Tuesday, August 14, 2012

"Star Crossed" Giveaway & Blog Tour

 

Star Crossed 
(Battered Hearts Book 2)
by Kele Moon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Heavyweight UFC fighter, Romeo Wellings comes from the hard streets of New York where his family ties to the mafia cause him nothing but pain. His life takes a surprising detour when he crosses paths with the twin sister of his long time enemy. After a steamy one-night stand, he faces the fight of his life, but it’s not in the cage. The secret relationship that blooms between Romeo and his real life Juliet has him battling his family and a dark past rather than let her go.

The only lawyer in her hometown of Garnet, Jules Conner is also a volunteer Sheriff’s deputy and co-owner of a successful MMA training center. Strong and dependable, Jules is always there for those who need her. Until one forbidden night in Las Vegas with Romeo leaves her feeling so alive she can’t stop reaching out to the sexy, bad boy of MMA, even knowing the forbidden love affair could jeopardize everything.

As the tide rises against them and the people they love work at keeping them apart, Romeo and Jules hold onto a dream for a better life together and vow to go down fighting rather than accept a tragic ending.


EXCERPT:
Jules reached into her purse to pull out a business card and an expensive gold pen. She laughed to herself, shaking her head as she wrote on the back of the card. “If you would’ve told me yesterday I’d be buying Romeo Wellings dinner, I’d have called you crazy. Things change faster than I can keep up with sometimes.”
Romeo had to agree. The very last thing he expected to be doing on his remaining night in Las Vegas was having dinner with Wyatt Conner’s sister. He’d spent a good deal of time hating the bastard. The irony wasn’t lost on him, and his smile was wide as he took Jules’s card when she offered it. He stared at her cell number on the back.
“I’m not your enemy.” Romeo lifted his gaze to hers and studied her beautiful face under the bright Nevada sun. “Juliet.”
She gasped in surprise, her eyes growing wide. “I don’t—” She floundered. Her cheeks flushed pink as she narrowed icy eyes at him. “How?”
“That’s what Jules is short for, isn’t it?” he asked simply, refusing to look away. “Juliet.”
“I go by Jules,” she said rather than rise to the bait. For a brief moment it looked like she might reach over and snatch the card back. Her guard was obviously up, but instead of lashing out and rescinding the offer, she looked to his left hand that was wrapped in a white gauze bandage and sighed in defeat. “I’ll see ya at eight, Wellings.”
“I go by Romeo.”
“Fine.” Jules took a deep breath, her cheeks more flushed than ever. “Then eight o’clock, Romeo.”
He did it then, took one long, hard look of Jules Conner standing there in formfitting jeans that clung to her long legs like a second skin. It took everything he had not to adjust himself, because eyeing her made his jeans tighter than usual.
Romeo gave her a devious smile. With a voice low and husky with anticipation, he said, “I’ll look forward to it.”


AUTHOR Bio and Links:
A freckle-faced redhead born and raised in Hawaii, Kele Moon has always been a bit of a sore thumb and has come to enjoy the novelty of it. She thrives on pushing the envelope and finding ways to make the impossible work in her story telling. With a mad passion for romance, she adores the art of falling in love. The only rules she believes in is that, in love, there are no rules and true love knows no bounds.

So obsessed is she with the beauty of romance and the novelty of creating it, she’s lost in her own wonder world most of the time. Thankfully she married her own dark, handsome, brooding hero who has infinite patience for her airy ways and attempts to keep her grounded. When she leaves her keys in the refrigerator or her cell phone in the oven, he’s usually there to save her from herself. The two of them now reside in Florida with their three beautiful children, who make their lives both fun and challenging in equal parts—they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Website: http://www.kelemoon.com

My Thoughts:
Star Crossed (Battered Hearts, #2)     I literally devoured “Star Crossed” in two or three hours on a Saturday night after work. I had never read anything like it and was instantly entranced. Unfortunately for me, this is the second book in the series, so I was a little lost not having read the first book...but it didn’t dampen my enthusiasm or enjoyment one bit!
     Jules (Juliet) and Romeo are simply beautiful together. Jules meets Romeo after Romeo saved her best friend Clay’s girlfriend in the first book. Instantly she’s attracted to Romeo, he’s slightly outrageous, outgoing, a star MMA fighter and pretty full of himself. He’s so different from what she’s been used to and she’s completely opposite to what he has surrounded himself with.
     Much of the novel takes place through text messages, which I quite enjoyed. Romeo is from New York with Jules living in Texas, yet they make their unorthodox relationship work. These two very different people find what they are missing in themselves, in one another. It was quite cute and utterly endearing to say the least.
     This is the first Kele Moon book I have read, but it will most definitely not be the last. The minute I finished, I went to Barnes and Noble and purchased the first book “Defying the Odds” which I quite enjoyed as well. They both take place in the world of cage fighting and it looks like this will have at least one more book if not more within the series. Easily one of my favorite romances of the year, I definitely recommend this book to romance fans the world over!
 

