RELEASE DAY REVIEW, EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY: Royal Affair (Royal Scandal #1)

ROYAL AFFAIR by Parker Swift turned out to be one of the best books I've read this year. I loved every single thing about it - I can't wait for you to experience it too!

Royal Affair (Royal Scandal #1), by Parker Swift
Publish Date: February 14, 2017
Publisher: Forever Yours
Format: e-ARC, provided by the publisher
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 5 STARS

(Synopsis) Behind the posh British accent, Dylan Hale possesses a down-and-dirty sexiness. Off-the-charts gorgeous, a ruthless architect . . . and did I mention he's a future duke? Every time we touch, it's wildfire. All need and lust and heat. But Dylan has rules: just sex, no one can know, and in the bedroom he gets complete control. All I have to do is follow the rules, because falling in love with Dylan Hale is all it would take to screw everything up . . . royally.

I am a total sucker for royal romances. For the past six months or so, they have been my jam - I seriously can't get enough of them. It's why I picked up Royal Affair in the first place. There's just something so utterly and completely romantic about a rich royal alpha male who is willing to give up everything for the right woman. 

In the case of Royal Affair, Dylan Hale might not be enamored with his charmed, royal life, but he's accepted it as a cross he has to bear. He has to put up with his stuffy, stuck-up, socialite parents and superficial socialite women who are only interested in him for his money and his title. There's not a lot of real in his life, but the real he finds, he is determined to keep all to himself - safe from prying and judging eyes. 

Lydia Bell very recently became an orphan. Even in her twenties, that's a hard thing. So, she's shaking up her life and moving to London for her dream job as an assistant to a famous fashion designer. Through a circuitous route, she meets and charms Dylan, and he completely sweeps her off her feet. But, to protect her from the vultures, Dylan resolves only to be with Lydia in secret. 

Can you even imagine? What choice would you make? I can't even answer those questions. Everyone - Lydia included - says that they would rather experience the heat and passion and connection with someone like Dylan in secret rather than not at all. But, I don't know. Because being the dirty little secret - the hot piece on the side - would make me feel like crap, no matter how special our times together were. 

Being with him felt less and less like a choice every time we saw each other. I couldn't imagine turning away from him, even if I wanted to. And even if I was hurt by the walls he was erecting between us, I now knew, without a doubt, that he regretted their existence as much as I did.

And, also like Lydia, I'm the type of person who would have no choice but to fall in love with someone like Dylan - someone who is handsome and charming and sex on a stick and knows how to treat a woman. Which would be a problem since Dylan is 100% committed to keeping things between he and Lydia completely on the DL. 

I think my favorite part about Royal Affair is that Dylan changes and grows and learns as he gets to know Lydia. He realizes that living and loving out loud and unafraid is so much better than keeping the best part of yourself a secret. 

It's obvious from how Royal Affair ends that Dylan and Lydia's story is not even close to over yet. Dark days appear to be before them. Will they be able to handle what's coming? I can't wait to find out. 

We weren’t a foot inside when he closed the door behind him and said, “Turn around, damsel,” indicating I should face away from him. I complied, and he slowly came up behind me, running his hands along my bare upper back and down my arms. He unzipped the dress and pulled it off my shoulders so it pooled at my feet. I was naked except for my insanely high heels. Grabbing my hips, he pulled my naked ass into his front, and I could feel his hardness pushing against the seam of his trousers. “Can you feel how much I want you? How much I want this?” he said firmly, increasing his grip on my hips, pulling me even closer.

I tilted my head back and to the side to try to steal a glimpse of him, and he rested his chin on my shoulder. His hands wrapped around and palmed my breasts. He pushed them in and up, molding them in his palms, and he began to tug at my nipples, rolling them between his thumb and finger, teasing them to the point where pain met pleasure.

“I’m breaking all sorts of rules for you, aren’t I?” He was kissing my neck, sucking my skin, nipping it gently between his teeth, devouring me in motions that mimicked what he was doing to my breasts.

“What rules have you broken for me?” I asked, practically whispering, searching for steadiness in my breath.

He spun me around and lifted me by my ass in one swift move. I locked my ankles behind his back. “For starters I rarely sleep with the same woman twice, at least not in the same week. I don’t spend the night. Ever. And neither do the women I see. And I don’t invite women into my office. Ever. But I couldn’t resist with you. I’d been dreaming about having my mouth on that pretty pussy on that table for weeks. Picturing you just as you were.”

“Did it live up to the dream?” I nuzzled into his cheek, desperate to get to a place where he was naked, where I could feel his skin on my skin.

“The dream didn’t stand a chance.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want you breaking any of your rules, would I? I mean, maybe we better stop now, and you could sleep on my sofa. Or you can get back on your horse—”

“Not on your life, smartass.”

Parker Swift grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and then grew up again in New York, London, and Minneapolis and currently lives in Connecticut. She has spent most of her adult life examining romantic relationships in an academic lab as a professor of social psychology. Now, she's exploring the romantic lives of her fictional characters in the pages of her books. When she's not writing, she spends her time with her bearded nautical husband and being told not to sing along to pop music in the car by her two sons.

