PUYB Spotlight (Quick Thought): The Sweetheart Racket by Cheryl Ann Smith

The Sweetheart Racket
Brash & Brazen, 1
Cheryl Ann Smith

  Lyrical Shine
September 13, 2016

They used to be on the sidelines. Now they’re out in the field…

Two years ago, Taryn Hall was a pro football cheerleader—until she left her lecherous boss with a bloody nose and a faceful of Mace. Now she’s part of a different kind of squad. An elderly billionaire named Irving has hired and trained Taryn and her two best friends to work as private investigators…

Taryn loves the job, though it sometimes involves boring stakeouts, dog bites—and listening to Irving talk about his golf shoes. Then tattooed, steely-eyed, straight-up gorgeous undercover DEA agent Rick Silva walks into the office and shakes things up…

Rick needs help finding the con artist who’s taken his lonely mother for all she was worth. With multiple aliases and multiple victims, it will be a challenge to track down the coldhearted gigolo. And Rick insists on accompanying Taryn on the hunt, working closely, day and night. This could be dangerous. And the case might be kind of risky, too…

PUYB Spotlight + Review: A Brazen Bargain by Laura Trentham

A Brazen Bargain

Spies and Lovers, 2

Laura Trentham

Samhain Publishing

January 26, 2016

Blurb: 

Love soothes the deepest of scars.

Minerva Bellingham is at her wits’ end. Her younger brother, Simon, will have them penniless and on the streets if his extravagant gambling habit isn’t curtailed. An enormous debt to Lord Rafe Drummond is the final indignity.

Signing over her dowry is their only choice. Until Lord Drummond suggests something much more scandalous. She can keep her dowry—in exchange for the Bellinghams working three months as a housemaid and stable boy.

Scarred from his service to the Crown, Rafe recognizes the young Simon Bellingham has the makings of a good duke. Minerva is a different story. Her pure, delicate beauty only underscores Rafe’s tarnished, bleak soul.

Yet he delights in cracking Minerva’s icy reserve to reveal a fiery, stubborn woman. And Minerva discovers the gruff master of Wintermarsh has the heart of a poet. But before they can find a future safe in each other’s arms, a menace from Simon’s licentious past slithers back into their lives, forcing Rafe to plan the most important rescue mission of his life.

Warning: Contains a paragon of the beau monde who gets the hang of polishing silver, and a master of the house who’d like her to make his bed—preferably with him in it. Also passion unleashed with the mere touch of a finger. Readers are encouraged to swoon.

My Thoughts:

PUYB Spotlight + Review: Viral Justice by Julie Rowe

Viral Justice 

Biological Response Team, 3

Julie Rowe 

 Carina Press 

Romantic Suspense 

As a general's daughter, Alicia Stone has fought twice as hard for everything she's earned in the military. A Special Forces consultant with black belts in three martial arts, she's as strong as her surname implies. No one dares call her Alicia—no one but Colonel Robert Maxmillian, head of the Biological Response Team.

With Alicia at his side, Max must lead the team into northern Iraq to investigate a virus—or is it a weapon—killing the area's population. Charged with guarding his body, she can't help wanting his hands on her body. Max would be the perfect fling. But he demands more.

The heat builds between them, but danger quickly follows. As the two get closer to the source of the virus, they'll have to risk their future to outsmart a scientist with nothing to lose.  

My Thoughts:

PUYB Spotlight + Review of Lyrical Press Historicals

Ella
South Landers, 2
Virginia Taylor
Lyrical Press
October 13, 2015

Ella Beaufort knew better than to rely on a sexy stranger. But with two sisters to support on the modest earnings of the family sheep station, she accepts shearer Cal Lynton’s help—along with his intoxicating kiss. The most Ella can hope for is an affair. Something a woman in her situation wouldn’t dare—or would she?

Heir to his family fortune, Charlton Alfred Landon Lynton abandoned his privileged life to prove his independence. He doesn’t have time for a woman, but once he woos the lovely Ella into his bed, he is ready to make her his wife…until she shocks him with her refusal, claiming she can only marry a rich man! Angry and brokenhearted, the heir in disguise leaves the beautiful golddigger behind…

But amid the breathtaking landscape of South Australia, Ella and Cal are destined to meet again. Will their heated reunion lead to cruel confrontation—or the kind of passion that lasts a lifetime?

