Changing the Rules by Catherine Bybee Blog Tour & Giveaway!

Thank you for joining me on my stop of Catherine Bybee’s Changing the Rules blog tour! Catherine Bybee has created a brand-new series filled with action, romance, and characters to fall in love with. I am pleased to participate in this tour and to give you readers a glimpse into the first book and a chance to win your very own e-book copy plus a $100 Amazon gift card! Check out the excerpt below then enter the giveaway at the bottom of this post. Happy reading! 

 

 

Excerpt from Changing the Rules by Catherine Bybee

Claire collapsed onto the living room sofa the second she walked in the door. Not only had she suffered a headache the entire day, Cooper ran her like a trainer working an Iron Man competitor. 

“That sounds like a bad day,” Jax said as she walked around the corner of the kitchen. 

“You don’t want to know.” 

Claire flung an arm over her eyes to block out the sun. 

She heard Jax walk in the room and then exhale as she sat down. “You’re right. I don’t give a crap what happened in school, unless it involved Cooper. What I want is the details of last night after I got out of the car.” 

Before Cooper picked them up, Claire and Jax had agreed that Jax would give them a few minutes to have a private conversation. Now Claire regretted that plan. 

“The long story, or the short story?” Claire asked. 

“Whatever one you want to deliver.” 

Claire’s arms slid off her head, and she pushed herself into a sitting position. 

“Cooper has a thing for me.” 

Jax sat silent, blinked a few times. “Okay, and?” 

“What do you mean, ‘okay, and?’” 

“Sorry, Claire, but that’s obvious. I think you’d have to be an idiot to not see it. Even the guys on the team see it.” 

“What? Are they talking about—” 

Jax stopped her with a shake of the head. “Of course not. But you can tell by how they look at the two of you that they know there’s an attraction.” 

Claire pointed to her chest. “I’m not doing anything, it’s him.” 

“Maybe it’s more him.” 

She kept shaking her head. “No, it’s all him. I’m not instigating anything.” 

“You flirt with him all the time.” 

“I do not,” Claire huffed. 

One look from Jax and she rescinded her statement. “Okay, we banter. But it’s always been like that. I have the pool stick, he makes some kind of phallic joke. It’s banter. Not flirting.” 

Jax sat back, crossed her arms over her chest. Claire couldn’t believe her best friend was calling her out. “We’re friends. And last night he ruined that by telling me he’s had a thing for me since we met. Told me he left sunny California for dreary London because I was too young and naive to handle him when I first got here.” 

Jax narrowed her eyes. “Is that really how he said that?” 

Claire’s headache was coming back. “No. He said I was a child.” 

“A child?” 

Claire stood up from the couch, started for the kitchen. “He kept repeating that I was eighteen back then.” 

Jax followed behind. “Which is true.” 

Claire yanked open the fridge, pulled out a beer. “Whose side are you on?” 

“Yours. Always. But I just don’t see where all the fire is about this. Cooper owns up to the flirting comments and puppy-dog looks he gives you, and you’re pissed because he walked away six years ago.”

Like picking a lock, the pieces slid into place and finally started to click. “But he’s my friend.” 

“Trying to say you’ve never thought of him as more?” 

“No.” Her denial was quick. 

Jax started to smile. “You’ve never checked out his ass? The guy can fill out a pair of jeans.” 

Some of the anger she’d harbored all day eased. “That’s true.” 

“And that smile. When he’s belly laughing he has the tiniest dimples.” 

Claire closed her eyes, pictured his smile. She hadn’t noticed the dimples, but now that she thought about it . . . She opened her eyes to find Jax staring at her. 

“Sounds like you have a thing for him,” Claire said. 

“Wouldn’t matter if I did, and I don’t, by the way, but it wouldn’t matter. The guy can’t stop looking at you.” 

“God, what am I going to do with him?” 

“I don’t think you have to do anything. It’s not like he asked you out and you said no and now it’s awkward.” 

“You’re right. It’s worse than that.” 

“You’re overthinking it.” Jax pushed off the counter. “You know what, let’s gussy up a little and hit a proper happy hour. We’ll talk in German and pretend we don’t speak English and shamelessly flirt.” 

Claire abandoned her beer. “Now that is exactly what I need to do and get my mind off of boys.” 

**********

About the Title

Title: Changing the Rules

Author: Catherine Bybee

Release Date: March 23, 2021

Publisher: Montlake

Summary 

 

As an employee of MacBain Security and Solutions, Claire Kelly can certainly hold her own. Armed with an impressive set of covert skills, she’s more than prepared to tackle any job that comes her way…except one involving Cooper Lockman.

 

Cooper and Claire used to work together before his feelings for her sent him packing to Europe for six long years. But now he’s back and determined to ignore the still-smoldering heat that lingers between them.

 

Their current mission: go undercover together at a California high school to root out the mastermind behind a prostitution ring targeting young girls. The closer they get to the truth and the closer they get to each other, however, the deadlier their task becomes. As Claire and Cooper risk their lives to bring down their target, will their hearts be the final casualties?

