*Blog Tour/Review* The Beautiful Now by M. Leighton

The Beautiful Now

M. Leighton

Releasing September 26, 2017

Dane James worked my stepfather’s fields. He was the boy next door.

Strong.

Hardworking.

Forbidden.

From the moment we met, we were star-crossed lovers—always wanting, never having. We loved each other for most of our lives, but right from the beginning destiny had other plans.  She knew we would fall in love.  She knew we would fall apart.  Over and over again, like the curse of a recurring nightmare.  Or the hope of a familiar dream.

Our past was tumultuous.  Our future was bleak.  But the one thing we always had was the beautiful now.

Until that was taken from us, too.

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*Exclusive Excerpt* The Beautiful Now by M. Leighton

The Beautiful Now

M. Leighton

Releasing September 26, 2017

Dane James worked my stepfather’s fields. He was the boy next door.

Strong.

Hardworking.

Forbidden.

From the moment we met, we were star-crossed lovers—always wanting, never having. We loved each other for most of our lives, but right from the beginning destiny had other plans.  She knew we would fall in love.  She knew we would fall apart.  Over and over again, like the curse of a recurring nightmare.  Or the hope of a familiar dream.

Our past was tumultuous.  Our future was bleak.  But the one thing we always had was the beautiful now.

Until that was taken from us, too.

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(12 YEARS OLD)

I thumped my palm against the rock, feeling its solid sturdiness.  I bet Dane would be hard to move like this, too.  Stubborn.  The rock didn’t care about the wind and the rain, about the storms that raged around it, and I figured Dane didn’t either. He’d go on being Dane, ignoring Lauren Stringer and chewing his piece of prairie grass, no matter what people said or thought.  He was strong and unmoving in ways they weren’t, in ways they didn’t understand.

“Why did you bring me here?” I had to ask.

I felt his shrug.  His arm rubbed along mine, the tickling friction causing the little hairs on my skin to stand up.  I turned my head so that I could look at him in the dim light.

“Look up,” he said, almost like he could feel me looking at him.  So I did.  I pulled my eyes away from him, hard as it was, and got lost once more in the fathomless sky and infinite sprinkling of stars.  “I wanted you to see how big the world is. How much bigger than Lauren Stringer and her stupid bunch of friends,” he explained.

“Is that why you come here?  Because of Lauren Stringer and her stupid bunch of friends?”

His laugh was decidedly bitter for a kid.  “No.  I don’t give a shit about those girls.”  I grinned at his repeated use of cuss words. Momma would give me what-for if I talked like that.  We were rich ladies now and rich ladies didn’t say those words.

Dane James didn’t care about rich or ladies, though, and that made me like him even more. And I was already getting dangerously close to a crush.  Actually, if I was being honest, I was probably already knee-deep in one.

“Then why?”

His pause stretched on and on, but eventually his sigh broke the night in one long, forlorn sound, like the howl of a lone wolf.  “I guess because everybody else cares about them so much.  Coming out here reminds me how big the world is, too.”

I knew then that as much as he tried to pretend otherwise, he was still affected by people like Lauren Stringer.  The people who meant something in a town like this.  I’d already known it was unfair and ridiculous, as unfair and ridiculous as it was that my mother wanted me to be friends with them just because of who they were. It was because of people like them that a really nice boy who lived over the barn would come out here, to a rock in the middle of a field, in the middle of the night, just to lie on his back and look up at the stars.  And remember that, somewhere else, maybe names and families and jobs don’t matter.

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, M. Leighton lives in the deep South with her super-hero husband and super-smart maltipoo.  She has a fondness for coffee and chocolate, loves the color red, laughs at almost anything and often stares out her window, daydreaming of far-away places.
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*Cover Reveal* Levi’s Blue by M. Leighton

Levi’s Blue

 

Four beautiful days. Three steamy nights. One breathtaking love.

synopsis

Levi Michaelson. He caught me when I fell. Literally.

He wanted four dates. Four opportunities to prove I could trust him. Four chances to change my mind about him.

I agreed.

Probably not my smartest decision. He was everything I knew to avoid—gorgeous, charming, sexy as hell—but I couldn’t help myself. When he touched me the whole world disappeared. I should’ve known I could lose myself to him, that he could be the one man to destroy me.

I guess it’s true what they say—some things are too good to be true. And Levi Michaelson might just be one of them.

