TRIP (Remember When 1) by T Torrest - Review & Exclusive Excerpt

Follow the Trip Release Excitement: http://bit.ly/2ttRKR3

Blurb:

Layla Warren first introduced us to Trip Wilmington in REMEMBER WHEN...
Now read his side of the story!

Trip Wiley wasn't always a Hollywood movie star.
In fact, he wasn't always Trip Wiley.
Back in 1990, he was better known as Trip Wilmington, the new kid in town.
New place, new school... same old story.
No big deal. It’s not like this is the first time he’s been forced to start over.
But seventeen years of city living hasn’t prepared him for life in the suburbs...
or for Layla Warren.
Layla is smart, funny, beautiful... the kind of girl every guy dreams about.
Trip should know.
He’s been falling for her since the first minute he saw her.
And his life hasn’t been the same since.

~

Prepare to travel back to your teen years... That time in your life before the real world kicked in, that limbo between adolescence and adulthood, that trial of hanging onto the past while figuring out where the future will lie.

With heart-shredding romance, steamy love scenes, and hilarious 80s references, readers of all ages will find themselves falling in love with TRIP all over again.

It is highly recommended--but not required--that you read Remember When prior to reading TRIP.

Purchase Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2FBtHVO
Amazon PB: http://amzn.to/2HwrI1x
Amazon AU: http://amzn.to/2DtRjph
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2pcvZQX


Every story has two sides, want to hear Layla's story:
Remember When 1 is currently #FREE
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2pd8BTl

Kristine's Review:

Reviewed: March 2018.

Dear God I don't think I'll ever get enough of Chester and Lay Lay... wait...you thought this book was about Trip and Layla...ahhhh but it is, but they will forever be known as Chester and Lay Lay to me. Okay so before I confuse more then I need to, lets take a step back to the early 90s.

Trip Wilmington is no stranger to being uprooted and moving from town to town, when he lands in New Jersey there's not much for him to do but to move with the punches and settle into his new life, and prepare for his Senior year. Now I don't know about you but boy am I invested in high school crushes, I mean there's that sense of vulnerability and naivety that I love, everything feels so dramatic and huge without the responsibility of actual adultdom. So here is Trip ready to take on a new school when *kapow* he meets Layla Warren...and boy is he hit for a six (don't mind my Aussie cricket reference there). Their chemistry is undeniable, they sink into easy friendship, but he's never quite sure where he stands or how she feels about him. Queue the angsty boy teen feels here....like seriously ahhhh Torrest paints such a vivid picture it's easy to experience every emotion with Trip and Layla without having to revisit our own adolescence (which I'm so grateful for). 

"We actually made pretty great friends. It was kind of weird to think we’d only known each other for two weeks. It felt like I’d known her a lot longer. And I know she felt the same.
What can I say? Sometimes, when it comes to certain people, you just click.
I still wanted to suck her face, however."

I'll be honest here, as much as I love love love the Remember When Trilogy, and as much as I've been begging Ms Torrest for more of my beloved Chester and Lay Lay, the idea of a companion novel doesn't always grab me, I mean I've already devoured the series (more times then I can count) so I don't just want a rehashing of the same old story. Plus for devoted fans, it's kind of like Romeo & Juliet or the Titanic... we already know how it ends right.... how much new content can the author really deliver?? GUYS!! Seriously though... this story felt fresh and new....and OMGGGG.... I can 100% confirm that it is possible to love Trip Wilmington even more then I did prior to this novels release. I mean I SWOONED like I've never swooned before, Trip is every book boyfriend rolled into one delightful package with his easy grace, self deprecating humour and maturity beyond his years. I mean I could wax lyrical all afternoon about our hero and it still wouldn't be enough.

Layla was leaning against her car, the sunlight bouncing off her dark brown hair, and I swear to God, the world around her disappeared. I had tunnel vision as I walked straight toward her, dropped my bag on the ground, and pulled her to me for a kiss. I was pretty sure all our friends were watching and I didn’t care. I always knew this girl was created to be in my arms. It was about time everyone else realized it, too.

“You’re all I want, Lay. Just you.”

There's few authors that I willingly and knowingly harass for more of a much loved series, I mean the mark of a great storyteller is when you turn the last page and still crave more and yet still got the story you needed, I can usually finish a book knowing that justice was given to these characters that became real for me and know that whatever my imagination conjures up for them and their future is exactly how it should be... and yet when it comes to this pair I think I'll always be hopeful for more of them.

For lovers of great storytelling, of swoon worthy heroes and smart, sassy and real heroines, who yearn for a simpler time and all that angsty goodness that only YA/NA can deliver TRIP is a tale you won't want to put down.

“Don’t ever ask me to stop loving you, because I can’t. don’t ever think I’ll be able to forget you, because I won’t.

Rafflecopter link - Gift Card up for grabs!

Enter to win: http://bit.ly/2p3NORh

Glass Paper Ink Exclusive Excerpt:

With my target acquired, I psyched myself up for the ritual hazing as I took a casual stroll through the middle of the room. Sure enough, as I passed by, the gorilla called me over. “Yo, New Kid!”

