Winners of the Got Caged? Blog Tour (ebook copy of Caged by Amber Lynn Natusch) are

Charity Costa

Shadow Kohler

Congrats Ladies!!  Make sure to check your email and respond back within 72 hours.  

Winners were chosen through Rafflecopter.com.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Caged

(Caged #1)

by: Amber Lynn Natusch

Publishing Date: 12/15/11

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Source: Provided for Blog Tour (from Pure Textuality)

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Description:

I stood in the middle of the room, unmoving – I barely breathed. My life had just become surreal, impossible, and one enormous lie. I needed to go, to run somewhere, anywhere to beat back the reality that was rapidly closing in around me. The image of him was burned into my retina, flashing over and over again like a warning. He was trapped somewhere between human and decidedly not, and I realized that was my new reality.
I was too.
After the death of her parents, Ruby awakens from a lifetime of shadows and finds herself alone, thrust into a world of lies, deceit, betrayal and the supernatural.
As her quest for truth continues to come up short, she realizes that maybe some questions really are best left unanswered.
When her true identity is finally unveiled, she is forced to choose between two of the mysterious men who continually seem to crop up in her life.
She chooses poorly.
Now abandoned, Ruby must learn to call on the darkness within to survive, or spend a hellish eternity imprisoned because of it.

My Review:

I received an complimentary copy of Caged for the Blog Tour with Pure Textuality in exchanged for an honest review.
"Caged" is the first book in the Caged series by Amber Lynn Natusch, and it definitely helped introduce the main character and her dilemma very well.
Ruby has been through a lot.  After losing her parents one horrible night, she's trying to adapt well on her own.  That horrible night also helped her gain her eye sight.  She was blind for so many years, that she never even knew what her parents looked like.  She's been having moments where she blacks out when she panics or is stressed out after since that night her parents were killed...but she has no idea what happens during the time she blacks out.
She ends up meeting up with Sean, who she thinks is stalking her because he is always there.  
She also meets, Erik, who she is fascinated with the minute she sees him.
But...both guys have their own agendas on why they want Ruby.
  Ruby ends up choosing between the two and ends up choosing the wrong one....now she is stuck in a jam...but in the mean time, she finds out exactly what is happening during the black outs.  At first though, she does not believe it.  She has to see the aftermath of the black outs to really understand what she truly is and why certain kind of people want her.  She also has to witness something that someone does in front her to believe that it is really true.
My thoughts on the first book to the Caged series was that it was a very enjoyable read.  I loved how the author introduced the characters in the beginning and what happened to Ruby in the beginning.  I was lost a little at first, but then I was able to follow the story more once I understood what happened to Ruby thoroughly later on in the book.
This is definitely a good book for the first to the series and it explains what Ruby actually is very well.
The only thing that bothered me was the main character sometimes.  I really did not click with her well. Maybe the way she always was getting frustrated and yelling at the other characters and maybe the way she talked period.  ( I did like the fact that the way for her to relieve stress was to dance and that is definitely a great stress reliever )
One of my favorite parts were when Ruby, Sean, and Ruby's friend Ronnie were at a store (which is actually the excerpt in the guest post/giveaway post above).  Ronnie played a short role, but she definitely put Ruby in her place.
Sean was my favorite character in the story because of the way he was always there for Ruby.  Even when I found out what he really was, I still loved him because I knew in the end, he really loved being around Ruby.
Be prepared if you do read it, to have a lot of bad guys in the story.  The ending was a doozy for me.  I did not like that one chick that was introduced.  I felt terrible for Ruby. (sorry won't give away..no spoilers here)
I recommend this urban fantasy and paranormal romance readers out there who enjoys a book that keeps you guessing on what is going to happen next to the main character.  (The poor girl went through so much...I do not know how she handled it so well.  Although, she did have something that no other person had that helped her.)
I plan on reading the 2nd book whenever I get the chance because I do want to find out if certain characters will hook up in the end.  =)  

Welcome to our stop on the Lovestruck Giveaway Hop hosted by Under The Covers Book Blog and Bona Fide Reflections.

Love-struck: (adjective) having a passionate or overwhelming feeling of love; smitten

This blog hop is all about those books or characters you have fallen in love with and no others compare to them. So I decided to do something special. Since it's all about showing off favorite characters that you've pretty much fallen in love with, I remembered one in particular that stood out above all others. Cherrie Lynn's Rock Me was one of the first Erotic Romance's I read when I bought my Kindle a couple of years ago and Brian, well let's just say he's to die for! Seriously, it's impossible not to love him. So to show him off a bit I asked Cherrie if I could do a little interview with Brian and to my shocked surprise, she said yes! I added the book description for those who haven't read this one yet. Brian is a sexy, tattoo covered bad boy who loves good music and treats his girl oh-so-good (if you know what I mean)! ;)

Thank you so much Cherrie!!!

This is an 18 & Over ONLY Interview!!!

 Congratulations!!!  

Make sure you check your email.  =)

Thanks to everyone who entered. 

Look for more giveaways coming soon to Book Lovin' Mamas.

"18 & Over Book Giveaway Hop"

Hosted by Bitten by Paranormal Romance & Getting Naughty Between the Stacks

March 22-25 (2359)

One of my Favorite Authors, Elise Marion is giving away a copy of her newest release "Tempted" which is the Sequel to "Fallen".

