Blog Tour & Book Excerpt: Thrill Me by Susan Mallery (Plus Giveaway!!!) GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Today, I’m excited to share with you an excerpt from Susan Mallery’s upcoming book, Thrill Me, the latest book in her Fool’s Gold series.
There is also a fun prize pack up for
grabs so be check out the giveaway at the bottom of this post.  I am
stop #8 on the excerpt tour, so if you haven’t been following along, be
sure to go back to the beginning as the book excerpts follow along in
sequence.  You can find the full tour schedule here. I’ll also be participating in the review tour for the book – make sure to some back on August 14 for my review!

Title: Thrill Me   

Author: Susan Mallery    

Series: Fool’s Gold, #18      

Published: July 2015, HQN Books  

Format: Paperback, 368 pages   

Meet the Mitchell brothers of Fool’s Gold, California—five gorgeous men who’ve left a trail of broken hearts in their wake…

Maya
Farlow learned the hard way to depend only on herself, so when she fell
too deeply for the bad-boy charms of Del Mitchell, she did the only
thing she could—she ran. Stunned, Del left Fool’s Gold to make his name
and fortune in extreme sports.

Now ten years later, Maya’s been
hired to promote her hometown’s new slogan, The Destination for Romance.
The celebrity spokesman is none other than Del, the man she dumped but
never forgot. Awkward!

Although Del’s not the type to hold a
grudge, he’s determined to avoid falling a second time for the woman who
broke his heart. He’s a daredevil, not an idiot. Trouble is, in all his
adventures, he never found a rush as exhilarating as Maya’s kiss. Maybe
risking his heart will prove to be the biggest thrill of all…

Excerpt #8:

He stepped into the house
and back into the past. Very little had changed. The living room had different
sofas, but in the same spot. His father’s glasswork was everywhere, all
carefully mounted or secured so Sophie or her wagging tail didn’t do any
damage.

Del turned his attention
back to his mother. Elaine had met Ceallach Mitchell when she’d been twenty.
According to her, it had been love at first sight. His father had never told
his side of the story. They’d married four months later and Del had been born a
year after that. Four more sons had followed, each about a year apart until the
twins.

His mom looked as she
always had, with dark, shoulder-length hair and an easy smile. But as he
studied her, he saw that there were a few differences. She was older, but it
was more than that. She seemed tired, maybe.

“You okay, Mom?”

“I’m fine. I don’t sleep
as well as I used to.” She shrugged. “The change.”

He wasn’t sure exactly
which change she was referring to, but he wasn’t going there. Rather than take
a safe step back and escape, he moved to the sofa. Sophie jumped up next to him
and immediately settled in for a nap.

His mother sat across
from him. “How long are you in town?”

“The rest of the summer.
You said to be home for Dad’s birthday. I came back early.”

“Your father will be
pleased.”

Del was less sure about
that. Ceallach might be brilliant, but he was also temperamental. In his mind
what mattered was art. Everything else was a far second. A lesser kind of
living. He had no patience for or interest in mere mortal lives or pursuits.

“You’re here by
yourself?” his mother asked.

Del nodded. Last time
he’d been home he’d brought Hyacinth. He’d been so sure they were going to make
it. But they hadn’t. She’d been unable to promise herself to a single man and
he’d been unable to accept the string of what she swore were insignificant lovers
that moved in and out of her bed. While he’d loathed the cheating, the
dishonesty had been just as bad.

“Traveling light,” he
told his mother.

“Del, you need to settle
down.”

“I’ve never wanted to
settle.”

“You know what I mean.
Don’t you want a family?”

“Finally playing the
grandkid card?”

She smiled. “Yes. It’s
time. Your father and I have been married thirty-five years and yet none of my
boys has ever gotten married. Why is that?”

He couldn’t speak for
his brothers. He’d been in love twice in his life, first with Maya and then
with Hyacinth. Both relationships had ended badly. And the common denominator?
Him.

