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March 31, 2014

Frenched by Melanie Harlow Blog Tour ~ Review & Giveaway!


Hey guys! Welcome to my stop on the Frenched Blog Tour hosted by AToMR Tours. Click here to follow along with the blog tour schedule.   


Frenched
by Melanie Harlow
A Sexy Adult Contemporary Romance
Released March 18th 2014

Source: Copy for review

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Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis

Mia Devine plans over-the-top weddings for a living. So when it comes to her own nuptials, she spares no expense - hand engraved invitations, Vera Wang gown, luxury honeymoon in France. And since her fiance is Tucker Branch, playboy heir and notorious flirt, local media is obsessed with every little detail. 

Which is why it really sucks when he jilts her a week before the wedding. 

Mortified, Mia wants nothing more than to crawl under her newly monogrammed sheets and plan a funeral for her dignity, right after blabbing to the world how fitting it is that Tucker will inherit a bolt and screw company, because that's all he wants to do - screw, and bolt. And he doesn't do either with much finesse.

When her friends convince her that bitter tastes better when it's drowned in Bordeaux, she grits her teeth and packs her bags, determined to make the best of a week in Paris alone. 

She never planned on meeting Lucas Fournier. 

The free-spirited musician's scruffy good looks and less-than-sympathetic ear annoy her at first, but when she takes him up on his offer to show her around the city, she discovers that the romance of Paris isn't just a myth. 

Nor is the simultaneous O.

The last thing Mia needs is another doomed love affair, but since she only has a week, she figures she might as well enjoy La Vie en O with Lucas while she can. 

But each day - and night - with him is better than the last, and suddenly her heart is telling her this is more than a rebound fling. 

Is it just the seduction of Paris...or could this be the real thing?     


I fell head over heels in love with Melanie Harlow's writing when I read her debut novel, Speak Easy. I loved that novel so much I knew I'd pick up any book she wrote afterward. I'm just as in love with her latest release, Frenched, if not a bit more so - this novel was an absolute pleasure to read! 

In Frenched, we meet Mia who has just been jilted by her ex-fiance, Tucker, A WEEK BEFORE THE WEDDING (!) and is convinced by her friends, Coco and Erin to take the honeymoon trip to Paris by herself. They reasoned it would give her time and space to think, and she may as well get away from it all for a while. Coco and Erin were such great friends to Mia in her time of need. Every girl needs friends like them. 

Right away it was apparent to me that Mia was more upset about the wedding not taking place rather than the loss of the relationship itself. It's easy to get caught up in the wedding planning and forget about the actual marriage itself, and that's what Mia did. Not that I blame her - she does plan weddings for a living! As painful as it was for her, Tucker calling off the wedding ended up allowing her to reexamine who she is and the choices she's made up to now. 

One of my favorite scenes in Frenched (and there are many!) is when she flies into the sports bar where Lucas works with an expression on her face almost daring any couples there to be openly affectionate - the last thing she wants to see right now in the city of love. She's spunky, beautiful, and intelligent, and there is no reason she wouldn't be able to pick herself back up and carry on. 

Lucas was oh-so-deliciously-good for her in many ways - not only was their chemistry off the charts, but he taught her how to live in the present without planning out every detail of the future. I think Mia was so busy worrying about what she wanted to happen that she wasn't appreciating life as it came. The here and the now. 

Isn't that something we all can relate to? I definitely can. One of the biggest challenges in life is to slow down and enjoy what you have while you have it, but fear gets in our way. Mia had huge fears she ended up coming face to face with...fears she had kept buried for so long that it was painful to face them but also necessary in order for her to find happiness. 

The sexual chemistry between Mia and Lucas certainly didn't hurt matters, wink wink. He is smoking hot and compassionate and caring. Their sex scenes were intense! The feelings I could see developing between them made the sex even hotter. They couldn't breathe around each other. They needed each other and couldn't get enough, and it was just, wow! 

Overall, I can't recommend Frenched enough. I'm a huge fan of Melanie Harlow and the characters she creates. Her name alone is all I need to know what to read next.  