The rest of them snickered at that as I walked toward them, all heads turning in my direction. Gorilla leaned back in his seat and asked, “So, what’s up, man? Who are you?”

“My name’s Trip,” I answered, holding out my hand.

Gorilla shook it. “I’m Rymer,” he offered, before pointing to the rest of his tablemates in turn. “That’s Sarge, that’s Cooper, and that’s DeSanto.”

The big-haired girl rolled her eyes. “It’s Lisa DeSanto. Nice to meet you.” She cocked her head to the side and asked, “How come we don’t know you yet?”

“First day.”

“School started last week, you know.”

“Yeah.” I ran a hand over my hair, taking notice of the two apes talking (undoubtedly about me) under their breath. “Took me a little longer to get here from Indy.”

Lisa looked intrigued. “You’re from Indiana?”

“I’m from everywhere.”

About T Torrest:

T. Torrest is a romance and chick-lit author from the U.S.; her alter ego writes eroticomedy under the name T. Torrid. Her stories are geared toward readers of any age that know how to enjoy a good laugh and a dreamy romance.

Ms. Torrest was a child of the eighties, but has since traded in her Rubik's cube for a laptop and her Catholic school uniform for a comfy pair of yoga pants. She's a pop-culture junkie, a movie aficionado, and an enthusiast of talking about herself in the third person. A lifelong Jersey girl, she currently resides there with her husband and two sons.

Connect with T Torrest on Facebook

Marriage of Inconvenience (Knitting in the City #7) by Penny Reid

Blurb:

There are three things you need to know about Kat Tanner (aka Kathleen Tyson. . . and yes, she is *that* Kathleen Tyson): 1) She’s determined to make good decisions, 2) She must get married ASAP, and 3) She knows how to knit.
Being a billionaire heiress isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. In fact, it sucks. Determined to live a quiet life, Kat Tanner changed her identity years ago and eschewed her family’s legacy. But now, Kat’s silver spoon past has finally caught up with her, and so have her youthful mistakes. To avoid imminent disaster, she must marry immediately; it is essential that the person she chooses have no romantic feelings for her whatsoever and be completely trustworthy.
Fortunately, she knows exactly who to ask. Dan O’Malley checks all the boxes: single, romantically indifferent to her, completely trustworthy. Sure, she might have a wee little crush on Dan the Security Man, but with clear rules, expectations, and a legally binding contract, Kat is certain she can make it through this debacle with her sanity—and heart—all in one piece.
Except, what happens when Dan O’Malley isn’t as indifferent—or as trustworthy—as she thought?

Find on Goodreads

Purchase Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2FGyPHv
Amazon PB: http://amzn.to/2FHOgit
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2gjf2j4
Amazon AU: http://amzn.to/2I2Vs79
iBooks: https://apple.co/2gPDN7a
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2zRl42J
Nook: http://bit.ly/2yycreU
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2FhmzJO
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2o7gvfA
Audiobook: http://amzn.to/2FhsZwR

Kristine's Review:

Reviewed: March 2018.

I AM SHOOK!! I shouldn't be because duh...it's Penny Reid I'm talking about here, and yet nevertheless here I am, days later still shrouded in the elation that only comes after reading an incredible book.
Dan the Security Man and Kit Kat have long been an enigma, everything about these two intrigued me way back when I first discovered the artistic styling of Ms Reid. Everything about this story had my romantic spidey senses tingling, melding all of my most loved sub genres and plot lines together....
Unrequited crushes.....check 
Friends to lovers..... check 
Marriage of convenience..... check check check!!

Little Kit Kat has been keeping secrets, busting her butt to not only keep her job as an administrative assistant but to also maintain her role in her family business. Between work, study and family obligations  there is not much time for romantic entanglements even for her long time crush Dan. When Kat is faced with an impossible situation her only option is to get  married, her spouse needs to be trust worthy, impervious to corruption and able to see this for what it is... a business decision.

Kat has been starring in Dan's dirtiest dreams for years, every interaction they've ever had only served to increase his infatuation with her, despite trying to move on and find someone else when she seemed uninterested in him, he's no closer to getting over her.

I so desperately want to tell you every little detail of this story, I want to tell you all the moments that had me swooning, like when Dan declared his love to Kat...

“I’m in love with you. You’re my fucking—fucking sunshine. My goddamn everything. You’re the center of my whole fucking universe. I’d give up swearing for you, I swear. If you asked, I’d never say the word fuck ever again, that’s how much I love you. I love you more than fuck, so that’s a whole fuckavalot.”

Or when Kat spoke with such raw vulnerability about mental health and her concerns for her life and future...

“I’d thought for so long that I would become a schizophrenic, and if I was a schizophrenic, that’s all I would ever be. But a person doesn’t become their diagnosis. Your mom isn’t breast cancer, you don’t become cancer. You live with cancer. So often, we think of a person living with mental illness as their mental illness, and that’s unfair. A person is never their diagnosis, not even my mom. Delilah showed me that. She lives—and has lived—a full life. She has a husband. They travel. She’s a photographer, an artist. She tells the funniest knock-knock jokes I’ve ever heard. She takes her meds every day, but still has hallucinations from time to time. She is not schizophrenic. She lives with schizophrenia.”

