Sarah Castille's FULL CONTACT - Couple's Spotlight + Giveaway

Author: Sarah Castille   

Series: Redemption Series

Pubdate: April 7^th, 2015

ISBN: 9781402296260

  

When you can’t resist the one person who could destroy you…

Sia O'Donnell can’t help but push the limits. She secretly attends every underground MMA fight featuring The Predator, the undisputed champion. When he stalks his prey in the ring, Sia is mesmerized. He is dominant and dangerous and every instinct tells her to run.

Every beautiful thing Ray “The Predator” touches he knows he’ll eventually destroy. Soft, sweet and innocent, Sia is the light to Ray's darkness—and completely irresistible. From the moment he lays eyes on her, he knows he’s going to have to put his dark past behind him to win her body and soul.

***

Today we are pleased to sit down with Ray “The Predator” Black and Sia O’Donnell, the protagonists from Sarah Castille’s Full Contact (April 2015). From March 30^th through April 20^th the couple will be on tour answering questions about their relationship!

Complete this sentence: It must be true that opposites attract because my partner and I are total opposites when it comes to ___________.

Ray: Pretty much everything: health, fitness, and sleep. But I love her just the same.

Sia: Relaxing. Seriously, Ray doesn’t know how to relax.

My thoughts:

The Redemption series has been really enjoyable so far.  Each can be read as a stand alone.  I have read the first two and really enjoyed them.  I liked Full Contact for the most part.  It was definitely a little more frustrating of the series. While I liked Sia and Ray together, I did get a little tired of the push and pull between the two of them.  I kind of made me question their HEA.  As for Sia, I liked the decisions she made to take back her life.  Her past was devastating, so seeing her finally realize she is a survivor was a great moment!  I look forward to the next book!

An Excerpt

Ray grabs my wrists and pins them to the mat over my head, his body angled over me. My breath catches in my throat, and I steel myself for the memories, the black rush, the heart-pounding fear, but it doesn’t come. Instead, a red haze settles over my vision, and I press my lips together and buck my hips, throwing him slightly forward.

Bad plan. Now his groin is only inches away from my face. He’s still wearing his jeans, which means that bulge isn’t a cup.

“Ray...”
His face softens. “I hurt you.”
“Yes, you hurt me. Keeping secrets hurts me. It makes me feel like you don’t respect me. And it makes me feel like I can’t trust you. So maybe you could return to your proper seat now. Tray table up.”

He shifts down, settling his weight over my hips, but he doesn’t release my hands. “I hurt you. Means you care.”

I swallow hard and meet his gaze. “You hurting me means I was being stupid. Things were going where I didn’t want them to go. Now I’ve had a wake-up call. You have secrets you can’t share. You need to protect your secrets. I need to be with someone I can trust, and I need to stand on my own two feet. It’s just not going to work between us.”

His gaze darkens, searing me to the core. “You want to be done? Or are you scared and trying to push me away?”

The air shifts between us, electrifying, tightening my nipples and heating my blood. I am hyperaware of his thighs tucked against my hips, carrying most of his weight as he sits astride me in a dominant MMA position. My wrists, hot under his palms, press against the cool mat, restrained in a way I could never have imagined allowing them to be restrained. My chest rises and falls twice for every one of Ray’s breaths, and my core tightens. The innuendo isn’t lost on me. God, yes. I want to be done in the carnal sense of the word. But only by Ray. And I don’t really want to let him go.

 “I don’t want to lose you.”

Ray’s hands tighten on my wrists, and he leans down and brushes a kiss over my lips. “I don’t want to lose you either, but I live in a dangerous world. I’ve got stuff in my life that would make your head spin. I need to protect you from that, and I’ll do what it takes to keep you safe, even if it means you hate me for it, because for the first time in my life, I want something more than doing my duty. I want a life and I want you in it. I’ve got one bad guy to catch and then I’m free. And after I’m done and after what went down this evening, you’ll never have to worry about being safe again.”

Finally, he releases my hands but I don’t move. Heat sweeps through my belly. I feel both vulnerable and curiously safe lying beneath him. My gaze shifts from his intense gaze to his sensual lips, and my breasts swell, remembering the touch of his hands, the gentle press of his lips. He wants me. Not just today, but tomorrow and the tomorrow after that.

