Introducing: Down To You by M. Leighton

I don’t know where the lovely and talented Michelle Leighton has found the time to write several amazing books through out this past year -I swear, she’s like this literary Superwoman or something!- but the time has come round once again for her to reveal the hot cover for her newest book, “Down To You” to be released on 2nd October. We at Secret Lives were so excited by this that we just HAD to share it with you too (if you haven’t seen it already, that is). Below, accompanying the cover, is also the blurb and an excerpt from the character, Cash! Read, drool (have a bucket near by) and enjoy!

“The scorching tale of one girl, two brothers and a love triangle…that’s not.

Olivia Townsend is nothing special. She’s just a girl working her way through college so she can return home to help her father run his business. She’s determined not to be the second woman in his life to abandon him, even if it means putting her own life on hold. To Olivia, it’s clear what she must do. Plain and simple. Black and white.

But clear becomes complicated when she meets Cash and Nash Davenport. They’re brothers. Twins.
Cash is everything she’s always wanted in a guy. He’s a dangerous, sexy bad boy who wants her in his bed at any cost. He turns her insides to mush and, with just one kiss, makes her forget why he’s no good for her.

Nash is everything she’s ever needed in a guy. He’s successful, responsible and intensely passionate. But he’s taken. Very taken, by none other than Marissa, Liv’s rich, beautiful cousin. That doesn’t stop Olivia from melting every time he looks at her, though. With just one touch, he makes her forget why they can never be together.

Black and white turns to shades of gray when Olivia discovers the boys are hiding something, something that should make her run as far and as fast as she can. But it’s too late to run. Olivia’s already involved. And in love. With both of them.

Both brothers make her heart tremble. Both brothers set her body on fire.

She wants them both.

And they want her.

How will she ever choose between them?”

Meet Cash (Cash’s POV)

Damn, she’s beautiful!

Between this girl’s black hair, her bright probably-green eyes, her banging little body and the way she seems a tiny bit shy, I’m wishing we were alone in this room together.

Her smile doesn’t leave her lips as she runs her hands around my waist, untucking my shirt. When it’s free, she starts to pull it up.

But then she pauses. For a split second, I see her hesitate. She’s trying not to show that she’s unsure of herself, of what she’s doing.

I stare down into those liquid eyes. I don’t want her to stop. I want to feel her hands on my skin. So I taunt her, hoping to feed the feline that I’d be willing to bet is buried somewhere down deep.

“Oh, come on. Is that all you got?” I whisper.

Her eyes bore into mine and I hold my breath, waiting to see which side will win. In fascination, I watch as the balance of power shifts and the change is reflected in her eyes. They get a little brighter, a little feistier. I’ve never actually seen someone muster courage. Determination. Something in this girl refuses to give in, to back down. She’s rising to the challenge. And it’s hot as hell.

She keeps her eyes on mine as she starts to pull up my shirt. She leans in closer and I get a whiff of her perfume. It’s sweet and a little musky. Sexy. Just like her.

She has to plaster her body to mine and stretch up on her tiptoes to get my shirt over my head. I can feel her breasts pushing against my chest. I could make the task easier for her. But I don’t. I like the feel of her rubbing against me. There’s no way I’m ruining that.

Once she has my shirt off, she backs up and looks me over. She’s shy about it. That much is obvious. It’s like she wants to look, but she’s a little embarrassed to, which actually makes it more of a turn on for some reason. I’m sure every other eye in the room is watching me, watching us, but hers are the only ones I can feel. They’re like tongues of fire, licking my skin. They’re searing and tangible. Or at least they feel that way to me.

I take a deep breath and her eyes drop to my stomach. Then they flicker down a little further. She stares longer than she should, but not nearly as long as I want her to. I start to get hard.

Her eyes widen and her lips fall open just enough for her tongue to sneak out and wet them. I have to grit my teeth to keep from pulling her to me and kissing that lush little mouth of hers.

Then light pours into the room. It’s just enough to break the spell.

McSwain & Beck interview the star of Lightmasters: Number 13, JESSICA T. WYRD

Read this fabulously unique interview with the character Jessica T. Wyrd from M.G. wells’ “Lightmasters: Number 13”!

McSwain & Beck interview the star of Lightmasters: Number 13, JESSICA T. WYRD.

The best 50 Shades Fan ever!!!!

 

Totally had to share this! 

 

Has your mother or grandmother read 50 Shades of Grey or asked to borrow it? What was your reply?

