Just my Luck

(Escape to New Zealand #5)

by: Rosalind James

Publishing Date: 7/13/13

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Purchase at Amazon

Description:

A little distraction can be a wonderful thing.

Nate Torrance has a job to do, and the biggest rugby boots in the world to fill. He can’t afford to lose his focus, especially not to a brown-eyed Canadian who pushes all his buttons and looks much too good in a climbing harness.

Allison Villiers may not know what she wants to do with her life, but she’s clear about one thing. She’s not impressed by the new captain of the All Blacks, however big a deal he is to the rest of New Zealand. If only her unfortunate taste for adventure didn’t keep leading her astray . . .

“How are you finding Wellington so far?” Nate asked when they were out on the water. He’d managed to launch them from the beach with a shove, and even climb in again behind her without any mishaps. Ally was actually a little sorry. She’d been half-anticipating going over, and enjoying the prospect of teasing him about it. He definitely needed it. 

“I love it,” she said, keeping up a steady stroke and feeling the calm that always came over her when she was surrounded by sea and sky, enjoying the effort, the rhythmic motion. She was going to be out here with him for a while, so she might as well keep this pleasant. She didn’t even have to look at him, after all. You couldn’t really turn around in a double kayak without tipping the thing, which was probably for the best in this case. “I’ve been wandering around getting happily lost, and finding my way home again. It’s a lively place, isn’t it? Lots of outdoor stuff to do too, and as you know, that’s my favorite thing.” 

“It can get a bit wet and windy,” he cautioned. 

“I’ve heard,” she said, unable to keep the amusement from her voice. “I’ve had a few discussions about the weather already, you see.” 

She heard him groan. “I’m rubbish at chatting girls up,” he admitted, surprising a laugh from her. “I never know what to say. Everything’s either dull, or it sounds like a pickup line. I generally end up opting for dull.” 

“Honesty works, though,” she told him. “That was pretty good right there.” 

“Really.” He sounded surprised. “I should throw myself on your mercy, you think?” 

“Definitely. A strong man being endearingly awkward . . . I like it. It’s an approach, anyway.” 

“Better than spilling a beer on her, I reckon,” he said. 

“Much better." She realized that she was paddling along with a smile on her face. Why hadn’t she met this guy before? She liked him. 

“I’ll try again, then,” he said. “Did you spend Christmas here as well, on the Coromandel?” 

“No, in Auckland. And it rained one day, but otherwise the weather was good. Just to anticipate you.” 

He laughed. “Do anything special?” “I did, actually. I bungy jumped off the Sky Tower. Kristen’s Christmas present.” “Crikey. This is me shuddering back here." 

“No, really?” she asked in surprise. “It was amazing. You should try it.” 

“I’ll take your word for it,” he decided. 

“You don’t like thrills?” 

“I love thrills. Know how to get them, too. And it’s not by jumping off buildings.” 

Wow. She didn’t think she’d pursue that one. Maybe he meant rugby. Yeah, right. He hadn’t meant rugby.

My Writing Process 

Fate War: Alliance

by: E.M. Haven

Publishing Date: 2/25/13

Genre: Sci Fi Romance / Steampunk

Amazon

Description:

Prince Cole meets Samantha when she walks down the aisle. Though she seems like the polished women he is familiar with, there is something different. She is complicated and full of mystery. Her dowry comes with a promise of air ships and mech capable of defense against their common enemy and for his country to survive, he must unravel her secrets. It is only when each accepts their destinies can they save their people from the plans of the Fate Sovereign.

Who is E.M. Havens? I’m a lot of things. The word that seems to define me most at the moment is mom. It can be all consuming. Not only am I a mom of three (one of them is a teenager…pity me), but I also home-school (pity me more). I share this awesome responsibility with the love of my life, best friend, and soul-mate husband. 

Add to that, the twenty-five chickens, twelve turkeys, ten guineas, nine pigs, three barn cats, two Great Pyrenees guardian dogs, a Chihuahua, a house cat, and a goose, it makes for one crazy, full, and certainly entertaining life. 

Somewhere in there I find the time to write. I started out young writing poems, then moved on to songs. I actually have a Bachelor in Music with a secondary in Science because I can’t stand English. Yes, the writer hates English. I like to read the story for the experience of reading the story, not to nitpick each letter and comma. But I digress. 

I eventually found blogging and really enjoyed sharing my life that way. When an unfortunate turn of events separated me from my music equipment, I decided to use my overactive imagination, my love of reading, and my new found hobby, prose writing, to release some of my creative energy. I wrote my first novel and loved the experience. Fate War: Alliance is actually the second novel I wrote and the first to be published. Now I’m working on my third and several sequels to Fate War! 

So that’s pretty much me, sitting in the Arbuckle Mountains of Oklahoma, reading, writing, collecting eggs from the coop, and being a schoolmarm. It’s a pretty great life.

The Author is giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card and 3 eBooks. 

Book info can be found here: http://www.emhavenswrites.blogspot.com/p/blog-tour-giveaway.html

Nic Wilkinson is a responsible, organized, disciplined rugby player at the top of his game. Emma Martens is a sometimes-scattered, often-emotional, and always-broke would-be designer with a big chip on her shoulder where Nic’s concerned. 

They have no history together, except one perfect week. Nothing in common anymore, except the most important thing of all. 

Getting together again would be messy. Complicated. Scary. And, just maybe, worth every risk.

My Review:
I read the first 3 books in the Escape to New Zealand Series, so I definitely wanted to read the 4th book.
I found I gained two obsessions after reading this series, thanks to Rosalind James.  One - I really want to visit or live in New Zealand, and two - I need to watch Rugby.  That being said...I am seriously contemplating moving to New Zealand after reading this series and enjoying what New Zealand has to offer.  I even told my hubby and he gave me crazy eyes.