Be sure not to miss the first book in Virginia Taylor’s South Landers series!

PUYB Spotlight + Review of Lyrical Press Contemporary Books

His Work of Art

Hot and Nerdy, 4
Shannyn Schroeder
Lyrical Press

October 27, 2015

Reese Carter is definitely not your average college girl. She’d prefer to spend Saturday nights playing Hero’s Crusade than attending a wild frat party on campus. When she bands together with Adam, fellow comic enthusiast and illustrator, it appears that Reese has formed a dream team sure to propel her writing into the comic hall of fame.

Adam Hayes has never met a girl like Reese. She’s sassy, smart, and loves talking comics, although he can’t see why she’d choose DC over Marvel. He’s thrilled to finally put his artistic chops to use in their upcoming comic project. But. this relationship is strictly professional. Or so he tells himself. When the two combine forces, they churn out magic in more ways than they had planned; they never expected to develop a steamy romantic sub-plot of their own…

My Thoughts:

PUYB Lyrical Underground Spotlight + Review

Devil Dead

Claire Morgan, 8
Linda Ladd
Lyrical Underground

August 4, 2015

“A tough, no-nonsense detective…edgy, clever!” —Beverly Barton

Lost Girl

She was last seen in New Orleans. Her father, a rich, powerful arms dealer, believes she was abducted. For ransom. For revenge. For reasons too horrible to imagine.

Lost Innocence

Claire Morgan, recent former cop turned private investigator, and her new partner begin their search at the girl’s school, where a violent junkie attacks Claire with scissors, raves of “demons and devils,” and then takes her own life.

Last Rites

Sinister clues lead Claire on a twisted trail through the bars and bayous of New Orleans to a bloodstained altar in Paris. Vast, secret, and powerful, it is a world that few enter or escape. And Claire is going in—the devil be damned…

PUYB Spotlight + Review: The Madness of Lord Westfall by Mia Marlowe

The Madness of Lord Westfall

The Order of MUSE, 2

Mia Marlowe

Entangled Select

September 21, 2015

Blurb:

Pierce Langdon, Viscount Westfall is mad. Everyone knows it. He fell from a tree when he was a boy and woke to hear strange voices. When the voices grow stronger as he grows older, his family commits him to Bedlam. But what he hears are the thoughts of those around him—a gift to be used in service to the Order of the M.U.S.E. Until he falls again…this time for a totally unsuitable woman.

Lady Nora Claremont  hides her heartbreak behind the facade of a carefree courtesan. Viscount Westfall is the most confusing man she’s ever met. He seems to know exactly what she wants…and what she’s thinking.

Which is a dangerous thing, because what Nora wants is Pierce.

And what she’s thinking could expose her as a traitor to the crown…

My Thoughts: 

PUYB Spotlight on Lyrical Press Titles & Authors

Nightbloom

Nightwing, #3

Juliette Cross
September 1, 2015
Lyrical Press

The love between a human and a Morgon, the dragon-hybrid race, tempts fate once more…

All her life, Ella Barrow has allowed others to make her decisions. Forced to stifle her artistic talents and stay in a loveless relationship with Clayton Kerrington, the man her mother believes to be her perfect match, Ella’s life may be safe—but it’s not her own. Paxon Nightwing, on the other hand, is anything but the safe choice.

A charming and alluring Morgon, Paxon sees Ella for the woman she truly is. His bold confidence and protective nature ignites a passion she’s never felt before. But a dark family tragedy forces their secrecy—until Clayton makes it impossible to hide their clandestine affair. Will Ella be strong enough to fight for herself at last? Or will she succumb once more and risk losing the only man she’s ever loved?

