#Review: Hard to Be Good by Laura Kaye - 3.5 Wine Glasses

Title: Hard To Be Good 
Series: Hard Ink #3.5
Author: Laura Kaye 
Format: ebook
Publication: April 14th 2015 by Avon Impulse
ISBN: 0062369490 
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Reviewer: Crystal
Source: Edelweiss
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Wine Glasses

Hard Ink Tattoo owner Jeremy Rixey has taken on his brother’s stateside fight against the forces that nearly killed Nick and his Special Forces team a year before. Now, Jeremy’s whole world has been turned upside down—not the least of which by a brilliant, quiet blond man who tempts Jeremy to settle down for the first time ever.

Recent kidnapping victim Charlie Merritt has always been better with computers than people, so when he’s drawn into the SF team’s investigation of his army colonel father’s corruption, he’s surprised to find acceptance and friendship—especially since his father never accepted who Charlie was. Even more surprising is the heated tension Charlie feels with sexy, tattooed Jeremy, Charlie’s opposite in almost every way.

With tragedy and chaos all around them, temptation flashes hot, and Jeremy and Charlie can’t help but wonder why they’re trying so hard to be good... 

Crystal's Thoughts:

#Excerpt Tour: Hard to Let Go by Laura Kaye (#Giveaway)

The final book in Laura Kaye's must read ex-military romantic suspense series is here! Eeep! As they say, all good things must come to an end. And if you're a fan of this series like we are then I'm sure you'll be both grinning like a loon and crying silent tears as you turn that last page. Thankfully Ms. Kaye has a spin-off series in the works and hopefully this won't be the last that we see of the Hard Ink men! Look for our review of this title coming soon!

Hard to Let Go 
(Hard Ink #4)
by Laura Kaye 
Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Published June 30th 2015 by Avon
ISBN 0062267949 

Five dishonored soldiers.
Former Special Forces.
One last mission.
These are the men of Hard Ink.

Beckett Murda hates to dwell on the past. But his investigation into the ambush that killed half his Special Forces team and ended his Army career gives him little choice. Just when his team learns how powerful their enemies are, hard-ass Beckett encounters the biggest complication yet—seductive, feisty Katherine Rixey.

A tough, stubborn prosecutor, Kat visits her brothers’ Hard Ink Tattoo following a bad break-up—and finds herself staring down the barrel of a stranger’s gun. Beckett is hard-bodied and sexy as hell, but he’s also the most infuriating man ever. Worse, Kat’s brothers are at war with criminals her office is investigating. When Kat joins the fight, she lands straight in Beckett’s sights—and his arms. Not to mention their enemies’ crosshairs.

Now Beckett and Kat must set aside their differences to work together, because the only thing sweeter than justice is finding love and never letting go.

AMAZON | B&N

Happy Book Birthday to .@LauraKayeAuthor and HARD TO LET GO! (#Giveaway)

The final book in Laura Kaye's must read ex-military romantic suspense series is here! And if you've read these books then I am sure you feel the same as I do, I don't know whether to be ecstatic for Beckett's book or heart-broken that this is the end! Thankfully Ms. Kaye has a spin-ff series in the works and hopefully this won't be the last that we see of the Hard Ink men! Look for our review of this title coming soon!

Hard to Let Go 
(Hard Ink #4)
by Laura Kaye 
Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Published June 30th 2015 by Avon
ISBN 0062267949 

Five dishonored soldiers.
Former Special Forces.
One last mission.
These are the men of Hard Ink.

Beckett Murda hates to dwell on the past. But his investigation into the ambush that killed half his Special Forces team and ended his Army career gives him little choice. Just when his team learns how powerful their enemies are, hard-ass Beckett encounters the biggest complication yet—seductive, feisty Katherine Rixey.

A tough, stubborn prosecutor, Kat visits her brothers’ Hard Ink Tattoo following a bad break-up—and finds herself staring down the barrel of a stranger’s gun. Beckett is hard-bodied and sexy as hell, but he’s also the most infuriating man ever. Worse, Kat’s brothers are at war with criminals her office is investigating. When Kat joins the fight, she lands straight in Beckett’s sights—and his arms. Not to mention their enemies’ crosshairs.

Now Beckett and Kat must set aside their differences to work together, because the only thing sweeter than justice is finding love and never letting go.

AMAZON | B&N

Laura Kaye's HARD TO HOLD ON TO (Interview/Giveaway)

Lexi: She eases our addiction to tattoos and smexy alpha men one book at a time. Welcome author of the Hard Ink series, Laura Kaye!

LOL! I love that! Thanks so much for having me here to celebrate the release of Hard to Hold On To!

