SYNOPSIS:
Today’s premiere New Adult authors
combine their talents to tell four original stories from inside one house.
When four girls decide to live off campus together as juniors at a college in Michigan, they expect it to be their best year yet. Little do they know, it’s a year that will change the rest of their lives.
BEHIND HER EYES by A.L. Jackson
Unable to live down her ex-boyfriend’s deception, Misha is determined to avoid betrayal. When, the new guy next door, Darryn starts to get under her skin, her defenses start to crumble. But trusting Darryn seems impossible, especially if he’s not sure he can trust himself.
SAVING ME by Molly McAdams
On the outside, Indy is always ready for a party—but inside she’s breaking. Kier makes a weekly routine of saving the girl next door from herself on Saturday nights… but when will she be ready to remember him on Sunday morning?
FOULING OUT by Tiffany King
Working at a sports bar, Courtney has become a pro at sidestepping propositions from arrogant jocks—which makes her a more elusive catch for campus basketball star Dalton than he expected. But when he falls for the saucy waitress, Dalton will have to rethink his game plan to prove he’s not the jerk Courtney expects.
BENEATH YOUR LAYERS by Christina Lee
In order to ace her fashion internship, Chloe must team up with local college dropout and set builder, Blake—much to her chagrin. But after some "hands-on" experience, Chloe will have to ask herself if Blake factors into her carefully laid plans…
Lori's review: 5+ StarsWhen four girls decide to live off campus together as juniors at a college in Michigan, they expect it to be their best year yet. Little do they know, it’s a year that will change the rest of their lives.
BEHIND HER EYES by A.L. Jackson
Unable to live down her ex-boyfriend’s deception, Misha is determined to avoid betrayal. When, the new guy next door, Darryn starts to get under her skin, her defenses start to crumble. But trusting Darryn seems impossible, especially if he’s not sure he can trust himself.
SAVING ME by Molly McAdams
On the outside, Indy is always ready for a party—but inside she’s breaking. Kier makes a weekly routine of saving the girl next door from herself on Saturday nights… but when will she be ready to remember him on Sunday morning?
FOULING OUT by Tiffany King
Working at a sports bar, Courtney has become a pro at sidestepping propositions from arrogant jocks—which makes her a more elusive catch for campus basketball star Dalton than he expected. But when he falls for the saucy waitress, Dalton will have to rethink his game plan to prove he’s not the jerk Courtney expects.
BENEATH YOUR LAYERS by Christina Lee
In order to ace her fashion internship, Chloe must team up with local college dropout and set builder, Blake—much to her chagrin. But after some "hands-on" experience, Chloe will have to ask herself if Blake factors into her carefully laid plans…
This is the first book like this that I have read, 4 authors all writing about one of the 4 characters in the story. I really, really enjoyed it. I actually longed for more of each story. I also liked that each story picked up in time from the end of the story before, with a little "background" from the past.
I think my favorite of the 4 is Indy's story. The way Kier secretly took care of her from the moment he "met" her, even though he had "demons" of his own to take care of, he saw that Indy needed him more, even when she didn't know she did.
Misha and Darryn's story was one that made you want to smack the person (Hunter) that made Misha so untrusting and unwilling to want to get to know Darryn with all her walls that she built around her heart after what Hunter did to her at the end of last semester. Thankfully, Darryn doesn't give up on what he wants, Misha.
Courtney and Dalton's story was one that broke my heart a little in the beginning when we find out that these two grew up together as best friends and because of a dad's "dream" for his son, their friendship stops unwillingly by both so to speak. And that it's years later that they come together only means that they were meant to be together.
Now Chloe and Blake's story was IMO, a building up hot story. Chloe had no idea that Blake never meant what was said one day as she walked home when she passed his work site. When Blake's aunt sets him up to help Chloe out on a project, I'm sure his aunt knows that they are good for each other. What transpires over then next several weeks is "love" in the making. I loved the little game they started to play every night they worked together. It let both of them open up and get to know each other in a different way than normal.