Book Details
Publisher: Loose ID
Date of Publication: July 3, 2012
# of Pages: 294
ISBN: 978-1611189

What can you win??? 

Kele will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

So comment away and let us know, 
what are your favorite characteristics in a hero?

Stop by the other sponsors for more info on Kele Moon and her amazing books!
August 13:   Love To Read For Fun
August 14:   The Brunette Librarian
August 14:  Mimmi's Musing's 
August 15:  The Romanceaholic
August 16:  A Tasty Read
August 20:  Under The Covers Book Blog
August 21:  Sultry Storyteller
August 27:  Reviews by Molly
August 28:  Books Reviewed by Bunny
August 28:   The Steamy Side
August 29:  Views From Nature
August 30:  Crazy Four Books
August 31:  Delighted Reader Book Reviews
August 31:  Wicked Readings By Tawania
September 3:   Words of Wisdom from The Scarf Princess
September 4:  Queen of the Night Reviews
September 5:  My Secret Romance Book Reviews
September 5:   Wickedly Wanton Tales
September 6:  Slave's Erotic Reviews
September 6:  Black Hippie Chick's View on Books & the World
September 7:  Reader Girls


24 comments:

  1. Wow!! "One of my favorite romances of the year". That's quite an endorsement.

    I like a hero who is intelligent, quick witted & gorgeous.


    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I want my hero to be honest, honorable and hot as hell :O) Carin
    mawmom at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hot as hell is VERY good :) Love intelligence too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I want someone who isn't afraid to be sensitive or vulnerable yet still totally hot

    ReplyDelete
  5. YAY! I'm so very thrilled you enjoyed the book and the series!! This review made me grin from ear to ear!

    Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review!!

    :D

    Kele

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm not crazy about alphas; they just seem overconfident control freaks to me. I like devotion, intelligence, wit, kindness, and sensuality in a hero.

    vitajex(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  7. This sounds like such a great story. It really does seem like an awesome story.

    ReplyDelete
  8. My favorite is his complete dedication to his heroine
    :-)

    justforswag(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
  9. He has to be strong,kind and hot. :)

    reginamayross@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. My ideal hero is someone that is more dominate! I like a guy that knows how to take charge! I love Cabal from Lora Leigh’s series Breeds.

    Thank you for the giveaway!

    jessharrison78@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Trust, humor, caring and a total marshmellow for me

    urbangirlreader at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love a strong alpha hero who knows when to let his mate be the strong one.
    suz2(at)cox(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
  13. I like my heroes Alpha, protective, amusing, damaged and redeemable!
    Thanks for the amazing giveaway!
    elizabeth @ bookattict . com
    GFC: BookAttict

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm definitely adding this book to my must reads!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. i love the book you have and wish i had them all and could read them
    desi the blonde at msnd to com

    ReplyDelete
  16. I like a stong Alpha male who is also very HOT!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Alpha strong all Day but weak 2 LOVE N the worst Wayyyyyyy!
    redz041@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. my fave alpha is smart, tough and very loyal

    parisfan_ca@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. Loyalty!
    Thanks for the great hop and all the chances to win great prizes!
    forettarose@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. Just popping in to say HI and sorry I missed visiting with you on party day! Hope you all had a good time!

    kareninnc at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love a sexy alpha man! One who is confident, intelligent, but yet caring & respectful too. If you add a sense of humor in also, I am really happy :)
    June
    manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  22. Great review. I loved the excerpt too! I have not read a book featuring an MMA fighter yet, but this one is going on my TBR. :)
    I love my heroes to be head strong, protective, loyal, passionate and honorable (to an extent). I like them with a sense of humor too. I like almost any hero really.
    Thank you for sharing.
    trb0917 at gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. My hero would be strong, protective, and compassionate.

    mythic021@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete