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#AubreysBookReview / Review Blitz for CRUEL MONEY by K.A. Linde!!!

23 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by Aubrey in Book Review

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#AubreysBookReview, #BookReview, #ContemporaryRomance, #CruelMoney, K.A. Linde

 

Lose yourself to the dark and glamorous underbelly of the Upper East Side in USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde’s new billionaire romance Cruel Trilogy.

She was supposed to be a one night stand.

A way to sate my sexual appetite.

I let her glimpse the man I am. The face that I hide behind my carefully cultivated life.

But she ripped open that divide–and there’s no going back.

Now, she’s here. In my city.

I don’t care that I’m Manhattan royalty and she’s the help.

Only that she’s living in my summer home. With me.

And I want more.

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Cruel Money (Cruel, #1)Cruel Money by K.A. Linde
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 out of 5 ‘High society drama’ Stars

If you’ve ever seen the movie Cruel Intentions from 1999 (dating myself) then this book had a lot of Cruel Intention-like vibes. This story has a high society guy, Penn, who has a group of friends that also run in that same upper echelon of society. They are tight-knit but in the most unhealthy of ways. They all have too much money and too much time on their hands and definitely feel like they are entitled to everything and anything. I think out of all of his friends I liked Katherine the least. She’s selfish, pampered, devious, cruel and just a plain bitch. It doesn’t help that she has her sights set on Penn throughout the whole book. Lark and Rowe seemed to be a little more low key than the rest of them. And Lewis is the fun-loving charmer of the group.

This is a story about a time when Penn met this girl, Natalie, one weekend in Paris. They had an instant connection and a heated night of passion. Penn leaves Natalie without an explanation and she’s devasted and heartbroken. She carries this with her throughout the next six years of her life, until she unexpectedly crosses paths with Penn again. And of course, Natalie doesn’t come from money. Or even have a lot of it now. She’s the hired help. Their worlds couldn’t be more different.

I have to say that I had a whole love/hate thing going on with Penn. While I loved him when he and Natalie were one on one…I truly hated him when he was around his friends. I felt like his friends all brought out the worst qualities in Penn. Having said that, you don’t make a bet with your crew that you could get Natalie to fall in love with you (easy peasy) if you don’t want Natalie to ever find out. Katherine was the competition in the bet and all the others were pretty much just witnesses. And throughout the book, you get more and more of an idea of how devious and horrible Katherine could be to get her way and attempt to win the bet. But what bothered me the most is that Penn never backed down from the bet. He tried to get Katherine to back out of it but would never just say ‘you know what? This is dumb. I like her and she’s worth more than this dumb bet.’ Buuuuuuuut he didn’t. And I thought that Penn was pretty dumb for this. All to save face for a bet. Shame really. He deserves that bitch, Katherine.

Natalie was a character that you could definitely love. She’s a writer, a dreamer but always says what’s on her mind; no filter necessary. A girl after my own heart! She made some poor decisions but I felt like she allowed herself to be a little blinded by her lust/love for Penn. She never knew of his untrustworthy ass!! And this type of event is the type to change a girl. She can either stay the same or level the playing field and beat them at their own game.

The end leaves you with a major cliffy and a little insight as to where the direction of the next book could possibly start out. I honestly don’t know if I’m even rooting for Penn. He’s kind of a douche when he’s around his friends. He has so many opportunities to come clean and he never did. Then towards the end of the story there also a little curve thrown in about Lewis possibly having feelings for Natalie. I was stunned!! I could see myself rooting for Team Lewis. Definitely stoked to see what happens next.

Happy Reading!!
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K.A. Linde is the USA Today bestselling author of more than fifteen novels including the Avoiding series and the Record series. She has a Masters degree in political science from the University of Georgia, was the head campaign worker for the 2012 presidential campaign at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and served as the head coach of the Duke University dance team. She loves reading fantasy novels, geeking out over Star Wars, binge-watching Supernatural, and dancing in her spare time.

She currently lives in Lubbock, Texas, with her husband and two super adorable puppies.

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM / BOOKBUB

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#AubreysBookReview and release day for THE DIRTY ONES by JA Huss!!!

