What To Read Wednesday: The Dating Bender by Christina Julian; Romantic Comedy

THE DATING BENDER by Christina Julian

Here I am, on my knees in front of the Trevi Fountain, hoping like hell the legend is true. That the fountain gives you solace and love by a mere toss of a coin.

Why am I here, exactly? Let’s see…

It started with my parents telling me to get married. Of course, being the good Catholic girl I am, I did.

Needless to say, that marriage nosedived, and my parents weren’t exactly happy about it.

Newly ditched and shamefully disowned, I decided to follow the advice of Babs, a tart-of-a-mentor, who offered me a job in Colorado.

Her advice? Sex…and lots of it.

The temptation of freedom, to do whatever—whoever—I wanted was too damn strong for me to say no.

And that’s how it all started. The men, the sex, the journey…

The dating bender.
Because everybody deserves a do-over

“With humor, wit, and a whole lot of sarcasm Julian’s debut takes an unabashed look at a failed marriage, divorce, and dating under the scrutiny of a less than supportive family. She takes readers on a raucous ride that explores what it means to be a woman—gaping flaws and all.”

–Adair Lara, former San Francisco Chronicle columnist, author of Naked, Drunk, and Writing

Available now for purchase! 

Kindle | Paperback

EXCERPT: 

Without as much as a breath, Long John grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder. 

“Let’s get out of here, babe, I don’t live too far away,” he said as he galloped out of the party with me over his shoulder, fireman style. 

I didn’t know if it was the sultry air, his manly maneuvers, or just my need to escape psycho girl, but I went with it. A mile into our mission he put me down in an alleyway of a desolate street in Brooklyn and planted a tongue-kiss that was so erotic it made me tingle. Long John continued to thrust his sculpted body into mine. I couldn’t be certain, but I may have had an orgasm right on the street corner because of that kiss. My mini-tee stuck to me, steeped in sweat—a blend of his and mine. Things like this didn’t typically happen to me. 

The tanned, godly creature spoke, resuscitating me from the kiss. “Should we head back to my place, babe?” Babe wasn’t usually a term of endearment that worked for me, but because of the sexy way it rolled off his luscious long tongue, I let it slide. “Sure,” I squealed without a pause. I knew I’d regret this in the morning, but with Manhattan glowing in the background, I couldn’t think of anything better than being petted by a stallion. My decision solidified when I spotted his pee-wee stick throbbing right through his cargo shorts. Good God, it was the longest thing I’d ever seen.

What To Read Wednesday: Where the Heart Left Off by Richie Frieman; Contemporary Romance

Where the Heart Left Off by Richie Frieman

A Contemporary Romance

As teenagers, Albert Abraham and Ella Perlman spent countless nights cuddled under the stars in the Maryland countryside, planning their future.

But on the day Albert asked Ella’s father for her hand in marriage, Albert vanished from her life without a word. Sixty years later, they meet by chance in a grocery store, and Ella is determined not to let Albert leave her sight again.

Knowing Ella will ask why he left, Albert is unwilling to rekindle their relationship…

Meanwhile, Albert’s grandson Geoffrey forms a bond with Ella’s granddaughter Madilyn, and the two conspire to reunite their elders. At eighty-two, however, Albert is reluctant to dig up intense memories.

Worse yet, telling Ella the truth could destroy her, leaving her with even more questions than before.

Available today on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited!

Kindle | Paperback

EXCERPT

- Summer 1950 -

I wish I could cradle you in my arms every morning, and live in that moment forever.

Albert had written those words in a letter to Ella a week before. But in just a few days, everything had changed and all he had were memories to comfort him.

He struggled to climb off his motorcycle, clutching his side as pain lanced through him. He lowered his body in the shade of an old Oak tree, alongside the perimeter of Ella’s parents’ property. The tree was secluded enough that no could see them while they made love in the fields during hot summer evenings, but close enough they could still hear her parents yell for her to come in for dinner. They’d kissed for the first time beneath that tree, and carved their initials into the trunk. He ran his hands through the soft, tall grass. This was their secret meeting place, and she’d sneak outside to find Albert waiting for her once her parents had gone to sleep.

