Wild Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway

Today I'm excited to be a stop on the promotional tour for Wild, the last book in Sophie Jordan's Ivy Chronicles series. I had such fun with the first two books, and I simply can't wait to see what trouble Logan is going is going to stir up with Georgia in this final installment. For those of you who have yet to read The Ivy Chronicles, I hope you enjoy a little taste of Wild!

“I gotta go,” I said hurriedly, turning to walk around the Jeep, ready to climb in the backseat, not even caring how obvious I was in trying to put distance between us by unnecessarily circling around the vehicle.
 
I felt him move behind me before I felt his hands on my arms. “No, you don’t,” he growled. “You don’t get to run away again.”
 
I squeaked as he hauled me back against his chest. My spine stiffened iron-rod straight against the wall of his broad chest. I felt my eyes go huge in my face. He was touching me. Again. And I was freaking out on the inside. I sucked in a deep breath, determined that my freak-out stayed internal only.
 
“Let me go. They’re coming.” My heart hammered violently in my chest and I didn’t know if it was because we were about to get busted by my friends or because his body felt so unbelievable against mine. Okay, fine. It was both.
 
His mouth brushed my ear as he spoke, spiking sensation to every nerve in my body. “Are you embarrassed, Georgia? You don’t want them to see me with you? Don’t want Pepper and Reece to know about us?”
 
“There is no ‘us.’ ”
 
“Oh, but there will be. We both know why you came tonight.” His fingers flexed, each digit a burning imprint on my forearms.
 
“Yeah?” Was that breathy croak my voice? “Why?”
 
“Because you haven’t been able to forget what it felt like to kiss me, and you want to know if the rest of it will be that good, too.” He bit down on my earlobe and a whimper escaped my lips. “It will be.”
 
An invisible band squeezed around my chest. I swallowed against my constricting throat. “Arrogant much?”
 
“It’s okay. I haven’t been able to forget either. I can still remember the way you taste.”
 
Oh. My. God.
 
I swallowed a moan and lurched free from him. Swinging around, I faced him and felt my knees go weak at the look in his eyes. Heavy-lidded and deep, his blue eyes looked almost indigo as they stared down at me.
 
“I know you probably think it’d be some great joke to bang one of your brother’s friends, but I’m not going to be another notch on your bedpost . . . some girl you screw once and forget about the next—”
 
He moved fast then, closing the space that I had established between us. Oh, yeah. He was a jock with ninja-fast reflexes. I needed to remember that.
 

• • • • • • • • • • •

WILD

A good girl goes fabulously bad in the final book in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s sexy New Adult romance series, in which three Ivy League suite-mates seek higher knowledge of just how far they can go.

Months after her boyfriend dumped her, Georgia can still hear the insults he hurled at her. Boring. Predictable. Tame. Tired of feeling bad, she’s ready to change her image, and go a little wild. What better way to prove her ex wrong than a hot night of sexual adventure at the secret campus kink club?

In the shadowy den of the kink club, she unexpectedly runs into Logan Mulvaney, her friend’s little brother. A player extraordinaire too hot for his own good, he may be younger, but the guy is light years ahead when it comes to sexual experience. Now he’s telling her to go home—“good girls” don’t belong here!

Georgia is tired of having others define her. She’s going to teach Logan a lesson he won’t forget—one white hot, mind-wrecking kiss . . . that leads to another . . . and another . . . and. . . . Realizing she’s way in over her head, Georgia runs.

Only Logan won’t let her go. Everywhere she goes he’s there, making her want every inch of him. Making her forget who she is. Who he is. And just how wrong they are for each other.

Amazon • B&N

• • • • • • • • • • • •

SOPHIE JORDAN

Sophie Jordan grew up in the Texas hill country where she wove fantasies of dragons, warriors, and princesses. A former high school English teacher, she's also the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Avon historical romances. She now lives in Houston with her family. When she's not writing, she spends her time overloading on caffeine (lattes and Diet cherry Coke preferred), talking plotlines with anyone who will listen (including her kids), and cramming her DVR with true-crime and reality-TV shows. Sophie also writes paranormal romances under the name Sharie Kohler.

Website • Twitter • Facebook 

• • • • • • • • • • • 

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: Wild by Sophie Jordan

Hey Everyone!