 

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New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, M. Leighton lives in the deep South with her super-hero husband and super-smart maltipoo. She has a fondness for coffee and chocolate, loves the color red, laughs at almost anything and often stares out her window, daydreaming of far-away places.

 

 

 

COME CONNECT WITH ME

 

Sign up for my newsletter! Get new release notices, updates, exclusive teasers and giveaway opportunities. Also, come visit my website, too! Look around, see what you find.

If you like to chat, you can connect with me in Laid-back with Leighton, my private Facebook group.

You can also connect with me on some pretty cool sites like these:

Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Goodreads

Or you can always email me. However you like it best is great with me. I love hearing from you!

Also, if you like music, you might like to know that I do, too, and that it plays a big role in my inspiration. For that reason, I create a playlist for each book I write, adding the songs that inspire me as I go. You can find all my playlists here on Spotify.

 

 

Books by M. Leighton

All the Pretty Lies ** All the Pretty Poses

All Things Pretty

Down to You ** Up to Me

Everything for Us ** Always with You

Levi’s Blue

Pocketful of Sand

The Empty Jar

Strong Enough ** Tough Enough

Brave Enough

The Wild Ones ** Wild Child

Some Like It Wild ** There’s Wild, Then There’s You

YA and PARANORMAL

Fragile

Madly ** Madly & Wolfhardt

Madly & the Jackal ** Madly & the Seawitch (est. Dec, 2016)

Blood Like Poison: For the Love of a Vampire

Blood Like Poison: Destined for a Vampire

Blood Like Poison: To Kill an Angel

The Reaping ** The Reckoning

Gravity

Caterpillar

Wiccan

Beginnings: An M. Leighton Anthology

 

 

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*Cover Reveal* The Empty Jar by M. Leighton

Cover Reveal

Title: The Empty Jar

Author: M. Leighton

Release: May 8, 2016

Today is cover reveal day for M. Leighton’s upcoming new release entitled The Empty Jar. She wanted to say a little something about the cover before she revealed it and the description, so here she is.

First of all, a huge, heartfelt thank you to every single one of you amazing women who is helping me reveal this cover today.
I appreciate everything you do for me, for authors and readers in general and for this community.

Secondly…

OMG
IT’S FINALLY TIME FOR THE EMPTY JAR COVER REVEAL!!!

I feel like I’ve been waiting AGES to share this with you!

This cover… GAH! Y’all, it took me forEVER to get it just right. There was a certain “feel” that I wanted to achieve with it and I wasn’t happy until I felt that it jumped right out when I looked at it. I wanted the cover to speak of the book, wanted it to show the highs and lows, the sweet and the poignant, the depth of it, if you will. And finally…finally, I feel like it does:)

You might not realize just how much NOW, but once you read it, you’ll be like, “Yeah. It’s perfect for this book!”

When I got the paperback proof in the other day, I held it in my hands and I just stared at it. Not only is this story extremely special to me, but this is probably my favorite cover of all my books. Ever.

When I look at it, I see so much more than just a picture. I see all the things that I find in life as well as what I put into the story that is The Empty Jar. It’s a blend of happy pinks and brooding blues. It’s light and it’s dark. There are highs and there are lows. There is morning and there is night. But if you notice the sky on this cover, there are little flickers of brightness in the bodies of the lightning bugs. Life is that way, too. Even in the darkest part of the night, there is a spark of hope.

There is beauty. There is the romantic glow of a full moon, the silvery face of your mate, the delicate twinkle of fireflies. It’s all there if we look hard enough—that balance of beauty and tragedy.

And love.

Always love.

Below is a little more about the book. It’s hard to tell you much without spoiling anything, but I think you can get a feel for it. It’s such a special story. So raw, so real.

I honestly can’t wait for y’all to read it! I hope you love IT and the cover as much as I do:)

4-20- cover reveal TEJ final.jpg

synopsis

The Empty Jar

(May 8, 2016)

Three months touring Europe. Romantic. Dazzling. Unforgettable. The trip of a lifetime.

But some lifetimes are shorter.

We couldn’t have known it would work out this way.
No one could. No one could’ve guessed that something so beautiful could be so tragic.

But it is tragic.

Yet so, so beautiful.

That’s what sacrifice is—beauty and tragedy.

It’s pain and suffering for something or someone you love.

And this is the ultimate sacrifice. One stunning act of true love.