PUYB Spotlight: Treble Maker by Annabeth Albert & Her Shirtless Gentleman by M.Q. Barber

Treble Maker
Annabeth Albert

Lyrical Shine

August 4, 2015

On Perfect Harmony, the ambitious competitors heat things up on stage and off…

Cody Rivers is determined to be a rock star, but couch-surfing between bar shows gets old fast. Joining an a cappella group for a new singing competition show could be his last chance at real fame—unless the college boy from the heart of the country messes it up for him. Lucas Norwood is everything gothy, glittery Cody is not—conservative, clean-cut, and virginal. But when a twist in the show forces them together, even the sweetest songs get steamy as the attraction between them lights up the stage. Lucas wants to take it slow, but Cody’s singing a different tune—and this time it may be a love song…

PUYB Spotlight + Review: Not Always a Saint by Mary Jo Putney

Not Always a Saint

The Lost Lords, #7

Mary Jo Putney

Zebra

August 25, 2015

“Adventure, passion and pure reading pleasure!”  –Jo Beverley

After the death of his sweetheart when he was at university, Daniel Herbert buried his grief in medical studies and his passion for healing. Viewed as a saint by those who know him, in his own mind he never quite manages to live up to his own high standards.

Most men would be thrilled to learn they’ve inherited a title and estate from a distant relative, but Daniel is appalled because the burden of wealth will interfere with his medical calling.  Warily he accepts that he must enter society and seek a wife—a sensible woman who can oversee his properties, leaving him free to continue his work. He does not expect to become intoxicated by a woman called the Black Widow, who is as mysterious as she is shockingly beautiful…

Jessie Kelham’s looks have always been a curse. Now alone with a young daughter and a perilous secret, she is in need of protection. But dangerously attractive Daniel Herbert is not the kind of husband she has in mind. If he recognizes her, the demons of her past will surely erupt. Yet they cannot keep apart—and soon they are drawn into a union that may bring joy—or shattering danger…

My Thoughts:

PUYB Blog Tour + Review: What To Do With a Duke by Sally MacKenzie

What To Do With A Duke

Spinster House, 1

Sally MacKenzie

Zebra

August 25, 2015

Blurb: 

Welcome to the charming, fatefully named village of Loves Bridge, where a woman destined for spinsterhood can live a life of her own choosing—or fall unexpectedly, madly in love…

Miss Isabelle Catherine Hutting would rather be lounging in the library than circling the ballroom in search of a husband any day. So when Cat hears that the town’s infamous Spinster House is open for a new resident, she jumps at the chance to put all this marriage business behind her. But first she must make arrangements with her prospective landlord, Marcus, the Duke of Hart—the most handsome man she’s ever seen, and the only man who’s ever impressed her in the least…

With her wit, independent spirit, and not least of all her beauty, Marcus can’t help but be stirred by Cat. It’s terribly unfortunate he’s not looking to marry, given the centuries-old curse that left his family with the Spinster House to begin with. No duke shall live to see his heir’s birth. But is there a chance the curse could be broken—in true fairy-tale fashion—by an act of true love? The race to Happily Ever After is about to begin…

My Thoughts:

PUYB Cover Reveal: Bringing Delaney Home by Lee Kilraine

 Bringing Delaney Home

The Cates Brothers, #1

 Lee Kilraine

 Lyrical Shine

 Contemporary Romance

February 2, 2016

In the sleepy town of Climax, North Carolina, all five Cates brothers are known for being tall, dark, and delicious. But each has his own incomparable love story . . . 

Quinn Cates has known Delaney Lyons forever. But after years away from home, Delaney’s a changed woman. A mysterious accident she refuses to talk about has left her hurting—in body and soul—and acting out in dangerous, and occasionally entertaining, ways.

 Quinn’s on the local police force, so he’s used to dealing with troublemakers. This one’s pretty incorrigible—but he suspects her flippant exterior is hiding something softer and deeper inside. Every time he has to rescue Delaney from herself, his heart and his hormones both go into overdrive. But he owes it to Delaney’s sister to keep an eye on her. He’s got some experience with that after spending so much time at it back in high school . . .

 Delaney just wants to fend off the gossips, fight off the pain of her past, and make her escape once again. But Officer Cates is ordering her not to leave town, and his interrogation techniques can be very persuasive . . .

PUYB Cover Reveal: Betrayal by A. S Fenichel

Betrayal 

The Demon Hunters, #3
 A.S. Fenichel 

Lyrical Press 

In service to His Majesty, one must be prepared for Hell.

To survive as a scullery maid requires hard work, discipline, and a stiff upper lip. To survive as a Demon Hunter is something else entirely. Elizabeth Smythe learned this after she was captured by Demons and rescued by Hunters. Now a Hunter herself, Elizabeth’s first task in this new and strange world is to aid the recently wounded Lord Reece Foxjohn, and get him back into Demon-slaying shape. . .