As a special Friday treat, I have the cover of the third and final book in Sophie Jordan's New Adult Ivy Chronicles series to share with you today. I'm a big fan of Sophie's, so I can't wait to see what she has in store for us in WILD. I think maybe the title says it all :-)

WILD

A good girl goes bad in the third and final book in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s sexy New Adult romance series—where three Ivy League suite-mates testing their boundaries as they seek higher knowledge of just how far they can go.

Months after her boyfriend dumped her, Georgia can still hear the insults he hurled at her. Boring. Predictable. Tame. Tired of feeling bad, she’s ready to change her image, and go a little wild. What better way to prove her ex wrong than a hot night of adventure at the secret campus kink club?

In the shadowy den of the club, she unexpectedly runs into Logan Mulvaney, her friend’s little brother. A player extraordinaire too hot for his own good, he may be younger, but the guy is light years ahead when it comes to the opposite sex. Now he’s telling her to go home-”good girls” don’t belong here!

Georgia is tired of having others define her. She’s going to teach Logan a lesson he won’t forget-one white hot, mind-wrecking kiss . . . that leads to another . . . and another . . . and. . . . Realizing she’s way in over her head, Georgia runs.

Only Logan won’t let her go. Everywhere she goes he’s there, making her want every inch of him. Making her forget who she is. Who he is. And just how wrong they are for each other.

• • • • • • • • • • • 

SOPHIE JORDAN

Sophie Jordan is an international and New York Times bestselling author whose books include historical romances and the Firelight series. When she’s not writing, she spends her time overloading on caffeine (lattes preferred), talking plotlines with anyone who will listen (including her kids), and cramming her DVR with true-crime and reality-television shows. She lives in Houston.

 

Find Sophie:

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Mini Reviews: Tease + Remnants

TEASE
The Ivy Chronicles #2
Sophie Jordan
Contemporary New Adult
320 pages
William Morrow
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
What happens when a girl who always calls the shots meets a guy who's too wild for even her?

A born flirt and good-time party girl, Emerson has never had a problem finding a willing guy. She's always chosen her hookups carefully, and she's never broken her three cardinal rules:

Never let them see the real you.
Never fall in love.
Always leave them begging for more.

Then Shaw comes along. A hottie from the wrong side of the tracks, he's immune to her flirtatious banter and come-hither smile. After rescuing her from a disastrous night at a biker bar, he doesn't even try to take her to bed—he calls her a tease and sends her home instead. Unable to resist a challenge, or forget the sexy, dark-eyed, bad-boy biker, she vows to bring him to his knees.

But instead of making Shaw beg, Emerson finds herself craving him. For the first time in her life, she's throwing out her rule book. Suddenly, she's the one panting for a guy she can't control—a guy who won't settle for anything less than the real Emerson and who forces her to do things she's never imagined, including facing a past she thought she'd buried.

A guy who just might leave her wanting more. . . .

MY THOUGHTS
Tease is a fairly typical, straightforward contemporary New Adult read in which a young woman– driven to live her life a certain way based on a dark experience in her past–finds the one guy who makes her want to break the carefully constructed rules that govern her world. Those looking for a fresh, unique setting at the New Adult table won’t necessarily find it here, and readers like myself who struggle with unnecessary game playing will likely find Emerson frustrating on a number of occasions. She has the completely understandable need for control in her life given what happened years ago, yet every decision she makes puts her in a situation in which she has a distinct lack of the very thing she claims she needs. She drinks heavily in surroundings both familiar and not, and while everyone makes mistakes at one time or another, the fact that she continually points out her need for control before turning around and making a decision that robs her of it becomes all the more grating.

All of that being said however, Ms. Jordan has an uncanny ability to write stories where even personal distaste for certain behaviors in her characters only mildly dulls the book’s shine, and we still find ourselves easily swept up in the heat and emotion of their relationship. While Em is tricky throughout (though not at all unlikeable, I’m just not one for games), when the inevitable rough patch in her relationship with Shaw comes toward the end, she thankfully sets all her game playing aside and tries for complete honesty instead. Much to our delight, Em’s aforementioned decision to shed the veneer and be the girl she actually is, combined with Shaw’s unflappable nature and persistence throughout, keeps the drama between the two of them at a relatively low level. Overall, Tease doesn’t blaze any new NA trails, but it is a quick and enjoyable read with plenty of steamy moments instigated by a very, very swoon-worthy hero.