He leaned against the trunk of the tree, every breath a chore as he gingerly held his hand over his broken ribs. Despite the excruciating pain, he still managed a faint smile while gazing at her house thinking about their first time together.

He would never see her again, or make love to her again, or sit under that tree again. He focused on Ella’s bedroom window. He thought about her, now fast asleep, never knowing their dreams would be forgotten by sunrise. Soon, Albert would be far away. Everything he promised her, everything they wished for together, was over.

He reached into his jacket, wincing in pain, and took out the letter he’d written to Ella earlier that day. Blood from his side had soaked through the bandages and his shirt, and onto the corner of the paper.

The letter was a confession, but he knew it would never be enough. His one swollen eye made it difficult to read, and his hand, the fingers bruised and damaged, ached from what had happened earlier that day.

The beating. The warning. He wasn’t sure what was worse—the ache from his broken bones, or the throbbing of his shattered heart. His hand trembled and the paper shook. He owed it to her, an explanation—the truth.

He read it to himself for what seemed to be the hundredth time, and once again wept uncontrollably on the paper. He balled it in his fists in frustration and rocked back and forth in the grass, focusing on an ant that scurried up the leg of his pants. The insect blurred in and out of his vision as he squeezed his eyes shut, his badly bruised shoulders rising and falling with every wracking sob. The pain of weeping made him grit his teeth in agony, clutching his broken body.

He couldn’t understand why this happened. And nothing hurt more than knowing he was seen as an animal—a piece of trash meant to be thrown away.

Everything he and Ella had known for the past two years had dissolved like the paper in his hands. Albert couldn’t look at her house anymore. He unfolded the letter and tried to read it again, but could only make it through the first two lines.

Maybe they were right. And maybe it would be better if I left.

Before getting back on his motorcycle, he picked a yellow tulip and breathed in the delicate scent. Tulips were her favorite, and the soft yellow petals reminded him of the dress she’d worn on their first date. He took one last look at the house and slipped the flower and letter into his jacket pocket.

In a few hours, he would be cruising along the Delaware coast, rethinking his future. It would take a long time to heal. The only medicine was time. But Albert knew Ella would remain in his heart for the rest of his life. That was something time could never take away. 

What To Read Wednesday: Project Revolution by Sara Schoen

PROJECT REVOLUTION

R is for Rebellion Book 1

by Sara Schoen 

Lauren Scott has always been tormented by her peers for being a good girl…

She is viewed as the golden child by her parents—following their rules and allowing them to make all of her life decisions. But after a lifetime of walking the straight and narrow, Lauren feels as though her life is passing her by.

When she catches her father having an affair, she throws the rulebook out the window…

Lauren realizes that even if she does everything perfectly, life can—and will—surprise you. When life throws her a major curveball, she sets out to live for herself, making the rules up as she goes and smashing through everyone else’s expectations, but she doesn't know how to live without a guideline. So, Lauren is forced to ask her biggest tormentor for help—Kayden Daniels.

Kayden is nothing but trouble—which is why Lauren needs him so badly…

Kayden turns Lauren’s whole world upside down with a mischievous smirk and a proposition. But if Lauren wants his help to remake herself, she has to pay the price—her virginity. With no one else willing to help her, she agrees to make the trade. But when her change becomes too much to handle, will she give up or will she keep moving forward with a new reputation and a more adventurous life?

Cliques, stereotypes, popularity contests, and drama.
Some say it’s just another day in high school.
For Lauren, it’s the Rebellion Project…

Available on Kindle Unlimited & Paperback format!

EXCERPT:

"Good luck, you will probably need it," Parker said as she gave me a pat on my back and gave me a slight push forward.

I stumbled forward from the force of her push and walked a little bit faster in order to catch myself before I fell. Luckily I caught myself and made it to Kayden without falling into him. That would have been a great impression for the first time we were going to have to get along since fourth grade.