That being said, I definitely enjoyed reading the fourth book to the Escape to New Zealand series.

Nic Wilkinson is a rugby player who is about to realize his one week fling with the beautiful Emma Martens in Fiji may have been more than a just a fling.  Emma's life got turned upside down before she met Nic.  She was supposed to be getting married and going on her honeymoon to Fiji with her husband.  Instead, she is going to Fiji alone and meets Nic, the handsome rugby player who is going on his own getaway.  They hook up and sparks fly, but then Nic has to get back on the plane for his rugby games.  Emma has to go back to her life as well.
Six years later and Nic is about to find out by accident that Emma has kept something from him that he definitely wanted to know about.
Now Nic's life is about to turn upside down and even his fiancee he is with, is not happy.

"Just For Fun" definitely is a perfect title to this story and Rosalind James did not disappoint in her fourth book.  I enjoyed every minute of reading this book....but the characters and I did not click well.  Nic, I was okay with...but not Emma.  She was difficult to understand even when Nic stepped in to help her.  He wanted to be there and Emma was just stand-offish.  I really did not like Claudia, who was Nic's fiancee.  She drove me to the point where I wanted to smack her (and I realize she's fictional).  She should have been supportive, but wasn't.

I enjoy how much Rosalind James writes a story that draws the reader in.  She throws in the previous characters and how they are doing.  She also makes real story lines, and what happens in the real world...but minus the sexy rugby players.  (At least in my part of the world, we do not have the rugby players...but other sports)
I highly recommend this series to contemporary romance readers, readers who love sports romances, and readers who have read the first 3 books in the Escape to New Zealand series.
I look forward to Rosalind James next books....she definitely has a fan.
(She knows how to make a reader fall in love with some sexy fictional rugby players)
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the Author (for Blog Tour) in exchange for an honest review.  

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Rosalind James is the author of the Kindle bestseller Just This Once and the three subsequent books in the Escape to New Zealand series. She is a former marketing executive who has lived all over the United States and in a number of other countries, traveling with her civil engineer husband. Most recently, she spent several years in Australia and New Zealand, where she fell in love with the people, the landscape, and the culture of both countries. 

Visit www.rosalindjames.com to listen to the songs from the books, follow the characters on their travels, watch funny and fascinating New Zealand and rugby videos, and learn about what's new!

Make sure to stop at the other tour stops along the way:

When family problems push Riley Middleton into giving up a percussion scholarship in another state and attending college from home, her friends push her to try out for a local rock band. Of course, Riley makes the band. She rules at the drums. 

Riley soon finds out rock bands have a different dynamic than marching bands, especially when each of her male band mates has a major ego and is a major player. Two of them relentlessly flirt with her. The other—a dark, sexy rock god she can’t help being attracted to— is a total jerk and pushes her to quit. She becomes determined to ignore his rudeness and his hotness. Even if she was interested in jerks, a hook up would probably get her booted out of the ego-ridden band, and playing keeps her sane. Behind the drums, the world and her family’s troubles evaporate.

If she wants to stay in the band, Riley just has to ignore the growing sparks between her and her band enemy. But as she gets to know the man behind the stage persona, ignoring him proves to be more difficult than flowing through a time sig shift. 

*New Adult/Mature YA for language and sexual situations.

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Jean Haus lives in Michigan with her wonderful husband and son who, other than cooking, have taken over homemaking duties since she started writing more. When Jean isn’t writing, she’s usually reading. Anything from young adult to historical fiction as long as there is a bit a romance, she’ll load it on her Kindle. She loves to cook, and someday she will create the world’s best potsticker.

What happens when an introverted artist who only likes sex when it’s a one-night stand meets a computer-geek-extraordinaire with his own sexy secrets? Objectification, romance, pain, adoration, lots of kinky toys, and oodles and oodles of wonderfully imaginative sex. 

Join Cara and Travis on their journey to mesh their distinctive sexual tastes into a loving relationship with blow-your- mind kink.
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 Ob·jec·ti·fi·ca·tion:

1. Treating a person as an object for use, with no regard for a person’s personality or sentience.
2. Regarding someone as a commodity; considering them merely an instrument towards one’s sexual pleasure.

 Examples of OBJECTIFICATION:

1. A woman is on her back at the edge of a tall bed with hands and feet bound together and restrained above her head. A curtain drapes from a canopy above and puddles on the backs of her thighs. The man about to penetrate her sees only female genitals available for use.
2. A woman is dressed in a full latex blow-up doll costume with durable latex ‘pockets’ stuffed into her orifices. She is bound into a position giving easy access to all three holes at a party. Her face is completely covered excepting nose and mouth. The men do not know who is in the costume.

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Safeword: Quinacridone is a stand-alone book. You do not need to have read the previous books in this series. 

Warning: This title contains graphic language, consensual BDSM, extreme objectification, bondage, watersports (one scene), chemical play, fisting, temporary body modification with saline injections (one scene), and the use of toys including clamps, canes, plugs, paddles, whips, floggers, and zip-ties.

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Candace Blevins is a southern girl who loves to travel the world. 

She lives with her husband of 15 years and their two daughters. When not working or driving kids all over the place she can be found reading, writing, meditating, or swimming. 

Candace writes romance books about characters who happen to have some extreme kinks. Relationships can be difficult enough without throwing power exchange into the mix, and her books show characters who care enough about each other to fight to make the relationship work. 

Each book in the Safeword series highlights a couple with a different BDSM issue to resolve. All books are standalone books and can be read in any order, with the exception of the two Davenport books, since Safewords: Davenport and Chiffon is a sequel to Safeword: Davenport. 

You can visit Candace on the web at candaceblevins.com and kinkyeverafter.com 

* Real Romance * Real BDSM *

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