The Billionaire Banker by Georgia Le Carre

The Billionaire Banker
By Georgia Le Carre
Published: November 1, 2013
Genre: Contemporary-Romance, New Adult


When Lana Bloom learns the devastating news that her mother is dying, she is faced with a terrible dilemma.  The one thing that can save her is the one thing she does not have.  For young and innocent Lana, the unthinkable becomes her only choice.
But when she walks through the door of that exclusive restaurant she has no idea of the seismic shift her life is about to take, for the highest bidder will not be the rich man she has accompanied. Fate drops her at the feet of the deeply mysterious and dazzlingly gorgeous American banker, Blake Law Barrington. Throbbing with raw masculinity and arrogance, this is a man who owns all that he pursues.
And now he wants her.
Lana cannot deny she is both intrigued and intoxicated by the world Blake inhabits and the smouldering passion he stirs in her body, but she is also fearful for this man is addictive, and right now she is very vulnerable. She knows she should focus only on the arrangement, but how can she…when he has opened a door that cannot be closed?



Excerpt
Rupert directs his astonished, vicious eyes at Lana’s. ‘You offered yourself to him too?’
Lana stares mutely at Rupert. His eyes move derisively, hatefully over her. She feels herself cringe.
‘Does he know how much you charge?’
‘Do you doubt I will be able to afford her?’ asks Blake.
Rupert shrivels the way a leech that has had salt thrown on it does. ‘This is why you invited me here, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’
‘What a joke!’ he taunts, but his jibe lacks any real bite. ‘The great Barrington can’t find his own whore. He has to steal mine.’
‘I didn’t steal her,’ Blake notes reasonably. ‘I just offered to pay more.’
Rupert’s eyes bulge, bug-like. ‘She’s just a cheap bloody tart. I’ve just finger-fucked her out there,’ he taunts maliciously, jerking his dandruff-laden head in the direction of the door.
Lana feels Blake’s hand tighten around her waist. ‘Consider it an unearned freebie, then,’ he says quietly, but there is warning in the calm words. A warning that is not lost on Rupert. The air becomes tight with tension. Lana looks from one man to the other. It is like watching two lions fighting for supremacy. But her body knows which lion she wants to win this fight.
Rupert shrugs. He knows he’d be a fool to go against a Barrington. He has much to lose. ‘If you think I’m going to fight over her you’re mistaken. Have her.’
He turns on his heel and leaves.
Blake lets go of Lana. She realizes she is trembling. She leans against the desk, hating herself, but unable to stop—nothing is more important than the money—she asks, ‘Did you mean it about the money?’






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J&M's review:

We're actually very excited that we had the chance to read this romance novel and now we get to share it with our followers.

The Billionaire Banker starts off with twenty year old Lana Bloom at a fancy high-end restaurant. She is ready to make a proposal to her boss an old and rich man, he is her last hope and only hope. With both her savings and credit cards maxed-out, Lana needs £50,000. Her mother is dying of cancer and she needs the money so she can fly her mother to the U.S. to receive treatment.

While making the proposal to Rupert, up walks the sexy mysterious guy that was eyeing her earlier across the restaurant. His name is Blake Barrington a 29 year old Banker about 6ft 2 with broad shoulders, a deep tan, smoldering stormy-grey eyes, a strong jaw, and sexy bed-head hair. He's hot, savage, fierce and looks like a brooding Abercrombie & Fitch model.

Blake introduces himself and invites the two to Lord Jakie's. Its a party thrown by the crème de la crème of high society. When they arrive Rupert sexually assaulted Lana before she went stumbling into the restroom humiliated, nauseated, and cried.

When Lana exited the restroom Blake was lounging casually against the wall of the corridor waiting for her. He leads her into the library and asks her what Rupert will get for his money and what she was offering the old man? Blake makes a proposition with Lana for double the pay and 3 months worth of her time.

Blake moved Lana into an expensive apartment where she is to live while she is seeing him. Their first night together Lana meets him at a private club where they have dinner and later they return back to the apartment. Blake gives her a box to change in to. Inside the box was some lace and silk. She puts on the Lingerie that was all-white with blue ribbons on the suspenders. When she returned to the bedroom Blake was shirtless and propped against the pillows on the bed. She stripped away the little sheer dress she had on for Blake. He couldn't handle it he had to have her only to find out in that moment after entering her that she was a virgin.

