Cover Reveal: Circle of Hurt

Title: Circle of Hurt

Author: Lauren Campbell

Genre: Contemporary Romance

with elements of cheating

Cover Design: Sarah Paige

Photo: Lauren Campbell

Models: Dan Rengering & Brittney Slutzky

Release Date: February 27, 2020

Blurb

For years, infertility followed me like a cloud.

But finally, the sun has risen. 

Finally, I am pregnant. 

Except now a new storm rages in the distance—one I have no choice but to pass through. 

I have no idea if the child I’m carrying belongs to my husband ... or to the man I’ve betrayed him with—a man I’ve come to love but whose name I don’t know.

What I do know is that I’m a cheat. A liar. Undeserving of this baby inside me.

I don’t know how this will end. But I do know it won’t be without casualties, because this is a story in which a true happy ending cannot exist. 

A story of how my love for one grew into three but must end with only two. 

ADD TO GOODREADS

LIVE RELEASE ALERT

Excerpt

Prologue

Pain relievers. You stare at the multitude of options at your fingertips, a whining toddler at your feet. Vitamins. I back away from them. Watch you ruffle the shock of blonde before taking the tiny hand that claws at your leg. 

The commotion in the store falls silent. I'm paralyzed, my throat constricted, hands sweaty, eyes burning out of fear that I'll blink and you'll be gone. 

You bite your lip, your eyes scanning the back of a box of Dimetapp before mumbling something to the girl. She is persistent. Throws a tantrum. You pick her up, my eyes trained on the strength of your arms -- the muscular lines that cut across your skin.

You are beautiful.

"You ready?"

A small gasp leaves me as I force myself to look at my husband, all four chambers of my heart ripping as I wish for something else. "Yes," I whisper, hand snatching up the nearest bottle of what I came here for, and allowing my hair to shield my face.

"Well, hurry up. I'm ready to go."

Your head turns at the frost in his tone, the little girl now snug on your hip, snot glistening from her upturned nose. When our eyes connect, I surrender. A wave of longing erodes my veins, and I see the same in those tired eyes of yours. They widen at me, need and desire and understanding packaged beneath one bow. 

I can smell a cheater from a mile away. 

I know them because I am one. Once a cheater, always a cheater, right? 

I want you. 

And you ... your scent is strong.

Author Bio

Lauren Campbell lives in Atlanta, GA, with her family, and is author of The Evolution of Ivy: Poison.

She was raised in Columbia, SC, with her three sisters who annoy her greatly.

Lauren's social life is pretty boring, but she loves reading, coffee & hot tea, and living in her pajamas. She's a glutton for punishment, and regrettably signs up for things like Room Mom in her children's classes, leaving her up all night doing things like baking dozens of cookies between swear words. Her favorite food is avocado. If she could, she'd find a way to put it on everything

Author Links

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Giveaway

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Review: Climax

For this review, I chose Climax by Lauren Smith.  

I requested ARC copy of the ebook through Netgalley in exchanged for a honest review.

Here is a brief description from Goodreads:
The story began with FORBIDDEN, continued with SEDUCTION, and now comes to a spell-binding CLIMAX. The final installment in a 3-part serial. 

This is a 3 book series.  Book #1 is called Forbidden.  Book #2 is called Seduction.  Book #3 is called Climax.  This needs to be read in order due to the cliff hangers in Book #1 & #3.

This book was wow!!  Each book kept getting better and better.  I was hooked on one page in Forbidden and it was continued into Seduction and Climax.  I had to read this one to find out what happened to Kat and Tristan.  

 Climax picks up where Seduction ended.  Will Kat and Tristan be able to be together?  Love one another as their hearts are telling them to? 

Love how this series ended.  So very good!!

☆☆☆☆☆
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!

Read more from this author? Yes!

Happy Reading!

Melissa 

Review coming next: The Bad Decision Legacy by Morgan Kay

FTC Disclosure: The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company has provided me with a copy of this book for review or I have purchased the book with my own funds.  The opinion I share about the story are mine and have not been influenced by the The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company if received for review.

Review: Seduction

For this review, I chose Seduction by Lauren Smith.

Here is a brief description from Goodreads:
Tristan is a man who knows what he wants. And he wants Kat in his bed. All he has to do is convince her they belong together . . .

Kat knows the connection she and Tristan share is special. Her British bad boy is too much of everything: too hot, too arrogant, too irresistible to stay away from. He's her addiction and one night with him isn't enough.

That's what hurts the most. They can't date, can't be a normal couple, not when their parents are getting married. Because now that she knows he's going to be her stepbrother, no one can ever find out what they've done . . .

Part 2 in the Her British Stepbrother series.

This is a 3 book series.  Book #1 is called Forbidden.  Book #2 is called Seduction.  Book #3 is called Climax.  I think you need to read from book 1 to 3 in order so you can get everything.


Once again this book was wow!!  I was hooked on one page in Forbidden and I had to read this one to find out more on Kat and Tristan.  I could not wait to finish this book and continue to read the next book, Climax.  

Seduction picks up where Forbidden ended.  Will Kat and Tristan be able to be together?  Love one another as their hearts are telling them to? 

Another cliffhanger.
☆☆☆☆☆
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!

Read more from this author? Yes!

Happy Reading!

