Jerk of My Dreams #14

Jerk. Asshole. Douchenozzle. Admit it- you hate to love the jerks. That alpha male character who is so arrogant and rude but sexy as hell. That foul mouthed douche bag of a man who rocks your traitorous heart. We've all read them and we've all liked them to some extent. In real life you wouldn't touch the man with a ten foot pole. But in the fictional world? Nothing can stand in the way! Everyone would be lying to themselves if they didn't admit that the meaner the man, the further we run... Towards them! *sigh* 

That's what this weekly meme is about- those jerky delicious men! Each Friday this meme will go up, and you can share your jerk anyway you want: review, interview, lines and quotes, giveaway of a book. However you want! All you have to do is sign up HERE and follow the linky. Any time you comment on someones post, leave your link so that person can comment back.

Kristen Ashley has this ability to write stories that suck you in and keep you there until the bitter end.  Her characters are flawed, they’re brutal and their loveable. At Peace is no different.

At Peace is the second in the The ‘Burg Series. One of the things I love about this series is the age of the characters. They’re in their late 30’s and sometimes 40’s. These are characters who have experienced some of life and are still trying to find their way.

Violet Winters lost her husband 18  months ago. He was a cop in Chicago and he was executed. The person responsible has been stalking Violet. To save her sanity, she moves her daughters to The ‘Burg. She happens to move in next to Joe Callahan.

Joe Callahan has been dealt some blows in life. He’s closed himself off and he’s not looking for love. He’s got his security business and life is good. Or so he thinks.

Violet and her girls invade Joe’s life and get in under his walls. They fill him up and make him whole. But Joe doesn’t want this. He’s happy with his life, or so he thinks. So….Joe pushes Violet away and right into the arms of another man.

Joe is a typical alpha male, complete with chest thumping. He’s also a jerk. He keeps pushing Violet away. And he does it at the worst times and in the worst way.

Violet is naïve in many ways. She’d been with her late husband since she was 15. She’s never been with another man before and now she’s faced with Joe. OMG! 

This story was filled with drama, kidnappings, stalking, murder and of course, a little mayhem.

Life is full of surprises and you never know when you’ll find your second chance.

Review: Duty and Desire

As everyone knows I have soft spot in my heart for men and women in uniform. I love a good military romance. Why? These are the people that make is possible for me to read all my wonderful smuttiness!  It’s smut-tastic!

May is Military Appreciation Month. Monday was Memorial Day. So, what better way to honor our men and women in uniform than to read some wonderful smut all involving men and women in uniform.

Duty and Desire is an anthology of short stories about men and women in uniform. There are so many stories in this, there is no way I could write a review for each one. So, I’ll do an overview!

Just as with any anthology, some of the stories were more enjoyable than others, but I have to admit, I liked all of them in this anthology. It was interesting mix of stories. The stories varied in time period from World War II to Afghanistan. They also included some stories about foreign soldiers. We had some Army, Navy, Marines and of course, Air Force!

We had a MM story, a FF story a little BDSM and of course, strangers having sex! Woo Hoo! We had it all!

Not only did it include different genres, we had men in uniform and women in uniform. We had men waiting for their women who were deployed to return and women waiting for their men.

This was a wonderful, quick read and I loved them all!  So, if you love stories of men and women in uniform, pick up the book! You will NOT be disappointed!

Find it on GoodReads!

Blog Tour & Giveaway: Claim Me by J. Kenner

For Damien, our obsession is a game. For me, it is fiercely, blindingly, real.

Damien Stark’s need is palpable—his need for pleasure, his need for control, his need for me. Beautiful and brilliant yet tortured at his core, he is in every way my match.

I have agreed to be his alone, and now I want him to be fully mine. I want us to possess each other beyond the sweetest edge of our ecstasy, into the deepest desires of our souls. To let the fire that burns between us consume us both.

But there are dark places within Damien that not even our wildest passion can touch. I yearn to know his secrets, yearn for him to surrender to me as I have surrendered to him. But our troubled pasts will either bind us close . . . or shatter us completely.

J. Kenner, What’s Your Billionaire Toy of Choice?

There are a lot of fun things about writing books like the Stark Trilogy, but there’s a special appeal to peeking into the billionaire lifestyle.  After all, I’ve only ridden in a limo twice.  Once after my wedding (a present from a friend) and the other time when an editor rented a limo at a conference to take her authors to dinner (that was a blast!).