Their love story unfolds and reminds us a lot of Pretty Woman. Although, their love is base on an agreement, both Lana and Blake started falling for one another more than they had ever thought they would. When they finally realize things are too late.

This story was very addicting for us. Yes, we know the plot is very common, a billionaire falling in love with a normal woman. But that is not the reason why we admire the story. Like many great books we read, Georgia Le Carre did a wonderful job at entertaining us with such a lovable heroine and a drool-worthy hero. The book was well-written from beginning to the end & we were left with the biggest cliff-hanger! We are dying to know how things will go with Lana and Blake in their next book. We're so excited and we definitely don't want to wait till next January to read the next installment to The Billionaire Banker!








Meet Georgia

Georgia Le Carre lives in England, in an old 19th century romantic cottage surrounded by a magical garden filled with fruit and walnut trees.
When she is not feeding words into her laptop, she is either curled up in bed with a box of chocolates and a good read, or lost in a long walk in the woods. Especially on moonlit nights. And often with the man of her dreams.




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Email: georgialecarre@gmail.com




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Of Royal Descent by Ember Shane

Of Royal Descent
By Ember Shane
Published: September 9, 2013
Genre: New Adult, Speculative, Paranormal Romance


They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But sometimes, under extreme circumstances, it's exactly that which kills you that makes you stronger. And faster. And a member to a new, elite race of zombies.

Armed with a current address for his biological grandfather and a slightly unusual, yet loyal best friend, Doyle Hawthorne sets out to discover the truth about his past. But answers don't come easily, and the closer Doyle arrives to his destination, the more confusing things become. Disturbing alterations to his physical appearance as well as to his personality flicker on and off as Doyle searches for a logical explanation.

Despite the increasing severity of these uncontrolled flare-ups, Doyle is determined to keep his first date with Addy - a beautiful, young woman he has met upon his arrival into town. After narrowly subduing his raging impulses, Doyle quickly decides not even death itself can keep him from her. Unfortunately, he is about to test that theory.

Once initiated, nothing can alter the process of shading - the term given to the three distinct phases of becoming a higher classification of zombie, commonly referred to as "royals". Doyle must learn to control his tendency toward violence as well as his newfound royal powers if there is any chance of protecting those he loves from a mad scientist, the government, the colony of royals, and most importantly... himself.




J&M's Book Diaries rating:



J&M's review:

As you can see J & I are mostly into reading contemporary-romance novels. We have never read a zombie novel let alone, seen anything that piqued our interest. Of Royal Descent is a novel that redefines the word zombie. It's a zombie-romance with a very nice twist.

Ever since he was young, Doyle Hawthorne knew he was different. After coming home from a day at college he helped his adopted father clean out their garage. He ran into a box of old letters and a photo of his biological grandparents. After Doyle had questioned his adopted father about the things he had found, he came to realize the truth of his biological family's past. His grandfather had a psychiatric breakdown, mentally ill and put in a Rehabilitation Clinic.

Wanting to know more about his biological relatives past, Doyle and his best friend Chuck Johnson set out on a road trip. The closer they got to their destination in Ohio the more anxious Doyle became. Unusual things started to happen with Doyle, he can sense things before they happened, he was having weird nightmares, he had an appetite for raw meat, and he was feeling ill.

After waking up from an early nap, he decided to make a run to the closes restaurant near the hotel him and Chuck were staying at. Doyle had passed out while waiting in line only to wake up to a hot girl leaning over him. Her name was Addy. Doyle has never been attracted to anyone the way he was with Addy so he immediately asked her out on a date. They had an instant attraction and connection to one another.

The story between Doyle and his best friend Chuck is fun to read as well. Chuck is that cocky, arrogant, fun-loving, crazy friend that anyone secretly enjoys having around. They have that brotherly bond and their conversation was hilarious.

I was surprised how much we enjoyed this novel. It's a departure from most zombie literature in many ways, first being that this is a zombie love-story. As ridiculous as that sounds, it works. The author gives so much detail that you are able to picture everything she describes perfectly. Ember doesn't overlook any description which allows her readers to be there with her characters.

Ember Shane did a great job with this story! Even though she left us with a little cliff-hanger in the end, now we're just dying to know what will happen with Chuck? We can not wait for her next installment to this series.

We also want to thank you Ember for contacting us in reading and reviewing your novel. You've introduced us to a genre we normally would have found unappealing. We definitely ventured out from our norm and enjoyed every moment of it.





