Book Highlight: Loving Her by CM Hutton

Loving Her by CM Hutton
Expected publication: October 15th, 2013
Adult contemporary romance

Boring, but completely gorgeous. That was my first impression of him. My next two thoughts were ‘pompous ass’ and ‘cocky jerk.’ And, I had the glorious pleasure of sharing a table with him for the entire night. He didn’t speak, didn’t grunt….he just nodded and stared. If I weren’t taking my bosses place at this dinner, I’d have found another place to sit and escape Rylan Daniels.

‘Absolutely beautiful’ was what I thought when I found her at my table at the Ad Execs quarterly dinner. She wore a black strapless dress and exuded confidence from every part of her. I nodded to her, but didn’t speak. I really didn’t have much to say anyway.

I couldn’t quit staring and had to excuse myself at one point to stand across the room and watch her. It was a strange, unwelcome feeling I was having about this stunning woman.

It had been five years….five years since Kristen…..and I still couldn’t move on. That kind of hurt you just don’t get over so easily and I wasn’t even sure that I wanted to get over it. But, here I was, completely intrigued and unable to stop thinking about Jen Bailey.

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Jen

I hated going to these stupid functions! Weird guys with slicked-back hair and way too much cologne on gave me the creeps. If it weren’t for my boss, I wouldn’t be here. But, when he asked me to come in his place while he was gone out of the country, I couldn’t say no. He’d never asked me to go to anything in his place, so I saw this as a positive sign that he was beginning to have confidence in me and my abilities. Hell, I’d only worked for the crazy bastard for six years! It was about time he recognized my strengths.

I strolled into the swank hotel all decked out in my new black strapless dress and red Christian Louboutin heels. I loved these heels. They were a gift to myself for….something.

I found my seat at a round table near the front of the room. This was a once a quarter dinner set up for all the execs at the top ad agencies in the San Diego area. I had been working for Sullivan & Jackson since finishing my masters in marketing. I’d done fairly well moving up in the company, so I guess I shouldn’t complain about the lack of recognition. I just never knew that Michael Camden noticed until today.

I didn’t know anyone at the table, but I’d never had a problem socializing. I was getting a delicious meal, a few drinks and some much needed self-promoting this evening and I planned to enjoy every moment.

I noticed him walking toward my table with his impassive face and stiff body language. I was hoping he would pass on by because as good looking as he was, he looked like a total ass and I didn’t want to be stuck with a pompous jerk for the evening. But, as luck would have it, he sat down directly across from me with barely a nod of acknowledgement. Wow, how did this guy get a job in marketing? What does he sell….sticks to shove up assholes? I nearly laughed out loud. Nice one, Jen! I silently patted myself on the back.


Rylan

She was incredibly beautiful. I hadn’t seen her at any of the dinners before. When I found her sitting at the same table and she looked straight at me, I froze not knowing what to say. Thankfully, some of the awkwardness went away as soon as Jim showed up and began his inquisition, taking her focus off me.

I listened intently all evening to learn more about her. What I learned was that she worked for a rival ad agency and had impeccable people skills. She didn’t skip a beat keeping up with all the macho crap at our table and I was pretty impressed.

She looked close to my age and judging by her conversation with Jim Davis, she was well educated and worked hard. Knowing Michael like I did, he’d obviously seen her talent and respected her abilities enough to send her in here with all these sharks.

I sat quietly most of the night, as usual. I rarely saw the need in mindless, meaningless conversation anymore. It served no purpose to me, even though I did enjoy listening to it. It occupied my mind and kept me focused on the present…on life.

I'm a wife, a mom of three, a sister, a daughter, an aunt, a friend and a teacher. Now I can add writer to my list! I've always loved to write and finally found the inspiration and support to put my first novel on display for others to read.

I live near Austin, Texas with my family where I teach school and run around like crazy taking care of my crew. I absolutely love to read and tend to totally ignore my 'near and dear' when I'm lost in a good book. Put me on a beach somewhere with a great story and the whole world just disappears around me.

Loving Her is my second novel. I'm working hard to continually improve my writing; hoping to make my stories better, my characters more loveable and my fans proud!