“You make it sound like I don’t have a choice about being with you.”

“You don’t.” He leans down and kisses me with a savage fierceness that takes my breath away.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


About the author:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Sarah Castille writes contemporary erotic romance and romantic suspense featuring blazingly hot alpha males and the women who tame them. A recovering lawyer and caffeine addict, she worked and traveled abroad before trading in her briefcase and stilettos for a handful of magic beans and a home in shadow of the Rocky Mountains. Readers can find her at sarahcastille.com.

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1AwFF53

Apple: http://apple.co/18Tsbc7

BAM: http://bit.ly/1Dt6hu6

B&N: http://bit.ly/1sTMU5w

Indiebound: http://bit.ly/1zmfjqQ

Kobo: http://bit.ly/18TtQyj

Blog Tour: In Your Corner by Sarah Castille

We are excited to have author Sarah Castille with us for an interview today.  Enjoy our talk after a review on her latest book, In Your Corner.

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Date of publication: July 2014

He rules in the ring

Two years ago, Jake and Amanda were going hot and heavy. But when Jake wanted more, Amanda walked away. Jake immersed himself in mixed martial arts, living life on the edge. But that didn't dull the pain of Amanda's rejection-until a chance encounter throws them together.

A high-powered lawyer, Amanda was a no-strings-attached kind of girl. But two years after her breakup with Jake, she still hasn't found anyone who gets her heart pumping the way he did. And then he shows up in her boardroom, hot as sin and needing help...

But can he rule her heart?

Jake is darker, sexier, and impossible to resist. As their chemistry builds, Amanda's not sure if she can stay in control, or if she's finally willing to let him claim her body and soul.

My thoughts:

I really felt like I had been on such an emotional journey after reading In Your Corner. The relationship between Jake and Amanda goes through roller coaster ride of emotions and it left me a bit tired, but  highly satisfied at the end.  This book is a great edition to the "Redemption" series.  It takes place 2 years after the events of Against the Ropes (my review).  I remember being heart broken at the end of that book when Jake and Amanda broke up.  These two have great chemistry together and are a couple that deserve to be together. I felt badly for Jake because he really did love Amanda  but she had so much baggage that she couldn't fully commit.  I was really rooting for them to work things out. I loved what he did for her in the end. So super sweet and made my heart melt!

As in the first book, there is a wonderful cast of characters.  I liked how all of the fighters rallied around Amanda even when she and Jake were having a rough time.  I especially love Fuzzy and Shilla.  Poor Shilla, I really hope Fuzzy gets a clue one of these days.  Ray and Penny also stood out as great additions to the series.  It looks like Ray's story is next in Full Contact which comes out next year.  I look forward to reading it!

Kari& Autumn: What inspired you to become a writer?

Sarah: I've always been a writer. My house is filled with boxes of stories from as far back as first grade, when I won my first story contest. However, I never really considered pursuing it full time and became a lawyer instead. Everything changed when I caught H1N1 when I was 38 weeks pregnant with my third child and wound up in a coma for two months and almost died.

In the year it took me to recover, I decided to write a book because it is the one thing I regretted never doing. I never expected it to turn into a career, but my first book, Legal Heat, won ten RWA chapter contests and through one of those contests I found my agent and was offered a publishing contract. Things took off from there and I haven't looked back J

Kari& Autumn: Where do you come up with the ideas for your books?

Sarah: I come up with ideas from experiences I've had, places I've been and people I met. I got the idea of the MMA Redemption series after getting lost one evening and stopping by chance at an MMA gym for help. Let me tell you, there is nothing more inspiring than a gym full of cut, ripped guys, pounding on each other one minute and falling over themselves to help a woman in distress the next.

Kari& Autumn: What exciting projects are waiting in the wings?

Sarah: I'm just finishing edits for the third book in the Redemption series, Full Contact, which will be out in April. I'm also doing edits for the first book in a gritty new biker romance series, Rough Justice, which will be coming out in February.

