Padme's Library: 09/28/16

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Autumn Allure by Allie Boniface

Title: Autumn Allure

Author: Allie Boniface

Series: Pine Point #4

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: September 15, 2016

Summary:

Time for this playboy to face the music. He just never dreamed it would be a lullaby…

Nate Hunter went to college for a business degree, but he prefers working as a bartender and enjoying his small-town, single life. Then a dying ex-girlfriend tracks him down to tell him he has a daughter he never knew existed.

Nate doesn’t know the first thing about being a father, but one look at Autumn and he’s a goner, so he agrees to take care of her until her aunt returns at Christmas.

When he asks no-nonsense librarian Maxine Abbott to move in with him and help take care of his daughter, she agrees – but only if he’ll pretend to be her boyfriend and get her mother off her back.

Their relationship of convenience works perfectly at first, until real feelings begin to chip away at their fake romance. Then Autumn’s aunt shows up early, and everything changes. Will Nate and Maxine’s budding love end in heartbreak before the last leaves fall?

“Nate!” Bethany called across the room. “Picture time!”

Oh, God. Now their charade would begin in earnest. Max closed one eye, afraid to see his expression as he walked over. He handed her a glass of chilled white wine and winked. “Here I am. Ready for the camera.” He leaned over and planted a kiss on Bethany’s cheek. “How’s the prettiest town council candidate in town?”

Bethany wriggled and cooed like a schoolgirl. Then she stopped, and her eagle-eyed gaze zoomed in on the table. “Why did you give my daughter a glass of wine?”

Max froze. Nate didn’t know, of course, that she was allergic to wine. And bananas and kiwi. The fruit allergy, they’d found out about years ago, when Max swelled up in first grade after eating banana bread that a classmate brought in. The doctor hadn’t bothered to tell her she might develop a wine allergy someday too. She’d found out about that one after ending up in the hospital her freshman year of college.

A boyfriend would know that. Bethany knew a boyfriend would know that. Max pushed the glass away and forced a laugh. “Sweetheart, I think you mixed up our drinks.” She reached for whatever he held, something that looked like scotch or bourbon on the rocks, and took a swallow.

Oh dear God, I’ve set my mouth on fire. She looked at Bethany, Parvati, and the cameraman, who seemed interested for the first time all night, and forced herself to swallow before she spit it out. “That’s your wine.”

“Of course it is. Sorry, babe. Got caught up in the moment, what with all the guests.” He took a sip and watched her intently over the rim of his glass. What else haven’t you told me? his gaze seemed to ask.

Max continued to sweat. They needed to sit down and make a list ASAP. They could start with food allergies and go from there. Likes, dislikes, favorite colors, favorite foods, and anything else they could think of. Max scolded herself for not doing it earlier. Bethany’s general intuition and desperation to marry off her daughter meant she’d be watching the two of them like a hawk.

Right now, though, Max needed to do something to wipe the look of puzzlement off her mother’s face. She thought about taking another sip of whatever horrible drink she held in her hand, but she couldn’t make herself. I never drink in front of Nate, she could say, but Bethany wouldn’t buy that excuse. My allergies never came up, she could say, but that seemed unlikely for a couple that lived together.

Nate solved the problem for her. He ran one hand over his white-blond hair, gelled into haphazard spikes. His blue eyes caught hers and twinkled. Then, with the Elks Club filled to capacity and the press looking on, he put down his wineglass, leaned over, and kissed Max squarely on the mouth.

Author Bio:

Allie Boniface is the USA Today best-selling author of over a dozen novels, including the Cocktail Cruise, Hometown Heroes, and Pine Point series. Her books are most often set in small towns and feature emotional, thought-provoking, sensual romance with relatable characters you'll know and love.

A graduate of the University of Rochester and Case Western Reserve University, Allie currently lives in a small town in the beautiful Hudson Valley of New York with her husband and their two furry felines. When she isn't teaching high school English, she likes to travel, lose herself in great music, or go for a long run and think about her next small town story.

Take some time to browse around Allie's website, check out new and upcoming releases, and sign up for Allie's newsletter. You'll get all the news about releases before everyone else, along with the chance to review books before the general public. If you're interested, you can join Allie's All-Stars as well, an exclusive readers' group on Facebook where fans and friends chat with Allie about life, characters and story ideas, as well as win gift cards each and every week!

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Autumn Allure #4

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Ruin by Clarissa Wild

Title: Ruin

Author: Clarissa Wild

Genre: New Adult Romance

Release Date: September 20, 2016

Summary:
Maybell Fairweather was the girl of my dreams.

Always smiling brightly, she kept going, despite the names her classmates called her behind her back.
She was full of curiosity and independence, the extent of which I could only be jealous of. Even though she had all odds stacked against her, she knew what she wanted from life and pursued it, no matter the cost.