 

Lauren x

Breaking Dawn Part 2 Trailer! – S

Hello Everybody!
Lionsgate/Summit have announced that a new teaser trailer for Breakung Dawn part 2 will be released tomorrow in celebration of Edward Cullen’s 111th birthday! Judging by the new stills that have been released, hopefully there will be some more Renesmee! Look out for a post on the trailer TOMMORROW!

MTV Movie Awards – THE RESULTS!

So last night was the MTV Movie awards in the US, they will air in the UK Tonight at 9pm on MTV.

A few weeks back i started a poll to see who YOU wanted to win the Best Movie award…and your results were VERY accurate…

here are the list of winners!

Movie of the Year: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn part 1    !You voted Breaking Dawn as the Winner on our poll!

Best Female Performance: Jennifer Lawrence – ‘The Hunger Games’

Best Male Performance: Josh Hutcherson – ‘The Hunger Games’

Breakthrough Performance: Shailene Woodley – ‘The Descendants’

Best Comedic Performance: Melissa McCarthy – ‘Bridesmaids’

Best Cast: ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2′

Best On-Screen Transformation: Elizabeth Banks – ‘The Hunger Games’

Best Fight: Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson vs Alexander Ludwig – ‘The Hunger Games’

Best Kiss: Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart – ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn part 1′

Best Gut Wrenching Performance: ‘Bridesmaids’

Best On-Screen Dirtbag: Jennifer Aniston – ‘Horrible Bosses’

Best Music: ‘Party Rock Anthem’ – LMFAO

 

So, the Twilight Cast won Best Kiss for the fourth year in a row! Although Robert Pattinson was not there to accept the award with Kristen Stewart, she managed to provide a comedic speech trying to include some of her co-stars!

I’ll be sure to add some videos to this post later when more surface as there are very few online at the moment. Be sure to check back here soon - watch this space!

 

The Pack By Jason Starr – Review By Dayna

“Let the hunt begin . . .

When Simon Burns is fired from his job without warning, he takes on the role of stay-at-home dad for his three-year-old son. But his reluctance pushes his already strained marriage to the limit. In the nestled playgrounds of the Upper West Side, Simon harbors a simmering rage at his boss’s betrayal.

Things take a turn when he meets a tight-knit trio of dads at the playground. They are different from other men Simon has met, stronger and more confident, more at ease with the darker side of life- and soon Simon is lured into their mix. But after a guys’ night out gets frighteningly out of hand, Simon feels himself sliding into a new nightmarish reality.

As he experiences disturbing changes in his body and his perceptions, he starts to suspect that when the guys welcomed him to their “pack”, they were talking about much more than male bonding . . .”

What struck me about this novel is that although it’s an urban fantasy about werewolves, it doesn’t read like one for the most part. More like a psychological thriller. For those wanting to ease their way into the urban fantasy/paranormal world, this would be a great introduction. I love how Simon’s character develops throughout the book. How he copes with losing his job, becoming a stay-at-home-dad, trying to work through marital problems and then on top of all that, meets Michael and the gang and goes through some other major changes.

I like how the story was written from multiple points of view and how well eat character’s personality was written too. I’m always a bit iffy about reading a male author’s take on women but was quite impressed by Starr’s portrayal of Olivia and Alison.

I have to admit, I have a soft spot for Ramon with his smooth and charming ways but can’t say I warmed to Michael at all though the reader wasn’t really supposed to. He was on a power trip. I found him intimidating, brash, cold and incredibly forward. From a female’s point of view, I can’t really see why Olivia was so attracted to him. Then again Olivia did turn out to have a crazy side and I also found her needy and desperate.

It was a great read though a little slow paced to begin with. The morning after the big show down on the roof of the brewery, I was really hoping for more of an explanation as to what happened in the aftermath but maybe we’ll find out more in the sequel, The Craving. I would like to have had more emphasis on the paranormal but that’s down to pure preference on my part. I’m hoping that in book 2 we’ll get even more background on the werewolves. Can’t wait to find out what happens next!

I rate this book 4/5 stars!

Email problems!

If you have emailed us regarding a review or BETA read request and we haven’t replied. I am sorry. I have just found some stored on our email account that we haven’t even seen. We are currently working through a long list!

Thank you for your patience!

From The Girls at Secret Lives

Haunted by Heather Beck Review

Heather Beck contacted us and asked us to review her book ‘ Haunted’ It is anthology of ghostly encounters and paranormal events. Here is the blurb

Ghost Park

After discovering a mysterious playground in the woods, Chase is stalked by angry ghost children.

