Release Week Blitz: Excerpt + #Giveaway: The Darkest Torment by Gena Showalter

   

The Queen of Paranormal Romance, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Gena Showalter, returns with THE DARKEST TORMENT, the eagerly anticipated twelfth novel in her Lords of the Underworld series, available now! Grab your copy today!

   

Get your copy of THE DARKEST TORMENT here!

Amazon * Kindle * Barnes & Noble * Nook * Book Depository * GooglePlay *iBooks* BAM * Kobo * IndieBound

 

New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter returns with her most explosive Lords of the Underworld tale to date, about a fierce warrior on the brink of sanity who will stop at nothing to claim the exquisite human with the power to soothe the beast inside him…

 

Driven to his death by the demon of Distrust, Baden spent centuries in purgatory. Now he’s back, but at what cost? Bound to the king of the underworld, an even darker force, he’s unable to withstand the touch of another…and he’s quickly devolving into a heartless assassin with an uncontrollable temper. Things only get worse when a mission goes awry and he finds himself saddled with a bride—just not his own.

 

Famed dog trainer Katarina Joelle is forced to marry a monster to protect her loved ones. When she’s taken hostage by the ruthless, beautiful Baden immediately after the ceremony, she’s plunged into a war between two evils—with a protector more dangerous than the monsters he hunts. They are meant to be enemies, but neither can resist the passion burning between them…and all too soon the biggest threat is to her heart.

 

But as Baden slips deeper into the abyss, she’ll have to teach him to love…or lose him forever.

 

 

       

Add it to your Goodreads Now!

 

EXCERPT

Katarina wasn’t afraid of Baden. Not anymore.

He took a step to the side, intending to move around her. Oh, no. She flattened her hands on his shoulders, keeping him in place.

“I want to know what’s wrong with you.” She said. “Tell me.”

He snapped his teeth at her in a show of dominance. “You think you want to know my problem. You’re wrong.”

Her tone dry, she said, “I’m so glad you know my mind better than I do.”

“Very well. I need sex.” He threw the words at her as if they were weapons. “Badly.”

Whoa. Blindside!

Heart pounding, she jerked her hands away from him. “Sex...from me?”

“Yesss.” A hiss. “Only from you.”

Only. Amazing how one little word could send pleasure soaring through her, warming her. “You told me never to touch you.” Which she’d just done, she realized. My bad.

“I’ve changed my mind.” His gaze dropped, lingered on her lips.

Burning her... “But you and I...we’re a different species.” As if that mattered to her body. Gimme!


He took a step closer, invading her personal space.  “We’ll fit, I promise you.”


Tristo hrmenych! The raspy quality of his voice, all smoke and gravel...she shivered with longing. Must resist his allure.

But...but...why? Before she’d committed to Peter, she’d dated around, had made out in movie theaters, cars and on couches. She’d liked kissing and touching and “riding the belt buckle,” as her friends had called it. Then, after committing to Peter, she’d gifted him with her virginity. At first, he hadn’t known what to do with her—he’d been just as inexperienced—and she’d left each encounter disappointed. When finally she’d gathered the courage to tell him what she wanted, he’d satisfied her well.

She missed sex. But connection...intimacy...she thought she missed those more.

The dogs barked, jolting her from her thoughts. They’d cleaned their food bowls, and now wanted to play. She clasped Baden’s hand to lead him out of the kennel. He jerked away, severing contact.

One action. Tons of hurt.

“I’m allowed to touch you and you want to have sex with me, but you’re still disgusted by me.” She stomped outside the kennel, done with him. “Well, I’m leaving. Good riddance! Your do-what-I-say-or-else attitude was annoying, anyway.”

He darted in front of her, stopping her. Breath caught in her throat as sunlight streamed over him, paying his chiseled features absolute tribute, making his bronzed skin glimmer.

So beautiful. Too beautiful.

“I’m not disgusted by you. You need me. I’ve come to accept it,” he admitted, looking away from her. “But being skin-to-skin with another is painful for me. We’ll have to proceed carefully. And you’ll get over your annoyance.”

Another order!  She would show him the error of his ways.

 

And don’t miss the previous titles in the Lords of the Underworld Series!

