Cold-Blooded Beautiful by Christine Zolendz

Cold-Blooded Beautiful 

by 

Christine Zolendz

This is my mood music, my selection for Kade & Sam.

Please press play and listen while you scroll down and read this review.

What happens when your past comes back to haunt you?
Imagine having a secret whispered in your ear, a secret that once revealed, changes everything in your life that you thought to be true.
What would you do if you learned that everything you had was just a lie, a lie that could end everything you ever worked for and destroy everyone you ever cared about?
What happens when all your secrets come spilling forth and your past catches up to you?
Will it consume you?
Will it destroy you?
Six months ago Kade Grayson helped Doctor Samantha Matthews hide from a violent past, one that she wants to keep hidden from everyone. Deep in her heart, she hides her secrets, too afraid to hurt the only people she has left to trust.
What happens when she is forced to face her past?
Will love be enough to save her?
Because her deadly game of Hide and Seek is at its end.

This book is a full length Adult Contemporary Romance and is intended for mature audiences due to strong language and sexual content.

Book 1 of the series

Description
A deadly game of hide and seek. 
With blood still on her hands, Samantha Matthews is on the run, running from dark secrets and a man she prays to God will never find her. Running and hiding, just to stay alive. She had no choice but to run, to leave, to hide and forget about her life before. When Samantha believes she's gained enough distance from her past and her demons, she stops running, hoping to find her future in the heavily wooded area of the Adirondack Mountains, a place she never expected to encounter a man with secrets as dark and as sordid as hers. 
Kade Grayson is hiding, not from the demons after him, but from himself and from the entire outside world, wishing every day he could have just died. Arrogant and domineering, he’s tormented and terrorized by his past, seeing nothing good for his future. With the ghosts of his past still haunting him, he has exiled himself to a life of solitude, only living for his words and through his stories. 
Until her. 
An undeniable attraction, turns into hate and then ultimately obsession, an obsession that grows into a powerful story of love and redemption. 
Will the bond they have begun to build between them grow stronger than the tragedies that have scarred both of their lives? Or will they allow their demons to consume them? 
This book is a full length Adult Contemporary Romance and is intended for mature audiences due to strong language and sexual content. 

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What AM I doing?

That's the question.  Those are the messages I've been receiving every day.

When's the next book coming out?  Are you even writing?

You all make me giggle. 

I write constantly.  I research continuously.

I write in the morning when my kids are still sleeping.  I write through breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  If I'm out I write on my phone.  I write late at night when the house is quiet and the strangers here are asleep.  I write in my dreams too, and wake up and write my thoughts down.

That's what writers do.

What am I writing?

See that's the problem.  What? What! Whaaaaaat!

There's too many stories crammed in my head at the moment and I'm dabbling in a few at a time.  I have the first chapters of a few books written, I don't even have outlines for them, I don't know how they will end, or if they ever will. 

But a lot of you are asking, so I'll let you know what I know (which isn't much, lol.)

Here's to Falling is a book I have been working on for a good million years.  At least that's how is feels.  It's a book based on a true story and it's a story that is extremely hard for me to write because it is pretty personal and makes me want to vomit when I reread it.  My issue with this book is 1) I started this book years ago and you could literally see my beginning writing and my now writing-so it looks like a teenager started it and I jumped in somewhere near the end. And 2) I don't think I could ever adequately get the emotions and words write in the book that will get a reader to understand what I want them too.  So even though I have written over 70,000 words to it, I'm not sure anyone but me will ever read it.

Room 269 is a book, and I'm not even sure this is the right title for it yet, that is straight up funny and steamy romance.  Light and sweet, nothing dark, and no crying or dying in it.

Dystopian Story - I don't even know much about this one.  All I know is the images that flash before my eyes every time I close them.  This is an 'end of world' apocalypse story, but not with zombies or crazy shit, I'm going through research (which is scary shit) and I want this book to be REAL.  And of course it'll have romance it in, somehow.

Triple XXX - This one is TOP SECRET.  I am writing a funny-mid-life-crisis book with another person.  It's funny, and real, all based on a funny conversation that all my Facebook friends were witness to where I said, "Hey we should write a book about this!" And then I wrote a beginning chapter and sent it to my author friend who had the FB conversation with me, and she wrote one back.  That's all I'm saying. :)

Giana - All I have is her name, no title it'll be something like Vendetta, but she's a bad ass.  It's a mobster story- think 1990s mob stories...

Then there's a character, a male, who is bat-shit crazy that I think may end up being a horror story and somehow romance with be tied in, but this character is terrifying.  He has no name.  I just call him killer.

So there you have it, some of my thoughts and where I'm at.  If you ever want to 'see' what I'm up to you should visit my Pinterest Boards, because I collect images of things that inspire my stories. 

