Monday, June 1, 2015

NEW RELEASE & REVIEW ~ Stardust by Alexandra Richland








 STARDUST (The Starlight Trilogy Book #3) 


Release Date: Tuesday May 26, 2015



STARDUST SYNOPSIS:


Following their Academy Award wins, the film careers of Elizabeth Sutton and Aidan Evans reach stratospheric heights. Now bona fide superstars, the Hollywood press and throngs of starstruck fans await them at every turn, and the pressure to maintain their luminary status for the benefit of Starlight Studios escalates.

Away from the spotlight, Beth and Aidan's forbidden romance intensifies. Passionate nights spent together in secret stoke their mutual desires, each experience more extraordinary than the last. 

Beth is thrilled with the breakthroughs in both her professional and personal lives, but perpetual feelings of guilt and self-doubt cripple Aidan's happiness. Slowly, the burdens brought on by the fame he neither courted nor craved unleash his inner torment, releasing the demons Beth's love and support helped him cage. 

Aidan must embark on a final journey to move on from his traumatic past once and for all, but the outcome is anything but certain. It leads him down an unexpectedly dark path, from an explosive showdown with studio head Luther Mertz, to a jarring revelation about his mother’s death that could hold the key to his salvation or exile him from everyone he loves forever. 

Stardust is the powerful conclusion to The Starlight Trilogy, a story of love and redemption set against the backdrop of the final years of Hollywood's Golden Age.




Stardust (The Starlight Trilogy book #3) Excerpt

Beth’s forefinger traveled his bare chest in a languid, circular pattern. “Would you mind if I took a shower?”
“Not at all.” Aidan pulled back the covers. “I’ll set up everything for you. Wait here.”
“Actually, I would like you to join me. If you want to, that is.” Beth slipped out of bed and stepped over their Academy Awards. In the doorway, she stopped and held out her hand.
Aidan gaped at her, as if he was taking in her naked body for the first time. Her skin was flushed, well kissed. Her dark hair fell to just above her shoulders, sand-speckled from their visit to the beach yesterday. The swell of her breasts, the curve of her hips . . . everything about her was perfect. 
If he wanted to?
Damn it. He wanted nothing more.



This is the final installment of the Starlight series.  I love old Hollywood stories, it’s a bygone era. And Richland has an ability to put you in it.  It is well written and you can even picture it. 

In the first book we are introduced to Elizabeth and Aidan.  Through the first two books we see their careers and see their relationship bloom.  How they navigate their way through the Hollywood and friendships.  This book starts up right after Elizabeth and Aidan wins their Academy Awards.  Just when they and their friends are on their high, they are dropped down to the low in the form of Luther J. Mertz.  Aiden leaves Elizabeth and flees to Chicago.  Mertz also destroys the lives of their friends.  While in Chicago, Aiden confronts his father about his mother’s murder and learns more than he bargains for.  Elizabeth returns home and gets some good advice.  Just before returning to L.A she gets a call from Chicago that Aiden was in an accident.  What will happen? Will they be free from Mertz? Will they get their lives back together?

The series is a great tale from start to finish.  The story put you in the era and these character’s lives.  The story is well written and age turner.  Richland does not disappoint. 

Review By Kellie 


Available for order from Amazon :




















STARLIGHT (The Starlight Trilogy Book #1)








STARLIGHT SYNOPSIS

October 1952 finds eighteen-year-old Marie Bates relocating from her rainy hometown in the Pacific Northwest to the sun-soaked streets of Los Angeles, California. Marie's plans for a teaching career take an unexpected turn when she's asked to film a screen test at Starlight Motion Picture Studios. 

Renamed Elizabeth Sutton by the studio heads, she lands her first role as an extra. On set, Beth spies Aidan Evans, a rebellious, twenty-three-year-old Method actor from New York. Aidan is branded as a stuck-up troublemaker by his famous Hollywood peers, but Beth suspects a tragic secret lurks behind his steely facade. 

As their careers hit the fast track and friendship evolves into romance, the expectations of Hollywood stardom threaten to shine a spotlight on Aidan's dark past before he can make peace with it. Beth must help Aidan confront the painful event that shattered his life and conquer a terrifying truth before it destroys him and their future together. 