Kari& Autumn: Who is your favorite literary character and why?

Sarah: Hmmm. I think my favorite literary character is Chili Palmer from Elmore Leonard's, Get Shorty, but only as played by John Travolta in the movie of the same name. There's just something about him…it's like he's an alpha wearing a beta disguise, but that just makes him all the more dangerous, the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing. The best word I can use to describe his character is "delicious."

Kari& Autumn: Just for fun, if you could be any animal, what would it be and why?

Sarah: I would have to be an owl (I assume we are including birds J) because I was attacked by an owl once when I was out running at dusk and I would like to understand how it confused me with prey. My family thought the attack was hilarious and they are always buying me owl paraphernalia as a "joke." So I have owls from Japan, England, Germany, Greece, Estonia…you name a country, I have an owl.

Thanks very much to From the TBR Pile for hosting me today!

BUY LINKS:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1mkcsql

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1nS1iJn

ITunes: http://bit.ly/TguA90

Kobo: http://bit.ly/TsW4IM

LINK FOR AGAINST THE ROPES (REDEMPTION #1): A Publishers Weekly Top Ten Pick for Romance & Erotica and #1 Amazon Erotic Romance Bestseller:

Amazon http://amzn.to/1o0sXYe

  

About the author:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Sarah Castille, worked and travelled abroad before trading her briefcase and stilettos for a handful of magic beans and a home near the Canadian Rockies. She writes erotic contemporary romance and romantic suspense featuring blazingly hot alpha heroes and the women who tame them.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Sign up for Sarah's newsletter for info about new releases: http://bit.ly/SDdzWX

Website http://www.sarahcastille.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sarahcastilleauthor

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sarah_castille

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6920675.Sarah_Castille

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/scastilleauthor/

Amazon Author: http://www.amazon.com/author/sarahcastille

Blog Tour: Against the ropes by Sarah Castille

Author: Sarah Castille
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Date of publication: September 2013

He scared me. He thrilled me. And after one touch, all I could think about was getting more…

Makayla never thought she’d set foot in an underground mixed-martial arts club. But if anyone needs a medic on hand, it’s these guys. Trouble is, at her first sight of the club’s owner she’s the one feeling breathless.

All sleek muscle and restrained power, the man they call Torment plays to win at any cost. Whether it’s in the ring or in the bedroom, he knows exactly when to use a soft touch and when to launch a full-on assault. He always knows just how far he can push. And he’s about to tempt Makayla in ways she never imagined…

Against the Ropes is a new twist on the rich guy/ broke girl genre that seems to be dominating the world of books lately. In this one, the rich guy had an alternate lifestyle as an underground MMA fighter. For the most part, I enjoyed the book.  Makayla and Max/Torment were good for each other.  Both of them definitely have issues stemming from childhood.  Makayla has a real aversion to violence.  She gets physically ill at the sight.  This kind of works against her when she takes a job as an EMT in Max's gym.  Max has the deep need to protect the people he cares about and this causes a lot of control issues between the two.  I liked Makayla, although I thought she did have some TSTL moments.  The situation she gets in with her friend toward the end of the book is proof of that.  I kind of didn't blame Max for walking away.  I was rooting for this couple to make it.  I really felt like they had a shot of working through their issues.

The book takes place in the world of underground MMA fights.  I don't know much about the sport, but I thought the author gave me enough to details to feel comfortable with the subject.  I'm not sure I could watch any of the fights either. I did have to wonder at Makayla's decision to work there as an EMT, since no doctor would risk their license by working in a place that had underground fighting.  If they wouldn't then why would she want to risk her EMT certification to do it?  Anyway, it's a good romance with fun characters.  I hope some of the other fighters have their own stories.  They seem like a great bunch of guys.

About the author:

Recovering lawyer, karate practitioner, and caffeine addict, Sarah Castille worked and traveled abroad before trading her briefcase and stilettos for a handful of magic beans and a home near the Canadian Rockies. Her steamy, contemporary romantic tales feature blazingly hot alpha heroes tormented or tattooed for your reading pleasure.

Website: http://sarahcastille.com
Twitter: sarah_castille