Tuesday, May 13, 2014

REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Queen of Hearts by Jami Denise




Blub
With a broken heart and nothing to lose, Jayne King leaves Las Vegas, running from the only man she ever loved. He used her. Lied to her. Got her father killed. Cost her everything.
All she wants is to start over somewhere new and escape her past. She finally finds a place to plant roots, and someone she can trust. But she should’ve known that when Flynn said he’d never give up on her, he meant it. Just when she thinks she’s safe after almost a year on the run, the past catches up with her and she finds out that everything she believed in was false. Once again, she’s caught up in a game—but this time, she intends to win. After all, the queen always beats a spade.
Flynn Maguire always got what he wanted, until he fell in love with Jayne King. He has no intentions of letting her get away, but with a woman like Jayne, he knows he’s got to play his cards just right. He had no choice but to watch her walk out of his life, but he planned on getting her back at any cost, including taking down his own father. He soon finds out there is nothing more dangerous than a woman scorned.

Buy Links: Amazon : Goodreads


Excerpt #1: Queen of Hearts

As I stood outside of his suite, my nerves started to take over. As brave as I wanted to be, I knew seeing him face to face was going to be rough. It had to be done, and I had to be strong, so I squared my shoulders, rolled my neck, and beat on the door with my knuckles before I chickened out.
The door flew open, and I realized he wasn’t alone. My heart thundered under my rib cage and I almost passed out.
“Can I help you?”
I blinked away the confusion and focused on the bimbo in front of me. Again, I wasn’t surprised there was a woman in his room. Typical. But the look on her face and the tone of her voice brought me back to the present and the reason I was there. I wasn’t a jealous ex-girlfriend, I was the dark angel of his demise. That bitch was nothing to me.
“No, you can’t.”
I pushed past her and walked into the room like I owned it. I wasn’t going to let anyone in that room stop me.
I spotted him right away, sitting across the room in the midst of a poker game. A trashy brunette sat perched on his knee, while another stood behind him, rubbing his shoulders. He made me sick. He looked up and it was as if he’d been hit with the brunt of a gun against his temple. Pure and utter shock.
He was a caricature of the man I’d fallen in love with. Still beautiful, but something black had seeped through. You could sense it immediately. The eyes that smoldered dark with lust were shadowed and sullen on his face like tiny ghosts watching the world turn while they battled the pain behind them.
A visceral pain shot through me. If only things had been different. Had he been the man I thought he was, everything could’ve been beautiful. But, those things happened. Those lies were weaved and the betrayal was real. He hurt me, cracking every bone inside of me and left wounds that would never heal. I’d always be broken. Always a little crooked. I’d never trust in anything completely again.
He stood, swatting away the brunette, and gripped the arms of the chair to steady his unsure legs. I could feel the eyes of every person in the room, but I couldn’t look away from him. It was surreal, after all that time how much he affected me. Still.
“Janie,” he choked out.
His lips let my name escape, but I could see that he couldn’t believe I was standing there, that I’d barged into his room like a phantom, a deep, dark secret from his past.

Excerpt #2: Queen of Hearts

Sleep was hard to come by.  As the weeks went on, things between Jack and me had fallen into a routine of evading and comfortable avoidance. He hadn’t pushed for me to move in with him again, or even mentioned it for that matter. He just somehow understood that I needed time to figure out my issues.
I used that time without him. I dug deep and ticked off all the pros and cons and analyzed my reasons for running off after my dad and Vince died, and came to terms with my decision to stay with him as long as I had.
My conclusions weren’t easy to take.

I was a coward and a liar. Simple as that.

Jack had become my cushion; my tiny dilapidated motel room became the fortress that held my demons on the outside. The small town was a Mecca for all the things I thought I was missing out on and wanted in my life.