04 Tuesday Dec 2018

Posted by Aubrey in Book Review, Release Day Blitz

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Title: The Dirty Ones
Author: JA Huss
Genre: Dark Erotic Suspense
Release Date: December 4, 2018
Blurb
They said write what you know so that’s what I did. I wrote dirty, I wrote erotic, I wrote the truth.
And then they called me a liar. But it’s not me who’s lying, it’s them.
Our story isn’t for everyone. It’s not even for us.
So if you’re looking for the fairy tale and the stupid prince on his dumb white horse, move along. You’ve got a hold of the wrong book.
This is not your story, this is not your life, and this is not your opportunity to dip your frightened little toe into the dark pool of water and “try new things” and then pull it out and decide… #NotForMe.
When you go in with us you go all in. So make a decision before you turn this page.
Because I’m making one promise with this book.
Just one.
We are The Dirty Ones and this is our truth.
The Dirty Ones is a brand new dark romance about the secret world of erotica authors releasing December 4, 2018.

 

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The Dirty OnesThe Dirty Ones by J.A. Huss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 out of 5 ‘Get ready to be dirty’ Stars

I have to say it was the blurb that intrigued me. I read it and there was hardly any information there but I was hooked. I wanted to know more. That one little blurb left me wanting. I wanted to know more. What was this all about? What do they mean? Well, what I found out was way more and way different than I thought it would be. Just a side note: this book contains multiple partners, so if you’re not into that then this might not work for you.

There are some books that you can kinda see what direction it is going in. Or you can make educated guesses about where things are headed. With this book, I tried. I really tried to figure out what the hell was going on but I just couldn’t make sense of anything. It was such a freaking mystery. A good one at that. While the story unfolds, there are absolutely NO clues as to what is really happening until the very end. I could not put this down because the curious kitty in me just needed to know what was behind that story.

I have read a few of JA Huss books previously and she always gets me curious and then I’m entranced and before you know it the whole day goes by and nothing gets done but falling deeper into the rabbit hole of this awesome book. This story is no different. So many twists and changes to the story. You think you know and then you take a sharp right and it all changes. I loved it. And the ending was so different than what I expected but isn’t that the best part??? The unexpectedness?? Definitely a romantic suspense for the record books, folks.

Happy Reading!!

View all my reviews
 

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Excerpt

Kiera’s room is dark, so I force myself to be still for a few seconds, allowing my eyes to adjust. When the crack of light leaking in from under the door goes from barely visible to a golden haze rising up from the floor I step forward towards the edge of the four-poster bed, unknotting my tie and pulling it through my collar as I walk.
“Kiera?” I ask, pulling my shirt out of my pants and unbuttoning my shirt. “You awake?”
She moans, rolling over, one of her pale breasts exposed from her top, one long leg bare as it sneaks out from under the covers. Her hair is wild, splayed out on the pillow and half covering her beautiful face.
I want to turn the lights on. Want to see her better. See all of her. Never take my eyes off this woman. I want to make this whole nightmare go away. Give her something better. Leave behind my old life with all its expectations and just steal away with her to some far-away tropical island. Stay naked with her forever and raise babies on the beach.
God, what the fuck is wrong with me? We’ve been back in each other’s lives for less than forty-eight hours and all I can think about is throwing everything away?
You’re in love, Con.
I hear the words in her voice inside my head.
You’re in love.
Maybe I am.
I unbuckle my belt and unfasten my pants. Drag my zipper down, trying to be quiet.
I don’t want to wake her. I want to ease into bed, slip my fingers between her legs, and kiss her mouth as she dreams. Make her come in her sleep.
I am one sick fuck and I don’t care.
When I’m naked I place one knee on the bed and carefully swing my other leg over hers.
She twists, flat on her back now. That one exposed breast caught in some stray ray of light that shouldn’t be there, but is. Like a spotlight just for my own sick, hedonistic pleasure.
Thinking back on the party at Camille’s house has turned back time for me. Taken me to the place I was, the person I used to be. The one who fucked her and Sofia—and sometimes Camille too. The one who didn’t mind sharing with Hayes or Bennett because they didn’t mind sharing with me.
It was an orgy. Group sex or whatever.
It was sick, and twisted, and very fucking erotic.
It was heavy breathing, and sweaty, naked bodies, and never enough.
It was never enough that year.
We fucked them all. Together.
It was sensuous, and uninhibited, and lecherous.
How did I ever walk away from these people? How did I ever live a day without them?
I place my hand on her one exposed leg and slowly slide it up to her thigh.
She moans again, mouth parted like she’s waiting for my cock.
I picture those nights long ago. At the parties. How Camille would always be the one to invite us in. And how Hayes would be the first to take her up on those offers. How Sofia was meek, and afraid, and shy. And how she changed. How we all changed.  How Kiera used to whimper and moan as she came.
I want to hear that sound now. Right now.
I lean forward, crawling up her body, my rock-hard cock dragging across the sheets.
Aching to be inside her.
Author Bio
JA Huss is the New York Times Bestselling author of 321 and has been on the USA Today Bestseller’s list 21 times in the past four years. She writes characters with heart, plots with twists, and perfect endings.
Her books have sold millions of copies all over the world, the audio version of her semi-autobiographical book, Eighteen, was nominated for a Voice Arts Award and an Audie Award in 2016 and 2017 respectively, her audiobook, Mr. Perfect, was nominated for a Voice Arts Award in 2017, and her audiobook, Taking Turns, was nominated for an Audie Award in 2018.
She lives on a ranch in Central Colorado with her family.

