New Release: Let Love Be by Melissa Collins

What would bring you happiness in a world that was suddenly empty?

For Lucy Crane, the answer is simple: her daughter. When her husband is killed in a tragic accident, Lucy loses her desire to live, but only one thing keeps her going – her unborn daughter. Focusing on being a mother helps Lucy cope with her loss, but kids grow up and they leave home, eventually. Eighteen years after losing her first and only love, Lucy is faced with the opportunity to find the happiness for which she’s always longed. Her own fears become her worst enemies as she learns how to embrace love once again.

Evan Donovan is also facing his own struggles. Forced to retire from the FDNY because of lung damage caused by 9/11, Evan moves to upstate New York where he hopes to find a little peace and quiet. Old habits die hard, and Evan’s hero complex and survivor’s guilt constantly remind him of how difficult it is to be vulnerable. But for the first time in his life, he’s tired of being alone.

Drawing strength from one another, Lucy and Evan discover how beautiful it is to let love be a part of their lives.

My reviews
Let Love In
Let Love Stay

Let Love Heal

Let Love Shine

Melissa Collins has always been a book worm.  Studying Literature in college ensured that her nose was always stuck in a book.  She followed her passion for reading to the most logical career choice: English teacher.  Her hope was to share her passion for reading and the escapism of books to her students.  Having spent more than a decade in front of a classroom, she can easily say that it’s been a dream.

Her passion for writing didn’t start until more recently. When she was home on maternity leave in early 2012, she read her first romance novel and her head filled with the passion, angst and laughter of the characters who she read about it.  It wasn’t long before characters of her own took shape in her mind. Their lives took over Melissa’s brain and The Love Series was born.

Release Day Blitz: Lost by Layla Hagen

**Lost is a prequel novella to Lost in Us and can be read before or after. **

Whatever might help him forget his past and numb the pain, James has tried it all: booze, car races, fights, and then some. Especially women. College offers plenty of opportunities for everything. . . Especially when you have a trust fund to spend.

Serena spirals deeper and deeper into a hurricane of pain. But no matter how far she falls, there’s no redemption from the overwhelming guilt. 

Two souls consumed by their pasts fight to learn how to survive. But all hope seems to be lost. 

Until they meet each other.

When the speech starts, something about her voice is not right. But when I look up from the brochure, I forget about her voice altogether.

Her eyes.

I know that look in them. Haunted and lost.

I sit up straight in my seat and tune in to her speech. I frown as I start to pay attention to what she says. She has some kind of notes in front of her, but she’s not reading them. I don’t think she’s saying what she’s written on them at all. She speaks of hardship, loss, and the ability to put everything behind through hard work. I have a hunch she’s referring to something more than what’s happening here today. Her porcelain skin gets paler with every word. Her eyes become glassy before long, and then she tucks a strand of black hair behind her ear. I’m sure as hell she wiped away a tear.

No.

Someone like her shouldn’t be crying. Hurting.

I suddenly have the urge to hold her, do whatever it takes to stop what is hurting her. Make that look in her eyes disappear, and make her smile instead.

It’s an urge I don’t recognize.

I also have another urge. I recognize this one. The urge to bite that full lower lip of hers, and run my tongue down her neck, all the way to that sweet hollow. And then rip her shirt. Button by button. Better, even. Rip them apart all at once and cup her breasts. Twirl my tongue around her nipples.

Fuck.

I’ve got to get a grip. I’m so aroused I’d like nothing better than to disappear with her into an empty classroom. But I don’t think she’s the type. Her skirt is a few inches too long for her to be that type.

Even if she were . . . I’d like to do things a little differently than usual.

First, I’d put a smile on her face.

Then I’d get her to beg me to take her.

When everyone applauds and she leaves the stage, I stand up and walk to the front, planning to start the first thing right away. After she shakes the parents’ hands, and hugs one of the girls who won, she stops in front of a guy who puts his arm around her waist and kisses her.

On her lips.

The view hits me like a whiplash. Of course she has a boyfriend. It’s not like she would wait for me, the biggest fuck-up among fuck-ups, to make her smile. She already has someone who can make her smile.

Except she’s not smiling. After they break from the kiss, her expression hasn’t changed. Whatever causes her torment, the idiot she’s with has no idea how to make it better. Someone like her should always smile. She deserves someone who can make her smile. And this idiot is far from what she needs. 

Lost in Us (Lost, #1) 

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My name is Layla Hagen and I am a New Adult Contemporary Romance author.

I fell in love with books when I was nine years old, and my love affair with stories continues even now, many years later.

I write romantic stories and can’t wait to share them with the world.

And I drink coffee. Lots of it, in case the photo didn’t make it obvious enough

This Blurb Tour is brought to you by Xpresso Book Tours.

Review: Falling Under (Falling #3) by Jasinda Wilder

My name is Colton Calloway. You’ve heard part of my story, but it turns out there’s more. My little girl, Kylie, is all grown up. Seventeen, beautiful, and talented, just like her mother. And just like Nell, my daughter seems to have fallen for a bad boy, one with a lot of darkness and a lot of secrets.

You thought you knew the whole story. You thought it was over. Happily ever after for everyone. You were wrong. My name is Oz Hyde, and you’ve never met me. I’m part of the story, too, but I’m an aside, a quick line or two you’d all but forgotten about. Well guess what? I’ve got my own story to tell. Buckle up, ‘cause this is gonna be a hell of a bumpy ride.

At the end of Falling Into Us we learn that Colt and Nell have had a daughter called Kylie. This is story the of a girl who takes a chance on a boy named Oz Hyde.

Kylie loves music and is the 17 year old daughter of Colt & Nell Calloway. She's a strong and intelligent young woman that always fights for what she wants.

“Oz, I’m not scared of you. I’m not afraid of your life. Of getting dirty. So quit trying to protect me and let me make my own choices.”

"I think you're perfect, too, messed up, fucked up, beautiful, tough, strong, sweet and sexy."

Oz is a very mysterious bad boy whose past isn’t all that pretty. He's always been on the road and isn't close with his mom. You can actually feel his pain and loneliness from page one.

"Everybody knows girls like the bad boys, and I'm thoroughly bad."

"I don't know how to ever be the kind of man you need and deserve, but I want to try. For you, for me, and for us."

From the moment Oz lays eyes on Kylie, he doesn’t stand a chance in resisting her. He knows he’s not good enough for a girl like her, but he can’t manage to stay away from her.  
I really loved them together. They were such a great match.

"You already are what I want, what I need, what I deserve." - Kylie. 

The story, like the others, includes a lot of music. Falling Under was the total package for me; the story was fantastic. So many feel-good moments with very few heart-breaking moments. And I seriously don't think there could have been a better ending. A book not to be missed! And, as I've said before, I will read anything Jasinda Wilder throws our way. I always fall in love with her characters immediately. Five big stars to her!!

    

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jasinda Wilder is a Michigan native with a penchant for titillating tales about sexy men and strong women. When she’s not writing, she’s probably shopping, baking, or reading. ​Some of her favorite authors include Nora Roberts, JR Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Liliana Hart and Bella Andre. She loves to travel and some of her favorite vacations spots are Las Vegas, New York City and Toledo, Ohio. You can often find Jasinda drinking sweet red wine with frozen berries and eating a cupcake. Jasinda is represented by Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency.