Blog Tour + Excerpt + Review + Giveaway: Swelter by Nina G. Jones

Title: Swelter

Author: Nina G. Jones

Genre: Erotic Romance

Release Date: October 1, 2015

Synopsis

I married the right brother.

At least that's what I tell myself at night, when I stare at the ceiling and listen to the rhythm of the grandfather clock down the hall. 
It never feels like the mere passage of time, but a countdown towards something inevitable. Bobby Lightly is selfish, irresponsible, and careless. 
I haven't seen him since the day I married his brother. He slipped out during the wedding reception without a word. A year later, I heard Bobby was drafted to Korea. 
He never said goodbye to anyone. 
Never sent a letter. 
We had all come to terms with the fact that he was probably dead somewhere, either a victim of the war or its aftermath. 
That is, until in the midst of an unrelenting heatwave, he showed up at the doorstep of the house I lived in with his brother. 
Everyone thinks I'm cruel. Everyone thinks I should be easy on him. 
They think I don't understand him. They all think I hate him. B
ut what no one understands is that it was Bobby who broke my heart. 
And I think he’s back to do it again.  

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Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/Y_rxXbsztYc

Excerpt

I snickered to myself. "He never had a chance. Rory never had a chance." 
I shook my head in pity for the man I had grown to begrudge. 
"From the first day of our marriage, he couldn't win because he wasn't you." 
I spun around, looking to the black forest for a way out, an exit from my tragic dilemma. 
"I don't know how to fix this. He'll never be you. It's not his fault or our fault. 
It just is. And for years I resented him for that. 
I loved you. I loved hating you. I loved loving you. 
And when you left, I blamed him. It's not fair. None of it is fair. For him. For us." 
My shouts vanished into the dark night. Just like all my efforts, they meant nothing. 
"We tried so hard to do the right thing. We sacrificed us for him. And I think it just made things worse. Look at him." 
"Stop," Bobby said firmly. 
"I was so cold to him. I pushed him away so much. 
I created that man you see today. Do you think that was the right thing?" 
"Stop," Bobby repeated. My emotions erupted out of me, explosive from years of being crammed into a secret space. Years of secrets I couldn't tell. Of unrequited love. Of a life unfulfilled. Of dreams demolished. I pounded my fist to my chest. 
"It hurts. It physically hurts to see you every day. You are the first person I think about when I wake up. When I thought you died, I died. Rory was with a corpse." 
Bobby stepped closer to me. 
"Stop it, Lil." "And you keeping being you and I am trying so hard not to love you." 
I didn't care anymore about pretending. The threads were ripped and I felt as raw as the festering wound I had dealt with for the past seven years. 
"And then you take me dancing and you tell me how you wrote me letters that you never sent and you bring me here. You make it impossible not to love you, dammit.” 
I thrust a finger in his direction and scowled. “And I hate you for that."  

Review

About the Author

Nina G. Jones is the author of the bestselling novel DEBT, 
the Strapped Series and the erotic romance, Gorgeous Rotten Scoundrel. 
Her newest novel, Swelter, released on October 1st, 2015. 
Nina LOVES connecting with readers. 
You can connect with her via Facebook, Twitter, or through this site. 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads  

Giveaway

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Cover Reveal + Excerpt + Giveaway: Swelter by Nina G. Jones

Title: Swelter

Author: Nina G. Jones

Genre: Erotic Romance

Release Date: October 1, 2015

Synopsis

I married the right brother.

At least that's what I tell myself at night, when I stare at the ceiling and listen to the rhythm of the grandfather clock down the hall. 
It never feels like the mere passage of time, but a countdown towards something inevitable. Bobby Lightly is selfish, irresponsible, and careless. 
I haven't seen him since the day I married his brother. 
He slipped out during the wedding reception without a word. 
A year later, I heard Bobby was drafted to Korea. 
He never said goodbye to anyone. Never sent a letter. 
We had all come to terms with the fact that he was probably dead somewhere, either a victim of the war or its aftermath. 
That is, until in the midst of an unrelenting heatwave, he showed up at the doorstep of the house I lived in with his brother. 
Everyone thinks I'm cruel. 
Everyone thinks I should be easy on him. 
They think I don't understand him. 
They all think I hate him. 
But what no one understands is that it was Bobby who broke my heart. 
And I think he’s back to do it again.

