Book Lovers Inc.
Romance Novel Reviews, Author Interviews, Commentary
Guest Post by Katie Porter + Giveaway
Today we are very excited to welcome back to Book Lovers author Katie Porter (a.k.a. Carrie Lofty and Lorelie Brown) in celebration of their newest release in the very successful Vegas Top Guns series, Hard Way. Hard Way is the story of Dash and his wife Sunita, who right when their marriage falls apart, discover a deep passion burning within them that they express in a more than unique way. Well, Hard Way’s premise says it all! So, with no further delay, let’s welcome both ladies here at Book Lovers and don’t forget to check at the end of the post for the contests details 🙂
I love marriage reconciliation stories. Those stories where the hero and heroine are so close to love, but things break off and they try so hard to go on their way but there’s something exactly right about the person they left behind. When they believed in each other enough to get married, it’s even better. Sherry Thomas’ Private Arrangements was a work of art for so many reasons—and 
one of them was that oh-so-brilliant scene where Cam and Gigi are so newly married and so close to at lest getting along, and things just fall apart. They crash and burn because of the mistakes Gigi has made. All my books are in boxes because I’ll be moving relatively soon, or I’d quote passages at you. Which maybe is a good thing. (I’m supposed to be selling my own book, not someone else’s. Except you should totally go read Private Arrangements. It’s not flawless, but it’s mesmerizing and memorable.)
Dash Christiansen and his wife Sunny met in their hometown. They’re home from their respective colleges. Sunny goes to UC Berkeley and Dash goes to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. There’s something about the way they fit and the fun they have and the way they talk that they’re not willing to give each other up when they go back to school. They know there’s something there, between them. They fall in love and get married.
Before Hard Way starts.
By the time the book has started…things have fallen apart. Dash is keeping parts of himself stuffed down. He’s not the man he used to be. The martial arts hobbies that once meant relaxation for him have completely fallen by the wayside. Sunny is tired of being left alone, not just in a physical way when Dash is sent away by the Air Force. She’s also tired of feeling like she’s only getting the surface version of Dash. The part that everyone in the world gets to see. She wanted to know his secrets. She’s tried for a long time to know every part of him…but now she’s given up. She’s ready to move on and find a life that’s just a little bit easier.
Dash isn’t ready to let her go. He’ll do anything to figure out what it is Sunny really wants and needs. Like in this (exclusive!) excerpt:
Sunny curled her fists at the same time her belly warmed and readied. She stepped backward until her feet were on the soft mat, inside the sparring circle. “Rules?”
“Do we need any?”
She nibbled the inside of her lip. “You tell me.”
“How about we play a new game?” He approached her like a fighter. His gait was easy and low as he kept his knees loose. “Every blow landed earns a question answered.”
“What do you think I want to know?”
He shrugged, then started doing windmills with his arms to warm up. “I have no idea. If I already knew, I’d have been answering all along. That’s the point.”
She kicked him in the upper thigh with no warning. “Why did you really come home early?”
“Jesus, woman.” He briefly rubbed his thigh before hunching into an attack stance. “That was cheating.”
She dropped her hips, spreading her knees and crouching. “Probably. But I’ve been working out for two hours. I doubt I’ll land many more.”
His grin flashed. She liked that cruel smile. It promised good stuff. Her depravity knew no bounds. There was nowhere she’d stop, nothing she couldn’t take from Liam.
“Fair enough,” he said. “You get this one. I came home for the reasons I told you. But also because I missed you.”
“You mean you wanted to fuck me.”
“Was that a question? We seem to have a problem defining them in this relationship.”
They circled each other. Sunny stepped to the side, hands up in a defensive position. “Not a question. A statement.”
He feinted toward her. “Sure I want to fuck you. That’s always a given. But I…wanted to be near you too. However you’d take me.”
She attacked. Mostly because she didn’t want to hear his softness— something that sounded so true it made her heart clench. He parried her right hook with an easy return.
Then he slapped her.
It was fairly light compared to most blows, certainly nothing to the closed- fist punch she’d taken at a dojo a year ago. But the shock was enough to jerk her head back.