Rating: 3.5/5
 

Find Sophie:

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REMNANTS: SEASON OF WONDER

Remnants #1

Lisa T. Bergren

Young Adult/Dystopian

414 pages

Available Now

Zondervan

Source: Finished copy from author for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

THEIR ARRIVAL WAS FORETOLD FOR YEARS….

Andriana is a Remnant, gifted as an empath and one of the Ailith, destined to act as humanity’s last shield against the horrors that now plague those who remain.

After years of training in stealth and warfare, Andriana and her Knight protector, Ronan, are finally ready to answer the Call and begin the life they were designed for. But as they embark with the other Remnants on the first of their assignments, they quickly discover that the world beyond their protected Valley is more dangerous than they imagined.

The Sons of Sheol will stop at nothing to prevent Dri and Ronan from rescuing anyone sympathetic to the Remnants’ cause. And as the Remnants battle the demonic forces, still other enemies close in. Dangers intensity, but so do Dri’s feelings for Ronan–the one emotion she is not meant to feel. In the midst of their mission, Andriana must find a way to master her feelings. Or risk compromising everything…

MY THOUGHTS

Remnants: Season of Wonder kicks off a broad and sweeping new series wherein a group of young men and women are called together to a shared purpose. While well-written and intriguing premise-wise, as we've come to expect from Ms. Bergren, this story progresses quite slowly, the aforementioned purpose a nebulous thing largely unclear to both characters and readers throughout as our group of gifted individuals travels from one place to the next. Given the journey on which Andriana and company set forth, we're subjected to substantial descriptive passages of people and places time and again, further halting our forward momentum as we struggle to connect to one or more aspects of the story.

Andriana is a solid heroine, fully dedicated to her calling despite not knowing exactly what it will require of her, with a relationship between her and her protector Ronan that's ripe with romantic promise. Despite those things however, she doesn't leap from the pages as we might wish her to, failing to drag us into her story with hands clenched around our hearts as was the case with Ms. Bergren's River of Time series. The religious aspect is also far more prominent than in her previous series, with Andriana and her group's belief in the Maker and His plan for them perhaps a larger component overall than those of us who typically shy away from such an element might be comfortable with. The issue of the Maker though is obviously hugely personal in nature, and will be a positive for just as many readers as it is a negative.

We're left with the first leg of Andriana and the other Ailiths' journey toward completing their purpose clear if unfinished, and it's my hope that book two brings with it some of the emotional impact lacking a touch in Remnants, that pulsing connection having taken a backseat to the tracking and finding of others called to His service.

Rating: 3/5
 

Find Lisa:

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These books were sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

A look at TEASE: Trailer Reveal

The second book in Sophie Jordan's Ivy Chronicles series, Tease, is releasing next week (5/27) and to help celebrate it I get to share the book's trailer with you today!

For those of you who want to take Tease for a test drive before buying, you can do so now! From HarperCollins:

In case you didn’t know, in addition to being released in full in both print and digital formats on 5/27, TEASE will also be available digitally in 3 parts, starting on 5/13 with Part 1 (chapters 1-6) available for free wherever e-books are sold. Part 2 (Ch. 7-14) goes on sale on 5/20, too, for $.99 (with Part 3 (Ch. 15-end) coming out 5/27)! It’s a great way to sample an amazing book—and if you submit your proof of “purchase” of Part 1 (which is free) at the following link you could be entered to win 1 of 3 awesome prizes: https://www.facebook.com/NewAdultBooks/app_129764153762486.

TEASE TRAILER

• • • • • • • • • • 

TEASE

 

A born flirt and good-time party girl, Emerson has never had a problem finding a willing guy. She’s always chosen her hook-ups carefully, and she’s never broken her three cardinal rules:

·         Never let them see the real you.

·         Never fall in love.

·         Always leave them begging for more.

Then comes Shaw. A hottie from the wrong side of the tracks, he’s immune to her flirtatious banter and come-hither smile. After rescuing her from a disastrous night at a biker bar, he doesn’t even try to take her to bed-he calls her a tease and sends her home instead. Unable to resist a challenge, or forget the sexy dark-eyed bad-boy biker, she vows to bring him to his knees.

