Room on the Shelf

James Thompson is an Olympic swimmer with gold medals, world records, and million-dollar sponsorship deals… But his fiancée Anna White is just an ordinary girl—or so she believes. When James takes her home for a visit and encounters her childhood friends and sleazy, jealous ex-boyfriend, Grant, he sees for the first time just how far apart their worlds really are. Anna’s so-called friends undermine and backstab, but James is up for the challenge… James is determined to make Anna see that while she might have once been an ugly duckling, she is now a stunning swan, and the only woman for him. As the London World Championships approach, media scrutiny of their relationship intensifies, and an intimate secret is uncovered…making their promise to each other nearly impossible to keep. Caught up in a whirlwind of press coverage, and championship competition… James and Anna find the stress almost overwhelming, and they struggle to maintain focus on their goals. But when victory finally appears certain, an old menace resurfaces and threatens to violate all James and Anna hold dear. Is it possible to have a perfect life? A perfect love? Or is perfection just an illusion… Rebecca, one of four kids to…

Earlier in the month, I reviewed Impossible Choice, the latest in the Unchecked series from author, Sybil Bartel.  Today, I am happy to announce that I had the opportunity to interview Sybil (and I might be fan-girling…just a little).  Without further ado, the nitty gritty straight from the woman of the hour! Thank you SO MUCH Amber for hosting me today on Room On The Shelf! I’m so excited to be here and I love your questions, I can’t wait to get started! But first, for those of you who don’t know me, my name is Sybil Bartel and I’m a Contemporary Romance and New Adult Romance writer for Harlequin’s Carina Press. And I kinda have a thing for sexy alpha Military heroes and bad boy rockers. So, without further ado, here are Amber’s awesome questions and my (Sometimes serious, sometimes silly) answers. 1) What’s YOUR story? Why did you start writing? Thank you for asking this question, Amber! I haven’t been asked this yet and to be honest, this is the first time I’m sharing this on social media. So, here goes. I’ve always loved to write. My first novel was a loooong paranormal YA (who doesn’t want to be JK Rowling, lol!) that went nowhere. It was pretty bad. But…

Impossible Choice is the continuation of the Unchecked series, begun in book 1,Impossible Promise.  In this installment, Layna and Blaze find their fledgling relationship put to the test when, shortly after his deployment to Afghanistan, Blaze is wounded and returns home to recover.   Read on for my review! Impossible Choice picks up shortly after Blaze deploys to Afghanistan, leaving Layna heartbreakingly lonely and lost without him. Part of what I love so much about this book is that the author doesn’t pull punches when it comes to the difficult feelings. Loneliness, anger, fear, jealousy, lust…they exist, and we all feel them. The characters in this book feel them. Things aren’t always picture perfect and beautiful, with the hero and heroine skipping off into the sunset, everyone fulfilled and no feelings hurt. And, as much as it shreds the heart to read those kinds of truths, it makes the characters so much more real and relateable.  “I craved him–his touch, his smile, the intense way he looked at me. I missed him more than I missed my parents and that scared the hell out of me.” That quote. Right there. That’s what connected me to Layna’s emotional state at the novel’s opening….

If you follow me, you know that I read (and highly recommended) the novella A Summer Like No Other by Elodie Nowodazkij.   Today, I get to help reveal the gorgeous cover of her next book, Always Second Best. Read on for more details and a GIVEAWAY! Always Second Best by Elodie Nowodazkij  (Broken Dreams, #2)  Publication date: October 13th 2015  Genres: Romance, Young Adult Synopsis: Sometimes being first isn’t what you expected.  Seventeen-year-old ballerina Emilia Moretti is tired of always being second best. And she’s going to prove the world she deserves to be first. In her upcoming School of the Performing Arts showcase. In the eyes of her birth parents. And in the heart of the guy she loves. She spends hours rehearsing, hours dreaming about becoming number one, hours imagining how her entire life is about to change. But when nothing goes the way she planned, she’ll need to realize what it really means to be first. Eighteen-year-old Nick Grawski doesn’t want to follow Daddy Dearest’s rules any longer. He’s going to prove he’s meant to be a dancer—not a lawyer—and he is not going to stay away from Em just because his father demands it. He needs to show Em that—this time around—he’s there to stay and that he…