Melissa 

Review coming next: Climax by Lauren Smith

FTC Disclosure: The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company has provided me with a copy of this book for review or I have purchased the book with my own funds.  The opinion I share about the story are mine and have not been influenced by the The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company if received for review.

Review: Forbidden

For this review, I chose Forbidden, which is Book #1 in the Her British Stepbrother series, by Lauren Smith.

I requested ARC copy of the ebook through Netgalley in exchanged for a honest review.

Here is a brief description from Goodreads:
Kat has always been a good girl. She studies hard and never stays out too late. But when sitting in a pub on her birthday, she realizes she's a nineteen-year-old virgin who's never really lived. And she wants tonight to be the night that changes.

Then she sees him walk in. He's tall, dark, handsome, and straight out of her deepest fantasies. His voice makes her knees feel weak, and when he smiles, she imagines him doing wicked things to her in bed. From the look in his eyes, she knows he's imagining it too. So when he asks if he can walk her home, she hears herself whisper yes . . .

This book was wow!!  I kept thinking this is different then I have read before, but I could not put my finger on why it was different.  I still can't.  Maybe it is different for me because I have not read a stepbrother romance, but I do not think this is why this book was different for me.  

Kat has always been a good girl.  On her birthday, she promises herself to have some fun and live a little bit while out celebrating her birthday with friends.  Kat sees Tristan walk in.  Tristan is a playboy, but there is something about Kat that he can not get out of his mind and he wants her more than anyone else.

Tristan is not technically her stepbrother yet.  They met before they even kew all the details.  Is this wrong?  I have to say no.  It is not like they grew up together as step-siblings.

This is a 3 book series.  Book #2 is called Seduction.  Book #3 is called Climax.  I can not wait to read the other 2 books in this great series.

☆☆☆☆☆
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!

Read more from this author? Yes!

Happy Reading!

Melissa 

Review coming next: For Seven Nights Only by Sarah Ballance

FTC Disclosure: The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company has provided me with a copy of this book for review or I have purchased the book with my own funds.  The opinion I share about the story are mine and have not been influenced by the The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company if received for review.

Release Day Blitz: Forbidden

Title: Forbidden: Her British Stepbrother

Author: Lauren Smith

Release date: January 12th 2016

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance

About FORBIDDEN

He's her first. He's her everything. He's her . . . stepbrother.Kat has always been a good girl. She studies hard and never stays out too late. But when sitting in a pub on her birthday, she realizes she's a nineteen-year-old virgin who's never really lived. And she wants tonight to be the night that changes.

Then she sees him walk in. He's tall, dark, handsome, and straight out of her deepest fantasies. His voice makes her knees feel weak, and when he smiles, she imagines him doing wicked things to her in bed. From the look in his eyes, she knows he's imagining it too. So when he asks if he can walk her home, she hears herself whisper yes . . .

Go grab your copy of FORBIDDEN!!

Buy sites:

Amazon

B&N 

iBooks

                                                  Kobo

                                                     Google Play

About Lauren Smith

LAUREN SMITH, winner of the 2014 Historical International Digital Award, attended Oklahoma State University, where she earned a B.A. in both history and political science. Drawn to paintings and museums, Lauren is obsessed with antiques and satisfies her fascination with history by writing and exploring exotic, ancient lands. She is currently an attorney in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

You can learn more at:
LaurenSmithBooks.com
Twitter
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Goodreads

Excerpt:

“I find you fascinating,” Tristan said. Their faces were so close, his lips a mere breath from hers, and it made her head spin a little with a strange, excited dizziness. His gaze dropped to her lips as his voice softened to a low murmur. “I made a promise tonight, and I won’t break it, even it if bloody well kills me.”

Kat shivered and when she spoke her voice was husky. “But after tonight?”

         With a curve of his lips, Tristan leaned in half an inch closer. “After tonight…I could fuck you here, in this bed and leave you so sated you’d wouldn’t want to get up for days. The things I could do to you to make you purr, make you moan and beg… After being with me, no other man would satisfy you.” The tips of their noses brushed as he leaned a tiny bit closer. Every muscle in her body tensed in heady anticipation, and her heart thudded against her ribs so hard it hurt.

Those images his words created, his body on top of hers, his weight trapping her while he owned her in every way…why did it sound so wonderful and frightening all at the same time?

Kat’s lips parted, but no words came out at first.  He seemed like a man who before now got everything he ever wanted. She didn’t want to be another thing he got simply because he wanted it. She was a woman worth fighting for, and Kat wanted him to earn it. Her father used to say “a good man will climb to the highest branch for the ripest apple, rather than pluck the low hanging fruit.” She deserved a man who was willing to work for her.

“But not tonight,” she replied softly, almost teasing. Her heart pounded at a wild pace and her hands shook as she clenched them together.

As though it were the most natural thing in the world, he slid an arm around her waist, pulling her into his body. Her hands came up on instinct, settling on his chest, but she didn’t push him away.

 “Not tonight,” he agreed. “But that one kiss at the Pickerel? It was only the beginning.” His arm around her waist tightened.

His words, so determined and confidant, made her shiver. There was no denying his confidence was appealing, but this was her sex life they were talking about. She had never been the type of girl to just give in to a guy, so why was saying yes so tempting?