#BookBlitz #Excerpt #Giveaway #OneNightHandStand #JuliaKent #XpressoTours

 

One Night Hand Stand
Julia Kent
Publication date: March 4th 2025
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

Who accidentally has a one-night stand with her yoga instructor?

Yep. Me.

How did I accidentally sleep with someone, right? I know what you’re thinking. Whoops! I slipped and inadvertently inserted Tab A into Slot B.

That’s not quite how it went.

But my yoga instructor is really, really skilled with Tab A, if you know what I mean.

Slot B never had it so good.

What am I supposed to do now, as I walk into my yoga class and find the guy I ghosted this morning… there, in front of the class, perfectly aligned and grinning at me like he remembers touching all my chakras.

He’s perfect. Too perfect. He’s so perfect he’s ruining my job.

I’m an investigative reporter, working on spec for an article for a national magazine, and my job is to find all the ways this yoga chain is corrupt.

The only thing criminal here is that I can’t have him in Slot B ever again. And I would. I’d turn myself into a paper doll book if that’s what it took for more of that action.

I want him. He wants me. Nothing I do will make him back off because the chemistry is off the charts.

Except for one pesky little

We’re at cross-purposes.

I need my exposé to get the job of my dreams. He needs to sell his stake in the yoga chain before I expose the corrupt current owner.

That makes him my enemy. My nemesis. The guy I have to get around to get ahead.

And now we’re supposed to hate each other.

But who ever let that get in the way of love?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play / Print

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EXCERPT:

It’s 5:44 a.m. and there’s a naked man in my bed.

His name is… um…

His name is…

He told me to call him…

Let’s just call him by his initials.

N.M. for Naked Man.

Or for Never Mind.

Because in ten minutes, we’re going to pretend this never happened.

Pretend I didn’t go to a bar last night and have three glasses of pinot grigio, violating my strict two-glass limit.

Pretend I didn’t let my friends talk me into jumping up on stage and singing “WAP,” complete with properly choreographed dance moves.

Pretend I did not let N.M. here buy me a drink and kiss him like my tongue had developed magnets that sought out his iron tonsils.

And he most certainly did not kiss me back with a suave, athletic grace that made my body shimmer and my P, indeed, become deeply W.

Oh, no.

While technically, all of that did happen, and I invited him back to my apartment and we did the two-back nasty so many times I am pretty sure we need to invent a new prime number for it, in ten – now, nine – minutes, Mr. N.M. doesn’t exist.

My life has firm boundaries.

Speaking of firm –

Author Bio:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. Since 2013, she has sold more than 2 million books, with 4 New York Times bestsellers and more than 21 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French, German, and Italian, with more titles releasing in the future.

From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men's room toilet (and he isn't a billionaire she met in a romantic comedy).

She lives in New England with her husband and three children where she is the only person in the household with the gene required to change empty toilet paper rolls.

She loves to hear from her readers by email at julia@jkentauthor.com, on Twitter @jkentauthor, on Facebook at @jkentauthor, and on Instagram @jkentauthor. Visit her at http://jkentauthor.com

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GIVEAWAY!

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#BookBlitz #Excerpt #Giveaway #ChasingShadows #CatJameson #TheWildRosePress #XpressoTours

 

Chasing Shadows
Cat Jameson
(The Wild Rose Press)
Publication date: March 3rd 2025
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense

Annie O’Toole is St. Louis Public Defender, passionate about fighting for the underdog and determined to prove herself as the badass trial lawyer she knows she can be. Getting assigned to defend the kid charged with shooting billionaire businessman, Michael Grayson, is a big step up for her career. At least until the hot guy she seduced at the Justice for All Ball shows up at her office in response to her deposition subpoena. Turns out the sexy stranger who introduced himself only as ‘Mick’, the guy she’s been fantasizing about since slipping away while he slept — is none other than the billionaire himself, Michael Grayson.

