BLOG TOUR: Toxic by Kim Karr

Will they or won’t they?  #ToxicLove

Meet Phoebe & Jeremy in this second chance romance!

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RELEASE DATE: July 7th, 2015

New York Times bestselling author Kim Karr turns up the heat in a smoking hot, emotionally compelling romance that takes you into the world of Manhattan's elite. Meet Jeremy McQueen, a sexy, intense, brooding entrepreneur who goes after what he wants, and Phoebe St. Claire, a socialite-turned-CEO who's been drifting through life searching for something she thought she'd never find again--the right man to share her future.

Phoebe St. Claire has devoted herself to saving her family's hotel empire--but her best efforts have not been good enough. With her whole world in turmoil, the tenacious go-getter turns to the once love of her life. Far from innocent, Jeremy McQueen was the guy from the wrong side of the tracks who her parents would never have approved of. Their years apart have only made the sexy bad boy more irresistible than ever--and their reunion is explosive.

When she asks Jeremy to help her salvage her family business, he agrees immediately, with only one condition--he wants her in his bed.

But soon surprising circumstances leave Phoebe reeling. Was this fairy tale romance just too good to be true? Will Jeremy's secrets pull them apart all over again?

THIS IS A STANDALONE SECOND-CHANCE ROMANCE WITH NO CLIFFHANGER ENDING.

EXCERPT

Phoebe St. Claire

Feeling a bit drunk and overwhelmed with so many and so few choices at the same time, I needed some time alone and snuck off toward the beach path.

I ran toward the ocean and twirled in the sand as the wind blew around me. Once I started to feel dizzy from twirling, I still wasn’t ready to head back to the party, so I took the path that would lead me to the large Olympic-sized pool. I tugged my sandals off with thoughts of putting my feet in the water to rinse the mud and sand away. As I approached the pool, I noticed how it glowed like it was lit by small pale fires. Lost in the enchantment of it, the sudden movement beneath the surface startled me.

A fair-haired boy emerged from the water. He pulled himself up and out so quickly that I was momentarily stunned. And then when he drank me in with his eyes, I shuddered.

I couldn’t help it, the way he looked at me just made me shiver. No one had ever looked at me like that before and I found myself gazing back into his intense eyes.

He was utterly beautiful. His bare chest was sculpted but not overly bulky like Danny or Jamie. They worked out every day pumping obnoxious amounts of iron to look the way they did. In contrast, the boy standing before me had a swimmer’s build.

He stood stoic and a cautious look crossed his face. He was long and lean in a pair of bright green neon swim trunks.

Right away I could tell he didn’t care what anyone thought about him.

I loved the idea of that.

So I smiled at him.

He shook his head and his hair fell into his eyes.

I wanted to reach out and push it away. It wasn’t long, but it wasn’t short. It was perfect.

“Hey,” he said, grabbing a towel off the ground.

It didn’t belong to the club. It was small, beige, and a bit worn—not the large hunter-green fluffy ones monogrammed in white I’d always gotten when I used to come here to swim as a kid.

“Hey,” I said back, swinging my sandals nervously.

He grabbed a pair of jeans that lay next to where the towel had been and walked right by me.

I turned to watch him as he strode into one of the cabanas and dropped his trunks. I froze and squeezed my eyes shut, thinking I shouldn’t be watching him but then opened them quickly when I couldn’t resist maybe catching a glimpse.

“Didn’t your parents ever tell you it isn’t polite to stare?” His voice was low and sexy, and it tugged me out of my own head.

I put my hands on my hips. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you not to undress in mixed company?”

He pulled his jeans on and laughed. “My mother might have mentioned that once or twice but I’ve never been good at following the rules.”

And it didn’t escape my notice that he didn’t put any underwear on first.

Hot. Totally and completely hot.

I didn’t see anything I shouldn’t have seen, it was too dark, but something inside me electrified at the thought of seeing him naked and I stepped closer. That’s when I noticed the scuffed-up black work boots on one of the lounges with a T-shirt thrown next to them.

I raised a brow. “Is this your changing room?”

He laughed again but this time added a smile and put his hands up. “Okay you caught me. I better get out of here before anyone else does.”

He was adorable and charming and my heart skipped a beat or two.

Then I stepped even closer and entered the cabana entrance, effectively blocking his way. “Why? You’re not doing anything wrong.”