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

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Book Blast: Pulling Me Under by Rebecca Berto

Title: Pulling Me Under

Author: Rebecca Berto

Series: Pulling Me Under #1

Genre: Women’s Fiction, Suspense

Age Group: Adult

Cover Designed by: Berto Designs

Paul was Katie’s rock for thirteen years, but then she watched him die.

By day, she is left with her daughter Ella’s questions about where Daddy went, and at night she's consumed with nightmares of the moment he died. It isn’t long before Katie’s mother hints that her volatile lifestyle and developing drinking habits are no way to raise a little girl.

Through it all, her and Paul’s best friend, Liam is there. Grieving the death of both husband and friend, the time they spend together seems more intimate these days, and Katie soon stumbles into taboo territory: Liam might be in love with her.

Torn between Liam’s feelings and losing Ella, one night Katie runs.

Air. Space. Thinking time. That's what she thinks she's getting when she stumbles upon that party. In the morning, in a strange bed, she can’t remember the night before.

Pulling Me Under is raw in its brutality of love and pain, with slow-building suspense to a heart-stopping conclusion.

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Download the prequel novella, Precise, for FREE!

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   I wake up in my bathtub.
   Liam is by my side. His arms are tense from holding his weight over the rim. When he exhales, I suck in warm air. His air.
   He sees me wake and falls back against the tiled wall behind him, lacing his fingers as a barrier between the wall and his head. Crunch. He doesn’t react when he hits the wall, as if his hands haven’t protected his skull. Not even a flinch.
   Thankfully, his eyes are closed, which makes me feel less self-conscious. I mean, I don’t remember a period of time without him—my kinder years, primary, secondary school—but it’s easier to think without scrutiny.
   I’m not sure how long it takes, but soon enough I see he’s wearing the blue hoodie. Did he really leave it here or did he put it on . . . to rub something in? His jeans are the worn ones, the ones where his knee pokes through one pant leg. Smirking, I notice he’s still wearing Ella’s Mickey Mouse watch. The one she insisted he use.
   I try to form a memory but all I see are lined-up red plastic cups and me smashing them along a line with the ball of my heel. That’s all that comes to me. As I hit this memory, Liam opens his eyes. He’s breathing heavily, but what worries me are those blue eyes because they seem too wide. Those eyes have seen too much.
   “Wha—” I clear my throat and taste something acidic, half-digested that makes my voice sound like a gurgle. I rinse out two cupfuls of water before I gulp down another two cupfuls. It’s only after the eagerness to wash out the vomit that I realize I have my boy shorts on and one of Paul’s business shirts.
   And that’s it.
   “What happened?” I say to Liam anyway, because I can’t very well ask “Why am I half-naked?” I’m lucky my body is thin enough to hide in this shirt. It would have been a different story otherwise.
   He sits up and searches my face for a long time. His gaze is so still that a shiver runs down my spine. “Seems you had a party, you did.”
   I’m suddenly self-conscious about my gaping shirt. I pull my ankles by my side and the ends of my shirt as tight around my chest as they will go. “Was this your idea?”
   Liam points to my shirt—Paul’s shirt—and suppresses a scoff. “Nah, man. I came here at, ooh,” he checks his watch and clucks, “twelve-forty.”
   “And I was . . . ”
   “Well and truly partied out. I missed it all. I believe you were passed out and curled up with an empty Johnny Walker bottle.” He points over there. To Ella’s bed. Just as I guessed.
   I allow myself to see through the bathroom door, trying to push through the pounding in my head. Ella’s bedroom has her ponies strewn everywhere, in a way she never leaves her precious toys.
   The “why” of Liam’s presence occurs after I’ve looked away. I don’t want him seeing me look back to him. I’ve had enough shame for one day.
   In Ella’s bedroom there’s the suspect Johnny Walker bottle on the floor. I clench my teeth, pushing away memories, pushing, pushing, until all I think about is running.
Looking at Paul in that picture with cascading curls is worse, though, so I refuse to look at the particular section of the wall. I can’t see happy. I took away happy and I want nothing to do with it now.
   I concentrate on keeping my features blank so Liam can’t read any weaknesses. He’s about to suggest I hand Ella over to someone else to for a little while—I can sense it.
   I remember that things changed about a week after what happened with Paul. The first week after a sudden, terrible death is open to all sorts of reactions, but for me there’s been a disconnect. The first week, I would stare right at something as plain as a glass, and thinking back now, I can recall from my fixture on that glass I didn’t even know I was doing it. I’d get asked what I was doing that morning and I’d think it was afternoon because, surely, I couldn’t feel that tired and ready to quit the day before midday. I didn’t even know I skipped meals because hours slipped away like soap in a shower, yet my body had never felt heavier to lug around than it did then, during the first week.
   The first week has never ended for me.
   There are “comforting” lines, like the Do you want to chat about it, Kates? that people repeat.
   Well, what do I say to that? I don’t want to talk about it. Okay?
   Then I can’t remember much.
   What day is it?
   What am I doing in my car?
   Who am I?
   I shouldn’t be surprised. I transformed from a kid, dependent on my mom and dad to being “Paul and Kates”.
   Never have I been just me.