She’s horrified. He’s furious. He thinks she set him up. She thinks he’s an arrogant ass in a Savile Row suit. Sparks, intrigue, and bullets fly in a mix of swoon and suspense as the two battle each other, the bad guys, and an off-limits attraction neither can ignore. When the evidence leads back into Michael’s inner corporate circle, the two are plunged into a world of international intrigue, corporate espionage, and murder — with a side dish of unresolved family drama as Annie is forced to turn to the only expert in corporate intrigue she knows, her own uber-wealthy, estranged grandmother. Now all she has to do is solve the case, escape her grandmother’s plans to take over her life (again), and save her client, her career, and the man whose lifestyle she despises . . . and whose touch she can’t forget.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

Michael wouldn’t have been surprised to see actual sparks flashing from her fingertips, given the effect of her touch on his skin. He pulled her against him, his hands sliding down over her hips to cup her ass, drinking in the feel and smell of her. But without her heels, she barely reached the middle of his chest. He grabbed her hand and led her to the bed.

“Climb up,” he ordered. “I want you at eye level.”

She laughed. “I’m not that short.”

He wrapped a fist in her tousled curls and pulled her to him. Bending his mouth to her ear, he sunk his teeth into her earlobe. She jumped.

“Get on the damn bed,” he whispered into her ear.

She scrambled onto the bed.

“Much better,” he murmured.

He ran his hands up her thighs until his fingers brushed the tiny swath of lace beneath the shimmering fabric of her dress. She inhaled sharply as he slid his fingers between the lace and the silk of her skin. He loved the way her breath hitched at his touch. He slid the lace slowly down her legs.

“I think you just stole my turn,” she breathed, her palms on his shoulders as she stepped out of the thong.

“Royal prerogative. The prince makes the rules— and can change them.” He let the lace fall to the floor and ran his fingers lightly back up her legs, enjoying the subtle shifting of her body in response to his touch.

“Don’t princesses get to make rules too?” she murmured, her eyes closed. “Or am I Cin—”

He pressed his fingers to her lips, cutting her off mid-syllable. “Sin is exactly what you are…temptation incarnate.”

Her lips curved. “My, you do credit me with extraordinary powers.”

He brushed his lips beneath her earlobe. “How would you feel about turning those extraordinary powers over to me for the night?”

She opened her eyes. It appeared to take a bit of an effort. “Hmm?”

“Are you amenable to being my royal subject for the night?”

She stilled. A beat of silence stretched between them.

“Depends on what you mean. Are we talking ‘safe word’ kind of subject?” she finally asked.

He smiled. “No safe word required.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Is that because you are the serial killer I suspected and I’m going to die no matter what?”

He clicked his tongue. “Damn. Shouldn’t have used my credit card to pay for this room. What was I thinking?” His hands moved to her waist, and he kissed the hollow of her neck. “Looks like I’ll have to let you survive the night after all.” He traced a slow finger down to where her cleavage disappeared in the fabric of her dress. She shivered. His pulse kicked up a beat.

“So?” he asked again.

She shot him a half-apologetic look. “I’m not a very compliant person.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Ah, but that’s what makes it interesting. Stepping out of your comfort zone heightens the experience.” His fingertip slowly circled first one nipple, then the other, through her dress.

Her eyes fluttered closed. “You make it really hard to think straight.”

He stepped back, lifting his hands up in the air. “Far be it from me to confuse the decision-making process. Take all the time you need.”

She shot him an exasperated look, then bit her lower lip, considering him. Finally, a half-smile flitted across those lips. “What the hell—so long as no safe words are required—long live the prince.”

His cock saluted her decision. Affecting a calm neither he nor his anatomy felt, he moved away from her and sat in the chair by the window. Crossing one ankle over his knee, he took his sweet time perusing her, his gaze raking her body. She fidgeted.

“Stand still,” he ordered.

She froze.

He let the tension build for a long minute, then said. “Take off your dress. Slowly.”

Author Bio:

Cat Jameson is a writer of contemporary romance novels packed with equal parts suspense, snark, and spice. A native Missourian, she moved to St. Louis to attend law school, sure only that she didn’t want to practice criminal law or be a trial lawyer. So of course, she became a career criminal defense lawyer who spent decades teaching trial techniques to other criminal lawyers around the country. (“We make plans. The gods laugh.”)