THE DARKEST NIGHT

THE DARKEST KISS

THE DARKEST PLEASURE

THE DARKEST WHISPER

THE DARKEST PASSION

THE DARKEST LIE

THE DARKEST SECRET

THE DARKEST SURRENDER

THE DARKEST SEDUCTION

THE DARKEST CRAVING

THE DARKEST TOUCH

       

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the spellbinding Lords of the Underworld and Angels of the Dark series, two young adult series–Everlife and the White Rabbit Chronicles–and the highly addictive Original Heartbreakers series. In addition to being a National Reader’s Choice and two time RITA nominee, her romance novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan (Red Hot Read) and Seventeen magazine, she’s appeared on Nightline and been mentioned in Orange is the New Black–if you ask her about it, she’ll talk for hours…hours! Her books have been translated in multiple languages. She’s hard at work on her next novel, a tale featuring an alpha male with a dark side and the strong woman who brings him to his knees. You can learn more about Gena, her menagerie of rescue dogs, and all her upcoming books at genashowalter.com or Facebook.com/genashowalterfan    

 

 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Teaser Blitz: The Darkest Torment by Gena Showalter #WaitingonWednesday #WoW

 

The Queen of Paranormal Romance, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Gena Showalter, returns with THE DARKEST TORMENT, the eagerly anticipated twelfth novel in her Lords of the Underworld series, available May 31, 2016! Pre-order your copy today!

 

 

 

Preorder THE DARKEST TORMENT here!

Amazon * Kindle * Barnes & Noble * Nook * Book Depository * GooglePlay *iBooks * BAM * Kobo * IndieBound

 

New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter returns with her most explosive Lords of the Underworld tale to date, about a fierce warrior on the brink of sanity who will stop at nothing to claim the exquisite human with the power to soothe the beast inside him…

 

 

Driven to his death by the demon of Distrust, Baden spent centuries in purgatory. Now he's back, but at what cost? Bound to the king of the underworld, an even darker force, he's unable to withstand the touch of another…and he's quickly devolving into a heartless assassin with an uncontrollable temper. Things only get worse when a mission goes awry and he finds himself saddled with a bride—just not his own.

 

 

Famed dog trainer Katarina Joelle is forced to marry a monster to protect her loved ones. When she's taken hostage by the ruthless, beautiful Baden immediately after the ceremony, she's plunged into a war between two evils—with a protector more dangerous than the monsters he hunts. They are meant to be enemies, but neither can resist the passion burning between them…and all too soon the biggest threat is to her heart.

 

 

But as Baden slips deeper into the abyss, she'll have to teach him to love…or lose him forever.

Check out this exclusive graphic teaser we have for THE DARKEST TORMENT!

 

Add it to your Goodreads Now!

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

   

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the spellbinding Lords of the Underworld and Angels of the Dark series, two young adult series--Everlife and the White Rabbit Chronicles--and the highly addictive Original Heartbreakers series. In addition to being a National Reader's Choice and two time RITA nominee, her romance novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan (Red Hot Read) and Seventeen magazine, she's appeared on Nightline and been mentioned in Orange is the New Black--if you ask her about it, she'll talk for hours…hours! Her books have been translated in multiple languages. She’s hard at work on her next novel, a tale featuring an alpha male with a dark side and the strong woman who brings him to his knees. You can learn more about Gena, her menagerie of rescue dogs, and all her upcoming books at genashowalter.com or Facebook.com/genashowalterfan    

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

 

 

 

Release Week Blitz: Excerpt: The Harder You Fall by Gena Showalter

We are absolutely thrilled to bring you the Release Week Blitz for Gena Showalter’s THE HARDER YOU FALL!

 

Being released today, this fantastic contemporary romance in the Original Heartbreakers series is a scorching tale featuring an aloof bad boy and the rowdy Southern belle who rocks his world, published by HarlequinHQN!

 

Order THE HARDER YOU FALL from the links below! And don’t miss the sexy excerpt we have for you below!

