BLOG TOUR REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Until We Fly (Beautifully Broken #4)

I am SUCH a huge fan of Courtney Cole and her Beautifully Broken series. She had me at Pax and then brought me along for Gabe, Jace and now... BRAND. Holy crap on a cracker. I adore this man. Check out my review for UNTIL WE FLY, then enter the giveaway. Don't forget to visit the other blogs on the tour too for other cool stuff!

Until We Fly (Beautifully Broken #4), by Courtney Cole
Published July 7, 2014
Publisher: Lakehouse Press Inc.
Format: e-book, provided by the publisher and Inkslinger PR
Genre: new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
 
Rating: 5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Ex-Army Ranger, Brand Killien, has always been good.

A good friend, a good soldier, a good everything. .
The problem is, good hasn’t gotten him anything but a crushed heart.

So after licking his wounds, he decides to move on. And moving on doesn’t include being good anymore.

Bad sounds so much better.

Jaded and detached, Brand is determined to never open himself up to anyone again. It’s not worth the pain. Instead, he becomes closed, hardened, aloof.

But then he’s called back home for a family emergency… a family that he is estranged from. A family that he put out of his mind a long time ago for very good reasons…reasons that involve secrets and pain. Reasons he tried hard to forget.

But home is where the heart is, and it just might be where Brand finds his again.

Why? Because home is where Nora Greene is. A fiery, red-headed spitfire, Nora is a thing from his past. A beautiful, feisty thing. When Brand left, she was away at boarding school.

But she’s back now.

And she wants Brand, scars and all.

OMG - BRAND. I didn't think I could love a Courtney Cole boy more than Gabe. And then I met Gabe's BFF, Brand, and I was done for. This guy is big and tough and scary and sweet and absolutely everything in between.

Brand has had a rough go of things lately. Between his father's death, his absolutely horrible mother, unrequited love and then a busted knee, he has pretty much hit rock bottom. And, then an angel shows up in the form of Nora Greene who is nursing her own very serious inner pain. As she nurses Brand back to help, he nurses her back to life, and together they discover something really worth taking a chance on.

I could spend all day waxing poetic about Brand Killian, so I'll start by talking about Nora. My heart went out to this girl. She's trapped in a life she never wanted by a man she despises. You don't realize how deep her hatred goes until the end, and at that point, I promise you, you will cry right along with her. When you find out what she has endured, you appreciate how strong she really has become.

It's also at that point that Brand's protective instinct will cause you to swoon. You'll be swooning and crying at the same time. The way he takes care of her is so amazing. Despite his injury (which was caused when he saved Nora's life, BTW), he still manages to be there when she needs him to be a buffer between her and her family. To save her from the bad guys. To shield her from the hurts that threaten her from all sides.

And, Nora is the same for Brand. He's been floundering for so long, lost in the awful memories and guilt heaped upon his shoulders by his cowardly parents for a tragedy that was no one's fault. Nora encourages Brand to take control of his life and his memories and start living for today instead of wallowing in yesterday. That goes for what happened with his parents and what DIDN'T happen with Jacey, Gabe's sister.

In typical Courtney Cole fashion, Until We Fly didn't pull any punches. It dealt with some serious topics that shouldn't be taken lightly. Courtney did a fantastic job dealing with all the sensitive situations and not lessening or cheapening them.

Until We Fly was told in dual POV. It was a really fast paced book - I read it very quickly. The sexual tension between Nora and Brand was crazy good, and when they finally had their moment, it exploded off the page.

Bravo, Courtney, for continuing to write these amazing books that are compelling and sexy and deal with tough issues. Please say this isn't the end!

About the Author

Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people.
 
Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.

Learn more about Courtney --> Website / Facebook / Twitter 

Giveaway

Courtney is giving away 2 signed sets of IF YOU STAY, IF YOU LEAVE and UNTIL WE FALL for two winners! Enter below for your chance to win.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

All of Court's Men: Alex

It's time for our weekly peek at Courtney Cole's delicious men! In this week's installment of All of Court's Men, we're taking a look at Alex from Courtney's Confessions of an Alli Cat. Say hello to Alex...