If you've never read any of Elise Marion's books, here's your chance.  =)  

Description:

A Spicy Excerpt for you, Lovely Ladies from the book "Tempted" supplied by Elise Marion: 

He pushed her gently back to the bed. She sat, sliding back across the cool comforter and toward the pillows resting on the headboard. She watched, her eyes wide, as he removed his last few pieces of clothing.
Her cheeks and neck flamed hot, but she could not look away from the beauty in front of her. Smooth, supple skin, like coffee laced with lots of cream, blanketed muscles that created ripples and valleys along his chest and torso. Dark hair sprinkled across his chest and tapered in over his abdomen until it reached…her eyes felt as if they were bulging from her head, they were so wide when they came to rest on his swollen member.
As he walked toward her, she shuddered in anticipation. That beautiful man would very shortly be on her, in her, around her. She clenched her legs together at the fluttering that had begun low in her belly, and was now spreading to her feminine core.
He knelt on the bed and grasped her ankles firmly, pulling her gently until she was lying on her back. He kissed her again, his mouth trailing from her lips down to her neck as he worked at the ribbon on the front of her corset. As he pulled the uncomfortable undergarment aside and stared down at her body she felt herself blushing again. She wished her breasts were bigger and that her waist was smaller. She wished her legs were just a little bit longer.
As if he sensed the direction of her thoughts, he grasped her chin gently and forced her to look into his eyes. They were dark with desire, the pupils so wide she could barely make out the gray irises.
“You’re perfect,” he whispered, trailing his hand over one small, perky breast. “Just like this, Sarah. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
The love and acceptance in his eyes gave truth to his words. Overwhelmed with emotion, as she often was these days, Sarah reached up and pulled Jackson down for another kiss. This time she did the exploring, sweeping the inside of his mouth with her tongue, and drinking thoroughly from his mouth. His body came down over hers, heavy, solid, protective.
A low sound, almost a growl, rumbled in his chest as she moved her lips to his neck to taste his skin as he had hers. The growl became a moan as she brought her hands up to his chest, caressing the soft skin and scoring it lightly with her fingernails as she tentatively flicked out her tongue over his sweet skin.
He snatched the control back from her in an instant, fulfilling his promise to teach her. He left not an inch of her untouched. His hands palmed her breasts, his fingers teased the sensitive tips. His lips replaced them as he ran his hand down over her ribs and waist. As his tongue circled one peach-colored nipple, his hands busied themselves with the final undergarment separating them, her white lace panties.
Sarah gasped and arched her hips to meet his as he settled between her legs. She felt him, full, thick, and pressed against her. In the back of her mind she knew there would be pain, but nothing would get her to the pleasure that waited on the other side except Jackson being inside of her. She wanted it, the joining of their bodies and souls, more than she’d ever wanted anything.
She squirmed and writhed beneath him as his fingers slipped through the chestnut curls between her thighs and found her most intimate place. His breathing grew heavier, and his fingers shook as he slipped first one, then a second finger inside, hinting at what was soon to come.
He took his time, allowing her to get used to the sensation, bringing her closer and closer to the explosive ending that she knew was only seconds away.
“Jackson please,” she begged. Everything he’d done so far had been wonderful, far better than she’d imagined, but she was ready for more. “I’m ready now.”
“Sarah,” he groaned against her shoulder. “I want this to be perfect for you. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I don’t care,” she choked out between breaths. His hand never ceased its movement between her legs.
“All right.”
He reluctantly pulled his hand away and spread her legs wider. He came down between her hips and pressed forward, guiding himself into her. She felt as if her inner channel was so impossibly stretched that she would rip in two, but she gritted her teeth and forced herself to breathe as Jackson thrust forward swiftly, breaking through the barrier of her virginity.
She couldn’t stop the strangled cry that came from the back of her throat as hot, searing pain ripped through her. She shuddered against him, her fingernails digging into his shoulders as he paused inside of her.
He stroked her hair and sprinkled kisses across her face, murmuring softly to her as she breathed through the intrusive pain. “I’m sorry I hurt you,” he whispered against her ear. “I’ll never hurt you again.”
His voice was strained, every muscle in his body tight. He trembled in her arms as he gazed down at her. Their eyes stayed connected as he slowly pulled away and surged forward again, burying himself deeply. He slowly repeated the motion again and again, until the pain began to melt into something else.
She instinctively tilted her hips toward his, drawing him even deeper into her sheath, gasping at the heavenly pleasure. She didn’t know how she knew to match the rhythm of his hips with her own, but somehow she did. She must have been doing it right, because her every movement caused a low groan of approval from Jackson.
Soon, the heavenly pleasure gave in to the force of something bigger. It grew and swelled, culminating in a colorful flash of brilliant color and light. Her back arched and her toes curled, and a sharp scream tore from her lips. Seconds later, Jackson experienced the same.
When the two had calmed, and lay quietly in each other’s arms, Sarah smiled up at him.
“You, my love, are the best teacher a girl could ever have.”
He laughed and tugged at a curly brown lock. “You’re a fast learner. And just so you know…tip of the iceberg.”