Hot Cover Monday! Offside (The Barker Triplets) by Juliana Stone

Available now!

When hockey phenom Billie-Jo Barker returns home and decides to play in the local Friday night hockey league, all hell breaks loose. Not because Billie’s talent is in question, but because Billie is a woman. And though these are modern times, some of the local guys still have a problem letting a girl into their ‘men’s club.’

Soon, Billie is at the center of a small town battle of the sexes, with everyone choosing sides. Her sisters. The townsfolk. Her friends. And yet, the only person whose opinion she cares about doesn’t seem to care much at all. Logan Forest, the man who broke her heart when she was eighteen and the man she now shares the bench with ever Friday night.

She’s got a lot to prove and though Billie Jo Barker scores on the ice, will this girl ever score with the man of her dreams?

Find out more about this book including a excerpt on Juliana Stone's website here www.julianastone.com

Free ebook Friday! Marked (Book 1 Eternal Guardians) by Elisabeth Naughton

THERON – Dark haired, duty bound and deceptively deadly. He’s the leader of the Argonauts, an elite group of guardians that defends the immortal realm from threats of the Underworld.

From the moment he walked into the club, Casey knew this guy was different. Men like that just didn’t exist in real life—silky shoulder-length hair, chest impossibly broad, and a predatory manner that just screamed dark and dangerous. He was looking for something. Her.

She was the one. She had the mark. Casey had to die so his kind could live, and it was Theron’s duty to bring her in. But even as a 200-year-old descendent of Hercules, he wasn’t strong enough to resist the pull in her fathomless eyes, to tear himself away from the heat of her body.

As war with the Underworld nears, someone will have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

For a limited time get Marked for free from Amazon. Get it here www.amazon.com/MARKED-Eternal-Guardians

Find out more about this book and read a excerpt on Elisabeth Naughton's website here www.elisabethnaughton.com  The get ready for the release of the next book in the Eternal Guardians series Enslaved. Which releases in 18 days!  It's all on the website. 

Sneak Peek! Iced ( A Dani O'Malley novel)Fever series by Karen Marie Moning

Iced: A Dani O'Malley Novel (Fever Series) by Karen Marie Moning

Releases October 30th. Pre-order now!

Find out more about the book and The author on Karen Marie Moning's website here www.karenmoning.com

Pre-order from Random house here www.randomhouse.com/ICED

Book review: The Reckoning (Harlequin Intrigue Series #1380) by Jana Deleon

Guest reviewer Sarah Jordan





Back of the Book Blurb:

In a tiny bayou town with far too many wicked secrets, the sudden disappearance of a six-year-old girl is a mystery Sheriff Holt Chamberlain is determined to solve. But teaming up with Alexandria Bastin is a complication he didn't expect. Nor is he prepared to collide with the dark side of Cajun culture—and his own troubled past.

The frantic search leads them to a place said to hold magic, an eerie island where Alex is also working her charm on him. At one time, he'd been forced to leave her brokenhearted. And now , dangerously close to the truth, he'll do anything to protect her from the evil that surrounds them—an evil that might hold the key to sending a little girl home.…

Review:

Released October 1, 2012, The Reckoning is the first of a three book series by Deleon being released by Harlequin Intrigue featuring the citizens of the creepy Mystere Parish in the steamy bayous of Louisiana.  Jana Deleon is one of my favorite authors, and her new series has a great start, establishing Mystere Parish as a place of dark secrets, danger, and strange happenings.  
The book starts with a bang, when Alex is called home from New Orleans by her cousin Sarah, whose daughter has been kidnapped.  The police in their small hometown think Sarah's estranged husband has taken his daughter, but Alex believes  that a stranger has taken her.  As a psychiatrist Alex quickly prescribes something for Sarah, believing she needs help to stay calm and deal with the situation.  I thought that was a little  arrogant on Alex's part, and it took me longer to warm up to her than I would have liked.  The acting sheriff soon arrives, and it turns out he is none other than Holt Chamberlin, the man who broke Alex's heart ten years ago when he left her and joined the military.  Seeing each other again after all those years gives both Alex and Holt a shock, triggering feelings both thought long gone.  But their focus is on finding the little girl, and they soon realize that not only did her father not take her, but the kidnapper is someone local, someone they know.
They find evidence pointing to a spooky island inhabited by an old woman believed to be a witch, who was implicated in the disappearance of three little girls over thirty years ago.  When Alex was a little girl she and Sarah went to the island on a dare, and saw something so horrifying that as an adult Alex is still terrified of the place.  Adding to the creepy atmosphere is the strange, watchful presence of crows, and the sinister appearance of dolls. 
Alex is a strong, capable heroine, who is focused on supporting her cousin Sarah and finding her little girl.  She is determined not to let her feelings for Holt show, believing that he has not changed much over the years.  But Holt is no longer the same boy who ran away from both Alex and his father's legacy, and as they work together their feelings are rekindled.  Getting to know one another as adults, while dealing with their still-present feelings, all under the pressure cooker of looking for a missing child created a really compelling story that had me reading way past my bedtime.