Or when I laughed so hard that I almost choked on my tea...

“Now that you’ve crushed this little man’s evil hopes and dreams, I imagine he has a hairless cat to stroke and a monologue to prepare.”

Marriage of Inconvenience was uproariously funny, so utterly full of real, raw emotion that my heart couldn't take it, and so damn sweet that I wanted to wrap my arms my kindle and just lose myself in the story Reid created. I want to say I adored this book, but even my undying adoration isn't enough, because MOI restored my faith in people, it restored my faith in second chances, it's message of acceptance and self worth resonating with my battered and bruised heart. For those new to Penny Reid or her Knitting in the City series it's possible to read and immensely enjoy Marriage of Inconvenience as a stand alone, for those self confessed Reid fan girls and boys, grab your favourite tea or wine, sit back and enjoy Kit Kat and Dan the Security Man's story, the final tale in the much loved Knitting in the City series.

About Penny Reid:

Penny Reid is the USA Today Best Selling Author of the Winston Brothers and Knitting in the City series. When she’s not immersed in penning smart romances, Penny works in the biotech industry as a researcher. She’s also a full time mom to three diminutive adults, wife, daughter, knitter, crocheter, sewer, general crafter, and thought ninja.

Connect with Penny on Facebook

CAKE by Carmen Jenner

Blurb:

Poppy Porter's ex is getting married ... to her ex-best friend. To land her dream job of partner in the most prestigious firm on the Upper East Side, Poppy must now pull double shifts as their wedding planner and maid of honor. And the icing on a truly craptastic cake? Leo Nass. Handsome, infuriating, womanizer, and … the best man. Despite their longstanding loathing, Poppy doesn't see Leo coming. Literally.

One ruined cake.

One archnemesis.

One hour to save the wedding.

Can they put their hatred aside long enough to save Poppy’s job and Bridezilla's head from exploding?

Piece of cake, right?

Find on Goodreads

Purchase Links:

AMAZON US: http://amzn.to/2CJWSja
AMAZON AU: http://amzn.to/2sUouCn
AMAZON UK: http://amzn.to/2sSilHb
AMAZON CA: http://amzn.to/2CljT0j

Kristine's Review:
Reviewed: March 2018.

HOLY MOLY!!! When an authors tagline line is what’s a happily ever after without a little torture? you come to expect stories full of angst, heartache and most definitely not smooth sailing. You hope for those belly flutters and warm fuzzies to accompany the aforementioned torture, but it wouldn't be remiss of us to not expect it. When Ms Jenner first announced CAKE I did a little happy dance because word on the street was SPOILER ALERT: NO ONE DIES.

Can you hear my excitement through my review because OMGGGGGG an honest to goodness happy book from one of my favourite authors.... well slap my butt and call me Sally because I am utterly obsessed with rom com's right now, I crave that fun, sexy, light banter and in my honest opinion no one does witty banter like Carmen Jenner.

"You see, the groom, Chase Vanderbilt, is my ex. The bride, Claire Schaefer? My ex-best friend."

Poppy Porter is that instantly loveable heroine I crave, she's sassy, strong and has that self deprecating humour I easily relate to. She's had a full on year, her career in on track, but her personal life is anything but stable. Less than two years ago she was living the exact life she planned, but when she's dumped by her fiancé the life she imagined takes a considerable shift in direction. One bonus of single life is no longer having to tolerate her now ex fiancés best friend Leo Nass. 

Leo Nass has had his fair share of women to warm his bed, he's crass, a womaniser and seems to derive an obscene amount of joy from ruffling Poppy's feathers. He's always been a thorn in Poppy's side, after all Poppy's engagement might never had ended if Nass didn't stick his nose in. She's determined to believe the worse in him but there may be more to Nass the Ass then Poppy ever imagined.

"I hate you. You talked him out of marrying me."

"Word to the wise, Pop Tart. If a man can be talked out of marrying you after a couple of brewskies and a handful of stripper dollars, he's not the man for you."

This is well and truly the story I craved from Carmen Jenner, it's got everything I love about her writing, strong characters, ridiculously funny run ins, story development that serves to draw the reader into the world created as well all the heat and heart I have come to expect. What I absolutely adored though was Jenner's ability to prove that rom com's can have depth without unnecessary drama or death. There's an inherent beauty to Carmen's prose and CAKE has that in spades. Hands down my favourite cover from her collection of work, and without a doubt a new favourite recommendation for a story that absolutely stole my heart and had me laughing and swooning in equal measure.

About Carmen Jenner:

Carmen Jenner is a thirty-something, USA Today and international bestselling author.

Her dark romance, KICK (Savage Saints MC #1), won Best Dark Romance Read in the Reader’s Choice Awards at RWDU, 2015.

A tattoo enthusiast, hardcore makeup addict and zombie fangirl, Carmen lives on the sunny North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, where she spends her time indoors wrangling her two wildling children, a dog named Pikelet, and her very own man-child.

A romantic at heart, Carmen strives to give her characters the HEA they deserve, but not before ruining their lives completely first … because what’s a happily ever after without a little torture?

Connect with Carmen on Facebook