Rebecca Berto is an Amazon bestselling author. She is also a freelance editor.

She writes stories that are full of heart. She gets a thrill when her readers are emotional reading her stories, and gets even more of a kick when they tell her so. She’s strangely imaginative, spends too much time on her computer, and is certifiably crazy when she works on her fiction.

Rebecca Berto lives in Melbourne, Australia with her boyfriend and their doggy.

Author links:

Website/blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest | Newsletter mailing list 

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Obsessed With Covers #11: The Age Of Ice, A World Away & The One

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

Wow, it's been a while since I last did this feature. The reason is that I never quite managed to find some great, amazing covers to share with you *blush*

This is a very pretty cover. I love those icy flowers and the starry sky and how the stars envelop the flowers. I also love the blurb and I would so love to read this book. I've read a few reviews and there are mixed opinions about this book, but I will give it a try.











The Age Of Ice - J.M. Sidorova

This cover is just stunning. I love butterflies, so any cover that has at least one will most definitely catch my eye. It's just beautiful and it makes me thing of autumn. The pretty autumn, you know, with red, yellow leaves and warm sun and a little bit of wind. And I love the butterfly that left the jar and after reading the blurb, I believe it's fit for this book.

A World Away - Nancy Grossman

This series has had amazing covers, The dresses worn by the model are just stunning. I want dresses like that! I love the mirrors as well, and the design on top of the title. It's just a beautiful cover, one that I can't not notice.











The One - Kiera Cass


What about you? Any cool, amazing covers that caught your eye this week?

Reading Blogs & Eating Popcorn #5

Reading Blogs & Eating Popcorn is a weekly feature here at Ruby's Books, in which I share some of the posts written by other fellow book bloggers over the last week, posts that I loved so much I have to share. 

Oooh, I have read so many cool posts this week, I don't even know where to start. *is excited*

• Jamie @ Perpetual Page Turner talks about the all the books she's lent and never got back in this hilarious and a little sad post called In Memory Of Lost Books 
• Eve @ Paper Grey wants villains to Try A Little Harder
• Kimberly @ Fantasy Is More Fun asks What Kind Of Reader Are You?
• Charlotte @ Gypsy Reviews talks about slogans on book covers and if they really work in Does "The Next..." Really Works
• Asti @ A Bookish Heart talks about Social Media and My Blog
• Rachel @ Parajunkee has an awesome post about The Care & Feeding of Book Bloggers
• Gillian @ Writer Of Wrongs took some of the most popular heroines from YA books and used The Sorting Hat on them
• Octavia @ Read.Sleep.Repeat shares some Bookish Pet Peeves

I'm pretty sure I missed some awesome posts *sad face* But yes, these are a few blog posts that I loved. 

Sassy Girl Swoony God Tourney Challenge #4

Welcome to the 4th challenge in the Sassy Girl Swoony God Tourney. Here's the video for this week's challenge:

  

So, who would play Kai and Sophie. Hmmm. Tough choice, as there are so many wonderful actors and actresses out there. But, after searching for a while, I found my dream cast.

Michael Trevino looks like the perfect Kai for me. In case you don't know who Michael is, he plays Tyler Lockwood in The Vampire Diaries TV show..








Image courtesy of IMBD

I wasn't really sure I'd find the perfect Sophie. Then, while I was looking at some random videos on Youtube, I ended up watching one with this gall. Her name is Grace Phipps and she plays April Young in the same The Vampire Diaries TV show. I think she's great for the role of Sophie.