Alex

Excerpt

     “You look marvelous!” Sara says when I round the corner into the bedroom.
     “I feel ridiculous.”
     “Why?  We are simply two wealthy women with trophy boy toys out for a night on the town at one of Vegas’s most luxurious night spots.  Nothing to feel ridiculous about.”
     “I’m dressed like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, only without the body for it,” I say, indicating my short, tight dress.  “How did I let you talk me into buying this?”
     “Well, I thought it might help things with Rick the Dick many moons ago, but this is an even better use.  Besides, you look mouthwatering.”  
     Standing up, she walks to me.  She trails the fingertips of one hand down my cheek.  
     "A beautiful face,” she says, dragging her hands down to palm my boobs next.  She gives them a squeeze.  “Delicious rack,” she declares then grabs my waist and spins me around.  “And a perfect ass,” she exclaims, slapping my butt.  “You are gorgeous and any man in his right mind would give his left nut to lick you from head to toe and everywhere in between.”
     “I think you secretly have the hots for me,” I laugh.  “Maybe I should be going out with you instead.”
     “Oh, you flatter!  If either of us swung that way, we’d be perfect together.  But, alas, I’m a sausage lover, as are you.  No tacos for us.”
     I can’t help but laugh.  “Have you always been this way and I’m just now noticing?”
     “Yes.  You’ve been preoccupied for a few years.”
     “I’m beginning to really love this new you.  Even if she shocks me regularly and gets me into trouble more often than not.”
     “You love it and you know it.  I add much-needed excitement to your life,” Sara claims, walking to the mirror to touch up her lipstick.
     “Did I tell you I love that hair style on you, too?”  I ask, referring to her dark red pixie cut.  She totally has the face to pull it off.
     “Keep going like that and I’m yours.”
     We both laugh. 
     “Well, I guess I’m ready.”  I add under my breath, “At least as ready as I’ll ever be.”
     “Then it’s time to go.”
     My stomach flutters in dread and anxiety and, yes, a little bit of excitement.  I take a deep breath and smile at Sara.  She loops her arms through mine and grins. 
     “Welcome to the first night of the rest of your life.”
     We make our way outside and down the walk to the curb, to the shiny black limousine waiting there.  The ride is only twenty minutes or so, during which I drink champagne in the back of the limo at a rate of speed that would make a sailor proud.
     When we glide to a stop at the club, I follow Sara out of the car. 
     And the man waiting for me nearly takes my breath away.
     He’s taller than I imagined and much broader than I expected.  His shoulders look a mile wide in his perfectly-tailored tuxedo, making his waist look smaller than mine.  His hair is dark brown and his eyes are the same dark, sparkling blue as they are in his picture.
     He’s young, all right.  But there is nothing boyish about this guy.  Not at all.
     As I step from the car, he extends his hand toward me.  I slip my fingers into his and he smiles.  I’m pretty sure my knees go numb and my uterus has a spasm.  But it’s when he speaks that I know it’s all over but the shouting. And the Hallelujah choir. 
     “You’re more beautiful than I could’ve imagined,” he purrs in a deep, velvety voice.
     Yep, I’m gonna ride him like a runaway bull tonight. No two ways about it.
     The thought makes me smile.

Confessions of an Alli Cat (The Couger Chronicles #1), by Courtney Cole
Published October 23, 2012
Publisher: Lakehouse Press
Genre:  Adult Contemporary Romance
To Buy: Amazon

(Synopsis) Thirty-five year-old Allison “Alli” Lancaster has it all—a fabulous job, a beautiful 15 year-old daughter, a hilarious BFF and a gorgeous house with a pool and Jacuzzi in an exclusive Las Vegas neighborhood. What she doesn’t have is a husband, because she kicked her lousy, cheating ex to the curb nine months ago. Since then, Alli has paid her dues with seemingly endless self-improvement and seemingly endless mourning. Now she’s ready to move on and try new things.

Alli’s idea of “trying new things” is nothing like that devil-of-a-best-friend of hers. Somehow, Sara, the devil of a best friend, talks Alli into trying out a sex toy, sleeping with a younger man and letting a stranger in a lab jacket put hot wax on a place that should never, ever, ever see wax. And that’s only the beginning.

Alli never saw her life going quite like this. She also never thought she’d meet someone else who had the very real potential to change her life forever.

But she did.

Enter the new guy. He’s gorgeous, refined and mature. He’s also marriage material. But that poses a problem for Alli, who renounced the institution of marriage when she renounced her ex. What’s a girl to do?

They say that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. But what the heck happens when you can’t leave Vegas? Well, you spin the wheel, of course. You play the game and let the chips fall where they may.

Alli just hopes she can find them all. 

About the Author

Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people.
 
Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.

Learn more about Courtney --> Website / Facebook / Twitter 

All Of Court's Men: Brennan

It's time for our weekly peek at Courtney Cole's delicious men! In this week's installment of All of Court's Men, we're taking a look at Brennan from Courtney's paranormal series, The Moonstone Saga. And, for this week only, the first book in The Moonstone Saga, SOUL KISSED, is on sale for only $0.99!

