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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Empty Net (The Assassins Series - Book 3) by Toni Aleo (Author Guest Post / Contest Giveaway / Book Review)

In association with Reading Addiction Blog Tours, Jersey Girl Book Reviews welcomes Toni Aleo, author of Empty Net!







Author Guest Post

A Day In My Writing Life 
by Toni Aleo


My day starts early; midnight to be exact. I go to my job as an at home nurse and work for 8 hours. Once I am done, my day really begins.

8:00am
I come home and see the mess my family has made while I was gone or in my writing cave. Disgusted, I proceed to get my little people ready for school. Mikey is seven, hates getting ready for school, and would much rather watch Ben 10. Alyssa is four and would rather sleep than do anything Mommy wants.

8:45am
The kids are dropped off and I head back home.

9:00am 
I am face down, in my bed, passed out.

12:00pm
I ... am ... hungry ... rawr.

12:45pm
Finally having had a chance to eat, I'm ready to start my author work. I get online; check my Facebook, Twitter, blog, sales, and my reviews on Amazon, B&N, and GoodReads. After all that, I do any work that I need to do; posting or answering emails, just normal stuff.

1:25pm 
Now, the fun stuff starts. My characters have been going nuts in my head for the past 24 hours and are ready to be written. I sit down; have my phone beside me and a tall glass of water. I look at the screen and off I go.

3:25pm
"I can't stop now!"
This is what I usually scream when this time rolls around. Gotta go get the kids.

3:50pm
My house is a nut case. Everyone is looking for dance shoes, soccer cleats, ice skates, or something else that is needed for that afternoon's activity.

4:15pm
We leave for the activity. if it's Mikey's day, then Alyssa plays on his DS while I try to finish the chapter I started earlier. If it's Alyssa's, then Mike does homework while I am writing.

6:00pm
While dinner is being made, I am reading my last chapter, yelling at the kids to clean their rooms, do their homework, and stop fighting. Yes, in that order.

6:30pm
My husband comes home and everything gets louder.

7:00pm
We sit down for dinner.

8:00pm
Baths and kids go to bed. Husband and I snuggle while watching hockey or our shows.

9:00pm
Husband goes to bed and I continue to write.

10:01pm
I've usually fallen asleep on my keyboard.

11:45pm
My alarm goes off telling me to go to work and I haven't even finished what I was doing.

Then it all starts over again!



About The Author


I am a wife, mother, and hopeless romantic.

I have been told I have anger issues, but I think it's because of my intense love for hockey!

I am the biggest Shea Weber fan ever, and can be found during hockey season with my nose pressed against the Bridgestone Arena's glass, watching my Nashville Predators play!

When my nose isn't pressed against the glass, I enjoy going to my husband and son's hockey games, my daughter's dance competition, hanging with my best friends, taking pictures, and reading the latest romance novel.

I love things that sparkle, I love the color pink, and did I mention I love hockey?


AUTHOR WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
GOODREADS
Toni Aleo's Empty Net Virtual Book Tour Event On Reading Addiction Blog Tours



Virtual Book Tour Contest Giveaway

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Empty Net Book Trailer




Book Review


Empty Net by Toni Aleo
Publisher: Toni Aleo / Self Published
Publication Date: September 3, 2012
Format: eBook - 353 pages / Kindle - 780 KB / Nook - 1 MB
ASIN: B0095CUXO2
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Sports - Hockey


BUY THE BOOK: Empty Net (The Assassins Series - Book 3)
AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE


BUY THE SERIES: The Assassins Series
AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE


Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Reading Addiction Blog Tours.


Book Description:

Definition of an Empty Net: When a team pulls the goalie for an extra attacker, desperately seeking a goal.

Audrey Parker was in a horrible place.

She hated her job, her sister was getting married and moving out, but worst of all, she was in love with a total jerk. No matter what she did, every guy she met hurt her. All she wanted was her happily ever after. Her Prince Charming. Her Lucas Brooks! She didn’t know how to change her life but she knew she needed too. Feeling like she was about to hit rock bottom, Audrey wakes up next to Tate Odder.

Tate Odder had lost everything.

After being brought up from the Assassins’ farm team, the Florida Rays to the Nashville Assassins, Tate hopes he’ll forget everything he has lost. He doesn’t. Each day gets harder to live in a place he doesn’t know. Even being the first rookie goalie to shut out an opposing team three times during the Lord Stanly Cup Finals, he still felt empty. With the loss of his parents and sister still heavy on his heart, Tate isn’t sure how to live like everything is okay.