My Rating: 



About the Author
Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her lipstick red, and her history with the naughty bits left in. She writes New Adult historical and contemporary stories.

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Blog Tour ~ The Starting Over Series by Evan Grace


Hey everyone! Welcome to my stop on the Second Chances Blog Tour hosted by Limitless Publishing. I have info on both books for you as well as teasers! 

A huge thank you to the author, Evan Grace, and Olivia Osland from Limitless for copies of both books which I'll have reviews for as soon as possible. :)

This series sounds hottt, sexy, and dreamy, and I can't wait to dive into these books! Don't forget to drop me a line and let me know what you think, too! Have you read these books yet?    

StartingOver_Amazon
Book 1 ~ Starting Over

by Evan Grace 

**Mature Content Warning** 

Recommended for ages 17+ due to language and sexual content.


Bellamy Carmichael's finally come home after staying away for six years. There's just one problem, Luke Carter... 

Six years ago she seduced him, but a realization had him turning his back on her and became the cause of her long exodus. But with her brother's imminent deployment Bellamy knows she's bound to see him.

Luke Carter made the mistake of crossing a line he never should've crossed six years ago... 

He knows he's the reason why Bellamy avoids home, and with her coming back home he's hoping to make things right. He just wasn't expecting her to look so damn beautiful. 

However, there's one more problem, Bellamy's been keeping a secret from Luke for past six years. When passion builds between them she knows that she must tell Luke the truth, but will it bring them closer together? 

Or will it drive them apart for good?






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SecondChances_Amazon Book 2 ~ Second Chances
by Evan Grace

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Stacy Hutchins thought she'd finally met the one, until a startling realization that shatters everything... 

Mark Jefferson, her undercover DEA agent boyfriend lied about one tiny little detail...his wife and kids. Stacy hates liars and cheaters so she kicks him to the curb. But Mark makes it very clear he will not go willingly. 

Has his obsession with Stacy tied them together forever? Or will Mark finally walk away? 

Dustin Carmichael swore off women a long time ago, until his sister reconnected with her best friend from high school, Stacy. 

But after a perfect month together, a year ago, Stacy played the 'friends' card. Unfortunately, they've been good friends ever since. 

When Stacy life turns to shambles, Dustin's more then willing to be there for her. As she tries to get herself together, Stacy finds herself in another dilemma, she can no longer deny the feelings she's always had for Dustin. 

Will her failure to see that Dustin has changed stop them from having something everlasting?

 

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About Evan Grace

A Midwesterner and self-proclaimed nerd, Evan has been an avid reader most of her life, but five years ago got bit by the writing bug, and it quickly became her addiction, passion and therapy. 

When the voices in her head give it a rest, she can always be found with her e-reader in her hand. Some of her favorites include, Shayla Black, Jaci Burton, Madeline Sheehan and Jamie McGuire. 

Evan finds a lot of her inspiration in music, so if you see her wearing her headphones you know she means business and is in the zone. 

During the day Evan works for a large homecare agency and at night she’s superwoman. She’s a wife to Jim and a mom to Ethan and Evan, a cook, a tutor, a friend and a writer. 

How does she do it? She’ll never tell.

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All My Restless Life to Live by Dee DeTarsio Blitz ~ Guest Post & Giveaway!


Happy Monday guys! Welcome to the Blitz for Dee DeTarsio's All My Restless Life to Live hosted by Xpresso Reads. Below you'll find info on the book (which I'm super excited to read being a huge soap fan!!), a hilarious guest post by the author, and a chance to win an eBook copy for yourself! Enjoy and let me know what you think! 


All My Restless Life to Live
by Dee DeTarsio
Publication date: April 29th 2013
Genre: Adult, Romance

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Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis
Award-winning author Dee DeTarsio combines life's darker side with humor and tenderness in a wonderfully charming look at love and the afterlife. 

Life is a soap opera, especially for Elle Miller, who is a TV producer. (Ellen dropped the "n" in her name in hopes of finding a better ending for herself.) When her laptop crashes, she borrows her dead dad's computer and gets way more than she bargained for. 