This is our story.

Our true love story.

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*New Release / Review* Tough Enough by M. Leighton

MLeighton-ToughEnough-LaunchDayGraphic

You seriously don’t want to miss MMA-champion-turned-Hollywood-superstar Rogan. Hotness!

From the author of the New York Times bestselling Bad Boys novels comes the second book in a dark, sexy contemporary trilogy.

MLeighton-ToughEnough-Cover250pxHe’s a fighter who never loses, but is he tough enough to win her heart?

There was a time when I had everything–a wonderful family, a bright future. Love. But all that was taken away in a single night, torn from me like flesh from bone. Since then, I’ve hidden away in my second-choice job as a makeup artist. But I prefer it that way, actually. I’m comfortable in the shadows, where no one can see my scars.

Kiefer Rogan literally took my breath away the moment I met him. MMA champion-turned-actor, notorious playboy, charming to a fault—he’s everything I vowed to avoid.

But he just wouldn’t stop until I opened up and let him in. Maybe I should’ve tried harder to resist him. Maybe I shouldn’t have fallen in love with him. Because I, of all people, know that everyone has secrets. Scars. And that they’re usually ugly and painful and destructive to the people we love most.

I just never guessed that they could be deadly, too.

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Get Tough Enough on Amazon | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Google Play

Add Tough Enough to your Goodreads TBR

Get Strong Enough, the first book in the Tall, Dark, and Dangerous series on
Amazon | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Google Play

MLeighton-ToughEnough-Meme2

review

Reviewed by Shera

First we had Jasper in Strong Enough…. Which how could you NOT fall in love with that man? Now we have Kiefer Rogan in Tough Enough, another man in the crew of what I call holy hotness on a stick!

This book is about two people with alot of scars, both inside and out. They have tragic pasts, but I don’t see them as scars, I see them as battle wounds. Proof you lived and you survived. Rogan ex fighter now turned Hollywood star and Katie is now working her 2nd choice job as a Make-up Artist. Her past has left her shy, reserved and scared. She wants to stay behind the scenes and hide. But one thing she never counted on was Rogan peeling back her layers one by one. As the layers are peeled back they both start to fall and it was amazing to feel it happen through M. Leighton’s words.

“Fight to survive. Fight to live.”

This book is sexy, hot, sweet and will suck you in like a hoover! I loved every.single.second of it!

M. Leighton sure knows how to write an Alpha man that you can’t help but flipping fall head over heels with! Gahhhhh! They are so sexy, hot, intriguing and down right delicious! She gives us another mouth watering book that you will devour! If you haven’t met the men of the Tall, Dark and Dangerous series, then what are you waiting for? Seriously go click these NOW! 5 Tall, Dark and Dangerous Stars!!

Shera Layn – Book Lovers Obsession Book Blog

MLeighton-ToughEnough-Meme4

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MLeightonAuthorPhotoNew York Times and USA Today bestselling author M. Leighton is a native of Ohio. She relocated to the warmer climates of the South, where she can be near the water all summer and miss the snow all winter. Possessed of an overactive imagination from early in her childhood, Michelle finally found an acceptable outlet for her fantastical visions: literary fiction.

Having written over a dozen novels, these days Michelle enjoys letting her mind wander to more romantic settings with sexy Southern guys, much like the one she married and the ones you’ll find in her latest books. When her thoughts aren’t roaming in that direction, she’ll be riding horses, swimming in ponds and experiencing life on a ranch, all without leaving the cozy comfort of her office.

Sign up for her newsletter here, and be the first to know about exclusive giveaways, new books, and awesome fan-only perks! And join Michelle in her superfan Facebook group, Laid Back with Leighton, right here!MLeighton-ToughEnough-Meme2

*Release Blitz* All Things Pretty by M. Leighton

ATP RDL Banner

 

We are so stoked to bring you the Release Day Launch for M. Leighton’s ALL THINGS PRETTY! ALL THINGS PRETTY is a Contemporary Adult Romance and the third novel in M. Leighton’s Pretty Series. Sig’s book is here!

 

All Things Pretty

Synopsis4

Pretending to be something they’re not, afraid to trust anyone completely, destined to tear each other apart– this is the story of unlikely love and unbearable consequences.

Sig Locke is a cop. He was raised by a cop and all his brothers are cops. He bleeds blue, believes in right and wrong, and sees in black and white, never in shades of gray.

