you have a chance to give it a go! Add it to your must reads, Ladies!!

“It makes me sad… that I can’t look at all of you and kiss you at the same time.”

I giggle. Me. Giggle. Like, an actual giggle. And not because I want to get my own way. He is being silly and gorgeous and I love it. Damn him. Look what he does to me.

He maintains his seriously distressed look. “Don’t laugh at me, kitten. This is a very serious problem. My eyes and mouth are jealous of each other.”

“Aw, no. Don’t be sad.” I brush his lip with my thumbs in order to tug them up into a smile. “They can share me.”

~ Kindle Arc Loc 1180

Title: Control You

Author: Jennifer Snyder

Series: Companion novel to Break You.

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Expected Publication: Spring 2014

Companion novel to Break You.

Kind hearted and naive, Paige Jacobs wants what every girl craves…to be loved. She uses this need to make excuses when her current boyfriend goes from being a tad jealous and slightly overprotective to stalker-ish. She isn’t that girl and Craig isn’t one of those guys. Things are fine. Perfectly fine. Until the moment a dark-haired, tattooed hottie with a snarky mouth walks into her life and tells her she deserves better.

Confident and boldly spoken, Cameron Green has always been the guy bad girls can’t get enough of and all the good girls want to tame. He’s lived a lavish lifestyle filled with drugs, women, and alcohol up until his destructive path finally caught up with him. Now Cameron isn’t sure what to do with himself or how to dampen the longing for something more festering inside of him since coming out of his drug-induced haze. But when he meets a doe-eyed girl who gets past his walls like no other, everything about him clicks into place.

Together the two learn there are emotions that hold within them all the power to control you…

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine where I have the chance to spotlight an upcoming release that I’m eagerly anticipating.

The Queen's Choice

Author: Cayla Kluver

Series: Heirs of Chrior #1

Genre: YA Fantasy

Expected Publication: February 1st 2014

Magic was seeping out of me, black and agonizing. I could see it drifting away. The magic that would let me pass the Road to reach home again.
When sixteen-year-old Anya learns that her aunt, Queen of the Faerie Kingdom of Chrior, will soon die, her grief is equaled only by her despair for the future of the kingdom. Her young cousin, Illumina, is unfit to rule, and Anya is determined not to take up the queen's mantle herself.

Convinced that the only solution is to find Prince Zabriel, who long ago disappeared into the human realm of Warckum, and persuade him to take up his rightful crown, Anya journeys into the Warckum Territory to bring him home. But her journey is doomed to be more harrowing than she ever could have imagined….

Title: Biting Bad

Author: Chloe Neill

Series: Chicagoland Vampires #8

Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

Published: August 6th 2013

Merit has been a vampire for only a short while, but she’s already seen a lifetime’s worth of trouble. She and her Master, centuries-old Ethan Sullivan, have risked their lives time and again to save the city they love. But not all of Chicago is loving them back.

Anti-vampire riots are erupting all over town, striking vampires where it hurts the most. A splinter group armed with Molotov cocktails and deep-seated hate is intent on clearing the fanged from the Windy City come hell or high water.

Merit and her allies rush to figure out who’s behind the attacks, who will be targeted next, and whether there’s any way to stop the wanton destruction. The battle for Chicago is just beginning, and Merit is running out of time.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Biting Bad

Chloe Neill

Chicagoland Vampires #8

Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

Published: August 6th 2013

I can't help it, but I have to share more from this amazing series!!

"I’ve got a loner."

"A loner? Should I give you some money?" I asked, but Gabriel shook his head.

"It’s on the house kitten. I'm doing a favour for myself really."

My eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How so?"

"I'll get to hear about Ethan's reaction when he sees you in that."

~ Paperback page 52

Title: Believe

Author: Erin McCarthy

Series: True Believers #3

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Published: January 21st 2014

Robin used to be a party girl… until she got black out drunk and woke up in bed with her best friend's boyfriend. Now she's faced with being THAT girl, and couldn't be more disgusted with herself. She can't even tell her friends the reason for her sudden sobriety and she avoids everyone until she meets Phoenix—quiet, tattooed, and different in every way that's good and oh, so bad…

Phoenix is two days out of jail when he meets Robin at his cousin's house, and he knows that he has no business talking to her, but he's drawn to her quiet demeanor, sweet smile, and artistic talent. She doesn't care that he's done time, or that he only has five bucks to his name, and she supports his goal to be a tattoo artist.

But Phoenix knows Robin has a secret, and that it's a naïve dream to believe that his record won't catch up with them at some point. Though neither is prepared for the explosive result when the past collides with the present…

Nomi’s Weekly Wrap Up is a combined meme with the Sunday Post hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking The Shelves hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. I’ll share news, post a recap of the past week and tell you what will be happening on my blog in the week ahead. I will also tell you about the books and goodies that I have managed to pick up.

It has been a scorching week in Aus this week! We are going through a heat wave which has been going all week. If you have seen the Australian Open at all you can see how the players have been struggling! It has been topping 43’C/109.4 or higher all week! Kids are starting to get cabin fever!! Lol

I’ve read a few books this week and managed to get on top of my blogging (I hope)! I picked up a few books and cannot wait to share my thoughts with you!