About the Author

New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee has written twenty-eight books that have collectively sold more than five million copies and have been translated into more than eighteen languages. Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Not Quite Series, the Weekday Brides Series, the Most Likely To Series, and the First Wives Series.

Social Media Links

Website: http://www.catherinebybee.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/catherinebybee

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2905789.Catherine_Bybee 

Giveaway!!

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Layla by Colleen Hoover Blog Tour & GIVEAWAY!!!

This month bestselling author Colleen Hoover released her very first paranormal romance, Layla. Today Colleen shares one of her very favorite parts of the book and introduces the scene. Colleen, take it away! 

 

“Leeds and Layla have just met about an hour before this scene takes place. I wouldn’t say they experienced insta-love, but it was definitely an immediate attraction. Leeds is lonely and withdrawn from life, while Layla is the opposite. She’s over the top and fun and everything Leeds isn’t. He’s a musician who has never released any of his own music due to insecurities and doubt. But Layla lights a fire in him and uncovers the confidence about his music that he keeps buried.”   

 

 

Excerpt from Layla by Colleen Hoover

 

Layla leans in and I expect her to kiss me, but instead she whispers, “Play me something,” against my mouth. Then she moves to the couch and lies down. “Play something worthy of that piano,” she says. 

 

She crosses her legs at her ankles and lets one of her arms dangle off the couch. She runs her finger against the hardwood floor while she waits for me to start playing, but I can’t stop staring at her. I’m not sure there’s another woman on this planet who could make me want to stare at her without blinking until my eyes dry up, but she’s looking at me expectantly. 

 

“What if you don’t like my music?” I ask. “Will you still let me kiss you?” 

 

She smiles gently. “Does the song mean something to you?” 

 

“I wrote it using pieces of my soul.” 

 

“Then you have nothing to worry about,” she says quietly. 

 

I spin around on the bench and place my fingers on the keys. I hesitate for a moment before playing the song. I’ve never performed it for anyone before. The only person I’ve ever wanted to sing it for is my father, and he’s no longer alive. His death is the reason I wrote this in the first place. 

 

I’ve never been nervous while playing Garrett’s songs onstage, but this feels different. This is personal, and despite the fact that there’s only one person in the audience right now, it feels like the most intense audience I’ve ever performed for. 

 

I fill my lungs with air and slowly release it as I begin to play. 

 

That night I stopped believing in heaven

I can’t believe in a god that cruel

Can you?

That night I stopped praying on my knees

But I don’t pray standing either

Do you?

That night I closed the door and closed the

window

I’ve been sitting in the dark

Are you?

That night I learned happiness is a fairy tale

A thousand pages read aloud

By you

That night I stopped believing in God

You were ours, he didn’t care, he

Took you

So that night I stopped . . .

I stopped . . .

I just

Stopped.

That night I stopped.

I stopped.

I just stopped.

That night I stopped.

I . . .

 

When I’m finished playing the song, I fold my hands in my lap. I’m a little hesitant to turn around and look at her. The whole room got quiet after I played the last note. So quiet—it feels like all the sound was sucked out of the house. I can’t even hear her breathing. 

 

I close the cover to the piano and then slowly spin around on the bench. She’s wiping her eyes, staring up at the ceiling.

 

“Wow,” she whispers. “I wasn’t expecting that. I feel like you just stomped on my chest.” 

 

That’s how I’ve felt since I first laid eyes on her tonight. 

 

“I like how it ends,” she says. She sits up on the couch and tucks her legs beneath her. “You just stop in the middle of the sentence. It’s so perfect. So powerful.” 

 

I wasn’t sure if she’d realize the intentional ending, but the fact that she does makes me all the more enamored of her.

 

******

 

About the Book

 

Title: Layla

Author: Colleen Hoover

Release Date: December 8, 2020

Publisher: Montlake

 

Summary

 

When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her—until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences.

Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow—another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them.

 

Author Biography

 

Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including the bestselling women’s fiction novel It Ends with Us and the bestselling psychological thriller Verity. She has won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance three years in a row—for Confess (2015), It Ends with Us (2016), and Without Merit (2017). Confess was adapted into a seven-episode online series. In 2015, Hoover and her family founded the Bookworm Box, a bookstore and monthly subscription service that offers signed novels donated by authors. All profits go to various charities each month to help those in need. Hoover lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys.

 

Social Media Links

 

Website: http://www.colleenhoover.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/colleenhoover

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5430144.Colleen_Hoover

 

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Dirty Letters by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward Blog Feature & Giveaway!!!

Publication: November 5, 2019

Publisher: Montlake Publishing

Source: Publisher

Thank you for checking out my spot of the Dirty Letters by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward Blog Tour. I have read and enjoyed many stories by these two awesome writers and this book is included in that. 

P.S. Keep reading for a little more info on Dirty Letters, my review, an excerpt, and a  GIVEAWAY for a $100 Amazon Giftcard and your own copy of Dirty Letters!!

