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Guest Post and Giveaway: 6 Reasons to Fall in Love with a Cyborg by Cara Bristol, Author of Mated with the Cyborg

Friday, January 29, 2016

Who knew cyborgs were so interesting? Have to admit I've never tried any cyborg romance till now because I didn't think those were my type of stories. However, I really enjoyed the following guest post by author Cara Bristol so I'm tempted! Alongside this guest post, also find a promo and excerpt from her latest erotic sci-fi romance, Mated with the Cyborg (Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance #2), as a part of the ongoing VBT.

Cara Bristol will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour
6 Reasons to Fall in Love with a Cyborg
Cara Bristol

One of the things I’ve been asked about Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance series is why I chose to write about cyborgs. Why not aliens? Why not androids? Here are six reasons:

1.    Cyborgs are human—modified and enhanced—but human. If you find it hard to fall for a six-eyed, blue-skinned tentacle man, you’ll appreciate the humanness and compatibility of a cyborg.
2.    They’re smart. Not only do they have human intelligence, but they have computer enhancements which give them all sorts of special “mental” abilities.
3.    They have the brawn too! Nanocytes (robotic cells) have enhanced their physique and physical performance. They are stronger and faster than normal males.
4.    They are true heroes. In my Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance series they’re fighting against terrorism in the galaxy.
5.    They’re loyal, and when they fall in love, they’ll do anything for the heroine.
6.    A cybernetic organism is possible and plausible. Although the technology isn’t advanced enough now, it’s likely that in the not-so-distant future computer brain implants and natural-looking prosthetic parts will be developed. So the concept isn’t far-fetched. As for aliens? It’s possible extraterrestrials exist, but if were to meet them, chances are it won’t end well.

In most sci-fi romances, cyborgs are the result of a conspiracy. They’re created by an evil government. My cyborgs are cyberoperatives who fight terrorism in the galaxy. The series tagline is “Saving the girl and galaxy one mission at a time.” I wanted to challenge my hero in Mated with the Cyborg and put his conscience to the test. Undercover on an enemy space station, Kai falls for the innocent daughter of a notorious terrorist and is forced to choose between completing his mission or saving her life.

Promo Spotlight: Eve of Destiny by Maya James

Monday, January 25, 2016

I'm hosting a promo, today, on Maya James' erotic romance novella, Eve of Destiny, as a part of the ongoing VBT. Find an excerpt and teasers for your enjoyment.
Eve of Destiny
Maya James
Published: January 25, 2016
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28680493-eve-of-destiny
Adam vanishing from her life hasn't been as easy for Evette to forget about as she'd hoped in this finale to the novella, Fate: Adam & Evette.

No matter what distractions Evette creates for herself, the memories of her short but intense love affair refuse to fade. An unexpected encounter with someone from Adam's past reveals the awful truth of his fate and the plane crash that has plagued Evette's subconscious. New and old friendships converge around her for support and with them comes a new purpose, the sole survivor of the accident that took Adam. A young man named Mark Zimmerman, with his devoted father at his side, becomes Evette's obsession. But with Mark's recovery and entire future offering no promises at all, is she placing her heart on an impossible hope?

Unexpected love, forgotten revenge, lifelong secrets, forgiveness, loss, and unrelenting passion all await Evette on her path from fate.

"Destiny is just where you end up, that's why you can't get away from it. We all have hundreds of destinies, thousands maybe. Depending on what you do, you'll only land on one of them—that's why you can't get away from it. All we did, all of us, is push them into a better destiny."

(The conclusion of Fate: Adam and Evette)

Buy Links:

All A Mistress Wants by Eliza Lloyd

Sunday, January 24, 2016

All A Mistress Wants (novella)
The Infamous Forresters #1

Eliza Lloyd
Erotic Historical Romance
Published in 2015

H/h - Adam Forrester, Duke of Sterling/Eloisa Larkin
Setting: Regency.

Read in January, 2016.
My rating:

                                                       [spoiler alert] 

This short novella from Eliza Lloyd, first in The Infamous Forresters series, was delightful. It was pretty short at 36 pages, yet the author was able to give me an HEA that left me smiling and wishing the couple in question all the best.