But that was before he met Tommi.

Tommi, with her long legs and bright green eyes, she captured Sig’s interest from the moment he saw her. Even after he discovered who she was–the girlfriend of a drug dealer, the beauty behind a criminal–he still found her utterly irresistible. What Sig doesn’t know, however, is that she has a secret even a cop can’t uncover.

Tommi Lawrence hasn’t had an easy life, and it only got more complicated the day she met Sig. She learned long ago that she can’t trust anyone. Her gut tells her that Sig is no exception, her heart tells her that he is. But that was before she found out his real identity.

Can love be forged in a fire of lies? Or will the truth destroy them both?

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Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo

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*Release Blitz* There’s Wild Then There’s You by M. Leighton

TWTTY RDL BannerThere's Wild, Then There's You

THERE’S WILD, THEN THERE’S YOU

Synopsis

He’s someone she can’t trust…

She’s someone he thinks he knows…

Violet Wilson is a wallflower. Shy, serious, and accident-prone, she’s got a bad habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The night she’s forced to pose with her friend might just be the worst time of all—that’s when she meets Jet Blevins. She knows better than to get involved with someone like him, but he touches her in ways she never expected, neverwanted before.

On the outside, Jet is a typical rocker, an arrogant lead guitarist who unapologetically lives a wild lifestyle. But on the inside, he’s battling demons and using the stage to escape the troubles of his past and the addictions of his present. Until the night he sees Violet standing at the back of the room. She brings his life into focus. She knows his secrets. She’s the girl he can’t forget, and the one thing he craves more than his addiction.

But can they ever hope to have a future when their very foundation is nothing but lies?

Buy Links:

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iBooks / Kobo 

 

 

Excerpt

I lick my lips before I raise my eyes to his. Part of me knows I should turn and run, foregoing common courtesies and niceties. Something in me, some deep and rarely used instinct that lives within, knows that once I meet those eyes, I’ll be forever lost. It makes no sense, but I know it like I know my name and my eye color and the way my hair flips out on the ends when it’s rainy outside.

Despite my better judgment, I do it. I look up and up and up until I reach a blue so fathomless I feel like I could dive into and never reach the bottom. Like I could drown and never even know it.

But I can’t do that. I can’t dive in. Not with a guy like this. I’ve seen what someone like this can do to a person—turn that which was once whole and capable into nothing more than scattered pieces of wreckage and ruin.

“I’m Jet,” he offers softly, his eyes never leaving mine.

Jet. Even his name is sexy, which makes me more uncomfortable.

Ridiculous! my rational, level-headed, slightly bitter side scoffs. It pipes up with its less bedazzled perspective, reminding me that guys like this are nothing more than predators. The love ’em and leave ’em type. And he’s obviously worse than most, as evidenced by his attendance here. Apparently, he’s got a real problem.

I give him a tight smile as I straighten away from him. “Violet. Nice to meet you,” I say, hurrying to continue. “Excuse me please.”

I slip on my familiar, no-nonsense persona like a protective shield, like the armor that has kept me from harm all these years. It has never failed me before; I don’t expect it to now.

My head is high, my spine is rigid, and my imperviousness is firmly in place as I move past the dark and damaged stranger. With every step I take, I determine to put him out of my mind and never think of him again.

Until he speaks once more. His words make dents in my breastplate like armor-piercing rounds.

“It’s short,” he calls from a few steps behind me.

Confused, I turn.

Knowing I shouldn’t, still I turn.

“Pardon?”

“My name. It’s short.”

“Short for what?”

I watch as he moves toward me, narrowing the space I only just created. He stops within inches and bends slightly forward, one side of his mouth pulling up into a self-deprecating grin. “Jethro.”

And, just like that, he’s human. And vulnerable. And slightly imperfect. And even more dangerous to me than he was before.

Author PhotoM. Leighton Bio:

M. Leighton is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Wild Ones and The Bad Boys romance trilogies. She is a native of Ohio, relocated to the warmer climates of the South, where she lets her mind wander to romantic settings with sexy Southern guys much like the one she married and the ones you’ll find in her latest books. When her thoughts aren’t roaming in that direction, she’ll be riding horses, swimming in ponds and experiencing life on a ranch, all without leaving the cozy comfort of her office.

For more about M. Leighton, visit her website at follow her on Twitter@mleightonbooks.

 

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