Image courtesy of IMBD

If you want to read more about this challenge and to read about last week's challenge, head out to Tellulah's blog. Last week I didn't submit my entry to the challenge because I have zero drawing skills.

Who would you cast to play Sophie and Kai?

Book Review: The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

Author: Richelle Mead
Series: Bloodlines #3
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: February 12th 2013
My Rating: 4.5 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives.

In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she struggles to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she finally tracks down the elusive, enigmatic Marcus Finch – a former Alchemist who the organisation denies exists, and who lives in shadows, on the run. With Marcus's help, Sydney realises that the group she's been loyal to her whole life has been hiding the truth from her. Is it possible that her golden lily tattoo might have more power over her than she thinks?

As she struggles to come to terms with what that might mean, Sydney is compelled to use her growing magical powers to track down an evil magic user who is targeting powerful young witches. Using magic goes against everything she always thought she believed, but she realises that her only hope is to embrace her special blood – or else she might be next.

Forging her own way is harder than Sydney ever dreamed. Maybe by turning off her brain – and following her heart – she'll be able to finally figure out where she belongs.

The hotly anticipated third installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series.

When The Indigo Spell was published, I decided I was going to be brave and patient and not read it right away. After all, I would've had to wait 9 months and 7 days (yes, I actually took the time to calculate that. You can call me a geek, I won't mind!) for the next book and I was pretty sure I was going to spend all that time mentally kicking myself for being a fast, impatient reader.

I told myself that if I waited, I'd get to read two new installments back-to-back in the same year, instead of just one and be miserable waiting. I think the last time I ever had that magnificent experience of two books of the same series out in the same year was around...2010? So I was excited about waiting that long for the books and I thought I could do it. I waited. But then I saw the book trailer for The Fiery Heart and my curiosity won. So I grabbed the book yesterday and finished it last night. Of course, now I'm mentally kicking myself for being a fast, impatient reader.

I really, really loved this book. The pace was great, I got to see some old characters that I love and adore, some butterfly-inducing moments, funny moments, some drama. You know, it was COOL!

Sydney is turning into such a strong woman. She's starting to question a lot of things about herself and about the cause she was born into and I really believe this is a good thing for her. I can finally understand why she's the lead heroine of the Bloodlines series. While Rose was a strong character from the very beginning of the Vampire Academy series, or at least that's how I saw her, that hasn't been the case for Sydney. Now, however, I can see she has the potential of becoming as strong as Rose, not necessarily physically strong, but mentally. I have a feeling she's going to be phenomenal in the next three books.

Adrian is.... well, he's the Adrian we all know and love. He's even sexier than before, if that's even possible. What is so amazing about him is that, out of all the characters in this series, he's the one that makes the most sense at times and he's the most level-headed one. Which is kind of a big deal, to be honest, considering his particular problems with his magical qualities. Not only that, but looking back at the Adrian he was at the beginning of VA, I can easily see he's come a long way and he's so much more mature than when he first showed up in the books. And did I mention hotter? He is hotter.

As for the other character, they're an interesting bunch. Eddie is a puzzle to me. I can't really understand him at times. I feel like he needs something to happen (or maybe someone) to make him the strong character I think he can be. Then there's Jill, who is very insightful for someone so young. And she's a good kid. I like her. I hope she and her Big Sis will sort things out and have a real relationship. Angelina is... I have to be honest and say she's a little annoying. I can somewhat understand it, because she is still adjusting to a new world and a new set of rules about a society she knows absolutely nothing about. So maybe I am being a little too hard on her.

There were only two things that I didn't particularly like in this book. One was Marcus and the other one was this book's villain. For the latter, I was hoping something more... maybe more dangerous, more cunning, more evil, something else. It was surprising, meaning I was expecting something else entirely, but I was waiting for something a little bigger than what it turned out to be. As for Marcus, I was waiting for him to be different. Stronger, maybe. He just wasn't the guy I thought he was.

Thankfully, I don't have to wait too long for the next book, only one month and 9 days. What I love about this two books in particular is that if you read The Indigo Spell you will understand the title of the next book. I love when that happens. The sad part about getting two books in one year is that the series ends sooner *pout* I'm not happy about that at all, but I can only hope that Richelle Mead will continue writing in this world after Bloodlines ends *fingers crossed*