She was completely my opposite in every way.
Perfect, even though she couldn’t see it.
Perfect … until me.

Because this is the story of how I ruined her.

Based on a true story. Standalone Romance. No cliffhanger.

He winks, and somehow, it makes me blush.

For some reason, it’s hard to look away too.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

“Alexander Wright.”

I smile. “Maybell Fairweather.”

“Hmm … Maybell … nice name.”

“Thanks.” I blush.

I don’t know why or what it is about him, but he has this gentleness about him that soothes me and makes me want to ask him to stay, even if I don’t have a reason for it.

But then I realize it’s not the only reason I’m looking at him.

Something’s felt off since we met, and I couldn’t put my finger on it, but now, I can.

“Wait …” I mutter. “I know you, right?”

“Yeah, I’m that guy who ate a sandwich with you the other day. You don’t remember? Should I call a nurse?” He chuckles.

I roll my eyes. “No. I mean …” I recognize him from somewhere. “I know you from … school, right?”

His eyes suddenly widen, and he slams his lips shut.

HA! I knew he looked familiar. “No way! I knew it.”

The muscles in his face tighten. “Oh, boy.”

“I’ve seen you at school a few times.”

“Really?” he says, scratching the back of his neck.

“Yeah … don’t tell me I’m making this up. I’m not crazy … right?” I pout.

He smiles, his dimples making me wanna pinch his cheeks. “No, you’re not crazy. It’s just a surprise
that you’d even recognize me. People usually don’t even see me. I’m invisible.”

“Yeah?” I bite my lip and frown. “Same here.”

He lowers his arm. “No … you’re not invisible at all,” he says, looking at me with half-mast eyes. “I see you. All the time.”

Author Bio:
Clarissa Wild is a New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author, best known for the dark Romance novel Mr. X. Her novels include the Fierce Series, the Delirious Series, and Stalker. She is also a writer of erotic romance such as the Blissful Series, The Billionaire's Bet series, and the Enflamed Series. She is an avid reader and writer of sexy stories about hot men and feisty women. Her other loves include her furry cat friend and learning about different cultures. In her free time she enjoys watching all sorts of movies, reading tons of books and cooking her favorite meals.

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The Last Drop Series by Andrea Perno

Titles: The Last Drop & Change of Tides

Author: Andrea Perno

Series: Last Drop #1 & 2

Genre: Science Fiction

Release Date: The Last Drop: May 20, 2016

Change of Tides: September 22, 2016

***Currently 99cents***

The Last Drop #1
Summary:
They fought to death for the last drop of water. The virus erased the rest. Avery must protect his little brother, Jace, the only family he has left, his last reason for living. But when soldiers are needed, no one cares about the details. He gets Tasered before he can save Jace and himself from being forcefully conscripted.

Two years of cryo-sleep later, the brothers are aboard an aircraft taking the last humans from Earth to a new home, Panacea. Life is good. Food and water are plentiful. Jace is a happy kid who will never see a day of war.

So why does Avery feel like he’s making a big mistake trusting the new commander?

And who or what is Lupète? Why is Commander Smith so intent on making the natives on the new planet sound like bloodthirsty killers?

With his life in danger and Jace lost, Avery must find a way to protect Jace and the natives, too, before human greed and desperation destroy yet another civilization.

Change of Tides #2
Summary:

With nowhere else to go and separated from their friends, Avery and Clesandra head into the dark mist with Commander Smith hot on their trail. Endless are the rumors about the mist and its shrouded secrets. Avery cannot worry about those rumors. Other problems plague his mind.

Where is Jace? Is he safe? Where are the others? How will they find them without getting lost themselves? Will he and Clesandra live long enough to see their child born?

Avery and Clesandra discover new truths and lies as they continue their periled journey, including a dark secret that threatens not only the colonists and natives of Panacea but also the entire Universe.

The Last Drop #1
“I nearly got killed out there. If I die, if you die…people are being killed, Avery. No one has a good solution to this mess. No one wants to give up the rights to their water. They don’t even want to share. Shit is hitting the fan over all this. Look, Jace is too young for recruitment. Caileen would be the only other person who could sign up so that the family could live on base. Can you picture her in basic? Boy, I bet she’d be the perfect person to go out and shoot people. You aren’t even fit to do that.”

My teeth grind in opposition, but I know he’s right about Caileen. Basic training would eat her alive. She wouldn’t have the guts to shoot someone. It has to be me that stays behind.

“Look, I know you’re against the space program, but it’s our best bet. You think it’s bad in Asik? You think the outsiders living just beyond our walls have it bad? I already talked to Bruce, so I know you’ve been out there…”

“Bruce? You’ve talked to Bruce? How long have you been back?”

“A few days.”

“God, Jeremy. A few days! What the hell! Does Mom know? When were you going to tell us?”