But it wasn’t. It was as solid of a trap as my previous life had been. I’d fallen into the same pattern, only a different outcome. I’d settled on a dismal job because it was easy, a hole in the wall motel because it was cheap, and a false relationship because it fed my insecurities and my fear of being alone.
I still had no idea where I fit in. I still wondered where I belonged, what I wanted. That mask I’d donned for as long as I could remember was still strapped to my skull, embedded into my skin with a grip so tight I thought I’d suffocate.

Coming to terms with the cold, hard facts was a blow for sure. I knew I would eventually go back to Vegas. It was inevitable. I wasn’t sure I’d stay, but I had to return and deal with the aftermath of what went down. The death of my family, the deceit from Flynn, my business, and most importantly, to face the ghosts that wouldn’t leave my mind.

Doyle Maguire.

That man had to pay, one way or another.

I could just picture that rat bastard sitting on his throne with a big shit-eating grin on his face, satisfied that he’d taken us down.

He had, to an extent. My father withered and died at his hand, he’d chased me off, and taken everything Vince had, including his life.

But, he was in for a surprise. I still had some fight in me. The more I pulled back the curtains and looked out the window of my mind, it was coming back. I was stronger than I gave myself credit for, and running off with my tail between my legs had never been my style. I’d slithered away, snuck off with the excuse of starting over, but in reality, I’d never stood my ground the way I should have.
It was time to bolster the courage to take the jerk to war.




See Jayne Play (Book One) The Jayne Series
ONLY $0.99

Blurb:  Book One in The Jayne Series
Jayne King lived in a world of players. She’d been groomed by her father to win, taking no prisoners in her quest to reach the top. But, it was never enough. She wanted out, and just when she finds her escape, she’s pulled back into the underground crime world of Las Vegas. One phone call spins her life out of control and she once again has to live her life behind a mask of lies.
Her body is for sale, but her heart is off limits.

Flynn Maguire, professional gambler and notorious ladies’ man always wins. Always. As the heir to the Maguire Grand Hotel and Casino fortune, he’s always had his desires delivered on a silver platter. When he crosses paths with Jayne King, he will stop at nothing to have her. Nothing has ever stood between him and what he wanted, and there wasn’t any amount of money too high to pay to own her. He realizes too late that money can’t buy her heart and finds himself in a place he never thought he’d be. Out of luck.
Additional Teasers

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Dream Cast
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About the Author

Jami Denise is a romance writer from Southern California. While she waits for the next felon to come along and sweep her off her feet, she writes about swoony bad boys and sassy gals that make them squirm. She also loves cats, cars, cupcake flavored lip balm, and cherry limeade.


GIVEAWAY
5 Winners Choice Ebooks
SIGNED PAPERBACK SET of The Jayne Series



THANK YOU!



ADRI'S REVIEW:

Thank you to TRSOR Promotions and Jami Denise for providing us with an ARC so we could write this review.

Ok let me start off by saying that before you read Queen of Hearts you really need to read See Jayne Play, since that is the first of book in this series.

This series is soo good. Once I started reading it I couldn't stop. It has sexy characters, drama, excitement, action and intrigue. There are characters that you are dying to see how they play a role in the whole thing and others that you want to kill yourself. One of the things I attribute to a good story is how many emotions it can pull out of you, and I promise you that this one pulls them all out. As I read it there were times I cried right along with the characters, was worried and fearful of what might happen to them and fell in love right along with them as well. 

At the end of book one we are left with Jayne running away and trying to start her life all over again, and book two picks up a year after that happens. Even though she's finally found what she always wanted she wasn't happy. Didn't feel at peace and as if a part of her was missing. Her love for Flynn hasn't waned any and she has convinced herself it's not love but hate. Everything changes once again when Vince shows up at her little hole in the wall motel and tells her that its time to stop running. He also tells her that he knows she isn't happy and he thinks she needs to go back to Vegas. Only problem with her going back, she isn't safe and neither is her heart.

Jami Denise has built a world that is so easy to get lost in and characters that dig themselves so deeply into your heart they feel like family. Hope you run out, read and enjoy it as much as I have.

Happy Reading... Adri

2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for reading!! I love the review and I love you girls! XO

    ReplyDelete