Lexi: All of us here at Reading Between the Wines love your Hard Ink series. Well, we really can't limit our book love to just this series but for today we will pretend. Have you been pleased with readers’ reactions to the Hard Ink guys? Has it been what you expected?

#CoverReveal: Laura Kaye's HARD TO HOLD ON TO

Laura Kaye is thrilled to share with you the cover to her next Hard Ink book, Hard to Hold On To which releases on August 19, 2014! Check it out:

Hard to Hold on To 

(Hard Ink #2.5)

by Laura Kaye   

Edward "Easy" Cantrell knows better than most the pain of not being able to save those he loves--which is why he is not going to let Jenna Dean out of his sight. He may have just met her, but Jenna's the first person to make him feel alive since that devastating day in the desert more than a year ago. Jenna has never met anyone like Easy. She can't describe how he makes her feel--and not just because he saved her life. No, the stirrings inside her reach far beyond gratitude. As the pair are thrust together while chaos reigns around them, they both know one thing: the things in life most worth having are the hardest to hold on to.

Pre-Order at Amazon | Amazon.ca | Amazon UK | B&N | iTunes

Hard to Hold On To on Goodreads

Blitz: Laura Kaye's HARD AS YOU CAN (Q&A/#Giveaway)

Today is the day! The day that you can get your greedy little book loving hands on Laura Kaye's newest Hard Ink book, HARD AS YOU CAN! Find out more about the book and it's series below and then go forth and buyith today! ☺

HARD AS YOU CAN is your second book in the “Hard Ink” series (after USA Today bestseller, HARD AS IT GETS). What can readers look forward to?

Readers can look forward to tons of sexy alpha male goodness, awesome bromance between the Hard Ink men, more antics from the Hard Ink puppy, and another great love story between Shane and Crystal. But readers should also be ready for a book that is darker, more intense, and more emotional. This book pushed me to emotional places that were tough as a writer, and might be tough for readers, too. But I think that just makes the payoff at the end so much sweeter!

Describe Shane and Crystal. What are their best traits? What are their weaknesses?

November's Wine Club Review: Hard As It Gets by Laura Kaye (#BlogTour/#Giveaway)

               Wine Selection:

2 Brothers Big Tattoo Red

Book Selection: Hard As It Gets by Laura Kaye

Lexi: Military men and tattoos, Laura Kaye certainly dealt with a stacked deck on this one. Nicholas Rixey is not only ex-Special Forces, but he knows how to tattoo. Honorable tough as nails man who is good with his hands? Oh yes...but the nail in the coffin was the first time we saw his dragon tattoo. Who else fell in love with Nick Rixey?

Crystal: Two of my favorite things; military men and tattoos! This girl was in heaven the whole time reading! I cannot even describe how much I adored HARD AS IT GETS and Nick Rixey. And speaking of dragons; Laura Kaye is such a talented writer, with the perfect descriptive balance of not too much to bore you, and not too little you can't picture it in your head - I could easily conjure up an image in my mind of Nick's tattoo moving along his back with just a ripple of those sexy, hard muscles. You know, *reaches to the side*, I think I may need my drool rag for this review. Just a feeling I have. ;-)

Crystal L: I agree. Rixey was one sexy guy. Picturing those tattoos moving as his muscles flexed while working the boxing bag... LORD HAVE MERCY. Laura Kaye hit me in my weak spots. I love a man with tattoos, but I really LOVE dragon tattoos. Throw in the military aspect and I was a puddle of goo on the floor.

Release Day Launch: Laura Kaye's HARD TO HOLD ON TO (#Giveaway)

We are so excited to bring you the Release Day Launch for Laura Kaye's HARD TO HOLD ON TO! HARD TO HOLD ON TO is a Contemporary Romance filled with suspense and is a novella in the Hard Ink Series, published by Avon Impulse (an imprint of HarperCollins). And if this novella weren't hot enough on its own, Laura is donating 100% of her proceeds from the first two weeks' sales to a national non-profit organization that assists veterans transitioning back to civilian life!!

Hard to Hold on To 
(Hard Ink #2.5)
by Laura Kaye
Published August 19th 2014 by Avon Impulse
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | ARe

Edward "Easy" Cantrell knows better than most the pain of not being able to save those he loves--which is why he is not going to let Jenna Dean out of his sight. He may have just met her, but Jenna's the first person to make him feel alive since that devastating day in the desert more than a year ago.

Jenna has never met anyone like Easy. She can't describe how he makes her feel--and not just because he saved her life. No, the stirrings inside her reach far beyond gratitude.

As the pair are thrust together while chaos reigns around them, they both know one thing: the things in life most worth having are the hardest to hold on to.