Brennan

Excerpt From Soul Kissed

“The world is not going to end,” I insisted slowly, taking in the desperation on Brennan’s stricken face.  “Why would you think so?  I was wrong when I said it would, Brennan. We can prevent my visions.  We can do anything we set our minds to.”

Brennan turned to me, his expression slightly calmer than it had been a scant moment ago.  I reached out to grab his hand, but he backed away, causing my heart to race.  He stepped out of the tent and I trailed behind him quickly.

“What is it?” I whispered.  “What did you see, Brennan?”

His eyes were pain-filled and stark when he answered.  “I saw flames and floods and a lot of blood.  There was so much blood.  I saw the same things that you did, Empusa.  And if we both see it, I think it is likely to happen.”

“It won’t!” I cried, gritting my teeth and throwing myself at him.  Clutching at him, I gripped his shoulders, trying to make him touch me.  Yet he still shirked away from my fingers, like I had a sickness.  It was alarming.

“Why are you moving away from me?” I asked helplessly, trying to ignore the cold pit growing in my belly.  “I didn’t cause your visions, Brennan. I wish nothing more than to protect you from any ugliness in the world.”

“I know,” he admitted softly.  “But I also know that this isn’t going to work.”

His voice was like gravel, painfully scraping the surface of my heart with every husky syllable.  “I can’t be with you,” he repeated.

He was so casual, so perfunctory, as though we were simply talking about a Cubs game or the weather. I stared at him, at his flecked hazel eyes that gleamed in the sunlight and my chest literally constricted at the thought of even one day without him.

“Yes, you can.  You’re perfect for me,” I answered uncertainly, reaching for him, trying to pull him close. If he could just feel my heart pressed against his, I knew that he might bend, if only just enough to listen.  But he would have none of it and backed away, leaning against the rocks behind us.  He knew the danger within my touch.

“Brennan,” I tried again, stepping forward.  The way that the sun bathed him in backlit glory was breath-taking and I had to re-focus.  It was difficult not to concentrate on his handsome, rugged face and the way his mouth moved as he spoke. 

     “Em,” he continued, as if I’d never even spoken. “I’m not…I’m not strong enough for this yet.  I won’t be able to control my abilities.  I just saw it.  I can’t jeopardize the entire mortal world simply because I can’t master my power.  And Circes… she said that you would risk everything for me. I can’t allow that, Empusa.  I can’t be the one who extinguishes your light.  That won’t be me.”

     He pushed away from the rocks and strode down the ledge with his distinctive lope.  He paused just once on the edge, before he bounded, landing gracefully on his feet far below me.  He didn’t look back, he simply walked away from me.   I stood still, frozen by his words, astounded by their meaning.  Until I realized that if I didn’t do something right now I would never see him again.

I lunged from the ledge, landing roughly in the packed sand below before I raced along behind him.  Even employing supernatural speed, I didn’t catch up with him for a mile. He had mastered speed himself, it seemed.    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of black and I knew that my mother was close, watching us, but it didn’t sway me. 

I pushed Brennan against a nearby red stone rock mound, shoving him hard and he stumbled, staring at me in shock as his back collided with the stone.  He had never seen me lose my temper.  No one had.  I always had to be so careful, so controlled.  

“You think it’s only up to you?” I shouted.  The wind whipped my hair around my face and I ignored it as I stared directly into the mesmerizing eyes of the only man I had ever loved.

“I have a say in this, too,” I insisted.  “You think you can just throw everything away with a handful of cliches?  Newsflash:  The old it’s not you, it’s me line isn’t effective.  If you don’t want to be with me, just be man enough to tell me why.  Don’t tell me that it is because of the visions.  We can overcome them.  I know it.  If there is something else, tell me right now.”

My face was barely an inch from his.  I was close enough to feel his heart beat through his shirt, to feel the heat from his skin pulse through and bleed into my own skin.  I was close enough to inhale his very breath.  I knew what my nearness would do to him, but I didn’t care.  I closed my eyes and leaned into him… instantly absorbing what he felt; the jagged pain, the overwhelming uncertainty, but mostly, his unbridled need for me.  It filled him up and spilled into me. 

“Tell me,” I murmured against his lips.

He groaned and pulled me against him, his large hands flattening against my back as he smashed me to his chest and ravaged my lips with his own.  He kissed me like the world was ending.  And I knew, with every breath in me, that if he left, my world would end.   