He shrugged but he didn’t try to move around me. “I usually swim in the ocean but when the water is too rough, like tonight, I come here.”

I bit my lip in contemplation before speaking. “Does it really matter if you get caught?”

He crossed his arms over his bare chest. “Let’s just say it’s not just the swimming. It’s more that I’ve been caught doing a few too many things that I shouldn’t have been doing in the past.”

A bad boy.

The thought made my pulse thunder. “So you’re not a member at this club?”

He cleared his throat and shifted from foot to foot. “No,” he laughed but his laugh was anything but genuine. “Are you?”

I hesitated as I considered my answer. “No, I was just walking the beach and wanted to rinse my feet. I’m Phoebe,” I said extending my hand. Technically, I wasn’t lying. I wasn’t a member, my parents were. I hadn’t even been here in years. And I was out for a walk.

Amusement danced in his blue eyes. “Jeremy,” he said back.

When I chewed on my lower lip, I noticed how his eyes focused on it.

Mine focused on the entirety of his mouth—his strong, firm jaw, his sensuous lips, and his tongue that had snuck out to lick his lips.

That mouth.

It was almost too much.

Almost.

I live in Florida with my husband and four kids. I've always had a love for reading books and writing. Being an English major in college, I wanted to teach at the college level but that was not to be. I went on to receive an MBA and became a project manager until quitting to raise my family. I currently work part-time with my husband and full-time embracing one of my biggest passions—writing.

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EXCERPT REVEAL: Toxic by Kim Karr

Will they or won’t they?  #ToxicLove

Pre-order Toxic by Kim Karr

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Hu5onD

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1HiL7eA

B& N: http://bit.ly/1FLtjHO

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1g3Ih7e

iBooks: http://apple.co/1efjb3Z

Google Play: http://bit.ly/1KpMRcv

RELEASE DATE: July 7th, 2015

EXCERPT

“We’re a good team you know.”I lifted my head in question.

“We fit together well.”

Feeling naughty, I threw him a saucy look.

As expected, he smiled a rueful grin. “Not like that.”

My heartbeat went sky high but I contained the effect he had on me and raised a sensual brow.

“Well, yes like that, but I mean in business. We work well together.”

Call it hopeful expectation but I knew we would. Gratified, I relaxed back down against his chest and murmured, “We do,” before hitting play on the remote. It meant a lot to me that Jeremy valued my opinion when it came to business decisions. He’d confided in me about his plans for Jet Set and we had even discussed the best ways to grow membership as well as which cities would be ideal targets when he was ready to expand. I pondered our business savvy as he drew shapes on my back but when the movie started, I dedicated my attention to Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Sometime during the movie, we must have fallen asleep because a pounding on my door woke me up. “Stay here, it’s probably Mrs. Bardot wanting to see her dress on me. I’ll just tell her I’ll come by before we leave.”

“Sounds good,” he mumbled as he covered his head with the pillow. All the sex we’d been having was probably wearing him out. I knew it was me.

I opened my door to find Lily standing there.

“I kissed a girl,” she announced.

I simply blinked at her.

“And he liked it.”

I stepped aside for her to enter. “Preston?”

She traipsed over to the couch and flopped herself down. “Yes, Preston.”

I pulled a blanket off the back of the sofa and sat in the chair. “I thought you weren’t having sex?”

“We weren’t. That’s the point.”

“Lily, I’m just waking up. Help me out a little.”

She covered her face in her hands as she spoke. “After I got off the phone with you, I went to go find Preston. It was late and he wasn’t in his room. When I called him, he told me he was in the hotel bar. I went down there to find him sitting with a French woman who didn’t even speak English.”

I was confused. “What was he doing with her?”

“I asked him the same thing. He told me it was nothing. That he was just sitting with her. I asked why and he told me he had overheard my conversation with you and felt bad that I was feeling sexually frustrated. Well hello, I told him, he could fix it.”

I grimaced.

“At least I wasn’t sitting in the hotel bar staring at a dude like I might fuck him.”

“Is that what he had planned?”

“No! That’s when he told me he’d never cheat on me. She was for me, for us, not him. And then he asked me to kiss her.”

“And you did?”

“Yes, I did, to prove a point to him. I wanted him to know I was sick of this no sex thing and if he wanted me to show him just how sick of it I was, I would. So I brought her to our room and we sat on the couch and I kissed her. Then I stood up and looked at him and asked him if I’d proven to him how much I wanted him now.”