Synopsis: 

I’d never forgotten him—a man I’d yet to meet.

Griffin Quinn was my childhood pen pal, the British boy who couldn’t have been more different from me. Over the years, through hundreds of letters, we became best friends, sharing our deepest, darkest secrets and forming a connection I never thought could break.

Until one day it did.

Then, out of the blue, a new letter arrived. A scathing one—one with eight years of pent-up anger. I had no choice but to finally come clean as to why I stopped writing.

Griffin forgave me, and somehow we were able to rekindle our childhood connection. Only now we were adults, and that connection had grown to a spark. Our letters quickly went from fun to flirty to downright dirty, revealing our wildest fantasies. So it only made sense that we would take our relationship to the next level and see each other in person.

Only Griff didn’t want to meet. He asked that I trust him and said it was for the best. But I wanted more—more Griff, in the flesh—so I took a big chance and went looking for him. People have done crazier things for love.

But what I found could change everything. 

******

Review:

Luca is a 25 year old successful writer. She had a traumatic experience in her teen years and because of this she suffers from anxiety which can lead to major panic attacks. I loved Luca’s personality and her willingness to not give up on life. She is determined to not allow life to pass her by. And who wouldn’t like someone with a pet pig?? 

Needing to clean out her fathers apartment after his passing, she comes across a letter from her old pen-pal, Griffin from second grade. He’s upset with her, but she writes back and they jumpstart their friendship again. 

Griffin was so easy to fall for. He’s a famous musician, who had to overcome a lot to get where he is today. He and Luca develop such an easy rapport with each other. Not to mention their chemistry is amazing. I didn’t always agree with his decisions/actions, but Griffin made up for them as the story progressed. 

Neither one of them knows the others real name or even job, but for the most part they have complete trust in each other. And even though 8 years had passed, they still remembered things about each other. Dirty Letters was a sweet angsty romance story that I could not get enough of! 

RATING: 4 OUT OF 5.

EXCERPT: Dirty Letters by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

The small dining room table had a pile of mail. I’d had Dad’s mail forwarded to my house, so mostly it was just catalogs and junk. Once a month, Mrs. Cascio sent me everything that arrived, even though I’d told her it wasn’t necessary. I mindlessly fingered through the pile, not expecting to see anything worth keeping. But I stopped at an envelope addressed to me—well, not me, but Luca Ryan. That was a name I hadn’t heard in a long time. In second grade, my teacher, Mrs. Ryan, started a pen pal writing program with a small town in England. We weren’t allowed to use our real last names for safety reasons, so the entire class used her last name—hence I was Luca Ryan. I checked out the return address for the sender’s name. 

G. Quinn 

Wow, really? It couldn’t be.

I squinted at the postmark. It was from a PO box in California, not England, but I didn’t know any other Quinn other than Griffin. And the handwriting did look pretty familiar. But it had been close to eight years since we’d exchanged letters. Why would he write now? Curious, I ripped it open and scanned right to the bottom of the letter for the name. Sure enough, it was from Griffin. I started at the beginning. 

Dear Luca, 

Do you like scotch? I remember you said you didn’t like the taste of beer. But we never did get around to comparing our taste in hard liquor. Why is that, you might ask? Let me remind you—because you stopped answering my letters eight damn years ago. I wanted to let you know, I’m still pissed off about that. My mum used to say I hold grudges. But I prefer to think of it as I remember the facts. And the fact of the matter is, you suck. There, I’ve said it. I’ve been holding that shit in for a long time. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not obsessive or anything. I don’t sit in my house thinking about you all day long. In fact, there have been months that go by when thoughts of you don’t even enter my brain. But then some random thing will pop into my head out of the blue. Like I’ll see some kid in a pram eating black licorice, and I’ll think of you. Side note—I’ve tried it again as an adult, and I still think it tastes like the bottom of my shoe, so perhaps it’s that you just have no taste. You probably don’t even like scotch. Anyway, I’m sure this letter won’t find its way to you. Or if by some miracle it does, you won’t answer. But if you’re reading this, you should know two things. 

1. The Macallan 1926 is worth the extra cash. Goes down smooth. 

2. You SUCK. 

Later, traitor, Griffin 

What in the hell?

******

Buy the Book:

Amazon | B&N | Books-a-Million | iTunes Audiobook

Author Biographies

Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared on more than one hundred bestseller lists and are currently translated into twenty-six languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children, where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of more than twenty novels. A former television news anchor, Penelope has sold more than two million books and has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list twenty-one times. She resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.

Together, Vi and Penelope are the authors of Dirty Letters, Hate Notes, and the Rush Series. For more information about them, visit www.vikeeland.com and www.penelopewardauthor.com.

Social Media:

Vi Keeland Website: https://www.vikeeland.com

Vi Keeland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorViKeeland

Vi Keeland Twitter: https://twitter.com/vikeeland 

Penelope Ward Website: https://penelopewardauthor.com

Penelope Ward Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/penelopewardauthor

Penelope Ward Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/penelopewardauthor

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