His body was rock hard and he smelled like the sun.  I inhaled him as I grasped his hair and pulled him closer to me, as close as I could possibly get.  Even in the heat of this moment, though, I had to keep a corner of my consciousness carefully focused, making sure I didn’t absorb too much of his strength.  But I still allowed myself to taste it, to enjoy it. 

He was delicious.  Everything about him.

His tongue rammed into my mouth, swirling with mine and he tasted like honey as his very life flowed into me, wispy and transparent, but pulsing hard.  He was so vital.

It made me wild and I couldn’t control myself.  I ripped at his shirt, breaking the buttons as I frantically pushed it off of his shoulders.  I knew it was expensive, but I didn’t care.  My only thought was consuming all of him, every bit and I needed him inside of me to do that.  It was the only way.  My focus faltered and then was obliterated.  Nothing else mattered now but my need for him.

I began seeing things in blurs of color, tasting the scents in the air and feeling the textures beneath my hands as everything else faded away. His breathing was ragged, his heart beat stuttering and racing as we fumbled with clothing.  Our skin was hot and sticky as we pressed together.  I felt his heart beat join with mine, synching perfectly, as the process began.  My fingers pulsed and my vision unfocused.  It was happening.  I would only need a moment longer. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the beautiful field of pink flowers explode into flame, too close to withstand my energy as it flared into an uncontrollable storm. They burned impotently against the sandy horizon as our very own fire burned within us.  A loud boom exploded somewhere nearby and I saw chunks of earth scatter, falling around us from the sky. I had no idea where it had come from and I didn’t care at this point.

Brennan yanked at the button on his pants and I reached to help him, desperate to continue, to finish, but somehow sanity returned to me as I thought of that very word.

Finish.

If we completed this act, if I made love to this man- the man that I loved with every ounce of my being, it would finish him.  He could die because we hadn’t learned to master our power. 

I froze.

He reached for me, but I held out my hand.

“Don’t,” I rasped uncomfortably.  “Give me a minute.”

Soul Kissed, by Courtney Cole
Published January 3, 2012
Publisher: Lakehouse Press
Genre:  YA Paranormal Romance
To Buy: Amazon

(Synopsis) Question: When your mother is a powerful witch and your father is a soul-sucking vampire, what does that make you?
Answer: Cursed.

With all the beauty and charm of a Siren, but cursed as a blood-sucking succubus, Empusa longs for love and a normal life. Neither of these can ever be hers, because the only thing she brings to anyone she loves is death.

Em lingers in the mortal world, hiding from her father and existing in a lonely life. Until she meets Brennan. With golden hair and a radiant smile, he captures her heart and awakens it from slumber.

But Brennan is more than he seems. And in a relationship where life itself hangs in the balance, is love ever really enough?

Soul Kissed is book one in the Moonstone Saga. It is followed by Soul Bound (available now) and Princess of the Night (Coming soon). 

About the Author

Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people.
 
Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.

Learn more about Courtney --> Website / Facebook / Twitter  

ALL OF COURT'S MEN: DANTE

It's time for our weekly peek at Courtney Cole's delicious men! In this week's installment of All of Court's Men, we're taking a look at Dante Giliberti from Courtney's young adult contemporary novel, Dante's Girl. This sounds like an amazing book set in an incredible location.

Dante

Excerpt

“Why do you look sad?” I ask.  “You live in a beautiful country with the world at your fingertips.  Your dad is amazing and nice and you’re a billionaire.  What could possibly make you sad?”

Dante studies me, his cobalt eyes serious, his expression unreadable.

“Let’s go for a walk,” he finally says.  “Someplace quieter.”

A quiet place with Dante?  Yes, Please!

I scramble to my feet and walk with him through the crowd again, this time oblivious to the stares.  He has a huge stride and I find myself hurrying to keep up, two steps for every one of his.  He weaves us through the people and out the doors in record time.

Before I know it, we are on a terrace.  In the dark.  Under the stars.

With Dante.

This may as well be Heaven.

In fact, it might actually be.

Have I died and didn’t realize it?

I flex my fingers and poke at my thigh.

My mind is fuzzy and I feel like I am moving slower than I actually am.  Is life in slow motion right now or is it me?  I blink hard then poke myself again.

“Are you alright?” Dante asks, watching me curiously.  I nod.

“Yep. I’ve just never had three glasses of champagne before.  In fact, I’ve never even had one.  Until now.”

I giggle at the thought and Dante smiles.

“Okay, drunk girl.  Let’s sit you down.”

He guides me to a lounger and eases me onto it.  I clutch at his arm, not wanting to let him go.  He stares down at me.

“You really have had too much to drink, haven’t you, little sunflower?”