The sting was undeniable too. Her body purred with anticipation. She showed her teeth. “Question.”
“Have you kissed Jake?” He was all growls, like a vicious animal. “No.” He moved in again. She tried to sweep his ankles, but he deftly avoided her.
Two punches in a row landed on her shoulder and her side. Still so light. He was playing with her. She danced backward on the tips of her toes, hands at the ready.
“That’s two for me.”
She barely held back her curses. “Fine.”
“Did you want to kiss him?”
“Yes.” Who wouldn’t? Jake was a decent, good man. He’d be safe to kiss. Easy. She didn’t have to guess at how to make him better or to help him.
Even though her answer was honest, Liam’s hands curled to fists. His
posture slipped from precise attack mode to something meaner. More streetwise.
She shivered. “Next.”
He watched her for a moment, his jaw shifting. “Have you given up on us?”
Every time Sunny thought they’d shredded every level of hurt, he managed to claw deeper. “I wouldn’t still be here if I had.”
About the Author
Katie Porter is the writing team of Carrie Lofty and Lorelie Brown, who’ve been friends and critique partners for more than five years. Both are multi-published in several romance genres. Carrie has an MA in history, while Lorelie is a US Army veteran. Generally a high-strung masochist, Carrie loves running and weight training, but she has no fear of gross things like dissecting formaldehyde sharks. Her two girls are not appreciative. Lorelie, a laid-back sadist, would rather grin maniacally when Carrie works out. Her three boys love how she screams like a little girl around spiders.
About Hard Way
“No holds barred. No mercy. No going back “
Warning: Time to put the kidding aside. Although 100% consensual between a husband and wife, this book contains violent sex that, in some scenes, will appear forced. Readers sensitive to rape scenarios should proceed with caution…
Throughout their eight-year marriage, U.S. Air Force Captain Liam Dash Christiansen and his wife, Sunita, stayed strong through long separations. However Sunny s new job as a high-profile legal advisor puts a severe strain on their enduring bond.
Her abrupt announcement that she wants a divorce is like a missile to Dash s gut but her confession that she s met another man is what unleashes his shocking passion. Sunny is surprised and nearly repulsed by her body s reaction to Dash s animalistic attempt at complete possession. That doesn t stop her from craving more.
With Sunny s whispered approval, their sex life explodes. Not only does Dash s aggression tap into dark fantasies, she s hopeful that now, “at last,” she ll get what she s always wanted from her devil-may-care, don t-give-a-damn husband. Something honest and candid. Something real.
Yet fiery, carnal encounters won t heal two long-broken hearts. Their bodies are finally speaking the same forbidden language, but it will take more than taboo desires to learn each other for the first time and to save a marriage that s only just begun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~*~*Giveaway*~*~
Katie has generously offered an ebook copy of Hard Way to one lucky commenter!
All you have to do is answer Katie’s question :
Just name your favorite reconciliation romances, marriage or otherwise! Let’s build my TBR pile until it’s teetering and tottering! 😉
(You can read our full giveaway policy here)
Please be sure to include a valid email address in the comment form (need not be in the actual body of the comment).
This giveaway is open to everyone!
Giveaway ends on 20 April 2013 and we will announce the winner on Sunday.
Good Luck!
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| 5 Stars: Perfect! I Love It! | |||||||||
| 4 Stars: Awesome Book! | |||||||||
| 3 Stars: I Liked It! | |||||||||
| 2 Stars: Not bad, but maybe not for me. | |||||||||
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my fave book would be lady isabella’s scandelous marriage by jennifer ashley
parisfan_ca@yahoo.com
I don’t have a favorite. I need to get reading.
Again the magic by Lisa Kleypas
It’s an oldie sweet Regency by Jennie Gallant – Lady Hathaway’s House Party.
My One and Only by Kristan Higgins though Harper seems annoying at times.
I’m currently reading book 1 in the series and so far I really like it. At the beginning I wasn’t sure in which direction the story would go but now I absolutely enjoy it and will definitively read more in the series.
At first thought I can’t remember that I’ve read much reconciliation stories, but I’ve read Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews recently and that has that theme, kind of.