A Haunting Past

Truce’s class trip to an old native reserve turns deadly when Bear, an infamous chief who died two hundred years ago, blames him for the tribe’s extinction.

The Manor On The Rocks

Grey, damp and surrounded by jagged rocks, Calla Lily’s new home isn’t only unpleasant, it’s also haunted by the world’s most evil boy.

A Medieval Nightmare

When Ellie and Brandon get trapped in a medieval museum that’s a bit too real, they fall under a spell and become pivotal players in a ghostly regime.

A Watery Grave

A camping trip becomes a heart-pounding race for survival when Justine meets a ghost who’s determined to change her fate by trading bodies with a living entity.

Straight away I knew this was written for the younger teens that interested in horror’s – maybe horror is a strong word but for a middle grader this would be classed scary enough to be called a horror. These stories are brilliant for easily introducing children to such stories. I remember when I was young I was subjected to Fright Friday every week and my love for all things scary started. Then my mother bought me the first Goosebumps book and I was hooked. To me this is a similar type of book.

They are easy to read, quite simply worded. Sometimes I felt as though the story didn’t flow much and the endings were rushed. Overall I quite enjoyed reading them. My favorite story was The Manor On The Rocks. It was a quite scary and I am 24! However I did feel it could have been developed a lot more however giving the nature of the book it wouldn’t have been appropriate to extend it. I do think I had a disadvantage as my mind is not a teen mind, I have ready so many fantastic books so trying to turn my mind back to a young readers mind was quite difficult so I don’t think I can review each story one by one.

So if you’re in your early teens or looking for some fun easy reading this book is for you!

You can purchase your copy here

Shift Review By Dayna.

Shift – M.R. Merrick.

“Devastated by the loss of his mother, Chase is trying to balance the life he’s been left with, a family he’s still getting to know, and power he never thought he’d have. He doesn’t understand why the Goddess has named him the Protector and granted him two gifts: the Mark, a tattoo that now covers his back, and the ring. But between getting interrogated by the Circle and psychic attacks from Riley, the Mark is the least of his concern. There’s a demon inside Rayna that’s fighting to be released, and it’s not her inner witch. It’s something else—a monster threatening to tear her apart.
As Chase struggles to control his magic, his enemies are closing in. Everyone has staked a claim on his ring, and destroying it may be his only chance to stop Riley. But Chase must decide if stopping him is worth risking the lives of everyone he cares about, or if protecting the ring will be enough to save his world.”

As was the case with Merrick’s debut Exiled, the sequel, Shift is just as darkly exciting and magical with just a drop of romance (which *cough* I’m hoping for more of in book 3 by the way Matthew *cough*. Yes, yes I like me a side of romance with my paranormal). Unlike with a few other books that I’ve read, this certainly wasn’t snail paced. There’s a lot going on to constantly keep your eyes glued and your attention permanently focused on the story. As you turn the first page you’re thrown right in to the middle of a scene ****spoiler alert**** where Rayna is trying to fight against turning in to a werecat so from that moment on you’re immediately gripped, sucked in to the story, not wanting to stop reading until you’ve gotten to the very end (which, if you’re a human, becomes tricky when you have to stop to eat, pee and sleep. Damn not being a modern day sparkly vampire! :p ).

Merrick’s writing just gets better and better and even more un-put-downable as the story unfolds and we learn more and more about each character. I love books that have witty and sarcastic retorts and Shift has plenty of that, of which I think mostly take place between Chase and Rayna or Chase and Vincent and I have to admit, a couple of times, I kinda found myself wanting to bash Chase and Vincent’s heads together ha ha ha. Chase, Rayna and Willy’s characters progress even more in Shift as does Chase and Rayna’s relationship. Chase is battling with his new found powers, Rayna’s battling with her shifter self and poor old Willy…well let’s just say he goes through some major changes too which totally had me in shock and had my jaw dropping about 3 feet to the floor which brings me back around full circle to say there’s a lot of surprises in store for you when you read Shift, trust me. It’s demon-hunters, shapeshifters, witches, vamps and fairytales all covered in awesome sauce and wrapped in a little red bow. This is a series that all lovers of the paranormal genre should definitely have on their bookshelves/ e-readers.

I rate this book 5/5!

Review Requests: Now Open

 

As it is now May and we have just about cleared our back log of blogging duties we have now opened requests! If you’re an author and would like us to review your book please email us at secretlivesoffictionlovers@gmail.com with Review Request as the heading so it doesn’t get lost!

This request period is only open until May 31st 2012

Thank you!

NB Pease remember request periods are open all year around for authors we have reviewed or BETA read for before!