 

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Review ~ The Other Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

03 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by Belladonna in Book Review, Book Tour

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#AvonRomance, #BarnesAndNoble‬, #Belladonnasbookreview, #BlogTour, #BookReview, #Bridgerton, #GooglePlay, #iBooks, #JuliaQuinn, #Review, #ReviewBlitz, ‬ ‪#Amazon‬‪

She was in the wrong place…

Fiercely independent and adventurous, Poppy Bridgerton will only wed a suitor whose keen intellect and interests match her own. Sadly, none of the fools from her London season qualify. While visiting a friend on the Dorset coast, Poppy is pleasantly surprised to discover a smugglers’ hideaway tucked inside a cave. But her delight turns to dismay when two pirates kidnap her and take her aboard a ship, leaving her bound and gagged on the captain’s bed…

He found her at the wrong time…

Known to society as a rascal and reckless privateer, Captain Andrew James Rokesby actually transports essential goods and documents for the British government. Setting sail on a time-sensitive voyage to Portugal, he’s stunned to find a woman waiting for him in his cabin. Surely, his imagination is getting the better of him. But no, she is very real—and his duty to the Crown means he’s stuck with her.

Can two wrongs make the most perfect right?

When Andrew learns that she is a Bridgerton, he knows he will likely have to wed her to avert a scandal—though Poppy has no idea that he is the son of an earl and neighbor to her aristocratic cousins in Kent. On the high seas, their war of words soon gives way to an intoxicating passion. But when Andrew’s secret is revealed, will his declaration of love be enough to capture her heart…?

About the Book

The Other Miss Bridgerton
by Julia Quinn

Series
A Bridgertons Prequel (Jump to the Series on Amazon)

Genre
Adult
Historical Romance

Publisher
Avon Books

Publication Date
November 20, 2018

Purchase Your Copy Today!
Amazon  |  Bridgertons Series on Amazon  |  Avon Romance  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Google Play  |  iBooks

 

Belladonna’s Review

The Other Miss Bridgerton (Rokesbys, #3)The Other Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Delightful, simply delightful! Julia Quinn delivers a slow-burn romance on the high seas that has the most polite and hilarious kidnap scene I think I have ever read.

When Poppy Bridgerton happens upon the secret cave where the Infinity stores its stash, there is nothing for it; the crew must take her aboard to prevent anyone from knowing it’s location. Locked in the cabin of the captain with only the clothes on her back for a two-week trip, Poppy is off to Portugal. Her very first adventure. If she wasn’t so worried, she might be excited.

Poppy, an oft-mentioned character in previous Bridgerton novels, has lived a life of safety and propriety, but daydreams of adventure. Captain Andrew James, a privateer and Captain of the Infinity, has had his fill of adventure. Lately, his thoughts have turned to home and family, maybe even a cottage of his own. As they spend the journey in close quarters, they can’t help but come to know each other. And what they each find surprises them.

The beginning of this book is quintessential Julia Quinn, a little funny, a little sweet and with a lot of spirited verbal banter. I was immediately drawn in. As the voyage progressed, though, the pace slowed. It wasn’t until they arrived in Portugal that the story picked up the pace and really sucked me back in.

Overall, this was delicious little romance with more adventure than previous Julia Quinn romance novels. I love the Bridgertons and Rokesbys and can’t wait to see what is up next.

View all my reviews

About Julia Quinn

JULIA QUINN started writing her first book one month after finishing college and has been tapping away at her keyboard ever since. The New York Times bestselling author of more than two dozen novels for Avon Books, she is a graduate of Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges and is one of only sixteen authors ever to be inducted in the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon

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#AubreysBookReview and Happy Release day for THE HERO AND THE HACKTIVIST by Pippa Grant!!!