 

Amazon * Kindle * Barnes and Noble * Nook * Book Depository * Powells * iBooks* BAM * Kobo * IndieBound

 

From New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter comes another scorching Original Heartbreakers tale featuring an aloof bad boy and the rowdy Southern belle who rocks his world…

Millionaire video-game creator Lincoln West has a dark and tragic past. The sought-after bachelor lives by a rigid schedule and a single rule—one relationship per year, lasting no more than two months. No exceptions. When he gave up the big city for a small town, he hoped to escape the worst of his memories—until a brash beauty dredges up long-buried emotions.

A reformed party girl, Jessie Kay Dillon is determined to walk the straight and narrow. But her love-hate sizzle with West is just too irresistible. They can't be near each other without tearing off their clothes, but the last thing she needs is to be his next two-month dump. Will she become the one exception? Because as any former girl-gone-wild knows: rules are made to be broken.

 

"Emotional, heart-tugging, kept me turning the pages!" —Carly Phillips, New York Times Bestselling Author

   

 

 

EXCERPT

 

Jessie Kay smiled, but the amusement didn’t last long. “You must hate that I’ve been with them.”
“I hate the thought of you with anyone else and for a while, I thought I’d grow to resent the two for putting their hands on my woman. But now I realize it simply doesn’t matter. They are the past, and I am the present.”
“Your woman,” she whispered, as if she couldn’t believe he’d said the words. “The future.” Gulping, she turned in her seat to fully face him. “How did Monica know you want to pretend I’m a human buffet?”
West gripped the steering wheel more tightly. “I told her.”
A moment passed in silence. A moment he lacked any kind of heartbeat, the stupid organ waiting for a reason to beat.
“I want you, too,” she admitted. “You know I do. But I won’t do anything about it because I expect long-term and you insist on two months.” A heavy pause. “Right?”
His body reacted to her words—I want you, too—growing hot and hungry, his heart now racing as an insatiable need for relief plagued him. “Right.” He couldn’t overlook his reasons for keeping this particular schedule. Not even for Jessie Kay. It would be an insult to Jase and Tessa, even Beck. It would be an insult to the pain they’d suffered on his behalf.
“Why?” she asked. “Why do you insist on two months? Tell me. Please.”
“Not yet.” He’d have to tell her sooner or later, he saw that now, but as for tonight, there’d been enough turmoil. “If we can’t be together, you have to help me resist you. Tell me all the horrible things you’d do if we were involved. Cling? Demand to know every detail about my rotten childhood?”
For a long, silent moment, she peered at him with yearning and hope, and it tore him up inside. He didn’t think there could be anything worse—until both emotions were eclipsed by resolve.
“I would cling so hard,” she finally said. “I would ask a million questions about not just your childhood but your day, every day, and if I thought, even for a second, you’d looked at another woman, I would punish you by refusing to sleep with you. For a week!”
“You mean you would punish yourself. But keep going. This is helping.” Was it though? He wasn’t disturbed by the thought of her questions and her punishment. He was intrigued.
“I would take horrible advantage of you,” she said.
Again, he was intrigued. “Give me an example.”
“Well, for starters, I would expect you to trade cars with me.”
“Why?”
“Because any boyfriend of mine would insist I drive the safer vehicle.”
Guess who would soon be getting a new—safer—car all her own?
But she wasn’t done. “And I hope you like your girlfriends in baggy shirts and sweatpants. The moment I have you nailed down, I’ll stop putting any effort into my appearance.”
He gave a mock shudder.
“And despite your obvious aversion to gift-giving, I will expect a present for every anniversary. And, West? I believe every week together is a new anniversary.”
The thought utterly terrified him.
The one gift he’d given his mother, she’d pawned. The first gift he’d given to a foster mother hadn’t compared to the gifts she’d received from her own children. She’d proudly displayed theirs, and his—a drawing he’d slaved over—had ended up in the trash with the wrapping paper.
“Your turn to help me.” Jessie Kay waved her hand at him. “Tell me the horrible things you’d do to me.”
He brought her hand to his mouth, and licked between her knuckles. One taste. Just one… “I’d have a schedule drilled into your head by the end of the first day.”
“Nothing new there.”
“If you were a minute late to anything, I would pencil in a lecture and a spanking.”