Jana Deleon is great at blending mystery, romance, and a touch of the paranormal.  Her stories have well-developed characters who have complicated histories.  Her settings are like an additional character, because they are so vivid and real.  When I read her books I feel like I can see, smell and hear the sounds of the swamps and the small towns.

The Reckoning is primarily a mystery with some romance, and the single sex scene is not graphic.  The Vanishing (#1386) will be released on October 30, 2012, and The Awakening (#1393) will be released on November 27, 2012.

4 out of 5 Modokker Stars for The Reckoning by Jana Deleon.

Find out more about Jana Deleon on her website here www.janadeleon.com

Book review: Lean on Me (Holloway) by HelenKay Dimon

LEAN ON ME
Carina Press
October 2012

Cassidy Clarke once climbed the world’s highest mountains, but after an unexpected illness ends her career she’s back in her hometown, broke and hoping for a little luck. But the townsfolk aren’t exactly putting out a welcome mat for the woman who once snubbed them in the media, despite her apologies now.

Mitch Anders knows someone has set up camp on the grounds of his plant nursery, and he’s surprised to find his sexy high school crush ducking questions about where she’s staying. Though he’s sworn to stop cleaning up other people’s messes, Mitch offers Cassidy a job and a place to stay—his place. Bedsharing optional, but definitely welcome.

Out of options and too attracted to Mitch to keep things platonic, Cassidy says yes to his offer. She wants to get back on her feet financially and start a new career. She never expects to suffer a different kind of fall, one that has her believing Mitch just might bring her something bigger and better than luck.

This is book 2 in the Holloway series which Helen Kay describes on her website.

"A small-town contemporary romance series. The books focus on the men and woman of Thomas Nurseries, a landscape company in Holloway, West Virginia, and provide an emotional and sexy story in a novella format."

Book 1 was a Christmas story from 2011 called "It's not Christmas without you". I read it last year and really enjoyed it so i was happy to see another installment in this novella series. Cassidy Clark was shy in school. Quiet and kept to herself. The one thing she concentrated on was climbing. As a adult she turned herself into a world class climber. She made a big name for herself. So big in fact she had sponsors and a team that she needed so she could do the big climbs. She had everything she could ever want out of life. It all fell part over a short period of time. Sick from a illness caused from the high climbs she gave a interview where she bad mouthed her hometown. Delirious at the time she didn't realize until later what she said and the reporter didn't care. Now everyone in her hometown hates her. Top it off after finding she couldn't do the climbs anymore the guy handling her money wasn't taking care of it so much as stealing it. She's broke. Then her beloved mother dies. The people in town all have ideas about Cassidy but no one knows the real truth.  Mitch had a crush on Cassidy in high school but thought she hated him. She's back now and all the rumors about her don't bother him at all. The old feelings are still there but now their both older and more mature. Problem is there are some red flags about Cassidy that Mitch is curious about. He decides one way or another he's going to find out what's going on. Mitch always wants to help but has his own problems with opening his heart. Question is can either of them open up enough to make a relationship work? This story has a serious as well as a fun side and they are nicely meshed together by HelenKay Dimon. You might laugh and you might cry but in the end you just feel good when your done. 5 out 5 Modokker Book Pick stars for Lean on Me by HelenKay Dimon

Find out more about Lean on Me and HelenKay Dimon's website here www.helenkaydimon.com

Preorder Lean on Me Available Oct. 22nd here www.amazon.com/Lean-on-Me

Then get ready for the next installment in this novella series in December with "We'll be home for Christmas" Pre-order now here www.amazon.com/Well-Be-Home-Christmas-ebook