Book Tour for Winter's Heat by Cristin Harber (Review & GIVEAWAY)

Today we get the blood pumping with this fast-paced and suspenseful book, Winter's Heat by Cristin Harber.  Keep reading to get a glimpse of this book along with my impressions of it.  If you can't wait to own this book it's currently on sale for $.99 otherwise you can leave a comment below for your chance to win books!

After putting her life on the line to protect classified intelligence, military psychologist Mia Kensington is on a cross-country road trip from hell with an intrusive save-the-day hero. Uninterested in his white knight act, she’d rather take her chances without the ruggedly handsome, cold-blooded operative who boasts an alpha complex and too many guns.

Colby Winters, an elite member of The Titan Group, has a single objective on his black ops mission: recover a document important to national security. It was supposed to be an easy in-and-out operation. But now, by any means necessary becomes a survival mantra when he faces off with a stunning woman he can’t leave behind.

When Titan’s safe houses are compromised, Colby stashes Mia at his home, exposing his secret—he’s the adoptive father of an orphaned baby girl. Too soon, danger arrives and Mia lands in the hands of a sadistic cartel king with a taste for torture. As hours bleed into fear-drenched days, Colby races across the globe and through a firestorm of bullets to save the woman he can’t live without.

EXCERPT:

She smelled like vanilla and sugar, even after the hell she’d been through that day. Her soft hair brushed up against his bare bicep. Unsettled need prickled down his neck. His throat tightened, and fire ran to his groin.
“Mia…” Distraction and anticipation stole words from his lips.
His heart pounded loud in his chest, fighting for his attention. With each flutter of her eyelashes and innocent movement against his skin, his tension spiked. It was shocking. He was on the job. There was no time for distraction. Losing control was unheard of. Unacceptable.
His arm was cemented around her shoulder, and it wasn’t moving. He stared as the broken white lines on the highway passed in quick revolutions, one right after another. The hum of the truck’s engine poked at his concentration.
He needed to get out of this truck. He needed cool, fresh air to cover him. Right now. Deep, mind-clearing breaths were in order as soon as possible. Anything to get his disciplined mind back to what it did best—analyze, act, accomplish.
Winters made a sharp exit off the highway onto an unlit ramp. He jammed on the brakes. Gravel spit from under the truck. The back end skidded and fishtailed before it came to a stop. His heart thumped. His throat tightened. The faint scent of burned rubber filtered into the pickup cab.
Oh, what the hell. No way was he getting out of this truck.
As fast as he pulled off the road, he brought her close to his face, and without even a second to hover over her, he crushed his lips onto hers. Her tense mouth gasped a breath, then melted. The hot caress of her tongue sent explosions from his chest to the palms of his hands. The pounding in his heart didn’t get any better. It only pushed his racing pulse faster, making it gallop wild, as intoxicating rockets flamed inside him.
Insanity. She was delicious insanity.
In between breathless pants, wicked want fired. Her lips were full. Her kiss was better than he expected, and hell, he expected a whole lot. She stoked him faster than he could ever remember. A kiss unlike any other kiss. There was no denying that.
He knotted a hand in her hair, held her to him, and devoured her. The press of her silken flesh made him hunger for more. His breathing deteriorated into a desperate rasp of torture. With each inhalation, he smelled, tasted, and consumed feminine beauty. This angel was a vixen in disguise, and God help him, he wanted her.
Her small hands wrapped into his T-shirt, then she stroked his stomach, flexing her fingertips against the fabric and straining against him. He dropped his lips to her neck, and she moaned. That perfect purr fanned his desperation. Her goose bumps flashed under his tongue’s caress, and she shuddered with each whipping kiss.
She tasted of sweat and tear gas, of soft woman, and carnal ambition. There wasn’t a timid thing about Mia. Who was he to assume what she wanted? To think she needed soothing and caring? It seemed all she needed was him. Hard. Tough. Possessive.

BUY LINKS:

AMAZON:  http://amzn.to/18mlNVe

KOBO:  http://bit.ly/1ful6Rf

ITUNES:  http://bit.ly/19KIAdD

BN:  http://bit.ly/16Jaogh

ARe:  http://bit.ly/155v3On

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

This first book in the Titan series makes for an engaging read that lays compelling groundwork for future stories by introducing us to a rugged yet immensely likable group of men traveling the world to bring the bad guys to justice.  From its action-packed sequences to pulse pounding moments of danger to unrelenting sexual tension between the main protagonists, this story kept me fully immersed in the outcome of its characters and greatly anticipating the next release.

Colby is a very capable and rugged man with a surprisingly sensitive side that he occasionally wears on his sleeve, especially when dealing with his daughter.  He thinks his current mission will be simple but once the feisty Mia shows up everything seems to go wrong and he's forced into keeping her safe and staying one step ahead of danger while fighting their feelings.  He's immediately drawn to Mia, when they're not engaged in verbal banter, which results in a relationship that complicates things as he doesn't think himself worthy of Mia because of his dangerous job.  It will take a lot to change his mind but Mia's definitely up for the job.  Mia's a spunky and strong-willed woman not afraid to stick up for herself.  She didn't have an easy childhood which has left her jaded about men, the prospect of family, and HEA.  This leads to some conflicting emotions that make their burgeoning relationship even rockier as she's not sure she's ready for an established family.  Unlike Colby, it was harder to read her true emotions but I still applaud her strength.

Along with a main couple you can't help but root for comes a group of men whose brotherly interactions are charming and endearing and bode well for future stories.  Their interactions were playfully boyish and put a smile on my face.  From the moment Colby and Mia meet they're on a pulse pounding journey from one exotic place to another and with their vividly depicted surroundings to the cleverly written mystery with satisfying twists and turns I was fully immersed in the story.  Though a few elements are cliched with villains that are stereotypical I still found much to recommend this story and look forward to the next installment in the Titan series. 

My rating for this is a B-

*I received a copy of this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

AUTHOR INFO:

MOM. WIFE. AUTHOR.
Lover of all things sexy and happily ever after.
I live outside Washington, DC with my family: my husband (who doesn’t mind my collection of book boyfriends), an independent toddler, and an English bulldog named Britta who loves to be a conversation piece. Oh, we have a baby on the way—arriving about the same time as WINTERS HEAT debuts!
I love southern food, listen to country music, am always too hot or too cold, and spend hours reading and writing. I cheer on my University of Louisville Cardinals-GO CARDS! When I’m not pregnant (or nursing), I like a little bourbon or sweet wine. Pregnant or not, I love a lot of chocolate.
I can’t save the world, so instead, I write about those that do. There’s a special place in my heart for those who keep us safe. My Titan series debuts this fall with five titles available in 2013: WINTERS HEAT, GARRISON’S CREED, WESTIN’S CHASE, CHASED, and GAMBLED.

NEWSLETTER signup for series info: http://bit.ly/11aWFzM
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/7192034.Cristin_Harber
WEBSITE: http://cristinharber.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/cristinharberauthor
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/CristinHarber

**********GIVEAWAY**********

Cristin will be awarding a $25 GC to Victoria’s Secret, and gifted e-copies of the five titles in the series (starting w/ Winters Heat. Three novels and two novellas) to one randomly drawn commenter during this tour AND the Virtual Super Book Blast tour.

-To be entered, leave a comment along with your email addy (no email=no entry).

-Winners will be chosen randomly from all comments made throughout both tours, so the more you comment the greater your chances of winning.  A list of all participating blogs can be found here.

-Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM CST on 12/6.