Social Media Links:
www.twitter.com/parkeraswift

www.Instagram.com/parkeraswift

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR REVIEW: Fake Fiancee

Ilsa Madden-Mills does it again. FAKE FIANCEE was such an awesome book, and I can't wait for everyone to read it. Check out my review!

Fake Fiancee, by Ilsa Madden-Mills
Publish Date: February 6, 2017
Publisher: self-published
Format: e-ARC, provided by TRSOR Promotions
Genre: new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon

Rating: 5 STARS

(Synopsis) They say nothing compares to your first kiss. But our first kiss was orchestrated for an audience.
Our second kiss…that one was REAL.
He cradled my face like he was terrified he’d f*ck it up.
He stared into my eyes until the air buzzed.
Soft and slow, full of sighs and little laughs,
He inhaled me like I was the finest Belgian chocolate,
And he'd never get another piece.
A nip of his teeth, his hand at my waist...
And I was lost.
I forgot he was paying me to be his fake fiancée.
I forgot we weren’t REAL.
Our kiss was pure magic, and before you laugh and say those kinds of kisses don’t exist…
Then you’ve never touched lips with Max Kent, the hottest quarterback in college history.

There was a time when all I read were books in the new adult genre. I love the college setting and the angst and discovery of the kind of love that lasts forever. I don't read as much of it as I used to, but every time I read one of Ilsa Madden-Mills' books, those old feelings come back. 

Fake Fiancee grabbed me from the very first page. Sunny endures a frightening situation and is saved by a beautiful stranger that she gets to share only a few moments with before they're separated. Years later, Sunny is living across the street from a house full of football players from the private college in town. She's trying to keep her scholarship, her job, her car and her apartment, which can be challenging when the football skanks trash her stuff, she is trying to avoid her cheating ex, and on top of it all, someone starts stalking her. 

Enter Max Kent, her hero once before and now again. He's there to tutor her, give her a ride to school, and ber a buffer between her and her ex. In exchange, she pretends to be his girlfriend to keep his own ex, as well as the rest of the football bunnies, away. It's the perfect arrangement - until Max changes the game halfway through without telling Sunny first. 

There's a lot of elements to this book that we've seen before - the rich jock who gets around sees something special in the studious girl who isn't like all the rest of them. But, there's just something about the way Ilsa Madden-Mills writes and weaves her stories that make them seem like the first time I've heard them. 

The chemistry between Max and Sunny leaped off the page every time they were together. Maybe it was because of the way they first met. Or maybe it was because of the way Sunny didn't take any of his crap and fall at his feet just because he's the star of the team. She was the only girl who was real with him, and you could just tell how much that meant to Max, even as he kept proclaiming that football was the most important thing in his life. 

Fake Fiancee is told in dual POV, which I loved. If you like lots of steamy goodness, rest assured - it's here. LOTS of chemistry topped off by lots of hot action makes Krista a very happy girl. 

I hope we get more stories from Ilsa Madden-Mills set in this world. There's a whole host of other characters I want to know more about. And any chance I have to catch up with Max and Sunny will only be icing on the cake. 

Max stalked over to the barrier that divided the stands from the football field and jumped it. The fans went nuts as he brushed past them, some not even realizing it until he was down the aisle. The Jumbotron followed him.

“Good Lordy, what’s he doing?” Mimi asked, clutching at her chest.

“I don’t know,” I said rather weakly, taking the chance to study him the closer he came. He was beautiful, his shoulders impossibly broad. To add to the distraction, his helmet was in his hand and all that dark brown hair was flowing around his chiseled features as if he had a fan in his face. My Viking.

“He’s coming over here,” Mimi commented.

He was. But why?

I stopped breathing . . .right when he came to a halt in front of me and knelt down on one knee.

Eyes the color of a wild ocean gazed at me.

He took my left hand in his right one.

“Max,” I breathed, my heart fluttering.

He gazed up at me. “Sunny Blaine, will you marry me?”

The stadium went wild. In a daze, I looked up at the Jumbotron and felt like I was watching this happen to someone else. Camera phones flashed all around us.

My first clear thought was I’ll kill him.

Aloud, nothing came out but a faint wheeze. Clearly someone had stuffed a giant wad of cotton in my mouth. Clearly I needed something a lot stiffer to drink than this Diet Coke. Clearly my fake boyfriend was a freaking raving lunatic.

He sat his helmet on the ground next to my feet, reached inside it and pulled out a small black box.
No, no, no!

The box opened, and my stomach churned at the sight of the large round solitaire diamond ring that was nestled on the black silk. I blinked repeatedly to clear my vision.

With deft fingers, Max eased it out of the lining and slipped it on my left hand.

I stared down at it. Then back at him.

I was going to murder the hottest quarterback in the country.

Kiss her, Kiss her, the crowd chanted.

We were the focal point of the entire world.

Max stood and tugged me up with him until we were standing. He slid his hand around my neck and pulled his face to mine. The sky was blotted out as he kissed me.