I pulled my legs up under my chin. “And he said what exactly?”

“That he wanted me to kiss her again.”

The situation wasn’t at all funny, but I had a hard time not laughing. It was just so unbelievable. “So what did you do?”

“Packed my stuff and left him there to stare at her as I caught the next flight back to New York City.”

“Did you ever think he might have a mechanical problem and was looking for a way to . . . you know,” Jeremy was standing in my bedroom door looking yummy, all sleepy and crumpled.

Lily’s eyes shot to his. “To get it up?”

Jeremy cleared his throat. “Yeah.”

She looked at him deep in thought. “Why would he have a problem like that? He never has before.”

Jeremy shrugged. “Stress, medication, I’m really not sure. I’ve just heard it happens.”

“We have been under a lot of stress,” she admitted.

Jeremy walked toward me and put his hands on my shoulders, massaging them.

I sighed and leaned forward.

“St. Claire, focus on me.”

I laughed. I had really missed her. “You need to talk to him. Ask him about it.”

“What if he says yes? Then what? I have sex with a girl to see if he can get off?”

“Men do like girl on girl action.”

I cranked my head around. “Jeremy!” I scolded.

“I’m just being honest.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. He raised his palms. “Not me of course.”

Lily jumped up. “I have to run. I have to talk to Preston and find out what’s going on. I’ll call you,” she yelled as she slammed my door.

“What if that’s not the problem?” I asked Jeremy.

He plopped on the couch. “At least it will get them talking.”

I had to laugh.

That it would.

New York Times bestselling author Kim Karr turns up the heat in a smoking hot, emotionally compelling romance that takes you into the world of Manhattan's elite. Meet Jeremy McQueen, a sexy, intense, brooding entrepreneur who goes after what he wants, and Phoebe St. Claire, a socialite-turned-CEO who's been drifting through life searching for something she thought she'd never find again--the right man to share her future.

Phoebe St. Claire has devoted herself to saving her family's hotel empire--but her best efforts have not been good enough. With her whole world in turmoil, the tenacious go-getter turns to the once love of her life. Far from innocent, Jeremy McQueen was the guy from the wrong side of the tracks who her parents would never have approved of. Their years apart have only made the sexy bad boy more irresistible than ever--and their reunion is explosive.

When she asks Jeremy to help her salvage her family business, he agrees immediately, with only one condition--he wants her in his bed.

But soon surprising circumstances leave Phoebe reeling. Was this fairy tale romance just too good to be true? Will Jeremy's secrets pull them apart all over again?

THIS IS A STANDALONE SECOND-CHANCE ROMANCE WITH NO CLIFFHANGER ENDING.

I live in Florida with my husband and four kids. I've always had a love for reading books and writing. Being an English major in college, I wanted to teach at the college level but that was not to be. I went on to receive an MBA and became a project manager until quitting to raise my family. I currently work part-time with my husband and full-time embracing one of my biggest passions—writing.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Review: Toxic (The Addiction Series #1) by Meghan Quinn

Synopsis

“You’re an addiction I can’t overcome, no matter how hard I try.” – Rook Tyler

His life consists of his best friend, Jack Daniels, his favorite drug of choice and women. Rook Tyler lives for performing at night and wasting the rest of his days washing away the pain from his childhood so he doesn’t have to feel anything...ever. The only people he trusts are his band mates from Shattered Souls and he wants to keep it that way. His life was completely under control and simple until he heard the voice of Maisy Madison filter through The Tavern speakers. 

Growing up in the foster care system with her two other band mates from Twisted Perfection, Maisy finds herself doing pretty much anything to get her and her band noticed but nothing seems to be working. One lucky night, Shattered Souls, the most popular band in the country, decides to show up at their little concert and luckily signs them on the spot. But the arena venues and massive amount of fans isn’t what has Maisy shaking in her heels. It’s the deep baritone voice of Rook Tyler that has haunted her dreams for years which has her wondering if she can actually go through with the tour. 

The force is almost too strong. He can feel her everywhere he goes and no matter how much he tries to resist her, he finds himself gravitating towards Maisy, wanting to hold her, kiss her and touch her. He knows he shouldn’t get involved. He knows no matter what, he will end up hurting her but he can’t help it, his soul is connected to hers and the pull is too strong for him to resist. 