09 Friday Nov 2018

Posted by Aubrey in Book Review, Release Day Blitz

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Title: The Hero and the Hacktivist
Author: Pippa Grant
Genre: Sexy Romantic Comedy
 Release Date: November 9, 2018
Blurb

 

A SEAL / Best Friend’s Brother / Robin Hood in Cyberspace Romantic Comedy
For anyone who’s ever been on the receiving end of an unsolicited dick pic…
He has the muscles of Adonis, an ego bigger than the sun, and a very clear desire to get back in my pants. Which would be fantastic if he weren’t a SEAL and I wasn’t a criminal.
Although, I prefer the term avenger.
I’m a hacktivist, cleaning up the cesspool of cyberspace one scam artist and troll at a time, and I sometimes bend a few rules to get justice done.
He’s a military man with abs of glory, sworn to uphold the letter of the law no matter its shortcomings. And if he’d known who—or what—I was, I doubt he would’ve banged me at my best friend’s wedding reception.
Or come back for more.
Which is why he’s now the only thing standing between me and one very pissed off internet troll who’s figured out where I live.
I’m pretty sure he’ll get me out of this alive—and quite satisfied, thank you very much—but I’m also pretty sure this mission will end with me in handcuffs.
And not the good kind of handcuffs.
The Hero and the Hacktivist is a romping fun romance between a SEAL and a twisted hacker by day, drummer by night, complete with epic klutziness, terrible leg warmers, and an even worse phone virus gone wrong. This romantic comedy stands alone with no cheating or cliffhangers and ends with a fabulously fun happily ever after.

 

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The Hero and the HacktivistThe Hero and the Hacktivist by Pippa Grant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 out of 5 ‘A weird time had by all’ Stars

The one thing I love about reading Pippa Grant’s stories is that I never know what I’m going to get. They are deliciously unpredictable. I would give anything to have a conversation with this chick because the shit that comes out of her characters mouths (or the thoughts they have) are so freaking outrageously hilarious. I can only imagine what the mastermind behind all these interesting and complex characters is actually like. Each of Pippa Grant’s stories has all the characters from her previous stories and their stories seem to intertwine. They can all be read as standalones but why would you want to deny yourself all the crazy goodness that the pages contain? Read. Them. All!!! If you have read them, you’ll know that reading the previous stories only give you better insight as to character mannerisms and previous incidents that are mentioned in the current story.

In this newest edition to Pippa Grant’s collection of crazy love stories we have Rhett, the Navy SEAL hero, and Eloise, the heiress to the bellbottom fortune turned hacktivist (saving the world one internet troll at a time). This couple is one of the unlikeliest couples ever but if you remember from previous Pippa books that Rhett is the brother to Parker, who is the lead singer in the band that Eloise is also apart of. There’s your connection.

Eloise was such a complex character. At times I even grew a little frustrated with her because she could never just tell the truth. She was always hiding behind sarcasm or half-truths or just full on lies. She has created this image of herself that she feels keep people at arm’s length because eventually, everyone leaves. But as much as I was frustrated with her I found her completely fascinating. She had all this money and she chose to spend her time on the computer righting the injustices of internet scams and trolls. It’s in this quest for justice that Eloise gets in over her head with her Robin Hood-ness and finds herself in some deep doo doo. And of course, Rhett comes in with his superhero complex to try and save the day.

The story is filled with two people who are hiding their true selves in order to protect others or themselves. It was amazing to see that when you broke it down how similar Rhett and Eloise were in their need for chaos and righting wrongs. And I cannot forget that the crazy shenanigans involved kept my nose glued to the book until it was over. So who’s next? Cuz I cannot leave this crazy book family for at least a few more books. Like is Brooks going to get a book? Gavin? Who?? I need to know. Until then….

Happy Reading!!
View all my reviews

Author Bio
Pippa Grant is a stay-at-home mom and housewife who loves to
escape into sexy, funny stories way more than she likes perpetually cleaning toothpaste out of sinks and off toilet handles. When she’s not reading, writing, sleeping, or trying to prepare her adorable demon spawn to be productive members of society, she’s fantasizing about chocolate chip cookies.