Mistress-themed stories can be a bit tricky for me since I don't know which author can pull it off well enough that it won't leave me uncomfortable. Especially if the H and h has started their relationship as an affair and such. I remember reading another story where the h was a famous courtesan and the H was obsessed with her. He bought her favors after waiting for years for her to become available. When the story started, they were already lovers for about a year or so. Despite my doubts, I ended up really liking it, kudos to the author. Though not all, All A Mistress Wants progresses somewhat in the same vein which is why I kept thinking of that other book.

A Christmas Dance by Alissa Johnson

Saturday, January 23, 2016

A Christmas Dance (novella)

Alissa Johnson
Historical Romance
Published in 2014 (originally 2009)

H/h - William Renwick, Earl of Casselbury/Patience Byerly
Setting: Regency.

Read in January, 2016.
My rating:

                                               [might be spoiler-ish]

A very short story of a "plain" spinster fallen on hard times, finding love with the handsome earl she's been dreaming away for sometimes... A been-there-done-that trope, though Alissa Johnson was able to make it even sweeter with her excellent writing and characterization. I bought this story because I wanted something short, also because I've been meaning to try her books for a long time. Needless to say, A Christmas Dance won't be my last.

Patience had a secret that she needed to hide from the Ton, when she's taking part in, what can be called her first season at the age of 26. Unusual, but her father had no money, or the inclination, to give her one. The Meldrins, close family friends, took them in after their financial downfall and gave Patience a home, taught her social graces, even an Europe tour! Now this "season" too, that she never thought she'd ever have even though it was alongside with their own daughter. Patience isn't hoping for a match since she won't win any beauty contest, neither does she have a dowry to speak of. But William... he makes her wish for things she can't say or hope of attaining. William, who has probably never looked at her twice...

Release Blitz: Holding Her Close by Lexi Ryan

Thursday, January 21, 2016

I'm hosting a promo spotlight on Lexi Ryan's new adult romantic suspense, Holding Her Close (Mended Hearts #2), today, as a part of the ongoing release blitz. Also find an excerpt and some teasers for your enjoyment.
Holding Her Close
Lexi Ryan
(Mended Hearts #2)
Publication: January 19, 2016
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25920208-holding-her-close
HOLD YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE...AND YOUR ENEMIES CLOSER.

She's everything he detests about Hollywood.
After spending my entire acting career being cast as the airhead, I finally have the serious role I've been dying for, and I screw it all up during a four martini dinner with my ex. Now, thanks to the morality clause in my contract, I might lose the role of a lifetime. My only hope is to convince the media (and my eccentrically conservative director) that I've entered a committed relationship. But when I use my brother's costume party to launch Operation Fake Fiancé, I end up in front of the camera with the wrong guy, leaving my reputation—and the fate of my career—at his mercy. Any other guy I could sweet talk into playing the supporting role I need, but not Officer Cade Watts. Not the man who hates everything about me. Not the man who would most revel in seeing me fail.

He's everything she needs.
I don't care how good it felt to have her in my arms. I don't care that I can't close my eyes without remembering the way she tastes or the sound of her moan. I want nothing to do with Janelle Crane. Her scheme to fake an engagement to save her own career is exactly the kind of manipulative Hollywood crap I left LA to escape. But when her fan mail turns threatening and the tragedies befalling her former co-stars seem to be anything but coincidence, everything changes. Now I don't just want to play the part of Janelle's fake fiancé, I demand it. I won't let my jaded heart cost me another case. I may not trust Janelle but I do care, and the only way I know she's safe is if I'm holding her close.

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Promo Spotlight: If Only... by Beckie Stevenson

Monday, January 18, 2016

I'm hosting a promo, today, on Beckie Stevenson's new adult romance, If Only..., as a part of the ongoing VBT. Also find an excerpt and teasers for your enjoyment.
If Only...
Beckie Stevenson
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26031304-if-only

Our story started like the fairytales you grew up reading, but it doesn’t end like them.

I was fifteen when I realised I was in love with Cole. He was the foster kid who wore scruffy clothes and never had any money. He was the bad boy, the fighter. The boy who took all the dares—and won. He was the boy that scared me but excited me at the same time. He was the boy I shouldn’t have wanted, but, of course, he was the one I wanted the most.

In the beginning, he was mine. And I was his.
Cole and Evie. Evie and Cole.