“It doesn’t matter. Probably won’t be staying here for long anyway with the way things are going. Look, what matters is you get back on the space settlement list.”

“Why’s that so important to you? What aren’t you telling me?” I yell at him.

Jeremy glances at the receptionist, who’s beginning to eye us suspiciously. “Stop shouting,” Jeremy whispers and walks me farther away from the lobby desk. “If you’re chosen, the rest of the family gets to go. Don’t you get that? Look, if you knew half the shit that’s going down right now you’d be begging to leave.”

“If it’s so damn important to you, why aren’t you trying to get on the list?”

“You think I haven’t?” Jeremy gives me a pained look. He’s easily smart enough and he’s in great physical condition. It makes no sense. Zimmerman should be standing on his head to have a person like Jeremy. Then it hits me.

“Dad didn’t approve it?”

“I’m his right-hand man,” Jeremy scoffs. “If he only knew, right?” Jeremy’s lips curl in a devious grin and I can’t help but smile back. He’s opposed pretty much everything Dad’s put in place. Jeremy doesn’t support recruiting hundreds of men to use for missions, and he helps sneak food to the outsiders. By how smoothly things went with this morning’s supply drop, Jeremy’s got a whole crew of people on base working covertly against our father.

“So, if you’re his right-hand man, you must know what’s going to happen next.”

Jeremy runs a palm across the top of his shaved head. “Let’s just say our trade didn’t exactly go as planned.” He sucks in a breath and gives me a serious look that makes my stomach drop again. “This is why you need to get your act together. Today! The shit storm is coming and it won’t be long until it hits home.”

Change of Tides #2

Death. I’ve thought of it often. The freeing peace of nonexistence. No more fighting. No more war. I’ve ached for that serenity on more than one occasion. Of course, there’s also that terrifying moment of meeting the unknown head-on. After watching more than half my family die in front of me, and nearly dying myself, it’s hard not to commit to the reality that, in moments, Clesandra or I could be gone forever. I cast a sideways glance at Clesandra. Her luminescent green eyes are focused ahead, straining to see what’s inside the mist.

She removes her knife from her back pocket and presses the button on the side. The instant the blue blade appears, the gray mist enveloping us crackles with blinding, bright lightning bolts of blue.

Bolts whiz around us, expanding in all directions like an exploding star. Instinctively, I cover Clesandra’s head. She nearly slices my arms open with her knife trying to do the same thing for me. Just as quickly as the lightning storm started, it disappears. We’re both left gripping each other for dear life and squinting into the distance. The sudden blast of light was so blinding that the mist seems even darker. We crouch, huddled together, waiting for our eyes to readjust as wispy gray tendrils wrap around us. It’s almost as if they’re pulling us forward.

Now, faced with the moment of unknown and the knowledge that a swift and unavoidable death may be lurking mere feet in front of us, I’m not ready to die. There’s more I want to experience. More I want out of life. I want more time with this woman, however horrible or tragic it may turn out to be.

“Put the knife away,” I whisper.

“What was that?” she asks, disengaging the blade.

I shake my head. “I don’t know. Come on. We have to get moving.”

Despite the gripping fear making my heart all but leap from my chest, I pull Clesandra forward, trudging through the deep mud and embracing the unknown. There’s not a doubt in my mind that Smith saw the blue lightning. We might as well have a neon sign hovering above our heads. We aren’t safe where we are. We probably aren’t safe where we’re going.

Author Bio:

In an effort to write a biography that won’t bore people stiff, I’ve kept this one pretty simple. I, Andrea Perno (and yes it is very strange referring to myself in the third person) write futuristic science fiction. I am a writer, an illustrator, an artist, an outdoor enthusiast and oh yeah, how could I forget the most important one? I’m a middle school inspirational life coach, disciplinarian, stand-in parent, “stop throwing clay at him and for the love of God put your jacket on it’s cold outside”…teacher.

I grew up in Florida and Pennsylvania where my childhood consisted of riding horses, catching lizards, shooting, hiking, building things, and camping literally all over the U.S.A. My parents are keen on experiencing all that life has to offer. That mentality has really shaped who I have become as an adult. I also grew up watching huge doses of science fiction (thanks, Mom) and home improvement shows (thanks, Dad) Star Trek, Star Wars, Batman, Superman, Bob Vila, Home Improvement, MacGyver...I could go on or I could just say that’s where a ton of my writing inspiration comes from. I love creating worlds for people to escape.

I’m a workaholic with very little free time who’s fueled by chocolate and French Vanilla tea…yes tea, not coffee. I’m allergic to coffee. I will die. Though it may seem like I run all day and have zero time left for anything else, I am savagely loyal and passionate and will drop anything in a heartbeat for friends or family who need me. I, we…are nothing if not for the people around us.