BooksChatter: ☀ Under Your Skin: A For Your Love [1]

Thank you for joining us on the Virtual Book Tour for Under Your Skin, a Contemporary Romance by Shannyn Schroeder (28 June 2016, Zebra Shout, 320 pages).

This is the first book in the A For Your Love series.

"Schroeder has written a warm yet sexy contemporary romance with down-to-earth characters who share an unexpected attraction that turns to fascination, respect, and love as they help each other through big life choices. A surprising, bighearted romance." - Kirkus Reviews

PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and excerpt below. Read the first chapter with Amazon Look Inside.

Author Shannyn Schroeder will be awarding a copy of Under Your Skin to a randomly drawn winner (US/Canada only) via Rafflecopter during the tour. Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other excerpts (☀), and reviews (✍).

Synopsis | Teaser | The Series | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

Synopsis

Blood Is Thicker Than Ink. . .

Norah O'Malley has been alone for a long time. It's been ten years since her father and four brothers shipped her off to be raised by her aunt. Seven months since she's seen the guy who got her pregnant--who still doesn't know. And it's two weeks since she came home to Chicago and discovered none of her family wants to talk--or listen.

She never expected to walk into a tattoo shop seven months pregnant and get her socks knocked off by instant attraction. She can't even see her socks. But Kai Ellis is big and gruff and sexy as hell, and if he has a past, well, so does she. Even more, Kai knows how to listen so that Norah feels just a little less alone . . .

All the chemistry in the world can't help Norah make her decisions. And no sizzle of desire will make Kai believe in happy endings. But a little time with someone who understands might just change everything . . .

Teaser: Excerpt

     Norah spent her morning cleaning the house and making sure her dad took his medication. The stubborn old man never wanted to do what he was supposed to. It was no wonder Jimmy had felt the need to move back home to take care of their dad. Someone had to keep an eye on him or his diabetes would get out of control. Sean and Tommy were pretty useless in that area. They couldn’t even remember to put away their hockey gear. How would they remember to make sure Dad regulated his insulin?
      Once that was done, she went online to look for a job. She couldn’t possibly sit around the house all day with nothing to do. She couldn’t enroll in school because she’d have to take time off after having the baby. There had to be someone who’d be willing to hire her at least temporarily. The outlook was pretty dismal, so she closed the laptop and moved on to the next phase in her plan to make Tommy happy. Rice Krispies Treats had always been his favorite, but for whatever reason, he had a mental block when it came to making them himself.
      She ran to the store for ingredients and whipped up a batch to take to him at work. Since he was a tattoo artist, he worked strange hours. Sometimes he’d work in the afternoon, other times, he’d be there half the night. She’d overheard him telling Sean he had some touch-ups to do on a tattoo this morning and then he had a long session this afternoon.
      She hoped the dessert would be a peace offering.
      On the way to the tattoo parlor, she stopped at a drive-through and grabbed some burgers for them.She rubbed her belly and wondered how bad it was to feed the baby fries. The baby really wanted fries. She hadn’t craved fries this much since she was fifteen. The only thing she wanted more than fries was lime yogurt. Luckily, the baby didn’t require them together. That would just be gross.
She was out of breath from the short walk from the car to the shop because the baby decided to tumble around pressing on who knew what. She walked through the door of Ink Envy gripping the bag of food and plate of treats. On the wall hung frames showing various drawings and photos of tattoos.Looking around, she saw stations, like in a beauty salon, separated by short partitions. Different styles of chairs, none appeared too comfortable.
      “Hi, can I help you?” a short, pudgy guy with sleeve tats asked.
      “I’m here to see Tommy.”
      Just then, Tommy came from a back room and caught her eye. “What are you doing here?”
      “I came bearing gifts.” She set the food on the glass-topped counter.
      “What do you want?”
      She sighed. Maybe it was too soon. “I want you to not be mad at me anymore. I brought Rice Krispies Treats.”
      “A bribe? Really?”
      She lifted a shoulder. “And burgers. Whatever works.”
      He dragged a couple of stools to the counter and pointed for her to sit down. The counter was tall enough that when she sat, her stomach was mostly concealed. Knowing Tommy would start with dessert, she slid the plate of treats over.
      He peeled back the foil and pulled a square from the pile. “This doesn’t change things.”
      “It changes them a little. You’re at least talking to me.”
      He chewed and swallowed before asking, “What are you gonna do?”
      “I don’t know. I think about it all the time. I know I need to tell the father. And I will. Soon. Until then, I want to settle in and restart my life. I spent the morning looking for a job. I don’t suppose you know of anything?” She munched on her fries while they talked.
      “No one’s gonna hire you. You’re a liability.”
      Norah rolled her eyes. Tommy wasn’t saying anything she didn’t already know.
      “Maybe you should take it easy for a while.”
      “That’ll make me crazy. I can’t sit at home with Dad all day.”
      “Come on, you know you like pricking him with a needle.”
      She laughed louder than she’d intended, but he was right. She did enjoy it a little. But laughing with Tommy was the best feeling she’d had in a long time.

Under Your Skin
Available NOW!

The Series: A For Your Love

In Your Arms [2]

**Available for pre-order**

A Knight in Shining Leather...

Sean O'Malley has never tried to hide who he is. He shows it in the motorcycle thrumming between the legs of his tight jeans…the shaggy hair that falls in his gorgeous eyes…the wicked gleam in his smile when he asks Emma out for a drink. Sean is a rebel, a bad boy, and a ton of fun: exactly the kind of guy she's sworn off forever.

Emma isn't just the the prim kindergarten teacher she appears to be. And somehow Sean can tell. As soon as he pulls up to her overheated car he knows that a fast bike and a cold beer will fix her rotten day better than compliments or a bubble bath. Her straitlaced exterior and her wild heart light him up. But Emma wants to escape her past and settle down—and if her desk jockey dates don't understand where she comes from, at least she doesn't worry about them bringing her back.

One weekend of intense connection can't change the paths Sean and Emma have chosen. But with a little space to be themselves together, maybe the rest of the world can wait...

[Published 27 December 2016, 320 pages]

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About the Author

Shannyn Schroeder is a former high school and middle school English teacher. She holds a BA in English and MAs in Special Education and Gifted Education. She currently works as an editor for an education company and juggles writing around her kids’ schedules.

In her spare time, Shannyn loves to bake and watches far too much TV, especially cop shows. She started her first book on a dare from her husband and has never looked back. She came to reading romance later than many, but lives for the happy ending, and writes contemporary romance because she enjoys the adventure of new love. . .

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