But then a lie was told. Lies break people. And broken people shatter into little pieces of tortured pasts and fractured futures.

And then our fairytale beginning morphed into a story of heartache and sadness, instead of happiness and hope. A story that ended with lost love, friendship, and a never-ending cycle of what ifs and if onlys.

Our ending broke me. Shattered me. Destroyed me.
When a story ends like ours did, is it any wonder I never wanted to start a new one again?

Buy Links:

Daughter of Twin Oaks by Lauraine Snelling

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Daughter of Twin Oaks
A Secret Refuge #1

Lauraine Snelling
Historical/Christian Romance
Published in 2000

H/h - Jesselyn Highwood/Sgt. Barnabas White
Setting: Missouri and Virginia, 1862.

Read in January, 2016.
My rating:

                                                       [spoiler alert] 

This book is aptly named Daughter of Twin Oaks as it goes to narrate the arduous journey of Jesselyn, the oldest Highwood daughter, from her home Twin Oaks to Missouri in search of a safer ground in the Civil war-torn America. The Highwoods plantation was thriving before war. Joshua Highwood never had to worry over feeding his big family or his slaves, whom he dreamed of freeing as soon as the opportunity arrived.

But the wretched war changed everything for them. Joshua went to war, his wife Miriam died giving birth to their last child, Thaddeus or Thaddy. His oldest son Adam also died in war, the next Zachary gone missing. Joshua came home 2 yrs. later to die of his wounds. Jesselyn, next to Zach, was only 18 at that time. She had to grow up so fast that it might've spun my own head. She had to take the responsibly of not only a plantation full of slaves but also of 2 yrs. old Thaddy, and her sisters Louisa and Carrie Mae. She sends Louisa and Carrie Mae to Richmond to live with their maternal aunt for safety purposes. She then takes measures to free her slaves. Afterwards, Jesselyn plans on journeying because she'd promised her father one thing before his passing; to take their prized thoroughbreds to her uncle Hiram's to hide away from the soldiers. After all, Highwoods have always been known for their stud farm and splendid horses. They needed to hold onto some hope; that once Zach returned, and the war ended, they can start over rebuilding.

Truce by R.L. Mathewson

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Truce
Neighbor from Hell #4

R.L. Mathewson
Historical Romance
Published in 2013

H/h - Robert Bradford/Elizabeth
Setting: Regency-era England.

Read in January, 2016.
My rating:

                                                     [spoiler alert]

Sooo, Neighbor from Hell series by R.L. Mathewson used to be one of my favorite series. However, as the years passed, the books became rather difficult to get through, the main family The Bradford’s showcasing the same type of obnoxious males in each. I mean each one of them talked, acted and ate (yes ate, if you’ve read the series you know what I mean) the same way. After a while, honestly, it just got old.

I loved book 1, Playing for Keeps, to bits. It’s where we’re introduced to the male population of the Bradford clan and their legendary eating habits. Oh don’t worry, they have great metabolism so no matter how much they eat, they always keep fit. LOL It also may have something to do with their profession, as they’re construction workers by trade (or so I remember). Playing for Keeps featured Hailey and Jason and was just so adorable and funny that I couldn’t help myself sighing over it. Book 2, Perfection, features Jason’s cousin Trevor and Zoey. I wasn’t as sold in it because Trevor hit a few really sensitive nerve in me with his words and activities. I’d probably show him my middle finger and move on, but he did come around in time and saved the book for me. Zoey was great, though she was too caught up in Trevor’s goodlooks, even when he was being an a$$ of colossal proportions. Book 3, Checkmate, was the story of.................... *cricket* It’s been a while and I didn’t care for the main characters much so I largely have forgotten about this one. The last one I read was book 5, The Game Plan. It was SO BAD that I had an epiphany; that I need to stay away from this series. At least for a while because this book was wayyyy over the top, so ridiculous and repetitive that it wasn’t even funny. It was absolutely irritating, and when it wasn’t, it was boring me to sleep. Needless to say, I didn’t bother doing a review. I think it featured one of Jason’s cousins, again, another Bradford clone who offered me basically nothing.


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Punya
I love to read in my spare time and do reviews the books I read. My blog Punya Reviews just turned 6 in 2017 and still going strong. I love music and traveling. Sometimes, I wish I could live inside a book, having my own HEA. :)
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