Cat spent most of her legal career in St. Louis and the city features prominently in her books, as does her experience in criminal law. Today, she resides in Columbia, Missouri — ‘the middle of the middle of flyover country’ — where she is deep into her second act as co-owner of a metaphysical bookstore.

When not writing, shopkeeping, or playing with grandkids, Jameson is most likely to be road-tripping with her best friend and business partner in a ten-year-old van named Woo — stopping at every bookstore and thrift shop along the way, loading up on things they do not need and have no room for.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Facebook

GIVEAWAY!

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#BookReview #ChickenSoupfortheSoulGrieving,LossandHealing101StoriesofComfortandMovingForward #AmyNewmark

 

These 101 inspirational, compassionate, and empowering stories will help you cope with loss, regain your strength, and find joy in life again. 

You deserve loving support in your time of need, because it hurts--a lot. It helps to read stories from other people who have been through the same thing and who are passing on their advice and best tips. 

Losing a loved one, whether a child, a spouse, a parent or grandparent, a sibling, a friend, a pet... it's a process you have to work through. The same goes for losing the future you thought you had due to chronic illness. And with these 101 stories you'll find people just like you sharing what worked for them and helped them continue living, loving, and even laughing. 

You don't have to feel alone. Think of this as your portable support group, with 101 new friends who care about your situation and understand what you're going through. 

https://images.app.goo.gl/3QwRVzkDvWwgCpoFA

Amy Newmark is the bestselling author, editor-in-chief, and publisher of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Since 2008, she has published more than 200 new books, most of them national bestsellers in the U.S. and Canada, more than doubling the number of Chicken Soup for the Soul titles in print today. She is also the author of Simply Happy, a crash course in Chicken Soup for the Soul advice and wisdom that is filled with easy-to-implement, practical tips for having a better life.

Amy is credited with revitalizing the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand, which has been a publishing industry phenomenon since the first book came out in 1993. By compiling inspirational and aspirational true stories curated from ordinary people who have extraordinary experiences, Amy has kept the 32-year-old Chicken Soup for the Soul brand fresh and relevant. 

Amy graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University where she majored in Portuguese and minored in French. She then embarked on a three-decade career as a Wall Street analyst, a hedge fund manager, and a corporate executive in the technology field.

Her return to literary pursuits was inevitable, as her honors thesis in college involved traveling throughout Brazil’s impoverished northeast region, collecting stories from regular people. She is delighted to have come full circle in her writing career—from collecting stories “from the people” in Brazil as a 20-year-old to, three decades later, collecting stories “from the people” for Chicken Soup for the Soul.

When Amy and her husband Bill, the CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul, are not working, they are visiting their four grown children and their spouses, and their grandchildren.

Follow Amy on X or Instagram: @amynewmark

Listen to her free daily podcast, The Chicken Soup for the Soul Podcast, at cms.megaphone.com, or find it on iTunes, the Podcasts app on iPhone, or on your favorite podcast app on other devices.

Chicken Soup for The Soul 

Grieving, Loss  and Healing 

101 Stories of Comfort and Moving Forward 

Written By Amy Newmark 

Review By Heidi Lynn’s Book Reviews 

In December I lost my father who was like my best friend. We would call each other even three times a day to check in on each other, I would take him to his appointments, we would go out to eat, and he was always there for me no matter what. Needless to say it has been hard since he has been gone. When I saw Chicken Soup for the Soul Grieving, Loss and Healing 101 Stories of Comfort and Moving Forward at my local library I knew that this was one book that was a must read in my healing journey. 

This book is compiled of very beautifully written stories of people who have opened up their hearts to share their personal experiences with us readers of what they went through. Many stories pulled hard on my heart strings as I could relate to it as it was something similar I had been feeling.  If you or anyone you know are mourning the loss of someone I highly suggest you read this book. 

Warning: if you are like me you are going to want to grab some tissues! Yes, many of these stories triggered me to ugly cry over and over. 

What was interesting about this book was it wasn’t about just grieving for humans but pets as well.

After reading all the stories at the end Amy included a selection where readers were able to get to know the contributors to the book a little bit. I thought that was a nice touch. 

The cover design of the book and interior pictures were beautifully done by Daniel Zaccari.