Thanks for letting me ramble, and for asking what I'm doing!

XOXO

Cold-Blooded Beautiful by Christine Zolendz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved the first book and absolutely couldn't wait to read this one.

I wanted more of Kade's craziness,

Yes, I know, I'm pushy. I'm also arrogant, selfish, mean, and pretty much clinically fucked in the head, so whatever. You try debating it with my demons. They usually don't let you get a word in edgewise.

his sexiness

His inky black hair wildly arranged on his head. His face...all hard angles. A jaw carved out of stone, strong cheekbones and full perfect lips. He wore his strength on his expression, dark, passionate, and profound.

and presence.

All my thoughts completely faded when I looked up and noticed Kade's dark stare. I heard myself gasp when I saw him. The air just sort of sucked itself right out of my lungs. No one ever watched me like Kade did. It was personal. Intimate. My cheeks heated, when his lips curled into a sexy smirk of a smile. It was animalistic and primal. Hot-as-hell

Of course I wanted more of Sam, my lady crush. She is still just as awesome and ass-kicking as before. Mere mortals can only dream of being as cool as this chick.

Besides, they are my scars, mine, and those horrible things I lived through still hurt. But, do you know what scar tissue does for your body? Makes you stronger and tougher. Makes you realize that every breath you take is a gift.
I know I should not have lived.
I should not be alive right now.
Yet I was. I was alive and safe with Kade.

This book fills in much of the history for both characters not previously given in the first book. Their pasts, demons, scars aren't all they have to worry about. The characters aren't at the finish line with the pain or the growth going into the book. It's full of many ups and downs. Much of the bad is still very much live and affecting them. And it is definitely full of deep soul-sharing love. We see how Sam and Kade use each other to heal.

It's what we always did when our emotions became too intense. When the truth of our pasts became to heavy to bear, we slipped easily into each other and blocked out the world.

I highly recommend this book.

toni

FangirlMoments and My Two Cents


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Worth Keeping by Susan Mac Nicol

Worth Keeping 

by 

Susan Mac Nicol

Abused horrifically as a boy, Nick Mathers has come to terms with his existence as a man. Mostly. Other days life seems a little much. Especially when Nick knows he’ll always be alone. 

On those days his thoughts turn black. He walks the Norfolk coast and considers the frigid embrace of the waves. And then, one stormy night, he finds someone who’s tasted just that. The beautiful stranger on the beach is near death, and Nick rushes him home to slowly nurse back to health. As he does, he finds a love unlike any other. Owen Butler’s body is as warm as the sea was cold, his heart as big as an ocean. And Owen is a man who swears to repay the favor. Nick can yet be saved from himself, and he will see that he is indeed a man…
WORTH KEEPING

I live in the UK near London with my husband and two grown up children. I think my Twitter profile probably says enough about me to give you an idea who I am.

‘Author of contemporary romance novels,wannabe scripts,independent, pain in the bum, humorous, driven, prone to strong opinion.’

I’ll leave off the last bit of my profile. It relates to a fascination I have with a certain young British actor called Benedict Cumberbatch who was the inspiration for my leading man, Bennett Saville, in my Starlight trilogy. 

I was born in the UK, moved to Johannesburg, South Africa 42 years ago, and of that I’ve been back in the UK since 2000, loving every minute.

Some of the highlights of my life – apart from getting married, having kids and moving countries - I’ve been picked up by a punter who thought I was a prostitute (there is a proper story behind this, I promise) , been involved in a car smash much like the heroine, Cassie, in Cassandra by Starlight, (only not as a result of a falling body on my car!), become a Wiccan, spent time in Kenya, where my older sister was born, and had a dream of being published recognised with my debut novel. 

All my books are available on my website or at www.boroughspublishinggroup.com

Worth Keeping by Susan Mac Nicol


I love a good damaged characters story. These poor fellas have that in spades, especially Nick. His life has been just plain tragic.

This story grabs your heart and pulls it into all the pain and love going on. It's quite deep in that aspect. Also, it is very interesting. The characters and settings are different than most I've read. There is a pet monkey, an island which can only be entered and exited before/after high/low tide, quirky townspeople and more.

Even though the storyline is full of damage and issues, there is plenty of humor present.

He was a bloody pain in the arse. And not in the way Owen wanted him to be.

This line really tickled me because I had just said last week how cowboys don't really "do it" for me. It's like the book was speaking to me.

Owen was aghast. "How can you not like cowboys? Bare-chested men in hats riding huge beasts with all that power and muscle between their legs and those great tans..." he shuddered in pleasure. "And they even have rope, Nick. Rope."

I had a good laugh over that.

And the ultimate best line in the whole book has to be

"We're a right bloody trio, aren't we, Socks," he murmured as he hauled the basket to the bedroom and laid it in the corner. "Two would-be suicides, one who likes slicing and dicing himself, and a monkey. This should be done as some sort of sequel to those Hangover movies."

The bottom line of the journey through this book is love.

toni

FangirlMoments and My Two Cents



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Cover Reveal Infinity + One by Am Harmon

Title: Infinity + One

Author: Amy Harmon 

Release Date: June 10

Cover Design: Berto Designs 

 Hosted by: Vilma's Book Blog 

Synopsis

When two unlikely allies become two unwitting outlaws, will two unforgettable lovers defy unbeatable odds?

Bonnie Rae Shelby is a superstar. She’s rich. She’s beautiful. She’s impossibly famous. And Bonnie Rae Shelby wants to die.

Finn Clyde is a nobody. He’s broken. He’s brilliant. He’s impossibly cynical. And all he wants is a chance at life.

One girl. One boy. An act of compassion. A bizarre set of circumstances. And a choice – turn your head and walk away, or reach out your hand and risk it all?

With that choice, the clock starts ticking on a man with a past and a girl who can’t face the future, counting down the seconds in an adventure riddled with heartbreak and humor, misunderstanding and revelation. With the world against them, two very different people take a journey that will not only change their lives, but may cost them their lives as well.

Infinity + One is a tale of shooting stars and fame and fortune, of gilded cages and iron bars, of finding a friend behind a stranger’s face, and discovering love in the oddest of places.

  

Goodreads

Excerpt

He bit back a curse and strode to his truck. Unlocking the door, he tossed his bags in the backseat, climbed in, and slammed the door. He turned the key and backed out resolutely, trying to ignore the fact that she had risen, her hands on her bags, and that her hood had slipped from her head. She didn’t move forward, didn’t call out to him to wait. She just stood there, watching him go. He shifted into drive and made it 100 feet before he let his eyes find her figure in the rear view mirror.

“Unbelievable,” Finn ground out, and slammed the wheel with the palm of his hand. He slowed to a stop. “UNBELIEVABLE!” he reprimanded himself even as he engaged the brake, pushed the door open and lurched out of the idling vehicle. Bonnie still stood with her two duffle bags in her hands, her grandma’s stolen purse on her shoulder, but now her lips were slightly parted, clearly stunned that he’d stopped.

And she wasn’t the only one. Finn felt like he was split right down the middle. The rational part of his brain, the side that ensured his survival and his sanity, was outraged, demanding that he keep driving, while the side of his brain that was connected to his heart and other parts of his body was breathing a sigh of relief that he hadn’t let her get away.

She didn’t move, as if she was sure that the moment she did he would change his mind, climb back in the Blazer, and drive away. So he walked back to her, battling with himself every step of the way. He walked until they were practically toe to toe, her dark eyes wide and lifted to his, his hands shoved into his pockets so he wouldn’t strangle her. But his pockets felt like manacles around his wrists and he yanked them free, fisting them in the front of Bonnie’s puffy pink coat and raising her up on her toes and into him until they weren’t toe to toe any longer but nose to nose. His emotions were a big tangled ball of anger, longing, and injustice all wrapped up in impatient outrage, and Finn couldn’t separate one feeling from another. So he did the only thing he could do. He kissed her.

It wasn’t a soft kiss or a sweet kiss. It was a ‘you-scared-me-and-messed-with-me-and-I’m-mad-and-relieved-and-unbelievably-frustrated’ kind of kiss. It was teeth and lips and nipping and bruising, and Finn couldn’t make himself stop, even when Bonnie’s teeth tugged at his lower lip and her hands pulled at his hair. Especially then. And when she wrapped her arms around his neck and stepped up onto his toes so that she could press herself flush against him, he decided revenge really was sweet, and enjoyed the feel of her face against his, the wet heat of her mouth making him forget he was standing in the middle of a Motel 6 parking lot with his ride rumbling behind him, the driver side door still hanging wide open. The rational part of his brain was stunned into peaceful silence…for all of ten seconds.

About the Author

Amy Harmon knew at an early age that writing was something she wanted to do, and she divided her time between writing songs and stories as she grew. Having grown up in the middle of wheat fields without a television, with only her books and her siblings to entertain her, she developed a strong sense of what made a good story.

Amy Harmon has been a motivational speaker, a grade school teacher, a junior high teacher, a home school mom, and a member of the Grammy Award winning Saints Unified Voices Choir, directed by Gladys Knight. She released a Christian Blues CD in 2007 called “What I Know” – also available on Amazon and wherever digital music is sold. She has written five novels, Running Barefoot, Slow Dance in Purgatory, Prom Night in Purgatory, the New York Times Bestseller, A Different Blue, Making Faces, and coming in June, Infinity + One.

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