Rook warned her time and time again but she doesn’t listen, she doesn’t want to listen. She needs him and she doesn’t care that she knows deep down in her heart that their relationship is going to end in disaster.She refuses to acknowledge that no matter what they do, their love is toxic.

My Review

Free copy received in exchange for an honest review. 

Okay. Where do I start? In true Meghan Quinn fashion, this book has a lot going on. Yes, Rook & Maisy are the heart of this book, but their bandmates got a lot going on as well.

The band Shattered Souls is a chart topping group made up of two brothers, Landon and Grey, and their friends Cruz and Rook. There is also Quinn, Greys girlfriend, and the band's stylist. The five of them have know each other a long time and although they all come from different backgrounds, they are extremely close.

Then we have Twisted Perfection, consisting of Maisy, Willow and Kaid. The three of them grew up together in the foster care system and saw music as a way out. They have been struggling for years to make it and after a chance encounter with Shattered Souls, they find themselves going on tour as the opening band.

The minute Rook sees Maisy he is drawn to her. And he hates it. Rook doesn't like to feel. He'd much rather be drunk, high and numb to the world. And there was a reason Shattered Souls needed a new opening band and that reason was because Rook can't keep it in his pants. 

So when he meets Maisy, he starts to doubt everything about himself. The more he gets to know Maisy, the more he wants things with her. Things he has never wanted. The two are deeply connected and throughout the book Rook tries to explain it all to Maisy:

“I know I haven’t been that obvious, but there is something about you Maisy that my soul wants. Whenever I’m around you I want to be holding you, touching you, feeding off of you. My body craves yours and I’ve been a stupid ass to deny myself for this long. Well, I’m done. I want you, Maisy.” 

“Before she could protest and start a fight, he continued. “I don’t share, Maisy. I’m not good at being in a relationship. I've actually never been in one, so I most likely will fuck up more times than I make you happy, but I can’t stay away from you. I need you to be mine, but I’m warning you, if you decide to be with me, I’m not perfect and I will most likely hurt you. I’m fucked up in so many ways. I have issues and I’ll bring them into our relationship. You just can’t give up on me easily. If you’re willing to deal with that, then I want you to be with me.” 

"Rook told Maisy that whenever they were near each other he would be either holding her hand, touching her, or making some kind of skin contact. He needed the warmth for himself, but he also wanted anyone walking by to know that she was his, that was why he was still holding her hand, sending her that reassurance that he was there for her." 

“Never, not even possible, so stop thinking that way. When it does happen for us, it’s going to be so much more because we have a connection. We’re connected by our souls and no one can change that.” 

“None,”he responded. “Because I didn’t fuck you last night. We made love and I’ve never done that with another woman before. You were my first all-nighter, you were my first multiple times in a night and you were the first woman I’ve ever woken up next to. Sex before you was a release that I needed, it was never about connecting with someone like we connected last night. It was a meaningless act so my balls didn't fall off.”

It's all very intense, like these two were made for each other intense, soulmate intense. But both Rook and Maisy have a lot of demons in their past that come to the surface, so their relationship is not all sunshine and roses. They are constantly facing obstacles that puts their relationship to the test and the book ends on a major cliffhanger. One that had me crying and thanking God that I already had an ARC of the next book. Although I did have to take a day or two to recover...I was left with a massive book hangover.  

The other major storyline is the kind of love square between Grey, Quinn, Willow and Landon. Grey and Quinn have been a couple for a long time, but their relationship is starting to break. Quinn has her own health and self esteem issues and is all over the place. And Grey is attracted to Willow and is doing a really bad job of hiding it. Willow has had feeling for Grey before she even met him and those feeling only intensify once she actually spends some time with him. Meanwhile Landon has been harboring feelings for his brother's girlfriend from the moment he met her. It's all very dramatic. By the end of this book we have some sort or resolution, but you know that everything is far from over. 

Kaid and Cruz are just kind of hanging out in the background. Kaid is the one the girls can run to and confide in. He forms a nice bromance with Landon and it's cute. Cruz strikes up a friendship with Maisy that is never anything more than that, although it drives Rook crazy. He's the fun loving, sarcastic guy of the group and I spent most of the book hoping he would find himself a girl. By the end of the book he does, but it's not necessarily the one I would have chosen for him. 

Like I mentioned earlier, there is A LOT that happens in this book, but the author did a great job of keeping everything very clear. I look forward to reading the next book and seeing what happens next.  

Amazon Buy Link: http://amzn.com/B00I791PJQ