So getting to put on the billionaire persona and step into Damien Stark’s world has been great fun.

But it also makes me think:  if I could pick just one billionaire “toy” (I’m going to loosely define toy to include houses and travel!) what would I pick?

And that is a hard one.

Damien Stark loves cars, and he has some exceptional ones, ranging from classics like Bentleys to power machines like the Bugatti Veyron.  But neither of those are really practical for me, and unless I went with the limo, I don’t know that any of Damien’s cars would serve me (and my husband and two kids) as well as my mini-van.  (How sad and pathetic is that?)

So then there’s the house.  I searched Malibu high end real estate sites to get a picture of Damien’s Malibu house in my mind, and I have to say, the mental picture I have is pretty darn sweet. 

But if I choose that as my toy, then I have to consider the rules.  Does it come with maid service?  Because I can barely keep my 3000 square foot house clean.  What would I do if I had more than triple that?

I mean, that’s quite the dilemma, right? 

Then there’s art.  Or fancy cameras.  Or helicopters.  Or jets.  Or hotel ownership, restaurant interests, insane clothing budgets.  All of which sound awesome.

But I think the “toy” that appeals to me most is the travel.  Because a billionaire pretty much has an unlimited ticket to see the world, and as I was doing research on the Hotel Kempinski in Munich (in Claim Me and Complete Me) I have to admit that my jaw was pretty much on the floor.  I would love to stay there and use that hotel as a base to explore Germany.  For that matter, I’d love to stay at any number of fabulous hotels that I can imagine Damien strolling into.

So that’s it for me: my billionaire “toy” of choice is an essentially unlimited travel budget.  What’s yours?

One lucky commenter will win a copy of Claim Me! 

(print for US winners, digital for international winners!)

Answer J. Kenner's question, "what's your billionaire toy of choice?" and include your email address.  Good luck!

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J. Kenner has written over 40 books under multiple names including Julie Kenner and J.K. Beck.  Her newest release, CLAIM ME, is the second book in the bestselling Stark Trilogy, which began with RELEASE ME, a multi-week NYT and USA today bestseller, continues with CLAIM ME (which debuted at #2 on the NYT list!), and which will conclude in July with COMPLETE ME.

You can learn more about her at her website (http://www.juliekenner.com) or connect with her on Twitter (@juliekenner) or on Facebook (http://juliekenner.com/facebook/)

Cover Reveal: Glass Hearts by Lisa De Jong

Book 2 in the Plastic Hearts series

Can a relationship survive on love alone? Is love truly enough?

Dane and Alex’s relationship has never been easy, but now they have a fresh start without the pressures of Alex’s family. Together they try to move forward while continuing to struggle with a past that they can’t seem to escape.

Sometimes no matter how hard we try to make things work, love isn’t enough.

Sometimes even after a broken heart is mended, cracks remain, and the same doubts and insecurities that once yanked us apart seep in.

Can true love hold Dane and Alex together or will their hearts completely shatter like glass?

Add to your Goodreads To-Read list!

Excerpt

I head toward the bedroom and find Alex sprawled out on the center of the bed. I’m still pissed at her for dancing with him.  I don’t know what she was thinking. I hate that fucker and seeing him with his hands on my girl was enough to send me over the edge. I immediately wanted to walk over to them but I stopped, telling myself over and over that there would be no way I could control my temper if I went anywhere near him.

I kept my eyes on them, ready to pounce if he took it any further. I started to cool down a little but deep shades of red clouded by vision when I saw him press his body closer to her.  My mind was made up; I was heading over to punch that idiot in the face if I got through the packed crowd.   I was still about ten feet away when I saw him press his lips to her cheek and it halted me in place; she let him do it.  Didn’t push him away or tell him to stop.  It took everything I had to not break his neck.  I was even more pissed at Alex for letting him do it.

I hate feeling this way.

“Dane,” she whispers, lifting her head from the pillow.  She glances at the clock.  “You’re late getting home.”

Yeah, I had a couple drinks after work.  I needed them.  “It was busy,” I say, sitting on the edge of the bed to remove my shoes. 

About the Author

Lisa De Jong is a wife, mother and full-time number cruncher who lives in the Midwest. Her writing journey involved insane amounts of coffee and many nights of very little sleep but she wouldn't change a thing. She also enjoys reading, football and music.

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Book 1 is on sale for 99 cents!! Plastic Hearts is one of my favorite reads this year!!