The name warms my heart and I decide that he is the handsomest person in the world.

“Is handsomest a word?” I ask him.

He looks at me blankly.

“I don’t know,” he answers slowly.  “Why?”

“You’re the handsomest person in the world,” I announce.  “I don’t care if it’s a word or not.  You are it, one way or another.”

Dante smiles and runs a hand through his hair, as though he’s trying to decide what to do.

“Oh.  Okay.  Um, thanks?  What am I going to do with you?  You’re adorable when you are drunk.  But I made you drunk, even if it was an accident.  How was I supposed to know that you’re such a lightweight?”

He sounds like he is waging some sort of battle with himself.

“Who exactly are you arguing with?”I ask, the champagne clouding my thoughts in a very thorough way. “You will get no arguments from me tonight.  No matter what.”

He sighs, a husky and ragged sound.

It’s sexy.

Dante's Girl, by Courtney Cole
Published June 24, 2012
Publisher: Lakehouse Press
Genre:  YA Contemporary Romance
To Buy: Amazon

(Synopsis) I have spent every summer since I was ten years old with my father in London. Every summer, since I was ten years old, has been uneventful and boring.
 
Until this year.

And this year, after a freak volcanic eruption strands me far from home, I have learned these things:

1. I can make do with one outfit for three days before I buy new clothes.
2. If I hear the phrase, “You’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto,” even one more time, I might become a homicidal maniac.
3. I am horribly and embarrassingly allergic to jellyfish.
4. I am in love with Dante Giliberti, who just happens to be the beautiful, sophisticated son of the Prime Minister of a Mediterranean paradise.
5. See number four above. Because it brings with it a whole slew of problems and I’ve learned something from every one of them.

Let’s start with the fact that Dante’s world is five light-years away from mine. He goes to black-tie functions and knows the Prime Minister of England on a first name basis. I was born and raised on a farm in Kansas and wear cut-off jeans paired with cowboy boots. See the difference?

But hearts don’t care about differences. Hearts want what they want. And mine just wants to be Dante’s girl.

My heart just might be crazy.

About the Author

Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people.
 
Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.

Learn more about Courtney --> Website / Facebook / Twitter

All of Court's Men: LUCA

Starting this week, and for the next eight, I'm focusing on the fabulous men that have been created by the amazing Courtney Cole. Our focus for week one is the dangerous and enigmatic Luca from The Minaldi Legacy, Courtney Cole's latest book. I have to admit, he's one of Court's Men that I haven't met yet, but lemme tell you. After this introduction, I'm DYING to experience him for myself. What about you?

Luca

Excerpt

“Miss, is everything alright?”

A deep voice is calling from outside of my house.  And before I can think about it and remember that I don’t know anyone here and that a stranger really shouldn’t be outside of my house, particularly in the middle of the night, I answer.

“No.  I’m not.”

In a scant moment, a man bursts into my bedroom.

He looks startled to see that I am alone.

And I am startled because he’s alarmingly handsome.

So it appears that we are both startled as we stare at each other.

He’s dark haired, tanned, and has dark eyes.  His bangs are hanging artfully in his eyes, although the hair on the back of his head is a little shorter.  It’s a style that works for him. He’s got broad shoulders, slim hips, chiseled yet graceful features and Sweet Merciful Mary, he’s beautiful.  He’s dressed in jogging shorts and running shoes and a bead of sweat trickles down his temple.  I don’t even have time to wonder why he’s out for a run in the middle of the night before I notice that he’s also got that sexy, day-old stubble that I so love on a man.

I swallow and realize that my mouth has gone dry.

“Are you alright?” he asks, his eyes skimming over me, assessing the situation.  It’s a valid question.  I had been screaming bloody hell, after all.

I nod.  Then shake my head.

“Spider,” I whisper.

His dark eyes widen and he follows my pointing finger with his gaze.

Then he laughs, husky and rich.

“Spider,” he confirms with a nod, his dark eyes sparkling in amusement.  “It looks like you’ve got yourself a perfect specimen of the Writing Spider.”

“Writing Spider?” I repeat, watching it nervously, making sure it doesn’t try to run across the bedroom floor and up my leg. “Is it poisonous?”

Handsome Running Guy nods solemnly.

“Oh, it’s a known killer, alright.”

I gasp and lurch even further away from the hairy creature on my bed and Handsome Running Guy laughs.

“I’m sorry.  I’m only joking.  I couldn’t resist. It’s not poisonous. I think its scientific name is Black and Yellow Argiope, or something like that.  They are all over here.  But you wouldn’t know that because you’re not from here, are you?”