Meet Ember Shane

Ember Shane was born in Oak Ridge, TN, but currently resides with her son in southern Ohio. Although her past career choices range from beautician to professional women's football to an associates degree in nursing, her passion for writing has remained with her from youth. Of Royal Descent is her debut novel.



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Interview Q&A


Will there be another book to Of Royal Descent? Is this book part of a series?

I'm currently working on the follow up novel, entitled Of High Treason. Although I had originally envisioned a trilogy for the Royal Descent Series, there's a good possibility I will continue the story beyond that.

What inspired you to write your first book and how long did it take you to complete it?

I was actually plotting out a time traveler romance when a friend and I began talking about subgenres of paranormal romances. Zombies had come up, and I just remember thinking how gross that sounded. Ha! But I've always been a sucker for a good writing challenge, and if making rotting flesh somehow romantic isn't a challenge, I don't know what is. When I got home that night, I immediately began drafting it out on a storyboard, and I've been blissfully obsessed with the characters and plot ever since. From start to finish, Of Royal Descent took me about nine months to complete.

Who is your favorite character in this book?

Gosh, that's a hard one. But, I would probably have to say Chuck. He's that friend that everyone would love to have - adventurous, loyal, and comically arrogant.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Revision was definitely the hardest part of the process. I tend to write so much during the early drafts, that I have to continually pare content down for novel length and pacing. There are just some parts that I really hated to cut, but it made the story flow better.

If you can go back and change anything you have written what would it be & why?

I'd probably keep the scene I had originally written of Chuck and Kai when they were alone in the hotel after their date. It was from Chuck's point of view and a great scene. I cut it because I was trying to keep the rating more suitable for younger readers as well. Although in the second book, I will be including the racier scenes.

What books/authors have influenced your writing?

Almost every book I've ever read has influenced my writing in some way, but two specific writers come to mind. I've always admired Janet Evanovich's quick pacing and high doses of comedy in her Stephanie Plum Series. Karen Marie Moning's Fever Series is also high of my list of influential writing. Moning does a marvelous job at melding suspense and romance with paranormal elements.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Definitely Evanovich. Once you read so many novels by the same author, you can't help but pick up on how they structure plot and the characterization techniques they use.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

My advice is to write even when you don't feel like it, even when it's crap. Getting it down on paper is the secret to writing. I think a common tendency, at least for me, is thinking the first draft has to be perfect. This makes the process extremely slow and frustrating. When I start falling victim to this mentality, I have to remind myself that the first draft and final draft are several versions apart.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

I sincerely thank each and every one of you, especially those that take the time to leave reviews. Writing has always been my passion, but having awesome readers makes it that much more enjoyable! You can find me at Facebook and Goodreads.

Trust In Me by J. Lynn, Jennifer L. Armentrout

Trust In Me (Wait for You #1.5)
By J. Lynn, Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published: October 22, 2013
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance


It’s Wait for You as you’ve never seen it. Trust in Me lets you in on Cam’s side of the #1 New York Times Bestselling story.

Cameron Hamilton is used to getting what he wants, especially when it comes to women. But when Avery Morgansten comes crashing into his life – literally – he finally meets the one person who can resist his soulful baby blues. But Cam’s not ready to give up. He can’t get the feisty and intriguing girl out of his head.

Avery has secrets, secrets that keep her from admitting the feelings Cam knows she has for him. Will persistence (and some delicious homemade cookies) help him break down her barriers and gain her trust? Or will he be shut out of Avery's life, losing his first real shot at the kind of love that lasts forever?








J&M's Book Diaries rating:

J&M's review:
Trust In Me is Cam's point of view to Wait For You. Even though this is retelling the story in his point of view, we enjoyed it just as much. Now, We are not exaggerating when we say that we fell in love with him just a little bit more in this book. It didn't add much to the story in general, but we did get to know Cam better, his personality and his past. I love that we get to see what is going through his head the first time that he meets Avery.

We definitely enjoyed when J. Lynn alternates points-of-view in her novels; adding the two points-of-view from the main characters. It adds more depths and emotions that as a reader, we definitely ENJOY. We were reliving the moments from Avery and Cam’s relationship that had us laughing and crying and was a great reminder of some of the events that happened in Wait For You. If you want to relive the moments with an old book boyfriend, then you will love Trust in Me. You will cry, laugh, and be broken hearted with Avery and Cam, but you will also love and rejoice with them too!