As Elle tries to save her career with a storyline featuring a trip through Atlantis, she takes a trip to the Emmys, and finds herself in the middle of a romance between a real doctor and a hunk who just plays one on TV. Friends, family, and clues from "the other side" all help Elle figure out the difference between living the good life...and living a good life.

About the Author


Dee DeTarsio is a graduate of The Ohio State University and lives in southern California with her family. She did not teach herself to read at an early age or write stories by the time she was in kindergarten. She was still wetting the bed and playing in the can cupboard.

Author Links

Guest Post
Announcing New eReader: The Fondle!
by Dee DeTarsio

I lost my ego along with the placenta of my first-born, making writing a natural career choice. More than seven hundred rejections, three agents, and close-but-no-cigar publishers toying with my affections, I perversevered. (I know that's not a real word, but it should be.) Full disclosure: while I am not making enough to pay for Lululemon writing pants, I could probably spring for a pair of LuluLychees. (I would buy those.)

So why can't I write erotica? I have tried, but it's hard. (Get it?) I sat in front of my laptop for such an embarrassing amount of time, nothing came. Har har. I really wish I could write those spicy scenes. *Whip crack.* I hear it pays well. While every writer shares intimacy, some just have better vocabularies, imaginations, and experiences than others (and I'm not calling anybody s-to-the-lutty, here.)

I like titillating stuff as much as the next girl. If I write it, though, it makes me squirm, and not in the good way. I am no femme fatale. My bra and underwear don't match. I'm more Vicks than vixen. 

I get why guys like boobs, I really do. I get why girls like hunks with pecs that you want to squeeze like Charmin. But try as I might, under my throbbing fingertips (get it, I'm typing?) never the twain shall meet. Surely, I have other skills, right? I know what you're thinking. What's not going on in her boudoir? Hey, now. The man of my dreams and I have our bedroom story all worked out: four times a week, after Game of Thrones, twice on birthdays, anniversaries, when in hotel rooms, San Diego Charger's victories, full moons, and first days of school; yes on phone sex, doesn't everyone? and of course, I love giving blow jobs. We are such a passionate couple, n'est-ce pas?

So, I got to thinking. All books deserve a happy ending. (Wink.) Let's just cut out the middle man and demand that technology gets on its giddyup to produce a vibrating eRotica eReader. Siri suggests we call it the Fondle. I'd tap that app! (You know Jane Jetson had one!) You're welcome!

Dee DeTarsio lives in southern California. Her new novel, All My Restless Life to Live, is not yet available on the Fondle.     

Giveaway

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The Spirit by D. Nichole King Cover Reveal with Giveaway!


Coming April 2014...


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20529381-the-spirit

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SYNOPSIS

* Book #1 in the Spirit Series *

While seventeen year-old Carrie Reese’s parents were working out the details of their divorce, she headed to Villisca, Iowa to stay with her grandparents.

Villisca was home to the infamous Axe Murder House…

It’s known to be haunted by the ghosts of the victims and their killer. Carrie doesn’t believe in ghosts, but the moving curtains and red flashes of light in the windows of Lot 310 were starting to give her reason to watch her back.

Then in walked Lucas…

Within days, Carrie knew she was in love. But Lucas seemed strange: his hands were cool and hollow, he barely touched his food, and there was sadness behind his brilliant green eyes.

Lucas was falling for Carrie but knowing that loving her puts her in grave danger, he reluctantly slips out of her life….

He struggles between staying away and telling Carrie his darkest secret. Unable to stand being apart from her any longer, he decides she must know.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR



Born and raised in Iowa, d. Nichole King writes her stories close to home. There’s nothing like small-town Midwest scenery to create the perfect backdrop for an amazing tale.

She wrote her first book in junior high and loved every second of it. However, she couldn’t bring herself to share her passion with anyone. She packed it away until one day, with the encouragement of her husband, she sat down at the computer and began to type. Now she can’t stop.

When not writing, d. is usually curled up with a book, scrapbooking, or doing yet another load of laundry.

Along with her incredible husband, she lives in small-town Iowa with her four adorable children and their dog, Peaches.