I shake my head again, trying not to be overly enthralled with his charming accent.

“Is it that obvious?”

He smiles and suddenly it seems like all natural sources of light are pouring into my room, originating from this man.  He’s got such a strong presence that it makes my spine tingle.  And my stomach is fluttering in a way that it hasn’t fluttered since high school.  Interesting.

He shakes his head and then holds out his hand.

“Luca Minaldi,” he tells me and his fingers are cool as he shakes my hand.

“Evangeline Talbot,” I answer.  “But my friends call me Eva.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” and his eyes agree with him as he stares at me.  “The question now is would you like for me to kill your uninvited guest or should I release him into the wilds?”

“Kill it,” I say firmly.  Slight disapproval passes over Luca’s face like a shadow.

“Are you certain?” he asks.  “It’s an amazing specimen and they do eat bugs.  Bugs can get pesky here in Malta, Evangeline.”

“You can call me Eva,” I answer.  “And if we release it into the outdoors, he might come back in.”

I shudder again at that thought.

“True,” Luca agrees.  “And so might anyone else.  Your door wasn’t locked.  And I can’t call you Eva.  We’re not yet friends.”

The Minaldi Legacy, by Courtney Cole
Published February 6, 2014
Publisher: Lakehouse Press
Genre:  dark romantic thriller
To Buy: Amazon

(Synopsis) Luca Minaldi is rich, powerful and mesmerizing. He’s also a reclusive enigma. He lives in Malta, a fairy-tale place filled with sunshine and sea, beauty and secrets. And Luca’s darkest of secrets is the best-kept of them all.

Eva Talbot moves to Malta to finish her doctoral dissertation in Psychiatry. When she meets Luca, there is a very real and instant attraction that she has never felt before. But even still, she senses the darkness that lives within him.

Eva is hired to care for Luca’s mother, a woman who suffers from dementia. It is Luca, however, that Eva will eventually risk everything to save… as the legacy that plagues him continues.

As the darkness swirls ever more tightly around her, Eva realizes that no matter how hard she tries, she might not be able to save Luca without losing herself.

Eva and Luca are thrust into a world where their love is tested and darkness reigns. Amid chaos and treachery, love and hate, Luca and Eva learn one important thing.

Love is dangerous.

But it also might be the one thing that can save them all.

About the Author

Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people.
 
Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.

Learn more about Courtney --> Website / Facebook / Twitter
 

RELEASE DAY EVENT: Before We Fall (Beautifully Broken #3)

 

Courtney Cole's amazing new Beautifully Broken Series novel, BEFORE WE FALL, is out today and we are excited to join in the release day launch for it. BEFORE WE FALL is a steamy, shocking and a Contemporary Romance you are not going to want to miss! Dominic Kinkaide is a bad boy that will keep you screaming for more. So check out what we have for you today and then enter to win in the release day launch giveaway-"A Night With Dominic Kinkaide" Basket of Goodies! There's also a fantastic excerpt for you to check out!

 

EXCERPT:

Are you feeling warm yet?”

I watch his lips as he speaks the words, husky and low.   His lips are full, yet manly and suddenly I ache to lean over and press mine to his, to touch them in any way that I can. 

But I don’t. 

Because I’m not a girl who gets used.  Not anymore. 

 “No, not at all.”

But Dominic takes that as a challenge.  He’s not used to hearing the word no and he’s not about to start now.  I see that in his dark eyes a scant moment before he dips his head and consumes my mouth.

I say consume, instead of kiss, because that’s what he does.

He consumes me.

His lips are fiery and hot and he kisses me with a fierceness that touches a secret part of me; moist, hot, firm, sexy.  I want to inhale him, to suck him down.  I vaguely feel his hands on my back, his warmth emanating through my clothes, his hardness pushing into my softness.

I’m breathless when he pulls away. 

“What about now?”

For the life of me, I’m afraid to answer that.  Instead, I pull away, just a bit, just enough that there is some space between us, but I can still absorb his warmth.   As my teeth chatter, both from the cold and from the suddden absence of his lips, I answer.

“I’m good.”

He laughs, a husky, low, naughty sound. 

“Oh, I’m sure of that.”

And just like that, I’m drawn back in… in toward his sexy smile, his arrogant gaze and his knowing smirk.  He’s bad for me.  Very bad for me.   I’ve got to remember that. 

He will decimate you, I tell myself.

But my problem is, every time I look into his dark eyes and see the mysterious things that lurk there, I forget that.   I forget everything that is supposed to matter.

