BooksChatter: ☀☄ Lyrical Press Contemporary Romances: Melissa Shirley, Crystal B. Bright

Thank you for joining us for The Lyrical Press Contemporary Romances Tour! Our featured titles today are:

Breaking Hearts (Storybook Lake, #3) by Melissa Shirley
Head Over Heels (Mama's Boys, #3) by Crystal B. Bright

Below you will find synopsis, excerpts, trailers and purchasing links for each novel, as well as author bios and stalking information.

The authors will be awarding a digital copy of both books to a randomly drawn winner 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 (☀).

Synopsis | The Books | About the Authors | Giveaway

Lyrical Press Contemporary Romances Books

|| Breaking Hearts (Storybook Lake, #3) || Head Over Heels (Mama's Boys, #3) |

Breaking Hearts by Melissa Shirley

Can tragedies have a happy ending in Storybook Lake?

Every town has one—a mean girl, hell-bent on taking down everything in her path—and Danielle Ranier played the role to a tee. She broke up Storybook Lake’s most beloved couple and to save herself from a lifetime of lectures on morality, she hopped on the first plane out of town. Six years, one child, and a big secret later, she’s back, fleeing from her abusive husband, who isn’t quite willing to set her free.

Now on trial for a murder she didn’t commit, Simon Hunter, the only man she’s ever loved is offering her a lifetime of love and security. If she could only reveal the secrets long-held inside her, a family that never was might finally come together . . .

[2 August 2016, Lyrical Shine, 192 pages. This is the third book in the Storybook Lake series.]
PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis, and excerpt below.
Read the first chapter with Amazon Look Inside.

Excerpt

Chapter 1

      Opening Statements

      “All rise!”
      Being on trial for my life taught me two things. One, when the bailiff says “all rise,” everyone in the courtroom should immediately shut up and stand; two, the business end of being on trial and the tremors associated with it did not couple well with coffee drinking and silk blouses.
      I blotted at my shirt while my lawyer leaned in close to advise me, yet again, of the possible outcomes of the case should I lose. Grace Wade turned to face me head-on and recommended I at least consider the prosecutions deal of life in prison with the possibility of parole in twenty-five years. Twenty-five years? I decided to gamble on a jury trial and a possible life sentence. Surely, at least one of the twelve people would realize I didn’t kill Sean, no matter how badly I wanted to, and no matter how much unwavering gratitude, trial talk taboo, I harbored for the person who’d actually done the job.
      The jurors filed into the courtroom, seven women between the ages of thirty and late sixties and five men from early twenties to late forties. A school teacher, bus driver, street sweeper, an accountant, landscaper, college student, and three food service professionals--translation: waiters and waitresses--a dog trainer, boutique owner, and a hairdresser, all had been chosen as my peers. Somehow, being accused of murder changed how I evaluated my peers, especially since I had no choice but to put my life in their hands.
      [...]

Breaking Hearts
Available NOW!

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Head Over Heels by Crystal B. Bright

Sometimes it takes hurt to open your heart…

At twenty-two, Thane Wells is the highest-paid pitcher in Major League Baseball—and he owes it all to his adoptive Mama, “Queen” Elizabeth Sommerville, a wise, beautiful, entrepreneurial African-American woman who always encouraged him and his two white brothers to reach for the stars…the woman Thane still talks to daily. He never dreamed their most recent conversation would be their last. With his beloved supporter suddenly gone, Thane is grief-stricken, shaken, and vulnerable—especially to a woman like Kari Meyers.

Kari’s had her eye on Thane for a while, but strictly for business. As a junior sports agent, she’s hungry to sign him, especially when she hears his current agent will be retiring soon. When she finally locates Thane, she’s shocked to discover he’s attending his mother’s funeral—and he’s shocked to find Kari in his hotel room. Assuming she’s an escort is just the beginning of their misunderstandings. But one thing that’s clear is their mutual attraction. As a single mom with an NBA ex, Kari has a rule against dating athletes. Yet as circumstances bring the two closer together, they just might find they’re on the same team, heart and soul…

[2 August 2016, Lyrical Shine, 280 pages. This is the third book in the Mama's Boys series.]
PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and excerpt below.
Read the first two chapters with Amazon Look Inside.

Excerpt

Chapter 1

Five years ago
Kari Meyers stared at her reflection in the ladies’ room mirror at the Hilton Hotel in New York, trying to will herself to appear more important than she felt. She hadn’t waited for the ink to dry on her diploma from Old Dominion University when she made the trek to this hotel on the heels of a man. No, a boy. Hell, who was she kidding?Even at seventeen, Thane Wells looked like a grown man with a lot of stories.

She could have kicked herself for her salacious thoughts. No other sports agent, especially one starting out, would think of a potential client like a sexual being—even if the client had thick, dark brown hair that begged to have fingers raked through it, and aquatic-blue eyes that made her want to dive in deep and get lost in them for years without coming up for air. She couldn’t forget his strong jaw, sleek nose, and his set of full, kissable lips.

For a white boy, he had swagger. For a college freshman, he had an impressive pitch. Kari had to remember that and stop contemplating whether he would find an African-American woman a few years his senior attractive.

Her phone rang in her purse at the same time the door to the bathroom opened. Kari ignored the woman that had come into the restroom when she saw the name on her caller ID.

“Hey, Grandpa.” Kari smiled.

“My baby. How are you doing up there? Did you get Thane to sign on as your client?” His strong voice powered through the few cracks that riddled his speech.

“I haven’t met him yet. Psyching myself up first.” The wild, flapping vultures in her stomach hadn’t settled since she’d arrived by Amtrak that afternoon to crash this baseball-recruiting event.

Llewellyn Meyers didn’t mince words. Never had. “You know sports. You’re the one who found this cat’s information when he was in high school. And you just got that degree.”

Kari heard a giggling sound through the phone that made her smile and almost tear up.

“And you have this little guy here depending on you.”

Kari could almost see her grandfather smiling.

“Say hi to your mother.”

“Hi, Mama!” Michael screamed.

Little kids her son’s age had no volume control. Kari loved it.

“I shouldn’t have taken this trip right now. I just graduated last week.” Kari peered over at the stately looking African-American woman who busied herself by slathering a coat of red lipstick over her lips.

She looked flawless. Her eyebrows sat perfectly arched over her full brown eyes. Her eyelashes looked good enough to be fake—full, long, and curly. She wore a sensible skirt and matching jacket, but with the cream-colored silk shirt underneath, she pulled off a feminine yet strong look.

Kari scanned her own outfit. She wore a simple red wrap dress and had her shoulder-length brown hair in simple waves around her face. She’d thought she looked appropriate…until she saw this woman.

[...]

Head Over Heels
Available NOW!

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About the Authors

Melissa Shirley | Crystal B. Bright |

As an author, Melissa Shirley believes in fairytales, happily ever after, and destiny.

Born and raised in Illinois, and a mother of eight, she lives with her husband and three youngest children in a quiet town in the southern part of the state where she spends her time writing and watching her children grow into the people she has always dreamed.

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Crystal Bright graduated with a B.A. from Old Dominion University with a major in Creative Writing, a minor in Communications, and an emphasis on Public Relations.

She earned her M.A. from Seton Hill University in Writing Popular Fiction. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Chesapeake Romance Writers.

Follow Crystal B. Bright:

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