Her exaggerated gasp caused his lips to twitch at the corners. She placed her free hand over her throat, saying, “You’re such a beast! Yes, I would deserve and welcome the spanking. But the lecture? Cruel and unusual. How long would it last?”
“Hours.”
She tsk-tsked. “I hate to break it to you, sugar bear, but I wouldn’t hear a word. I’d be too busy daydreaming about the joys of single life.”
“Don’t kid yourself, kitten. I’d deliver the lecture naked. You’d only want more of me, not less.”
Goose bumps broke out over her skin. “What else?”
“I would demand to be the center of your world.” He never had before, but with her, he was certain he’d make an exception. “Every minute of every day would belong to me. I would expect you in my bed every night and in my arms every morning. I would have you so often and so hard you wouldn’t be able to breathe without thinking of me.”
Another moment passed in silence. Another moment without a heartbeat.
He reached the house, parked in the driveway.
“Horrible,” she finally said, her voice little more than smoke—smoke that drugged him…lured him deeper into her spell.
He shook as he got out of the car, walked around and opened her door. “I need another reason. Now.”
She stood before him, looking up at him with luminous eyes. “I would demand a hug at least ten times a day.”
He didn’t have to fake a shudder this time. “I hate hugs. I never know how long or tight to hold on.”
“Well, I can fix that in a jiff.” She stepped closer to him, stepped into him, winding her arms around his waist and pressing her cheek against his chest, where his heart drummed a thousand beats a minute. “Hold on until I say stop.”
He obeyed without thought, wrapping his arms around her and clinging.
“Tighter,” she said. “Good. That’s good.” A tension-laden pause. “Miserable yet?”
“Beyond,” he whispered.
“Good. Now run your fingers through my hair.”
It was a dangerous game, the most dangerous one they’d ever played, and it utterly defeated the purpose of what they were trying to do. Still he ran his fingers through the silken strands of her hair, and she sighed with contentment.
“Jessie Kay.” A heated rasp.
She looked up, pressed a gentle kiss into his lips.
The contact, even as brief as it was, obliterated whatever armor he’d had around his mind…his heart? His every hidden desire was suddenly on display, like exposed nerve endings, raw and sensitive.
Suddenly he couldn’t breathe. He lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers, stealing her breath when she opened for him.
Their tongues rolled together, soft and slow, and the incredible taste of her nearly unmanned him: the sugar that was a steady part of her diet laced with a hint of cinnamon. Two flavors he would forever associate with home…home…for the first time in his life, he felt as if he was home.
“Jessie Kay.” As good as the kiss was, it had nothing to do with passion. Not in this stolen moment. Every stroke and thrust somehow deepened the emotion between them. She branded him. She took him to a place where the past no longer existed. There was only here and now, and they were the only two people alive.
“West,” she gasped—then she pushed him away.
They stood at arm’s length, both of them panting.
Goal: Get her back in his arms. Without her, he had no anchor. He was set adrift, the past threatening to intrude.
He reached for her, but she sidestepped him. Can’t let her get away.
He caged her against the car to prevent an escape, and as she trembled, he cursed. He wasn’t this man. Needy and clingy—desperate.
“N-now that we got that out of our systems,” she said, unable to look him in the eye, “the wanting should end.”
“Yes,” he croaked. “The wanting should end.”
Please. Let it end.

Add it to your Goodreads Now!

   

And Don’t Miss the First Books in the Original Heartbreakers Series!

THE CLOSER YOU COME

THE HOTTER YOU BURN

       

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the spellbinding Lords of the Underworld and Angels of the Dark series, two young adult series--Everlife and the White Rabbit Chronicles--and the highly addictive Original Heartbreakers series. In addition to being a National Reader's Choice and two time RITA nominee, her romance novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan (Red Hot Read) and Seventeen magazine, she's appeared onNightline and been mentioned in Orange is the New Black--if you ask her about it, she'll talk for hours…hours! Her books have been translated in multiple languages.

She’s hard at work on her next novel, a tale featuring an alpha male with a dark side and the strong woman who brings him to his knees. You can learn more about Gena, her menagerie of rescue dogs, and all her upcoming books at genashowalter.com or Facebook.com/genashowalterfan  

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