#CoverReveal: .@laurakayeauthor's Hard To Come By

We are extremely excited to bring you the cover reveal for Laura Kaye’s HARD TO COME BY! Published by Avon Impulse, an imprint of HarperCollins, HARD TO COME BY is a thrilling Romantic Suspense novel in Laura’s Hard Ink Series. It is the third full-length novel in the series and is due to be 

released on November 25th!!

   

#Review: Hard to Come By by Laura Kaye - 5 Wine Glasses

Title: Hard to Come By 
Series: Hard Ink #3
Author: Laura Kaye
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Expected publication: November 25th 2014 by Avon
ISBN: 0062267922
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Audible
Source: Publisher
Reviewer: Crystal
Rating: 5/5

Caught between desire and loyalty…

Derek DiMarzio would do anything for the members of his disgraced Special Forces team—sacrifice his body, help a former teammate with a covert operation to restore their honor, and even go behind enemy lines. He just never expected to want the beautiful woman he found there.

When a sexy stranger asks questions about her brother, Emilie Garza is torn between loyalty to the brother she once idolized and fear of the war-changed man he's become. Derek’s easy smile and quiet strength tempt Emilie to open up, igniting the desire between them and leading Derek to crave a woman he shouldn’t trust.

As the team’s investigation reveals how powerful their enemies are, Derek and Emilie must prove where their loyalties lie before hearts are broken and lives are lost. Because love is too hard to come by to let slip away…

Crystal's Thoughts:
Okay, first, I just have to say. How much does the model on the cover look like Piper from Charmed? Awesome! And the male model ain't too bad himself. *wink* From the previous books in the series, I didn't think that I could fall in love with Marz any more. But after reading Hard To Come By, Laura Kaye proved me wrong once again!

Review: Hard As You Can by Laura Kaye - 4 Wine Glasses!

Title: Hard As You Can 
Series: Hard Ink #2
Author: Laura Kaye 
Format: Print/ebook, 384 pages
Published: February 25th 2014 by HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 0062267914 
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Kindle
Source: Publisher
Reviewer: Crystal
Rating: 4/5

Five dishonored soldiers.
Former Special Forces.
One last mission.
These are the men of Hard Ink. 

Ever since hard-bodied, drop-dead-charming Shane McCallan strolled into the dance club where Crystal Dean works, he’s shown a knack for getting beneath her defenses. For her little sister’s sake, Crystal can’t get too close. Until her job and Shane’s mission intersect, and he reveals talents that go deeper than she could have guessed. 

Shane would never turn his back on a friend in need, especially a former Special Forces teammate running a dangerous, off-the-books operation. Nor can he walk away from Crystal. The gorgeous waitress is hiding secrets she doesn't want him to uncover. Too bad. He’s exactly the man she needs to protect her sister, her life, and her heart. All he has to do is convince her that when something feels this good, you hold on as hard as you can—and never let go.

Thoughts: 
I like to think of author, Laura Kaye, as a sure thing. When you open up a book of hers you know that you'll find four things:  sensational writing, stunning characters, heart-pounding romance, and a world that you will never want to leave. 

#BookReview: Hard to Hold on To by Laura Kaye - 4 Wine Glasses

Title: Hard to Hold on To 
Series: Hard Ink #2.5
Author: Laura Kaye 
Published: August 19th 2014 by Avon Impulse
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Kindle | B&N | ARe
Source: Publisher
Reviewer: Crystal
Rating:  4/5

Edward "Easy" Cantrell knows better than most the pain of not being able to save those he loves--which is why he is not going to let Jenna Dean out of his sight. He may have just met her, but Jenna's the first person to make him feel alive since that devastating day in the desert more than a year ago.

Jenna has never met anyone like Easy. She can't describe how he makes her feel--and not just because he saved her life. No, the stirrings inside her reach far beyond gratitude.

As the pair are thrust together while chaos reigns around them, they both know one thing: the things in life most worth having are the hardest to hold on to.

Thoughts:
Fans of Laura Kaye's must-read Hard Ink series will love this sojourn into the group's sizable yet reserved teammate, Edward “Easy” Cantrell, in Hard To Hold On To. 

Laura Kaye's HARD AS YOU CAN (Excerpt/Giveaway)

Did you know that the second book in Laura Kaye's Hard Ink series was released this Tuesday, 2/25?! HARD AS YOU CAN is now available and you can pick up your copy RIGHT NOW! But first, whet your appetite with this excerpt right here. Then go grab it! 