Books by Pippa Grant

Mister McHottie
Stud in the Stacks
The Pilot & the Puck-Up
Royally Pucked
Beauty and the Beefcake
Rockaway Bride
Hot Heir
The Hero and the Hacktivist
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New Release, Review, Excerpt & Giveaway! Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews

30 Tuesday Oct 2018

Posted by Belladonna in Blog Tour, Book Review, Chapter/Excerpt Reveal, Giveaway

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#AddToTBR, #Avon, #AvonImpulse, #AvonRomance, #BarnesAndNoble‬, #BlogTour, #BookReview, #DiamondFire, #Excerpt, #Giveaway, #Goodreads, #GooglePlay, #HiddenLegacy, #iBooks, #IlonaAndrews, #paranormal, ‪#ParanormalRomance, ‬ ‪#Amazon‬‪, Novella

Nevada Frida Baylor and Connor Ander Rogan cordially invite you to join their wedding celebration. Summoning, weather manipulation, and other magical activities strictly forbidden.

Catalina Baylor is looking forward to wearing her maid of honor dress and watching her older sister walk down the aisle.  Then the wedding planner gets escorted off the premises, the bride’s priceless tiara disappears, and Rogan’s extensive family overruns his mother’s home.  Someone is cheating, someone is lying, and someone is plotting murder.

To make this wedding happen, Catalina will have to do the thing she fears most: use her magic.  But she’s a Baylor and there’s nothing she wouldn’t do for her sister’s happiness.  Nevada will have her fairytale wedding, even if Catalina has to tear the mansion apart brick by brick to get it done.

 

 

About the Book

Diamond Fire
by Ilona Andrews

Series
Hidden Legacy Novella

Genre
Adult
Paranormal Romance

Publisher
Avon Impulse

Publication Date
November 6, 2018

Purchase Your Copy Today!
Amazon  |  Avon Romance  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Google Play  |  iBooks
 

Review

Diamond Fire (Hidden Legacy, #3.5)Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 Stars

I was late to the party on this series, but once I found it, it consumed me. It’s one of those series that immediately after reading the first book, you run out, grab all of the rest and then read them back to back. After book three, I was worried that was it, that there wasn’t going to be anymore. Thankfully this book arrived full of good news!

It’s a Baylor/Rogan wedding, the biggest Prime event of the year, but when it comes to Nevada and Connor, nothing is ever simple and easy.

Bridezilla, aka Nevada, has run off the wedding planners with her changeable, demanding behavior and Mrs. Rogan’s long-estranged family has arrived from Spain bringing family drama and resentment for good measure. With all of the shenanigans that are threating to derail what should be one of the happiest days in their lives, Catalina steps in determined to make sure her sister’s happy day goes off without a hitch, even if she has to resort to using her powers to get it done.

A little bit epilogue to Nevada and Connor’s story and prequel to Catalina’s upcoming trilogy, this novella is a fast-paced, madcap mystery that showcases Catalina coming into her own. Told mostly from Catalina’s POV, we get peeks of a few of our favorite characters (Alessandro Sagredo!) while being introduced to a whole new side to Connor’s family. (Admittedly, keeping track of the new family members was a challenge but, thankfully, there was a family tree for handy reference at the beginning of the book.) I adored Catalina. Reading from her POV set a new fresh tone and has me excited to see where she is headed next.

If you haven’t read the Hidden Legacy series, I highly recommend it and this novella!

View all my reviews

 

 

