Monday, May 5, 2014

Very Wicked Beginnings



Because Ilsa Madden-Mills fell in love with her beautifully flawed characters in Very Wicked Things, she penned Very Wicked Beginnings as a prequel novella to the book, featuring the story of football star Cuba Hudson and ballerina Dovey Beckham.

Since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, all May proceeds from the sale of the novella will be donated to The Keith Milano Memorial Fund which benefits the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).  www.afsp.org 

Title: Very Wicked Beginnings
Series: Briarcrest Academy #1.5, a prequel novella to Very Wicked Things
Release: Both books will release on May 13th!
Author: Ilsa Madden-Mills
Cover: Photography by Toski Covey
Graphics: Sommer Stein at Perfect Pear Creative Covers
Model: Tanner Belcher




Book Description for prequel Very Wicked Beginnings:

Girls say I’m a walking, talking sex god. Guys call me Hollywood because my life is golden.
It’s not.

But, ESPN did rank me as a four star recruit, calling me one of the best defensive players since Briarcrest Academy opened its esteemed doors. So yeah, with football and a stellar 
GPA, my future seemed good.

Then Dovey Beckham shows up in her short skirts and ballet shoes. Driving me insane. Making me want to beg for her attention.

But that wouldn’t happen, because Cuba Hudson didn’t beg for anything.

She walked around BA like she owned the place, and most days she looked right through me…the one girl I couldn’t have.

So, of course, I made it my mission to claim her, to put her notch on my bedpost.

Because no girl can resist the Heartbreaker of BA.

But I never planned on destroying her.

I never planned on wrecking the one thing that could save me.

Welcome to Briarcrest Academy, where wicked love begins…and ends.






Very Wicked Beginnings
Excerpt from Chapter One

“Two things about me: I play football—and girls.” –Cuba Hudson
I wanted the gorgeous girl in the window.
More specifically, I wanted the dark-haired girl dancing inside the Symthe Arts Building as I stood outside on the twenty yard line at football practice, fixated on her when I should have been focused on the line of scrimmage. I adjusted my helmet and squinted through the afternoon Dallas sun.
Did I know her?
Movement from other players on the field pulled me back. Good thing. As defensive end, it was my job to put the screws to or sack the quarterback as soon as the ball snapped. But I was off today. Probably because I knew I had a shit ton of homework waiting for me at home. With my dream of being a doctor and getting into a good school, being on top of my game in class was important as well. Briarcrest Academy was one of the top-rated private schools in the country, making expectations here high.
Just like every eighteen-year-old kid out there, I had stresses.
But I did have more than the average. I had a sick mom.
But those thoughts faded when I looked back at the window and watched the girl run and then leap in the air, her body doing some kind of crazy in-the-air-leg-split-thing. Damn. She’d gotten at least four feet off the ground.
Then, after landing on her feet light as a feather, she danced away from my view. I waited for her to come back, wanting to check out her toned muscles again, especially her tight ass. And then I randomly wondered if her tits were small. Weren’t all dancers? Yeah. But still, she looked—
“Pay attention, Hudson!” Coach Howe yelled at me.
Fuck. Caught.
I automatically stiffened and tightened my defensive stance, running my eyes across the offensive line, waiting for the play. But the quarterback was pussy-footing around still undecided if they were gonna run or pass. Whatever. Matt the Quarterback was a complete jack ass. I ate guys like him for lunch which wasn’t hard when you’re tall and fast like me.
I got bored.
Out of my peripheral vision, I caught a flash of pink dashing past the window.
She was back.
And like I was addicted to her, my eyes drifted to the building again, one part baffled by the fascination, the other part wanting to get another glimpse of her long legs. As I watched, she adjusted her ponytail as she laughed up at her ballet partner—who was a dude. Crazzzy. Yeah, you’d think he’d be all feminine and shit, but he wasn’t. Nope. Dude looked buff, like he could bench press a school bus.
Something about the girl called to me. Yeah, it was probably that short skirt she wore. I pictured slipping my hand underneath it to her panties. Her core would be hot, on fire for me, of course, and I’d ease my finger inside her wet—
Bam!  I took a hard hit from Tank Carson, an All District offensive guard I routinely ran circles around in practice. He might be big, but I was quick and smart and had more moves than a freaking octopus. So the chance to plant my distracted ass on the turf was an early Christmas present for him. That's what I get for letting some piece of ass get in my game, even if it was practice.  
And so. My unprepared body flew through the air with 290 pounds of Tank on top of it. My head followed my body and hit the turf, the contact reverberating inside my helmet and then everything went black…

Charity Information:

The Keith Milano Memorial Fund was established to help raise awareness about the devastating and deadly disease that is mental illness. Keith’s spirit and laughter is kept alive through our efforts to increase awareness about mental illness and to raise money for education and imperative research. Keith often struggled with society’s perception of mental illness.  Our hope is that by having the strength to say that Keith was “Bipolar” we can strip away the stigma and help others to be more open about their disease. www.keithmilano.org

The Keith Milano Memorial Fund benefits the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).  www.afsp.org 

AFSP is the only national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research and education, and to reaching out to people with mood disorders and those affected by suicide.


Add Very Wicked Beginnings to you Goodreads:
Add Very Wicked Things to your Goodreads:
Ilsa’s website: http://ilsamaddenmills.com

Haven’t read the first book #1 New Adult Romance Very Bad Things? It’s on sale!!


Author Bio:
Ilsa Madden-Mills writes about strong heroines and sexy alpha males that sometimes you just want to slap. She spends her days with two small kids, a neurotic cat, and her Viking husband. She collects magnets and rarely cooks except to bake her own pretzels. When she’s not typing away at a story, you can find her drinking too much Diet Coke, jamming out to Pink, or checking on her carefully maintained chocolate stash. She loves to hear from fans and fellow authors.


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Friday, May 2, 2014

Sketchy by Olivia Samms

I was really into getting this book because I saw it on a Goodreads ad and the cover and description sucked me in. You can see my review below. I listened to it on audiobook, but I was totally into it and listened to the whole book in about 3 days. It was unique and interesting. I recommend it for those who like books with a little bit of everything.


Bea's life has been a mess ever since she got kicked out of private school and sent to rehab. Now clean, Bea is starting over at Packard High School, in a city shaken from two assaults on young women. The latest victim, Willa Pressman-the one who survived-doesn't remember a thing. But Bea has a disturbing new "skill": she can see-and then draw-images from other people's minds. And when she looks at Willa, Bea is shocked by what she sketches. Bea might be the only one who knows Willa's secrets-and who can take down the killer before he strikes again.



Sketchy (Bea Catcher Chronicles, #1)Sketchy by Olivia Samms
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I listened to it on audible. I was really sucked into the story, and I thought Bea was an interesting character. It is hard to show an addict and cravings accurately. I think it was done well. I enjoyed the story and there were times I really hated Willa and felt sorry for Bea so anytime I feel emotion for the characters I feel like the author has done a great job of sucking me in. I will be picking up the second book and continuing the series.

View all my reviews

Here is a link to an interview with the author! I am looking forward to reading or listening to Book 2!!