But when he wakes up beside Audrey Parker, things start to change. She turns his life upside down with her kooky sense of humor and her bright clothing. She is intelligent and beautiful, and for once, he doesn’t feel empty.

Will Audrey be the person to fill the holes in Tate’s heart, making him whole again?

Or will another player ruin everything, leaving him feeling forever like an empty net?


Book Excerpt:


“I have to tell you,” she said with a shy grin, “It’s usually not this easy.”

He looked down at her questionably, “Easy how?”

“This easy to pick me up. I usually make guys work for it.”

He grinned and her smiled grew more, “So you want me too?”

She eyed him, her face bright with excitement. He may have been a little too forward but he was a blunt person, and hardly ever hid his feelings from anyone. 

She moved closer, her eyes bright with lust as she said, “I do and I don’t even know you’re name.”

“Do you want to know it?” he asked with a cocky grin.

She moved in close, her wide brown eyes locked with his, “All I want to know is when you can leave? I have a room not even a mile from here.”


My Book Review:

Just when you think The Assassins Series couldn't get any better, author Toni Aleo strikes again with the third book in the series, Empty Net is one hot slap shot of a story!

Now it's Audrey and Tate's turn to tell their story ...

Audrey Parker's life isn't what she wants it to be: she hates her job and doesn't have the best track record when it comes to picking men. She has just gotten out of an abusive relationship with Levi, who only used her for the sex. She has a lot of insecurities and finding her very own Prince Charming with the "happily ever after" ending hasn't been in the cards ... that is until she meets Nashville Assassins goalie Tate Odder.

Tate Odder is a twenty-one year old hockey player from Sweden, who was traded to the Nashville Assassins as their new rookie goalie. Tate is trying to fit in with his new surroundings and team, but he's struggling over the loss of his parents and sister in a car accident back in Sweden. Feeling alone, Tate is trying to put his life back together again, and when he sees Audrey Parker across the bar, he knows she might be the one that could help him get over the emptiness that he feels inside.

When one night's steamy hook-up happens between Audrey and Tate, can a relationship blossom or will insecurities and past personal issues get in the way?

Empty Net is the story of two lonely people who have lost all hope of ever finding their happily ever after, only to find each other, fall in love, and struggle to overcome their insecurities and past personal issues in order to make their relationship work. Dramatically written in the third person narrative, the author easily draws the reader in to follow Audrey and Tate's love story. Author Toni Aleo continues to take her readers on an emotional roller coaster ride with this latest installment in The Assassins Series, you can't help but feel for Audrey and Tate as they learn to deal with their personal issues as their relationship develops. These two lonely people don't have an easy road ahead, they both have a lot of personal issues that they need to overcome: Audrey is older than Tate, she can't have children and she doesn't trust people; while Tate has to overcome the overwhelming loss of his family and is determined to make Audrey see that they could have their happily ever after ending.

The author continues to captivate her readers with some really great hockey scenes, true hockey fans will appreciate her fanatical passion for the sport, the fast pace action and drama of the game is riveting, she has a way of transporting you to the hockey arena where you can literally feel the electricity of the game. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the very steamy and passionate sex scenes, oh my goodness, my imagination went into overdrive, one word ... cupcakes ... it doesn't get any better than that! *wink wink*

I really love the cast of characters in this series, they are all realistic, complex, and fascinating people that you can't help but get drawn into their lives. I love how the author includes the characters from the previous books into the new book, the continuity of their stories flows smoothly and intertwines with the new storyline but it doesn't overtake the next couple's story. I was completely captivated by Audrey and Tate's story, my emotions ran the gamut as they struggled with their issues, and my pulse raced with the sizzling chemistry and passion that they had for each other. And if that isn't enough, the author leaves the reader with a cliffhanger that leads into the next book in the series, Blue Lines, that will feature Piper's story ... nothing like leaving us hanging ... *sigh*

Empty Net is a sassy, sexy, and dramatic romance story that will keep you entertained and wanting more. Like the old saying goes ... you can't just stop with one ... The Assassins Series will draw you into the fascinating sport of hockey where you'll be introduced to the Assassins family of very hot hockey players and the strong passionate women that love them ... you'll never look at hockey in the same way after reading these sizzling books!


RATING: 4 STARS ****






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