Excerpt

Chapter 1

Catalina

I fought my way through the hallway of Mountain Rose house trying to dodge the children. Everything I ever read about my future brother-in-law on Herald suggested that Connor Rogan was a loner with no immediate family besides his mother and his cousin, Kelly Waller, who didn’t count.
Herald lied.
The gaggle of children was coming right for me.
I clutched my tablet to my chest and braced myself.
They ran around me in circles, giggling, and dashed down the hallway, leaving a little girl holding a stuffed unicorn in their wake. I let out a breath.
Rogan had oodles of relatives, scattered all over the Mediterranean, and all of them descended on his mother’s house to attend the wedding. I liked kids, but there were somewhere between twenty and thirty children under the age of twelve on the premises and they traveled in packs. The last time I ran across this gang of preteens, they knocked the tablet out of my hands. Nothing could happen to the tablet. All of the wedding files were on there.
The little girl and I looked at each other. She was probably five and super cute, with brown hair and big dark eyes. She wore a pretty lavender dress decorated with tiny silk flowers. If Mom had put me into that dress when I was her age, it would be covered with mud and engine grease in about five minutes. When I was five, I either played outside or in Grandma Frida’s garage, while she repaired tanks and field artillery.
“Hi,” I said. “I’m Catalina.”
“Mia Rosa García Ramírez Arroyo del Monte.”
I had seen her before, I realized. She always seemed to follow Mrs. Rogan around. She trailed her to the porch, to the study, to the media room. She even wanted to sit next to her in the dining room.
Mia Rosa thrust her unicorn up. It was almost as big as she was and decorated with blue and silver plastic jewels the size of grapes and way too many sparkles.
“This is Sapphire.”
“She is very pretty.”
“She lives in the midnight clouds and her horn glows with moonlight.”
Of course. Jewel Legends. It was a popular kid cartoon with mythical animals. I was too old for it, but Arabella, my younger sister, caught the very beginning of it. Everything had to be Jewel Legends for a while: notebooks, backpacks, phone cases . . . And then she went to high school and that was the end of that.
“I want a sparkly gun,” Mia Rosa announced in a slightly accented voice.
“Um, what?”
“There is a gun that lets you put more sparklies.”
“You want a bedazzler?”
Mia Rosa nodded several times. “Yes. My mommy said you were the go girl and I should ask you.”
Go girl. I hid a sigh. “I’ll see what I can do. What is your mommy’s name, so I know where to deliver the bedazzler?”
“Teresa Rosa Arroyo Roberto del Monte. Thank you. But don’t give it to mommy. Give it to me.”
Awww. She said thank you. “You’re welcome.”
She curtsied and ran after the kids, dragging her unicorn.
My phone chimed. I glanced at the text message. Arabella has written, “Where are you??? Get here!!!” and added a gif of a crying baby with photoshopped rivers of tears. I took off at a near run.
It all started with Nevada firing the wedding planner. The first wedding planner.
Usually my older sister was a perfectly reasonable person. Well, as reasonable as someone can be when she is a human lie detector. However, two weeks ago Simon Nightingale disappeared, and House Nightingale hired us to find him. Just three months ago our family registered as a House, and our small PI firm went from Baylor Investigative Agency to House Baylor Investigative Agency. The Nightingale case was our first investigation. The entire Houston elite was watching us, and it drove Nevada a little nuts. A lot nuts. She was pretty much a nutcase.
The first wedding planner was fired because she argued with Nevada. My sister would explain the way she wanted things done and the planner would tell why they couldn’t do it that way. Most of the time “couldn’t” meant “we won’t do it because it’s a Prime wedding and it’s not the way things are done.” Finally, the planner explained to Nevada that it wasn’t really her wedding, but a wedding of House Rogan and she needed to stop impeding it with “ridiculous demands,” such as serving queso as an appetizer at the rehearsal dinner. The planner was promptly escorted from the premises.
The second planner was fired, because she kept lying. Her approach to wedding planning was to pacify the bride by pretending that everything was under control even when it wasn’t. She didn’t want to be micromanaged. But, my sister was an epic control freak and her attention to detail was legendary within the family. Nevada would ask if something was a problem, and the planner would repeatedly assure her that things were fine, despite being warned that Nevada could sense her lies. Things came to a head when Nevada asked her point-blank if she and Mrs. Rogan had come to an agreement on the caterer. After being told for the tenth time to not worry about it, Nevada snapped. I realized that the second planner was let go when I saw her running to her car in five-inch heels with a look of pure panic on her face. My sister had burst onto the porch behind her, yelling, “Is it fine now? Is it still fine?”
We didn’t bother with a third wedding planner. Arabella and I took a weekend, armed ourselves with takeout, and after thirty odd episodes of Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? and four seasons of Bridezilla, we decided to plan the wedding ourselves. It was that or there would be no wedding.