CONNECT WITH D. NICHOLE KING

* Twitter * Facebook * Facebook "Like" Page * Website * Goodreads *


 This looks and sounds super awesome! Imagine having to live in an infamous Axe Murder house? Sounds deliciously like something out of American Horror Story! I'm in! 

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Cover Reveal organized by: Limitless Publishing

March 30, 2014

Review ~ Santa's Wayward Elf by Paige Tyler


Title: Santa's Wayward Elf
Author: Paige Tyler
Release date: November 29th 2013 
(first published November 15th 2011)
Genre: Contemporary, Christmas Themed Romance

Source: Review copy via Lovers of Paranormal (Goodreads) 

Recommended for 18+ due to sexual content

Add: Goodreads 

Synopsis

NOTE: This book has a guileless elf heroine you can't help but fall in love with, a hunky hero who knows how to come to a girl's - er, elf's - rescue, some serious kissing under the mistletoe and lots of steamy hot romance!

Being one of Santa's elves isn't all sugar plums and candy canes.


At least not for Sosie. Taller than the other elves, she's always had a problem fitting in at the North Pole, so when the transport sled she's on breaks down in New York City on Christmas Eve, she can't resist slipping away to explore the world of the "big people." While she's having fun, the transport sled takes off, leaving the naiive elf stranded.

Fortunately, handsome police detective Derek Clayton comes to her rescue, offering to let her stay at his apartment. Having heard horror stories about the big people, Sosie is both surprised and relieved to meet such a kind, sweet man. Not to mention one so gorgeous and well-built.

Even though Sosie expects the North Pole to send out a search party any day, she finds herself falling for Derek anyway. She desperately wants to tell him she's an elf, but knows he'll never believe her. When the lies and omissions start to pile up, Derek can draw only one conclusion - Sosie is working for the mob boss he's been after for years.

Just when things seem like they can't get any worse, the chief of elfin security shows up to drag Sosie back to the North Pole. How is a runaway elf supposed to overcome a determined security elf, dangerous mobsters and a suspicious boyfriend all while keeping her pointed ears secret?



SANTA'S WAYWARD ELF was a fun and imaginative read with lots of hot sex that made me blush. Paige Tyler's fresh take on elves, Santa, and the North Pole was entertaining. Sosie is an elf who isn't like the other elves - she's taller than all of them and isn't happy living in the North Pole any longer (where she makes sex toys by the way). And I thought only children's toys were made up there, lol! She's heading to the South Pole at her request when the transport sled she's on breaks down, and that's where her adventures begin.

Sosie is the kind of character you'll like right away. She's cute with her wide-eyed innocence and love of all things fun. While she was an outcast at the North Pole, she's seen as very gorgeous among humans. I couldn't help but worry about her trying to navigate her way among humans due to her lack of knowledge about our world, not to mention the fact that she's too trusting though the North Pole news makes elves think humans are violent and dangerous.

While Sosie is very naive, she's really experienced in bed. A lady in public, a tiger in the bedroom - every guy's dream, right? I couldn't help but roll my eyes at that a bit. While the sex scenes were super hot, her sexual expertise didn't seem to go with her personality. But there was also a lot of sweet romance. I did like Sosie and Derek together - they not only had sizzling chemistry but also could spend time together hanging out and having fun. They went well together.

I just wasn't that into Derek. I liked him in the beginning, then I didn't like him. I ended up liking him again later but not as much as I did in the beginning. If he's such a great guy like everyone he knows tells Sosie, why did he let himself get so easily talked into thinking she was this terrible person? It was obvious to me that she wasn't secretly working for a notorious mobster and not just because I knew her side of the story before he did.

I liked him, I just wasn't in LOVE with him. He is a good guy, but he turned ugly to me when he hurled insult after insult at Sosie. He took out his problems on her, and while that's a very human thing to do, it just wasn't right. She's so innocent! She doesn't know what so many things in the human world are called or used for - I don't know how he could have thought the worst of her. Okay, enough ranting, lol.

Overall, I enjoyed SANTA'S WAYWARD ELF. It's the perfect story to read anytime of the year. I particularly liked reading this book on a cold winter's day snuggled up in a warm blanket, but I'd read this any day of the year. Sosie is a fun character to get to know and hang out with, and the situations she gets into will make you laugh out loud. She just made the book with her spunk and hope that everything would turn out all right. 