Hard as You Can 
(Hard Ink #2)
by Laura Kaye 
ebook, 384 pages
Published February 25th 2014 by HarperCollins Publishers
Amazon | Kindle | Barnes and Noble | iTunes | Kobo
“Edgy, sexy, and full of suspense! A great read from a great new author!” ~J.R. Ward on Hard As It Gets

Five dishonored soldiers.Former Special Forces.One last mission.These are the men of Hard Ink.

Ever since hard-bodied, drop-dead-charming Shane McCallan strolled into the dance club where Crystal Dean works, he's shown a knack for getting beneath her defenses. For her little sister's sake, Crystal can't get too close. Until her job and Shane's mission intersect, and he reveals talents that go deeper than she could have guessed.

Shane would never turn his back on a friend in need, especially a former Special Forces teammate running a dangerous, off-the-books operation. Nor can he walk away from Crystal. The gorgeous waitress is hiding secrets she doesn't want him to uncover. Too bad. He's exactly the man she needs to protect her sister, her life, and her heart. All he has to do is convince her that when something feels this good, you hold on as hard as you can--and never let go.

Happy Book Birthday to HARD TO BE GOOD by Laura Kaye! (#Giveaway)

I have been dying for Jeremy's story since the first book in the Hard Ink series and it is finally here! Woot-woot! Look for our review of this novella coming soon. In the meantime though, grab your own copy today! 

Hard to Be Good 
(Hard Ink #3.5)
by Laura Kaye
ebook
Publication: April 14th 2015 by Avon Impulse
ISBN 0062369490

Hard Ink Tattoo owner Jeremy Rixey has taken on his brother’s stateside fight against the forces that nearly killed Nick and his Special Forces team a year before. Now, Jeremy’s whole world has been turned upside down—not the least of which by a brilliant, quiet blond man who tempts Jeremy to settle down for the first time ever.

Recent kidnapping victim Charlie Merritt has always been better with computers than people, so when he’s drawn into the SF team’s investigation of his army colonel father’s corruption, he’s surprised to find acceptance and friendship—especially since his father never accepted who Charlie was. Even more surprising is the heated tension Charlie feels with sexy, tattooed Jeremy, Charlie’s opposite in almost every way.

With tragedy and chaos all around them, temptation flashes hot, and Jeremy and Charlie can’t help but wonder why they’re trying so hard to be good...

AMAZON | B&N

Release Day Launch: .@LauraKayeAuthor's HARD TO COME BY (#Giveaway)

Laura Kaye's HARD TO COME  BY is finally here! Marz's story is sure to blow you away, I know it did me! Keep a look out for our review of this title coming soon and be sure to grab your copy today!

Hard to Come By 

(Hard Ink #3)

by Laura Kaye

Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

Publication: November 25th 2014 by Avon

ISBN 0062267922

Goodreads | Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Audible

Caught between desire and loyalty…

Derek DiMarzio would do anything for the members of his disgraced Special Forces team—sacrifice his body, help a former teammate with a covert operation to restore their honor, and even go behind enemy lines. He just never expected to want the beautiful woman he found there.

When a sexy stranger asks questions about her brother, Emilie Garza is torn between loyalty to the brother she once idolized and fear of the war-changed man he's become. Derek’s easy smile and quiet strength tempt Emilie to open up, igniting the desire between them and leading Derek to crave a woman he shouldn’t trust.

As the team’s investigation reveals how powerful their enemies are, Derek and Emilie must prove where their loyalties lie before hearts are broken and lives are lost. Because love is too hard to come by to let slip away…

New Releases in Books for March 2018 & #Giveaway!!!

Spring is in the air and so is ROMANCE! Stefanie London's Bad Bachelor is a recommend read for the month, you can see our review 👉 here 👈. Such a fun new series! I am really looking forward to Hero at the Fall (Rebel of the Sands #3) by Alwyn Hamilton.  I loved the first two books in the series and have high hopes for this one! Oh, Elisabeth Naughton's third book in her romantic suspense series, Deadly Secrets, is on my buy-list too! Which books are you most looking forward to for the month of March?

*This list may be updated throughout the month.

MARCH 1st

Make Me Want 
(Make Me #1)
by Katee Robert
Kindle Edition, 1 edition, 159 pages
Published March 1st 2018 by Harlequin Dare (first published February 1st 2018)
ASINB071LSKSSG

“I want everything.”

She’s taking control. And it’s driving him wild!

Lucy Baudin’s ex did a number on her self-esteem, but it’s time for her to regain control. In her job as a lawyer she’s bold, confident. But in the bedroom she needs inspiration to reawaken her inner seductress. Asking her friend Gideon Novak for help seems wrong…yet so deliciously right! 

AMAZON