Unfortunately, while Rogan and his mother treated us with perfect courtesy, the rest of his family wasn’t quite sure about our status. Both Arabella and I were registered as Primes, but our records were sealed. Also, our family wasn’t wealthy, and Rogan was a billionaire. With me being eighteen and Arabella turning sixteen, they didn’t feel we had any authority. I had a feeling we ranked as “poor relatives who run errands,” somewhere just above hired help. Apparently, I was the go girl. I didn’t even want to know what Arabella was.
Just what I needed. I already felt like a clumsy trespasser in all of this beautiful luxury. This wasn’t my home. My home was in the loft of the warehouse. If there was any way to not be here, I would’ve taken it. But I loved my sister.
It would be a lot easier if we could do all this in Rogan’s house, but Rogan and Nevada declared Rogan’s home a wedding-free zone and hid there whenever they could.
I turned the corner and walked into a room where Nevada stood on a dais, wearing high-heeled shoes and the in-progress wedding dress, which currently was muslin marked with blue pencil lines. Two people crawled around her, pinning the hem.
Arabella stood in front of her, her arms crossed over her chest. Both Nevada and Arabella were blond, but Nevada’s hair was closer to clover honey, while Arabella’s resembled gold corn silk. I was the only brunette in the family, besides Mom. Right now the similarities between my two sisters were really apparent, and if you didn’t look at their faces, Arabella seemed like a shorter smaller copy of Nevada.
Ooo, I should tell her that next time we fought. She would hate that.
“What is it?” I asked.
“She wants lilacs in her wedding bouquet.”
“Okay . . .” Nevada had said she wanted carnations, but we could stuff some pretty pink lilacs in there. I didn’t see the problem.
“Blue,” Arabella squeezed out. “She wants blue lilacs.”
No and also no. “Nevada . . .”
“I had to hide in a bush of French lilacs yesterday and they were very pretty and smelled nice. The card on the tree said, ‘Wonder Blue: prolific in bloom and lush in perfume.’”
I googled French lilac, Wonder Blue. It was blue. Like in your face blue. “Why were you hiding in a bush?”
“She was being shot at,” Arabella said with a sour face.
“So you stopped to smell the lilacs while people were shooting at you?” I couldn’t even.
“Mmm. I was in a greenhouse and they made a lovely hiding spot.”
I decided to go with logic. My sister was a logical person. “You asked for a spring wedding. You chose pink, white, and very light sage green as your colors. There is no blue anywhere in the wedding.”
“Now there is.”
“Your bouquet has pink carnations, pink sweet pea flowers, white roses, and baby breath.” Three varieties of pink carnations, because she couldn’t pick one. And Nevada would never know the panic in the floral designer’s eyes when we told her it had to be a carnation bouquet. Apparently, carnations weren’t upscale enough for Mad Rogan’s wedding. Poor woman kept trying to suggest orchids.
“And blue lilacs,” Nevada said.
“It will clash,” Arabella growled.
I googled sage bridesmaid dress, held the tablet toward Nevada, and scrolled through images. “Look at the flowers. Pink and white. Pink. Pink. White. Pink and white.”
“I don’t care,” Nevada said. “I want blue lilacs.”
And I want to fly away from here, but that wouldn’t happen anytime soon, would it?
“Anyway, I have to get back to the office,” Nevada said. “Text me if anything.”
“The queen has dismissed us,” Arabella announced.
I dropped into a deep curtsy. “Your Majesty.”
“I hate you guys.”
“We hate you back,” Arabella told her.
“We hated you before the wedding.”
“Before it was cool to hate you.”
“Get out!” Nevada growled.
I walked out of the room.
Arabella caught up with me. “We can’t do lilacs. It ruins the theme.”
“I know.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Sleep on it,” I told her. “Let’s go home.”
“Catalina,” a woman called.
I turned toward the sound. Arrosa Rogan, Nevada’s future mother-in-law waved at me from the doorway, from her wheelchair.
“May I speak to you in private, dear?”
Oh-oh. This couldn’t be good. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I’ll wait for you outside,” Arabella said.
 

Deleted Scene from Hidden Legacy 4

More Cowbell – http://www.ilona-andrews.com/deleted-scene-from-hidden-legacy-4-more-cowbells/
 

Tour Wide Giveaway

To celebrate the release of DIAMOND FIRE by Ilona Andrews, we’re giving away one paperback set of the Hidden Legacy trilogy!

GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS:  Open to internationally. One winner will receive a paperback set of the Hidden Legacy trilogy by Ilona Andrews. This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Avon Romance.  Giveaway ends 11/12/2018 @ 11:59pm EST. Limit one entry per reader. Duplicates will be deleted. CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

 

 

About Ilona Andrews

ILONA ANDREWS is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.) They have co-authored two New York Times and USA Today bestselling series—the urban fantasy of Kate Daniels and the romantic urban fantasy of The Edge. They live in Texas with their two children and many dogs and cats.

Newsletter  |  Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon

 

 

This promotion is brought to you by Pure Textuality PR.

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