*Amazon*     *Barnes and Noble*

ABOUT BEFORE WE FALL (Book 3 in the Beautifully Broken Series):

Sometimes, one dark moment is all it takes to turn your world black...

For 24-year old Dominic Kinkaide, that moment took place on the night of his high school graduation. One dark incident changed him forever. He's a hardened actor now, famous in the eyes of the world, but tortured in his own. He doesn't care about much of anything, except for losing himself in the roles that he plays.

23-year old Jacey Vincent doesn't realize how much her father's indifference has affected her. She is proof that sometimes it isn't one specific moment that wrecks a person, but rather it's an absence of moments. She's like a bird with a broken wing-strong yet fragile, as she tries to float through life, finding acceptance in the arms of random guys, one after the other... to fill the void that her father left in her.

Until she meets Dominic.

After jaded Dominic and strong-willed Jacey are thrown together, his secret and her issues create a dark and damaged energy that will soon turn their attraction to each other into an explosive storm.

Even though when the clouds have cleared and the dust has settled, both of them are almost obliterated... they've learned a priceless lesson.

Sometimes, before we fall... we fly.

About Courtney Cole:

Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people.

Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.

Links:

Website:  http://www.courtneycoleauthor.com/

Blog:  http://courtneycolewrites.com/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Court_Writes

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/courtneycolewrites

Author Goodreads:   http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3112212.Courtney_Cole

BEFORE WE FALL Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18081633-before-we-fall?ac=1

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Courtney-Cole/e/B004Y4Z8ZU/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1375577792&sr=8-2-ent

Grand Central: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/publishers/grand-central-publishing/

Grand Central Twitter: http://twitter.com/grandcentralpub

Grand Central Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrandCentralPub

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NEW ADULT MONDAYS: Before We Fall (Beautifully Broken #3)

 

The New Adult genre - their bad boys and big problems and epic loves make them engrossing tales that are so easy to lose yourself in. What's not to love about that? And, now, thanks to the cool chicks at Bewitched Bookworms, we can show these books the love they deserve in a weekly feature - New Adult Mondays. 

Before We Fall (Beautifully Broken #3), by Courtney Cole
to Be Published December 3, 2013
Publisher: Forever Romance/Grand Central Publishing
Format: e-galley, obtained from NetGalley
Genre:  New Adult Contemporary Romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
 
Rating:  5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Sometimes, one dark moment is all it takes to turn your world black...

For 24-year old Dominic Kinkaide, that moment took place on the night of his high school graduation. One dark incident changed him forever. He's a hardened actor now, famous in the eyes of the world, but tortured in his own. He doesn't care about much of anything, except for losing himself in the roles that he plays.

23-year old Jacey Vincent doesn't realize how much her father's indifference has affected her. She is proof that sometimes it isn't one specific moment that wrecks a person, but rather it's an absence of moments. She's like a bird with a broken wing-strong yet fragile, as she tries to float through life, finding acceptance in the arms of random guys, one after the other... to fill the void that her father left in her.

Until she meets Dominic.

After jaded Dominic and strong-willed Jacey are thrown together, his secret and her issues create a dark and damaged energy that will soon turn their attraction to each other into an explosive storm.

Even though when the clouds have cleared and the dust has settled, both of them are almost obliterated... they've learned a priceless lesson.

Sometimes, before we fall... we fly.

Courtney Cole is an absolutely incredible author. Her new adult books are grittier and edgier than most out there, each dealing with some pretty heavy stuff - substance abuse, PTSD, teen suicide. It's very obvious that Cole does her research and is painstaking with the details. Not a bit of the stories seem contrived or embellished, served up as plot-moving fodder or drama-for-the-sake-of-drama. I find myself completely immersed in her characters' lives from the very first page, totally invested in their path to that elusive HEA. Before We Fall is yet another feather for Cole to add to her cap.

Dominic Kinkaide is so unhappy and full of self-loathing. I just wanted to wrap him up and keep him safe from the monsters. Cole allows us to see just enough of Dom to know that there's obviously something horrific that happened in his past that has caused him to start down this dangerous path he's on. He fills his days and nights with meaningless women and kink and pain, and I just had to know why.

A chance encounter with Jacey (Gabe's sister from If You Leave) at a party throws the two of them together in an unlikely way. Jacey has also been through some stuff, but she's trying to claw her way out of it. Her willingness to see all of Dom - not just what he wants her to see - and to like him anyway fascinates him and causes his heart to start beating again. Jacey fascinated me too, and I found myself absolutely cheering for her when she stood up to Dom and his asshat ways. I love that she found the strength to do what needed to be done, even while trying to work through her own crap. She's my kind of heroine.