I wish there was more to each story, to see more of their happy endings. I loved this story and the connection all 4 characters have. What great lasting friendships for all of them.
GOODREADS:
BUY LINKS:
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EXCERPTS:
Behind Her Eyes by A.L.
Jackson
Now I could feel him, his
eyes all over me, caressing me slowly, up and down.
I let all my insecurities
drift away as I swayed in time to the music, in sync with the throb of the
crowd and the intermittent
lights that glowed against my lids.
A charged moment passed,
before strong hands found my hips and gripped them from behind. For
a beat, I stiffened, before
I again gave in to this sublime release. And again, he felt good. Right. All
this
intense energy that
ricocheted between us wrapped me up in a frenzy of nerves, alight and alive.
The
smell of him took me whole,
all soap and man and sex.
Oh God.
My heart beat frantically,
racing to keep up with my thoughts that were spiraling out of control.
A shimmer of fear slithered
through me, before he pulled my back into the safety of his firm chest.
And that was what I felt.
Safe.
With him, and I didn’t know
why, and I was searching inside myself for resolve, for the commitment
I’d made to never allow
myself to be so easily played again.
But it was just out of my
reach.
Darryn held me close, our
bodies moving in time, like we shared the same breath, the same space.
I leaned back, my head on
his shoulder as his face found the curve of my neck. Chills sped, spinning my
body into a violent
cataclysm of need. He let his hands roam, palms pressing hard as he ran them
down
the front of my legs,
spanning them wide as he trailed them back up to my hips and over my stomach.
Fingertips dipped into my
ribs as he slid them up the curve of my sides, and he lifted my arms as he
went,
in the same fluid motion
fastening my hands around the back of his neck.
All those butterflies
scattered, a clash of discordant wings that fluttered haphazardly through my
insides, leaving my stomach
in a coiled mess of confusion and need.
Why him? Why now?
Holding me close, he brushed
his mouth over the shell of my ear, his whispered words injected
directly to my manic heart.
“Goddamn, Misha. What are you trying to do to me?”
I suddenly found it
impossible to breathe, because it was him who was slowly undoing all the fibers
of reservation woven through
my weakened spirit.
“Can’t get you off my mind.”
He leaned in closer, his hand sweeping up my stomach. Fingers
brushed between my breasts,
and I released a sharp gasp.
“Been dying to touch you,”
he murmured low.
SAVING ME – MOLLY McADAMS
“I’m about to embarrass the hell
out of myself, but I don’t care anymore. I feel like when I’m near you, I’m
safe, and it makes no sense to me. It is the weirdest feeling to have
with someone I only know three things about.”
My eyebrows rose at that and I
turned to fully face her. “Three?”
“Yes. Three things. Your
name is Kier, you’re extremely quiet, and you are the biggest puzzle I’ve ever
tried to figure out.”
“I’m the puzzle?”
“Yes!” she said in exasperation.
That had to have been the most
backward statement I’d ever heard. “And why am I a puzzle?”
“Because of what I just told you. I
don’t know you, you don’t even talk to anyone, and I feel safe when you’re near
me! Why is that? I feel like I’m going crazy because all I’ve been able to
think about for these past two weeks is you, and how every time you open your
mouth it’s like déjà vu, and I just—I don’t know what’s happening.” Her green
eyes were massive and she looked like she was on the edge of losing her shit.
I took a few steps toward her and
lowered my voice. “Calm down, Indy. You’re fine.”
“I just don’t understand,” she said
loudly, the pitch of her voice rising. “Do you believe in past lives?” she
asked suddenly.
I paused, a laugh slipping past my
lips. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Past lives? Like that whole stupid
YOLO saying is really just bullshit, because we’re about to get another shot
down the road?”
I tried to contain my smile, but
she was really fucking adorable when she was like this. “What does that have to
do with what you’re freaking out over?”