Excerpt

“What do you want me to do?” I yelled frustratedly. 
“Pack my bags and go to India? Life’s not that easy. We’re not all you. 
We don’t all just walk away from our responsibilities.” 
I immediately regretted those last words, recalling the scar on his shoulder. 
There were some responsibilities Bobby faced when others would have run. 
“It’s not about what I want you to do, Lil. What do you want?” 
What I wanted was no longer relevant. 
It was too late for what I wanted. 
“You keep taking that shit and one day you are going to wake up and realize you slept your whole life away. 
There may be people who need that, but you are not one of them. 
Let yourself feel it all. The good. The bad. The fucking great. Don’t imprison yourself.” 
I knew he was right, but I had grown comfortable in the numbness. 
Yet there was something luxurious about the pain I felt upon Bobby’s return. 
It was rich and textured. I could feel it in my bones and my chest and on my skin. 
I could taste it. I could feel again. A
nd feeling the pain also gave me room to feel alive. 
“If you keep doing this, how are you any different than Rory? 
We want to get him better, right? 
Well the changes start with us. 
I’m back and trust me, that wasn’t easy for me. 
And now you’ve gotta bring yourself back.” 
I swallowed sharply, preparing myself to say goodbye to my dear friend. 
A friend who had always been there. 
More than my sister, or mother, or Barbie could be. 
It understood my fears, my insecurities, the things I had sacrificed. 
It knew my secrets. 
I never had to explain myself to it. 
It never judged. 
“Fine,” I surrendered. 
But I clutched the bottle tighter in my hands than ever before. 
Bobby’s body language relaxed as he glanced over to me and opened his palm. 
“Gimme.” 
“What? Now you want ‘em?” 
“Don’t be an ass, Lil.” I sneered at Bobby, slamming the bottle in his palm. 
The pills tried to seduce me one last time as I heard them dance in their container.  

About the Author

Nina G. Jones is the author of the bestselling novel DEBT, 
the Strapped Series and the erotic romance, Gorgeous Rotten Scoundrel. 
Her next novel, Swelter, releases on October 1st, 2015. 
Nina LOVES connecting with readers. 
You can connect with her via Facebook, Twitter, or through this site. 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads  

Giveaway

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Cover Reveal + Giveaway : If by Nina G. Jones

Title: If

Author: N.G. Jones

Genre: New Adult

Release Date: March 16, 2015

If… Someone hadn't scarred my face. I hadn’t followed my dreams to LA. That tweaker hadn't attacked that homeless guy. I hadn't invited a stranger over for Thanksgiving. I hadn’t fallen in love. If I hadn’t lost him. ------ If… I hadn’t gone for that drive. I saw the world like everyone else. My “genius” wasn’t slowly destroying me. I had just walked away before I could ever know her. She hadn’t ignited the spark. If the spark didn’t ignite the madness.

“Let’s start with something simple. How about a tree, in the fall, so you can play with color?”

She smiled. “That sounds perfect.”

“Okay, we’re going to use acrylic because if you make a mistake, you can paint over it as soon as it dries.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” she said, coming over to stand in front of me at the easel. She was so close, I could feel her warmth even though we weren’t touching. The pale glow that surrounded her now grazed me.

I squeezed out green and white and showed her how to mix for the right shade. Then I told her to lay down short, staccato thrusts, but her swipes were, frankly, juvenile and clunky.

“No, see, you are trying to draw the tree. You just need to focus on the leaf, and then pull that back to how the light hits the leaf because a leaf, even a leaf that you just see as green, is many shades of green.”

“And this is why I’m a dancer,” Bird said.

“Here,” I said, grabbing some of the brush handle from behind, “let me guide you.” It was a mistake. Her lavender scent grew strong, and I could smell her fruity shampoo on top of it, and the curves of her behind pressed against my pelvis. The heat rolled down my neck, and to my fingertips. Even though I was touching wood, I felt the warmth of the coziest blanket rubbing against them.

“Okay,” she said in barely a whisper. Her voice moved in transparent cerulean and seafoam wavelengths in my line of sight.

I slid my hands up the edge of the brush, so my hand was over her delicate hand. And shit, I am only a man and I just wanted her so bad. But, I focused on the empty sheet on the easel.

“So you start soft, tentative, until you find a rhythm.” My words were barely a breeze against her ear. “Just relax.” I gently guided her hand and she let me take over. I used the hand of my muse to fill the canvas with strokes of green. “This will be the foundation, but soon we’ll fill it with browns and oranges, even pinks.”

“We? You’re doing all the work, but I like it that way,” she said, almost woozily, as if she were in the same trance as me. She leaned back, resting her head against the front of my shoulder. My heart thudded so hard, I was afraid she would be able to feel it. I guided her hand to a cup of water and she dropped the brush. But I didn’t let go. I didn’t want to let go, and I don’t think she wanted me to either.

“Let’s come back to this, we can work on it a little each day,” she said, turning her palm up so she could thread her fingers into mine. The heat was everywhere, like a warm rush of water, lulling me to do whatever the hell she wanted.

“Now, I show you how to dance.” She turned, using my hand, and then she was facing me. Her skin radiated through tiny freckles on her cheeks and nose.

The next song on the album played. “I love this song,” Bird said, pulling me to the open floor in front of the record player as “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” began to play.

“There’s only one way to dance to a song like this,” she said, stepping in close, guiding my hands to her waist, as she wrapped hers around my neck.

There was too much. A kaleidoscope of lilting colors, the strong scent of lavender, a sweet taste like nectar, the blooming warmth rushing through my body.

I am only a man.

About The Author

Nina G. Jones is the author of the bestselling novel DEBT, the Strapped Series and the erotic romance, Gorgeous Rotten Scoundrel. She wants to say something clever here, but all her good material goes into her characters. Nina currently resides in Milwaukee, WI with her husband and two crazy Boxers. Her first new adult romance, If, releases on March 16th, 2015 under the moniker N.G. Jones. Nina LOVES connecting with readers. You can connect with her via Facebook, Twitter, or email her through her website, NinaGJones.com.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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