My Rating:


Think Out Loud #31 ~ It's Anarchy! It's Chaos! It's the Purge!


Have something you'd like to talk about that's non-bookish? Join this meme hosted by Thinks Books! Get to know your fellow bloggers outside the bookish realm! Click here for the 411. Every Thursday or whenever you can! :D

Yesterday I took my daughter and our friend Mary to see Divergent which was super exciting. I haven't even read the book yet, but I've been dying to see the movie. Now that we've seen the movie, my daughter and I are dying to read the book. I just have to find my copy, lol. Anyway, I'll have a review up of the movie this week sometime. 

But this Think Out Loud post isn't about Divergent as awesome as it was to see that. It's about Anarchy. It's about The Purge 2! 

Last year, I went to see The Purge and while I loved the concept and enjoyed the movie, I found talking about the movie was more interesting than the actual movie itself. So much more could have been done with the high concept plot, and I was left a bit disappointed. 

This movie is one that I wish were adapted into a book. Have you ever felt that way about a movie that isn't based on a book? 

Anyway, I had heard rumors last year during opening weekend for The Purge that due to its success at the box office there would be a sequel in the works. I just didn't think it would be out this year and am so excited to find out it's slated for release in July! 

Here's the trailer I found online: 


My excitement cannot be overstated. It looks awesome! Instead of following a rich family who have tried to barricade themselves in their expensive home, it looks like this time we'll be seeing things from the outside. Is July here yet??

Have you seen The Purge? What did you think? Would you see the sequel?  

Glory Days by Patrick Szabo Blitz ~ Excerpt



I'm late in posting this but wanted to share the excerpt with you guys. I need to read this book! The title is very fitting for my life! ;)


Glory Days - PROMO Blitz
By Patrick Szabo
Young Adult / Coming of Age
Date Published: March 3, 2014



Matt is heading into his senior year of high school and has the world at his feet.

School comes easy for him. He’s the lead guitar player in a hard rock band, about to embark on their first gig. He has a job he likes, a car he doesn’t, a best friend he hopes to be friendlier with, and a pretty good set of parents. He has it all.

Until he doesn’t.

His dad suddenly begins acting strange and keeping odd hours. Matt has his own life to live, though, and doesn’t pay it much attention. Until he wakes up one morning to find his dad gone, leaving behind only a short note to his mother, setting into motion a chain of events that sends Matt down a dangerous path that could jeopardize his present as well as his future. 

Forced to quit a job he likes, he must take on a new job to help his mother out financially, but one that also eats into his ever important social life as well as school. Adding to his troubles, his best friend, Dawn, has a new boyfriend.

Matt can’t wait to become a member of the Class of 1989, but first he must get out of 1988 alive.


* NOTE * Contains adult language


EXCERPT

Chapter 1

I was seventeen years old when I played my first gig.

Thinking back, it really wasn’t that big a deal in the grand, macro scheme of things. It didn’t change my life nor did it lead to a record deal, followed quickly by fortune and glory. Women didn’t throw themselves at me or scream and cry when they saw me, like the girls in the old footage of The Beatles early shows. I played lead guitar in an 80’s hard rock band. We did get a fairly decent sized following around Columbia, SC, but a few years into our music career the bottom fell out of that type of music. Thanks in equal parts to fluffy ‘metal’ bands all over the airwaves and a few groups from Seattle that took the nation by storm. So, yeah, that first gig wasn’t that big a deal.

But at the time? It was the greatest moment of my young life.

The night before the show I didn’t sleep that well. I was way too excited to be bothered by any of those little slices of death, to paraphrase Poe. Don’t get me wrong, I tried to sleep, I really did. But each time sleep started to overtake me, my overactive mind kicked slumber to the curb and whirled with a thousand possibilities, all of them bad.

I only had one guitar, so what if I broke a string during a song? What if my voice went out? What if I forgot how to play the songs or messed up during the guitar solos? What if my dream girl didn’t show up? What if, what if, what if?