But instead of making Shaw beg, she finds herself craving him. For the first time in her life, she’s throwing out her rulebook. Suddenly, she’s the one panting for a guy she can’t control. A guy who won’t settle for anything less than the real Emerson, who forces her to do things she’s never imagined, including facing a past she thought she’d buried.

A guy who just might leave her wanting more . . .

Amazon • B&N • Goodreads

Review: Foreplay

FOREPLAY
The Ivy Chronicles #1
Sophie Jordan
Contemporary New Adult
320 pages
William Morrow
Available November 5th
Source: eARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Before she goes after the life she’s always wanted, she’s about to find the one she needs.

Pepper has been hopelessly in love with her best friend’s brother, Hunter, for like ever. He’s the key to everything she’s always craved: security, stability, family. But she needs Hunter to notice her as more than just a friend. Even though she’s kissed exactly one guy, she has just the plan to go from novice to rock star in the bedroom—take a few pointers from someone who knows what he’s doing.

Her college roommates have the perfect teacher in mind. But bartender Reece is nothing like the player Pepper expects. Yes, he’s beyond gorgeous, but he’s also dangerous, deep—with a troubled past. Soon what started as lessons in attraction are turning both their worlds around, and showing just what can happen when you go past foreplay and get to what’s real…

MY THOUGHTS
Given the familiarity of the synopsis, we crack the spine of Foreplay with no illusions we’re going to get a completely original or mind-blowing story, though we can’t help but hope the execution of it – along with the characters themselves – set this novel apart and mark it as memorable. Thankfully, Ms. Jordan does give us a very entertaining romance between Reece and Pepper that goes beyond what the blurb suggests, creating a few more much-appreciated layers for our resident good girl and her bartending bad boy. Things between them unfold in predictable ways and follow a set pattern in terms of the romantic arc, but honestly, should Ms. Jordan have tossed us a curveball and given us the completely unexpected at the end, readers like myself who crave the happily ever after would have been monstrously disappointed. Instead we get to live vicariously through Reece and Pepper, warm and fuzzy and content when we leave them to move on to the next book.

Pepper is a young woman who at first glance we’ve seen before: quiet, studious and virginal, looking for a little sexual experience before she tries to move forward with the basket in which she’s placed all her romantic eggs: Hunter. One of the problems with this setup (at least for me personally) is the portrayal of virginity as something embarrassing and unwanted that needs to be quickly disposed of so the young woman, now blissfully free of virginity's shackles, can finally be appealing to the one person for whom she pines. Luckily, Ms. Jordan gives us something refreshing in Pepper as she’s not simply looking to do away with her virginity–in fact she’s downright terrified of things going that far with Reece–she just wants an experience or two in dealing with the opposite sex in the hopes those experiences will reduce some of the nerves when she stands before Hunter and reveals her feelings. Her closest friends are also not the type to encourage her to do anything she’s not ready for, instead they’re supportive at every turn and want her to be comfortable with herself more than anything else.

While Pepper is often cute and makes many a humbling attempt to remedy her wrongs when she takes a misstep with Reece, she can be supremely frustrating at times as well, wandering around with an epically large starfish named Denial suctioned to her face. She can’t see anything but Hunter around the tentacles Denial has stretched across her eyes, clinging so desperately to the idea of him that everything good in Reece goes not unnoticed, but even worse, ignored in favor of the dream she’s had since she was little. We’re told repeatedly why Pepper is so hung up on what Hunter represents, and though it’s understandable, we aren’t given a thorough enough examination of her past to make us actually share in her desperation for the perfect life/home/love. We only have one brief flashback well after the halfway point in the book that provides a terrifying glimpse into what life was like with her mother, but it’s too brief and almost too late for us to fully embrace it and understand why she runs away from Reece again and again.

Reece is just about as deliciously swoon-worthy as they come though, a fact that makes Pepper’s death grip on the Hunter fantasy all the more bothersome. He’s got his own not-insignificant baggage, but he faces it head-on and blinder-free unlike Pepper, never letting it get in the way of what he deserves for himself. That being said however, the chemistry between Reece and Pepper sizzles throughout, allowing for a very steamy read that’s also beautifully balanced by a tentative friendship full of firsts for both parties. The only flaw keeping this from a higher rating is Pepper’s unrelenting stubbornness, but Ms. Jordan has written an engaging romance to kick this series off and I am thoroughly looking forward to the next book.

Rating: 3.5/5

Find Sophie:

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.