"It's about time, GG. When Parker told me you wanted to talk to me I didn't think you'd leave me here waiting for you," he said with an unamused, stoic facial expression. I opened my mouth to say he hadn't been waiting that long since the blonde girl walked off, but before I could speak he started talking again. "I'm sorry, by the way. I know I’m really hard on you, but I shouldn't have blurted out your family problems to the whole school. I thought since you were telling Parker at school that everyone knew, but I should have know better."

"Yeah, you should have," I agreed with a snide remark.

"Anyway," Kayden said, understanding that I wasn't going to accept his apology so easily. "I asked Parker how to apologize and she said the only way I could make it up to you was to be here at noon. I didn't think I would be standing here for almost twenty minutes waiting for you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have agreed. I have other things to do, starting with eating lunch."

"Is that the only thing Parker told you? That you're going to make it up to me by standing here and waiting for me to show up so I can hear your best try at a sincere apology?" I asked curiously, because if he thought that he was dead wrong. That wouldn't make up for what he's done to me, not even close.

"Well, no. I have a feeling it has to do with your plan to keep your freedom. You still want to shed the good-goodie reputation and try living life on the edge, right?"

I nodded my head, shocked that he had the intelligence to make the connection. I kept that remark to myself though, we needed to make forward progress in our relationship if this was going to work, and snide comments weren't going to help. "Can you help me with this? Because that's the only way I'm going to forgive you for what you've done to me over the years."

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What To Read Wednesday: Next Door to a Star; Young Adult

NEXT DOOR TO A STAR by Kristen Lindsay Hager

Star Series, Book 1 of 2

Young Adult
Hadley Daniels is tired of feeling invisible.

After Hadley’s best friend moves away and she gets on the bad side of some girls at school, she goes to spend the summer with her grandparents in the Lake Michigan resort town of Grand Haven. Her next door neighbor is none other than teen TV star Simone Hendrickson, who is everything Hadley longs to be—pretty, popular, and famous—and she’s thrilled when Simone treats her like a friend.

Being popular is a lot harder than it looks.

It’s fun and flattering when Simone includes her in her circle, though Hadley is puzzled about why her new friend refuses to discuss her former Hollywood life. Caught up with Simone, Hadley finds herself ignoring her quiet, steadfast friend, Charlotte.

To make things even more complicated, along comes Nick Jenkins…

He’s sweet, good-looking, and Hadley can be herself around him without all the fake drama. However, the mean girls have other ideas and they fill Nick’s head with lies about Hadley, sending him running back to his ex-girlfriend and leaving Hadley heartbroken.

So when her parents decide to relocate to Grand Haven, Hadley hopes things will change when school starts…only to be disappointed once again.

Cliques.

Back-stabbing.

Love gone bad.

Is this really what it’s like to live…
Next Door To A Star?

Available on Kindle Unlimited and in Paperback format!

EXCERPT:

The school year should end right after spring break, because all anyone can focus on is summer vacation. You can’t learn anything new, because all you can think about is all the fun stuff you’re going to do once you don’t have to get up at the butt crack of dawn. Summer always seems full of possibilities.

Nothing exciting ever happens during the school year, but maybe, during summer vacation, you could run into a hot celebrity and he’d decide to put you in his next music video. Okay, it wasn’t like I knew anybody that happened to, but my grandparents did live next door to a former TV star, Simone Hendrickson, and Simone was discovered in an ice cream parlor one summer. Of course, she lived in L.A. at the time and was already doing plays and commercials, so the guy who discovered her had already seen her perform. But hey, it was summer, she got discovered, and that was all that mattered.

Amazing stuff didn’t happen to me. You know what happened to me last summer? I stepped on a bee and had to go to the emergency room. They’re not going to make an E! True Hollywood Story out of my life. I didn’t go on exotic vacations—like today, I was being dragged along with my parents to my cousin’s graduation party. Most people waited until at least the end of May before having a grad party, but Charisma was having hers early because she was leaving on a trip to Spain. I was dreading this party because I didn’t want to listen to everybody talk about how smart and talented Charisma was—making me feel like a blob in comparison—but my mom RSVP’d even though I said I’d rather die than go. My death threats meant nothing. But still, for some strange reason, I had a feeling this summer was going to be different.

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