Then I would nod off for a few minutes and then wake up again and the cycle would continue.

Frustrated, I kicked the covers off and slipped out of bed. I thought about going for a swim—nothing quite like a middle of the night dip in the pool—and then decided against it. There would be dead bugs in the pool, possibly big ass palmetto bugs (my current Biggest Fear for some reason), and we didn’t have enough light in the backyard to properly scoop out all the detritus. So that was out. I decided to get a pop out of the refrigerator and think about my predicament.

I stepped quietly out of my room into the darkened hallway and tripped over my dog, who was asleep on his side outside my parents’s bedroom door. The big dog yelped and tried to jump up as I stumbled across his previously prone form. I cussed, regained my balance, and then he got his legs tangled in mine, and we both went down with a crash, a jumble of arms and legs and fur.

“Son of a bitch,” I said.

“Bo, shut up,” Dad’s groggy voice bellowed from behind the door.

I started to push myself up but Bo threw himself on top of me and shoved me back to the floor. He licked me.

“Get off me, you big moose,” I said and pushed his head away. He lurched forward and got in one more slobbery dog kiss—his impeccabley aimed tongue lapping my mouth—and then he was gone. I wiped his slobber from my face and swiped my hand on the carpet. “Gross, dog.”

He chuffed at me and then lay back down in front of Mom and Dad’s closed door. I shook my head, got up, and went to the kitchen. I squinted my eyes against the glare of the refrigerator light, grabbed a can of pop, and plopped down at the kitchen table. I popped the top as quietly as I could and took a big gulp. Then another. And one more for good measure.

I sat in the dark and drank and did my best to quiet my mind.

It didn’t really work all that well. I was nervous as hell, but at the same time I was as excited as a kid on Christmas Eve. I finished my drink, got up, and tossed the can in the trash. I thought about that swim again and immediately put it out of my mind. The last thing in the world I needed was a dead palmetto bug bumping up against me in the water. I shivered in disgust at the thought.

I went back to my room and, after closing the door behind me, flipped the light on. I took my guitar off its stand and sat down on my bed. If I couldn’t sleep, I might as well get a little extra practice in. Just a quick run through of the songs we would be playing the next night. I took a deep breath, played a few scales to limber up my fingers, and stopped. I couldn’t remember how to play the song we’d be opening with. Hell, I couldn’t even remember the name.

“Shit,” I muttered. I sat there with my guitar resting across one leg and stared at my closet door, but the set list didn’t magically appear on the wood in blazing letters from the heavens.

“Come on, dumb ass,” I said. I thought about calling the singer but I didn’t think his parents would appreciate a phone call at three in the morning from some dipshit kid panicking over a song title. Why didn’t I write the damned songs down and toss the paper in my guitar case? Why was I such an idiot?

And then it came to me.

“Stagefright,” I said and felt relief flood through me. I shook my head and noticed for the first time that I was sweating. I chuckled. “Flop sweat.”

I did a speed run through the first few songs of the set and figured that was enough. If I didn’t get some sleep I would be pretty useless the next night. I put my guitar away and stretched out on my back and stared at the ceiling.

I ran the set list over and over again in my head and finally fell asleep.

I dreamed of a swimming pool full of palmetto bugs and not being able to scoop them all out. Weird and disgusting.

I woke the next morning just before noon and had some leftover pizza for breakfast. I went outside into the bright heat of the day and glanced at the pool. Nope. Not full of those damnable little insects. Not even one.

I kicked around the house the rest of the day, not really paying any attention to what I was doing. It just wasn’t that important. Finally it was time to get ready for the gig, so I showered, blew dry my hair, and got dressed.

I grabbed my guitar case, told my parents goodbye, and went out to my car. I put the case in the back seat, climbed behind the steering wheel, and prayed it would start. I turned the key and prayed again. It would be just my luck that on the most important day of my life the piece of- - -

It started on the first try. Hallelujah.

I checked my hair in the rearview mirror—I wore it more Iron Maiden, than Poison—and, satisfied, backed out of the driveway.

I popped a tape into the tape deck and drove to the gig, a big dopey grin plastered to my face.

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