Meet Jennifer L. Armentrout

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV.
She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.




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Now & Again by Brenda Rothert

Now & Again (Now Series #2)
By Brenda Rothert
Published: September 30, 2013
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary-Romance



Once again, 26-year-old Layla Carson has the attention of a man eager to satisfy her. Ben Montrose, the hot, confident cop who gets off on frustrating her, is eager to show her just how arresting he can be. But as a reforming sexaholic, Layla’s sworn off casual hookups, and doesn’t miss the days of her early 20s –much.

Ben’s caught off-guard when the sexy, outspoken attorney turns him on and then turns him down. But the confident former Marine knows he can handle the simple seduction of a beautiful woman. He finds Layla’s weak spot – competition, which he happens to share – and challenges her to a game that could make them, or destroy them.

As they compete to crown the master of seduction, Ben and Layla discover there’s more to their game than power and foreplay. But as the stakes go up, they realize the game has changed, and they both stand to lose more than they bargained for.





J&M's Book Diaries rating:



J&M's review:

Now & Again is the second book to the Now Series by Brenda Rothert. It's about Emma's older sister Layla Carson. While reading the first book we didn't think Layla was very likable. In fact, we thought she was a selfish, manipulative, & a superficial Queen B. Little did we know how much we would enjoy Layla's book. In the second book she's a completely different person. She's sworn off men and began focusing more on herself and her career.

Layla is a 26 year old Corporate Lawyer. She's sexy, strong, independent, & smart. While she was in high school she wrote her goals on a sheet of pink Hello Kitty paper. As long as it was on the list, she believed that it would happen. So far she's checked-off most of her lists and even though she has it tucked away and hasn't looked at it in a while one of her goals on the list was to get married by age 28.

Through one of her cases she meets Ben Montrose. He works in The Investigation Division as Sergeant at the Chicago Police Department. Ben is tall with a broad chest and wide shoulders. He has bright blue mesmerizing eyes, with sandy hair. He is hot and all Alpha-male!

One day after being out and walking her dog Prince, Layla received a threatening mail by a stalker. She returns to the police department to file a report and she runs into Ben Montrose. Later after having dinner at O'Malley's with Ben they decided to date for 4 weeks. Since they are both stubborn and demanding type of people the deal was that the first 2 weeks would be on Layla's term and the last 2 weeks would be on Ben's terms.

This book was very entertaining! We actually enjoyed it more than the first & surprisingly we loved Layla more than Emma. Ben and Layla as a couple was more exciting and sexy! The witty banter, bickering, and sexual tensions definitely kept us wanting more. This was a great 2nd book to its series. Brenda did a great job at capturing our attention!

Meet Brenda Rothert

Brenda Rothert lives in Central Illinois with her husband and three sons. She was a daily print journalist for nine years, during which time she enjoyed writing a wide range of stories.

These days Brenda writes New Adult Romance in the Contemporary and Dystopian genres.

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10 ebook copies of Now and Again by Brenda Rothert (INT)

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Greed by Fisher Amelie

Greed (#2 in the Seven Deadly Series)
By Fisher Amelie
Release Date: October 29, 2013
Genre: Mature Young Adult/ New Adult Contemporary


Gather ‘round, love, because I want you. I want what you have, I want what you don’t have, I want more of what I already have. I want. But if you so much as ask for something in return, go ahead and walk away. Know if you want to play in my world, it’s every man for themselves and the weak become mine. Leeches will be obliterated because I make it my job to destroy them. I protect what’s mine and I take what’s yours...because that’s what I do. I want.

My story will not endear me to you and, frankly, I could care less if it does because I’m in this for the money and nothing else. There’s nothing redeeming about me. I’m a corrupt, money hungry, immoral asshole from Los Angeles. I’m every man’s worst nightmare and every girl’s fantasy.

I’m Spencer Blackwell...And this is the story about how I went from the world’s most coveted guy to the guy no one wanted around and why I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

Meet Fisher Amelie

Fisher Amelie is the author of The Leaving Series, Callum & Harper and Thomas & January. She began her writing career as a copywriter for an internet marketing company wherein one of their client's said, 'Hey! You're funny. You should write books'. Which in turn she said, 'Hey, get out of here! This is the lady's restroom.' While washing her hands and the embarrassment from her face, she thought they may have had a valid point. So, she took the thousands of hours of writing stories growing up, tucked them into her pocket and began writing and writing and writing.


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