His father strolled into
the living room. Ceallach Mitchell was tall and broad-shouldered. Despite being
weeks away from turning sixty, he was still strong, with the muscles required
to wrestle large pieces of molten glass into submission. Del acknowledged his
father’s genius—there was no denying brilliance. But he also knew it came at a
price.

“Del’s home,” Elaine
said, motioning to the sofa.

Ceallach stared at his
son. For a second Del wondered if his father was trying to figure out which of
his offspring he was.

“He came back for your
birthday,” his mother added.

“Good to know. What are
you doing these days? Surfing?”

Del thought about the
board he’d created, the company he’d started, how much he’d sold it for and the
impressive amount sitting in his bank account.

“Most days,” he said,
dropping his hand to rub Sophie’s tummy. The beagle shifted onto her back and
sighed.

“You seen Nick?” his
father asked. “He’s still working in that bar, wasting his talent. No one can
get through to him. I’m done trying.”

With that, Ceallach
walked out of the room.

Del stared after him.
“Good to see you, too, Dad.”

His mother pressed her
lips together. “Don’t be like that,” she said. “You know how he gets. It’s just
his way. He’s glad you’re back.”

Del was less sure about
that, but didn’t want to start a fight. Nothing had changed. Ceallach only
cared about his art and other people with the potential to create art, and
Elaine still stood between him and the world, acting as both buffer and
defender.

“What are
you up to these days?” she asked. “I know you sold your company.
Congratulations.”

“Thanks. I’m still
deciding what’s next. I’ve been offered some design work.”

“Are you going to take
it?”

“No. I came up with my
board on my own. I’m not a designer. There are a couple of venture capitalists
who want to fund my next big idea.” Which would be great if he had one. What he
most wanted to do—well, that wasn’t going the way he’d hoped.

“You have time to decide
what’s important.”

The right words, but
again he had the sense she was hiding something. Not that he was going to ask
again. Secrets were an ongoing part of life in the Mitchell family. He’d
learned early to wait until they were shared.

“You could go to work
for your brother,” she said.

“Aidan?” Del laughed.
“At the family business? No thanks. And I doubt he’d appreciate you offering my
help.”

“He’s busy all the time.
Especially in summer.”

He couldn’t imagine what
his brother would have to say about his advice. These days they barely kept in
touch. Del remembered when they’d been close and wondered what had happened.
Sure he’d been gone, but he emailed and texted.

Another problem for
another day, he told himself and rose.

“Good to see you, Mom,”
he said as he crossed to her and kissed her on the cheek.

“You, too. I expect to
see a lot of you while you’re in town.”

“You will.”

“And shave.”

Purchase
the book at:

Amazon | B&N 

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About  the author: New York Times bestselling
author Susan Mallery has won the hearts of millions of readers around
the world with books described as “immensely entertaining, intensely
emotional” (RT Book Reviews), “hilarious” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram), and “heartwarming” (Publishers Weekly).

One
major retailer recently described her as “the queen of romantic
fiction.” While she deeply appreciates the accolades of critics and
booksellers, Mallery is even more honored by the enthusiasm of her
readers and the word-of-mouth that catapults her toward the top of the
bestsellers lists time and again.

Mallery lives in not-so-sunny Seattle with her husband and a toy poodle
who makes her laugh every day and who’s not even a little bit impressed
by her growing fame.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads

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GIVEAWAY DETAILS (US only):

As part of the excerpt tour, there is a prize package for one lucky reader here at Always
With a Book. The prize package includes:

* Autographed copy of Until We Touch

* Susan Mallery lip gloss

* Map of Fool’s Gold

* Susan Mallery Pen

* Heart-shaped Susan Mallery notepad

To enter the giveaway, please fill out the form by July 24th.  

Form closed

This giveaway is open to US residents only & ends July 24th.  

 

Good Luck!!! 

**Be sure to follow the rest of the tour HERE to find out what happens in the next excerpt and for another chance to win another prize package.