“In stories with soul mates they
find each other no matter what in every life. And it’s like they have a weird
connection they can’t explain.”
I closed the distance between us
and dropped my head so I was looking directly into her eyes. “Are you saying
we’re soul mates?”
“No!” she said, horror lacing her
voice, her cheeks filling with heat.
“I think you were,” I teased.
“I wasn’t, I was just saying that
in stories . . . I don’t know what I’m saying, okay? But I don’t get what’s
going on with us!”
“So now there’s an us?”
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “I need
to stop talking.”
I laughed and took a step back.
“I’m teasing you, Indy. And no, I don’t believe in past lives. I think we have
this one, and that’s it.”
She sighed, and her body visibly
relaxed. When she spoke again, she sounded exhausted—and in a way, defeated. “I
don’t, either, but I can’t figure out how to explain this feeling like I know
you.”
I ground my jaw for a few seconds
as her green eyes held mine. “Because maybe you do know me. You’re just not
ready to remember why.”
Beneath Your Layers
Christina Lee
I motioned
for the bar. “Want me to get you a soda or a water?”
Chloe stared
at me for another long moment before she said, “No, thanks.”
We listened
to the next song quietly standing beside each other, lost in our own thoughts.
Until she turned to me and said, “Truth or dare?”
“Dare,” I
said, almost breathless. Given her mood, maybe she’d give me something good
this time.
“Your turn,
Blake,” she said. “Do something spontaneous.”
My fingers trembled
from wanting to touch her so badly and all I could think about was doing just
that.
“You sure
that’s what you want?” I said, turning and backing her against the wall.
“Yes,” she
breathed out.
“Something
spontaneous or something I’ve been thinking about doing for days?” I said, my
lips coming closer to hers. “Maybe weeks?”
Her breath
caught. “It . . . it’s your call.”
My head swung
forward, our foreheads practically touching. Fluttery breaths were escaping her
lips. I place my arms on either side of her head and she bit down on her lip.
My heart
thrashed in my chest and all I could think about was how desperate I was to
kiss her, but how nervous I was to blow this opportunity.
So I
attempted to read her signals and they were definitely mixed. Her eyes flitted
between panic and lust.
When I pinned
my hip against hers, I could’ve sworn I heard a low moan in the back of her
throat.
“Please,” she
rasped out. “Please . . . don’t . . . Blake.”
My stomach
was in my throat. Fuck, either I’d scared her or I’d been reading her wrong.
I leaned back
to give her space, but her fingers suddenly skimmed across my waist, clenching
my shirt and drawing me nearer.
“Don’t what?”
I asked in confusion. She was so fucking messing with my head.
“Don’t . . .”
She was panting now. “Don’t stop.”
Fouling Out
By
Tiffany King
The
warmth inside the building was soothing after walking from the car outside. I
felt mildly disappointed when Dalton dropped his arm from my shoulders, until
he reached for my hand. As we strolled along, I became hyperaware of how
something as innocent as handholding could become somewhat erotic while sipping
wine together. Dalton slid his thumb across the top of my hand in slow
methodical strokes before gently caressing my pulse point. The hairs on the
back of my neck felt as if they were standing on end. Each sweep of his thumb
was a sensual dance with my sensitive skin, making it tingle.
It was
becoming apparent to me that it might have been a bad call on my part to skip
lunch. Between the scent of Dalton’s cologne and the alcohol I was consuming, I
was already feeling slightly intoxicated. I nibbled on a few cubes of cheese to
attempt to alleviate the buzzing in my head. Dalton’s breath teased my neck,
making me shiver in a good way. I should have put some distance between us so I
could regain my bearings, but instead I snuggled closer to him, wishing we were
somewhere else with a lot fewer people around.
All the
air escaped my lungs as Dalton slowly captured a bead of wine from my bottom
lip with his finger. I watched with bated breath as he moved the finger to his
own mouth, sucking the drop of wine. It was all I could do not to moan as my
insides turned to putty.