Reece Foxjohn is used to defying convention. He enraged his family by becoming a Demon Hunter, and prefers eviscerating the spawn of Satan to mixing with the ton. He is a man who doesn’t hesitate when he knows what he wants, and what he wants is Miss Elizabeth Smythe. To watch her behead the progeny of Evil is to behold a thing of beauty—one he must claim for his at all costs. . .

PUYB Spotlight + Review: Exposing the Heiress by Jennifer Apodaca

Exposing the Heiress

Once a Marine, #3

Jennifer Apodaca

Entangled Ignite

August 4, 2015

Blurb:

This Marine will protect her at all costs...

When wealthy heiress Alyssa Brooks finds out her stepfather has been paying her fiancé to marry her, she's humiliated and betrayed. She quickly breaks the engagement, only to be blackmailed by her now ex-fiancé, who threatens both Alyssa and the son she gave up for adoption. With nowhere to go, she turns to the one man she can trust.

Former Marine sniper Hunter Reece's lethal skills could save Alyssa's life. But his little sister's best friend has turned into a woman, who is an irresistible mix of secrets and sexiness. And while Hunter can trust himself to protect her, he can't trust himself to keep his attraction hidden...or even pretend to be the man that Alyssa remembers.

Because the only way to keep the lovely heiress safe is to become the one thing he knows she could never love...a killer. 

My Thoughts:

PUYB Double Cover Reveal: His New Jam & His Work of Art by Shannon Schroeder

His New Jam:

Sydney Peters can’t wait to finally drop the cymbals in marching band and devote time to her true love: drums. With the semester coming to a close, she’s blocking out the cacophony during practice, especially sax serenades from Hunter Reed. But when Hunter offers her a paid gig as a drummer in his band, Sydney quickly changes her tune. The two favor different styles, but they make beautiful music together…in more ways than one.

Hunter is fascinated by Sydney’s distant allure. He might be a ladies’ man on campus, but the sarcastic cymbalist is impervious to his advances. When Hunter sees how passionate Sydney is behind the drums, he orchestrates a plan to find out if she kisses like she plays. What he doesn’t anticipate, however, is falling so hard. But will the repercussions of his past crash down on his chance at something real?

FOR MORE INFORMATION

His New Jam is available for pre-order at Apple,  Amazon, B&N, Kobo and Google Play

His Work of Art:

Reese Carter is definitely not your average college girl. She’d prefer to spend Saturday nights playing Hero’s Crusade than attending a wild frat party on campus. When she bands together with Adam, fellow comic enthusiast and illustrator, it appears that Reese has formed a dream team sure to propel her writing into the comic hall of fame. Adam Hayes has never met a girl like Reese. She’s sassy, smart, and loves talking comics, although he can’t see why she’d choose DC over Marvel. He’s thrilled to finally put his artistic chops to use in their upcoming comic project. But. this relationship is strictly professional. Or so he tells himself. When the two combine forces, they churn out magic in more ways than they had planned; they never expected to develop a steamy romantic sub-plot of their own…

FOR MORE INFORMATION

His Work of Art  is available for pre-order at Apple,  Amazon, B&N, Kobo and Google Play

Shannyn Schroeder Bio:

Shannyn is a former English teacher, who now works as a part-time editor while raising her three kids.

Even though she wrote from high school through college (mostly poetry), she’d never considered a career as an author. Writing fell by the wayside as she focused her energy on creating lesson plans and new and fabulous ways to torment her teen students. One group in particular dubbed her “The Torture Master,” a title she carried into motherhood.

After the birth of baby number two, Shannyn resigned from teaching and fell in love with reading romance novels. She read so many books so quickly that her husband teased, “If you’re going to read so many damn books, why don’t you just write one?”

So she did.

That first book is safely buried on her hard drive, but the process set Shannyn on the path to where she is today—agented with a debut ebook coming out with Kensington in late 2012.

She is recovering from her Diet Coke addiction, fears putting her foot in her mouth on social media, and has a renewed appreciation for the bad girls of the world.

Shannyn is represented by Frances Black and Jennifer Mishler of Literary Counsel.

For More Information

Visit Shannyn’s website.
Connect with Shannyn on Twitter , Goodreads and Facebook