Full Steam Ahead Book Blitz + Giveaway!

Full Steam Ahead

by Valerie Chase

Release Date: 01/14/14

Summary from Goodreads:

Seven days aboard a luxury cruise. The perfect getaway from it all.

At least, that’s what Georgia Cantwell was hoping for.

Georgia wishes she could run away from the nightmare that has consumed her life, but she can’t. With her inbox filling with menacing emails, all she can do is try to get through her sorority’s winter break cruise without anyone realizing how wrecked she is. So she really doesn’t need Jace McLaren seeing through her tacked-on smile when no one else seems to notice.

Growing up with a father in jail, Jace knows from experience that if you’re going through hell, there’s no way out but through. He has always steered away from girls like Georgia with her ice-queen attitude, but she’s in real trouble, and despite himself he pushes past her walls.

As much as Georgia tries to ignore it, Jace won’t let her pretend with him. But she can’t risk telling him the truth. Her past would ruin his trust, her family, her future—everything.

But out on the open ocean, there’s nowhere to hide. And when Georgia’s secrets come tumbling out, it might take more than Jace to save her.

About the Author

I'm Valerie but please feel free to call me Val. I live in the Washington, DC area; and I write New Adult romance. I'm hoping to publish my first novel (set on a cruise ship!) in late 2013.

As for my writing, I love sexy banter and guys whose hearts are in the right place, even if their heads sometimes aren't. I love discovering strong, awesome characters, putting them in entertaining situations, and watching them argue their way to love.

Author Links:

    

***GIVEAWAY***

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Book Blitz Organized by:

Escaping Reality (The Secret Life of Amy Bensen) by Lisa Renee Jones

Goodreads
250 pages, NA Contemporary Romance, Suspense
The Secret Life of Amy Bensen #1
My rating: 4 stars

Synopsis

Infinite possibilities….
Infinite passion…..
Infinite danger….

His touch spirals through me, warm and sweet, wicked and hot. I shouldn’t trust him. I shouldn’t tell him my secrets. But how do I not when he is the reason I breathe? He is what I need.

At the young age of eighteen, tragedy and a dark secret force Lara to flee all she has known and loves to start a new life. Now years later, with a new identity as Amy, she’s finally dared to believe she is forgotten–even if she cannot forget. But just when she lets down her guard, the ghosts of her past are quick to punish her, forcing her back on the run. 

On a plane, struggling to face the devastation of losing everything again and starting over, Amy meets Liam Stone, a darkly entrancing recluse billionaire, who is also a brilliant, and famous, prodigy architect. A man who knows what he wants and goes after it. And what he wants is Amy. Refusing to take “no” as an answer, he sweeps her into a passionate affair, pushing her to her erotic limits. He wants to possess her. He makes her want to be possessed. Liam demands everything from her, accepting nothing less. But what if she is too devastated by tragedy to know when he wants more than she should give? And what if there is more to Liam than meets the eyes?

My 2 cents

Escaping Reality is the story of Amy, who from the get go is running from someone dangerous. It takes awhile into the story before we start to find out why she is running, but its pretty obvious she's in danger.

She hurriedly leaves NYC, following instructions from her "Handler." We don't know much, but honestly, either does Amy. She meets a gorgeous man on the plane by the name of Liam. Liam sees right through Amy, and pretty much attaches himself to her for the flight, and basically from then on. She has huge reservations about him, and doesn't trust anybody, but she can't deny the physical attraction. It wasn't a huge surprise when they jumped into bed together!

The story itself was amazing! So much suspense and mystery--the author leaves us and Amy constantly guessing on what is really going on. No one is what they seem, and there are so many inconsistencies in her new life. Amy also experiences flashbacks, and these are how we get to know more about her past. 

The romance was hot and steamy, although it didn't take up a lot of the story. I liked that there was still a plot, and even though the sexual tension and romance were a big part of the story, it was on the back burner a lot. 

My one complaint was the big cliffhanger at the end. Be forewarned that you will probably want to read this book all in one sitting, and go right to the next book when you are done! 

Favorite Contemporaries of 2013

Contemporaries.  Most are centered around romance, but not all.  They can be fun, light and fluffy--or dramatic, dark, and heart breaking.  Its not my most favorite genre, but I have found some amazing books over the last year in this category. And I read quite a few! Here are my faves!  And if you attempt to read any of these, get your tissues ready!

10. Being Henry David by Cal Armistead

9. Hate List by Jennifer Brown

8. Me, Him, Them, and It by Caela Carter

7. Looking for Alaska by John Green

6. If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman

5. Fan Girl by Rainbow Rowell

4. Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker

3. Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

2. Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

1. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

What about you? What were your favorite contemporaries this year?

January Random Reads

I just learned about this fun challenge!  And I like it because its monthly, so you can participate as much or as little as you want!  Its hosted over at I'm Loving Books.  

The details:

In short, Random Reads is a meme where we pick a random book from our shelf to read within the month. Feel free to do more than one per month, but since a lot of people have a lot of books to read each month, only one is “required” for the meme. I’m on Goodreads so I’m using a combination of the sorting feature and Random.org to pick the book I’m going to read.

WANT TO JOIN IN ON RANDOM READS?

It’s easy…

1. If you’re on Goodreads enable sorting to your to-read shelf (you should see numbers next to each book now).
2. Go to Random.org and type in the Min as 1 and the Max as how many ever books are on your to-read shelf. Or you can enter a smaller number as the Max in order to always pick books that have been on your TBR shelf for longer.
3. Scroll down to the book matching the number Random.org picks.
4. Link up to your Random Reads post (below). If you choose more than one book per month, be sure to put a number by your name in the list so it doesn’t look like a duplicate.
5. Read and be merry. 

If you’re not on Goodreads just pick a random book from your list in whatever way you want to do it. You can use the method I used above or even just close your eyes and point randomly at a book on your bookshelf if you want (spin the bottle style). lol

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So, my Goodreads shelf has a ton of books that I don't own, and I didn't really want to spend the time sorting--so I just picked a random number and counted down my bookshelves until I got to that book.  I had random #90....so I'll be reading

An adult read for once!  I'm really pretty excited to read this one, too!  I picked it up at a thrift shop a few months ago.  Woot!

I think this month I'm only going to pick one random book, because I have so many review books to get to.  Buy this will be one book down on my shelves!  YAY!