“You
need to stop looking at me like that,” Dalton murmured in my ear.
“Like
what?” I licked the rest of the wine off my lip with the tip of my tongue.
This
time it was Dalton who groaned softly. Placing his hands on my hips, he slowly
backed me into a dim corner, away from prying eyes. “Like you’re thinking how
great it would feel if I hoisted you up on that wine barrel table over there
with your legs wrapped around my waist.”
“Are
you sure that’s not you thinking that?” My hips responded almost instinctively
as he pulled me snugly against his body. I could feel him, rock hard, pressed
to my stomach. The wanting desire I had been keeping at bay from the moment he
showed up at my house looking practically delectable with low-riding jeans and
a black V-neck sweater that accentuated his well-toned chest was threatening to
explode.
A.L. Jackson:
A.L. Jackson is the New York Times
bestselling author of Take This Regret
and Lost to You, as well as other
contemporary romance titles, including Come
to Me Quietly, Come to Me Softly, Pulled,
When We Collide, and If Forever
Comes.
She first found a love for writing
during her days as a young mother and college student. She filled the journals she carried with
short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties and
joys she found in day-to-day life.
Years later, she shared a short
story she’d been working on with her two closest friends and, with their
encouragement, this story became her first full length novel. A.L. now spends
her days writing in Southern Arizona where she lives with her husband and three
children. Her favorite pastime is spending time with the ones she loves.
To stay up to date with important news on A.L.
Jackson, including new releases, sales, and exclusive specials and excerpts,
text “jackson” to 96000 to subscribe!
Instagram @aljacksonauthor
TIFFANY KING:
USA Today Bestselling author Tiffany King is a lifelong reading
fanatic who is now living her dream as a writer, weaving Young Adult and New
Adult romance tales for others to enjoy. She has a loving husband and two
wonderful kids. (Five, if you count her three spoiled cats). Her addictions
include: Her iPhone and iPad, chocolate, Diet Coke, chocolate, Harry Potter,
chocolate, zombies and her favorite TV shows. Want to know what they are? Just
ask.
For information on any of Author Tiffany's titles, visit her blog
at www.authortiffanyjking.blogspot.com
Where to
connect with Author Tiffany
Email-
authortiffany@yahoo.com
Molly
McAdams:
Molly grew up in California but now lives in the
oh-so-amazing state of Texas with her husband and furry four-legged daughters.
When she's not diving into the world of her characters, some of her hobbies
include hiking, snowboarding, traveling, and long walks on the beach … which
roughly translates to being a homebody with her hubby and dishing out movie
quotes. She has a weakness for crude-humored movies and fried pickles, and
loves curling up in a fluffy comforter during a thunderstorm ... or under one
in a bathtub if there are tornados. That way she can pretend they aren't really
happening.
Come be my friend!
CHRISTINA
LEE:
Mother, wife, reader, dreamer.
Christina lives in the Midwest with her husband and son--her two favorite guys.
She's addicted to lip gloss and salted caramel everything. She believes in true love and kissing, so writing romance novels has become a dream job.
Author of the Between Breaths series from Penguin. ALL OF YOU, BEFORE YOU BREAK and WHISPER TO ME available now, PROMISE ME THIS on October 7th, 2014.
Also Adult contemporary romance TWO OF HEARTS coming from Peguin/NAL on May 5th 2015.
She's addicted to lip gloss and salted caramel everything. She believes in true love and kissing, so writing romance novels has become a dream job.
Author of the Between Breaths series from Penguin. ALL OF YOU, BEFORE YOU BREAK and WHISPER TO ME available now, PROMISE ME THIS on October 7th, 2014.
Also Adult contemporary romance TWO OF HEARTS coming from Peguin/NAL on May 5th 2015.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Christina_Lee04
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Christina-Lee/e/B00D1W5RSE/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1414001350&sr=8-2-ent