As in the other Beautifully Broken books, the emotion in Before We Fall was so powerful. Especially when all the events of the past come to light and the characters involved have to start actually dealing with them in functional ways. This book was impossible to put down. It was fast paced and angsty in all the right ways. The writing is beautiful, the sex is hot and the relationship and character building is done perfectly.

Before We Fall will be a book I read again and again.

NEW ADULT MONDAYS: If You Leave (Beautifully Broken #2)

The New Adult genre - their bad boys and big problems and epic loves make them engrossing tales that are so easy to lose yourself in. What's not to love about that? And, now, thanks to the cool chicks at Bewitched Bookworms, we can show these books the love they deserve in a weekly feature - New Adult Mondays.

If You Leave (Beautifully Broken #2), by Courtney Cole
Published August 6, 2013
Publisher:  Forever
Format: e-ARC, provided by NetGalley
Genre:  new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Rating:  5 STARS

(From Goodreads) 26-year old Gabriel Vincent is a badass hero. Or he used to be, anyway. As an ex-Army Ranger, Gabe never thought he needed anyone. But after one horrible night in Afghanistan scars him in a way that he can't get past, he needs someone who can help him heal...even if he doesn't realize it.

25-year old Madison Hill doesn't need anybody...or so she thinks. She grew up watching her parents' messed-up abusive relationship and she knows there's no way in hell that she's ever letting that happen to her.

They don't know it in the beginning, but Gabriel and Madison will soon develop a weakness: Each other.

But Gabriel's got a secret, a hidden monster that he's afraid Maddy could never overcome... And Maddy's got issues that she's afraid Gabe will never understand. They quickly realize that they need each other to be whole, but at the same time they know that they've got demons to fight.

And the problem with demons is that they never die quietly.

Courtney Cole is on my map. I've only read two books by her, but both books in the Beautifully Broken series have gripped me in a unique way. Both are new adult books, and therefore include certain standards - 20-something main characters, troubled pasts, steam and sex. But, there's something about her books that draw me in and touch me in crazy ways. 

Madison has always been the "responsible" older sister. When her parents died, she resigned herself to living a mediocre life so that her younger sister Mila could have a full one. Now, Mila is married with a baby on the way, yet Madison still can't cut the past loose. A chance meeting with Gabriel at a club one night, then again at her restaurant has given her something else to think about. And then someone else to lean on when the rest of her world starts falling apart. Only, Gabe has his own problems - big ones - left over from his time in Afghanistan. And those problems may stop their relationship before it really gets going. 

I have a new weakness - books featuring war heroes. I've read three or four now, and If You Leave was one of the best. Gabe spent time in Afghanistan and experienced something truly awful. As a result, he's suffering from some pretty extreme PTSD. There's something about these sad, broken men who find themselves again once they find someone to love that really gets me. Gabriel has a hyped up protective instinct that is my achilles heel - I see that come out in a guy, and I'm instantly in love. BAM - hello, new book boyfriend. 

Gabe is rough around the edges - he spent much of his time recently around a bunch of other guys in the desert, for crying out loud. He's not smooth or sweet. But, when the guy realizes what he feels for Madison, he goes balls to the wall to try and keep her.

"It's like I'm not whole when I'm not with you. You're a piece of me. A big piece of me. And, when you're gone, I can't function right. I'm only half a person... I don't deserve you. That much is true. But, all I want is you. And if I can't have you, then I don't want anyone." 

Madison is a female lead I can get behind. I get her self-sacrificing attitude, and the way Cole writes her, it doesn't seem artificial or over-the-top. Madison is a strong person who doesn't take any crap from anyone. She's learned to depend on herself and her sister. And, I love how Gabe is the one who cracks her hard shell. She doesn't really make it easy for him, either. There's no insta-love here (thank you for that, Ms. Cole). Which makes the inevitable get-together so much sweeter and fulfilling. 

One of the best parts is the solid presence of Mila and Pax from If You Stay. They play a major part in Madison's and Gabe's story, and I really loved that. I fell in love with Pax, and seeing him as a husband and father-to-be was so amazing. 

If You Leave is told in dual POV - Madison's and Gabe's. Gabe's thoughts were particularly compelling, especially toward the end when he starts to face everything that happened to him. I finished this book in record time. It was completely engrossing and so, so emotional. I was brought to tears several times.

Before We Fall (Beautifully Broken #3) is the next book in this series, and it comes out in early December. Based on my experiences with Courtney Cole and her Beautifully Broken series so far, I may just have to one-click book three right now, because it's a sure thing as far as I'm concerned.