But I hadn’t said yes!
I wouldn’t say yes.
Not to a fake engagement.

The applause of the stadium was deafening. And his kiss—it was deadly. Despite my rage, my body craved him. His lips were hot, so hot, and my tongue met his with a vengeance. We kissed hard, and I nipped at him, my teeth scraping across his lips. But the only one who’d end up bleeding in this scenario was me.

He eased back to take me in, and with a final look at my face he gave a thumbs-up sign to the entire stadium. They went nuts, chanting his name.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered in my ear, letting his hand trail down my arm as he stepped back from me. He walked away backward, eyes on me the entire time. The announcers for the game told everyone who might have missed it that Max Kent had just asked his girlfriend to marry him, and she’d said yes. More cheers came as they replayed him on his knee in front of me with a giant YES written across the top.

I plopped back down in my seat. Frozen.

“. . . did you see her face? Shocked . . .”

“. . . most romantic thing in football . . .”

“. . . luckiest girl in the world . . .”

My face went hot. Even my ears burned. I wanted to crawl under a seat.
God.

What a lie.

The half ended and our offense came out to the field, snapped the ball, and Max threw it straight to Tate who ran it in for another touchdown. My chest constricted and anger churned in my gut.

I didn’t care who won.
I hated football right now. Most of all, I hated Max Kent, and I was going to make him pay.

Wall Street Journal best selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills writes about strong heroines and sexy alpha males that sometimes you just want to slap.

She's addicted to all things fantasy, including unicorns and sword-wielding females. Other fascinations include frothy coffee beverages, dark chocolate, Ian Somerhalder, astronomy (she's a Gemini), and tattoos. She has a degree in English and a Master's in Education. When she's not pecking away on her computer, she shops for cool magnets and fuzzy pajamas.

She loves to hear from readers and fellow authors. Email her at ilsamaddenmills@gmail.com.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Instagram

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Dangerous Highlander (Dark Sword #1)

Dangerous Highlander (Dark Sword #1), by Donna Grant
Publish Date: December 29, 2009
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Format: audiobook, purchased
Genre: adult paranormal romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 4 STARS

(Synopsis) He is magnificently strong—and dangerously seductive. One of the fiercest of his clan, Lucan MacLeod is a legend among warriors, inspiring fear in man and woman alike. For three hundred years, he has locked himself away from the world, hiding the vengeful god imprisoned in his soul. But then, a young lass caught in a raging storm awakens his deepest impulses...and darkest desires.

Cara doesn't believe the rumors about the MacLeod castle—until the majestic Highland warrior appears like a fiery vision in the storm, pulling her into his powerful arms, and into his world of magic and Druids. An epic war between good and evil is brewing. And Lucan must battle his all-consuming attraction for Cara--or surrender to the flames of a reckless, impossible love that threatens to destroy them both...

Swashbuckling Scots with a paranormal flair set in medieval times - there was no way I wasn't going to love Dangerous Highlander. And I did love it - particularly when read in Antony Ferguson's sexy British accent. I've been meaning to read this series and its spin-offs for a long time now. Having been published more than seven years ago, Dangerous Highlander has been around for awhile. But, now that I've finally got book one under my belt, I feel like I can't read the rest of them fast enough. 

In Dangerous Highlander, we get a lot of backstory. It's to be expected - this is the first book in a paranormal series with good druids and bad druids and gods and beasts and warriors. The reader needs to learn about how we came to be where we are now, who the good guys are and what they're fighting for. There were times in the beginning when the info dump threatened to be a bit too much, but once the story got going and we got to know the characters, I really got into it. 

There's a lot going on in Dangerous Highlander, but the story centers around the romance between Cara, a sweet, orphaned would-be nun and Lucan MacLeod, a tortured, 300-year-old Scottish warrior who has an ancient god living inside him. There are obvious barriers to them being together - Lucan's skin turns black from time to time and Cara is harboring powers she doesn't understand yet. Plus, there's a nasty druid out there trying to capture Lucan and his two brothers, and she's pretty darn determined. 

Dangerous Highlander has a lot of awesome stuff going for it. It is super swoony and sexy. Lucan is one hot, sexy Scot, and the connection he has with Cara is intense and immediate. He is the alpha male, even though he's the middle brother. He's incredibly protective of his brothers and of the woman he falls in love with. He's everything I love in a hero. 

There's also some awesomely cool mythology at play. The backstory of how the three MacLeod brothers got an ancient god locked inside of them and how that god gives them powers is interesting. I liked watching Cara start to discover her powers. And the other warriors with the different gods inside them was clever. 

We learn a lot about Lucan's brothers Quinn and Fallon and the differences between them. They all have handled their situation very differently, and I can tell that that will affect their future happiness. And, of course that will drive me forward into the next book. 

I listened to the audio version of Dangerous Highlander, and I really loved it. Antony Ferguson is a British narrator who does a fantastic Scottish accent. I really loved his performance and hope he does the other books in this series. Because I will assuredly be listening to them.