Starlight is the first book in The Starlight Trilogy, a story of love and redemption set against the backdrop of the final years of Hollywood's Golden Age. 

Starlight is the first book in The Starlight Trilogy, a story of love and redemption set against the backdrop of the final years of Hollywood's Golden Age. 



STARLIGHT EXCERPT:


Aidan cleared his throat. “Beth?”

“Yes, Aidan?” 

“May I place a kiss on your cheek?” 

“A kiss?” Heat fanned across her face. “Why, yes. I’d . . . I’d like that very much.”

“I’m sorry I’m asking you in my car—” 

“I don’t mind. Honest.” Her blush deepened.

Aidan draped his arm over her seat and moved closer . . . closer. Then, finally, his lips were near hers. “I had a wonderful time with you today.”

“Me, too.” Beth closed her eyes. 

Aidan pressed his lips to her cheek, followed by her jaw, stirring something intensely pleasurable deep inside her, which she’d never felt previously. It drilled into her very being, transforming her longing for him into something so fierce she thought she’d cease living if he didn’t give her what she wanted immediately.

Beth took in a sharp breath as he moved lower . . . lower. When his lips met her neck, desire rippled from her head to her toes and she let out a gasp. “Oh my!” 

Aidan flung back against the driver’s door, his eyes wide and his hands yanking at his hair. “Beth, I’m sorry! I got carried away. Damn it. I’m so sorry . . .” 

It took her a moment to realize he’d misinterpreted her response. “No, Aidan. Wait. I didn’t react that way because you made me feel uncomfortable.” 

He dropped his hands from his hair. “Then why?”

“I, uh . . .” She lowered her gaze. “I liked what you were doing . . . a lot.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Beth’s next words were unladylike, but the absence of his lips on her skin drove her crazy. “Actually, I’d like for you to do it again. Kiss my cheek. My neck . . . That is, if you don’t mind.”  

“Mind?” Aidan shook his head. “I’d be honored.”


Available Now From:

    Amazon
    Amazon UK
    Smashwords
    Chapters (Kobo)



STARBRIGHT (The Starlight Trilogy Book #2) 






STARBRIGHT SYNOPSIS

For starlet Elizabeth Sutton, it’s difficult to tell which has more momentum: her burgeoning film career, or the growing intimacy in her forbidden romance with notorious Hollywood outsider, Aidan Evans. 

When the opportunity to costar in a feature film arrives, Beth and Aidan fight to keep their relationship out of Hollywood’s rumor mill and away from the ever-watchful eyes of Starlight Studios head Luther Mertz, who condemns a union between them and threatens the future of Beth’s acting career. 

The pressure mounts as the cameras roll. Beth and Aidan navigate the precarious heights of superstardom while exploring their physical desires in secret. Beth grapples between the debilitating nervousness over her sexual inexperience and her unbridled need for Aidan. Meanwhile, the demons from Aidan’s past he thought forever vanquished linger on the fringes of a fragile inner peace . . . 

The Starlight Trilogy is a story of love and redemption set against the backdrop of the final years of Hollywood's Golden Age.




STARBRIGHT EXCERPT


The door opened and Aidan emerged from the bathroom, vigorously rubbing his hair with a towel. He wore navy blue briefs and a white T-shirt that hugged him across his chest and shoulders.

With the setting of the sun, darkness shrouded the room except for the soft light from the table lamp, lending him an ethereal glow. He looked like a powerful blend of runway model and unadulterated male. Her imagination couldn’t have constructed a more handsome man.

Any apprehension Beth had about her appearance vanished when Aidan spotted her on the bed. He didn’t say a word, but the truth sparked in his eyes. They consumed her ravenously, as if one good look wasn’t nearly enough.

He cleared his throat, though his voice sounded no less rough because of it. “Please stand up so I can see you properly.”

Beth tried to breathe normally, but it was impossible. She slid across the mattress, feeling a heightened awareness of every part of her body under his dedicated stare. As her bare feet met the carpet, she adjusted her nightgown. She wanted nothing more than to please him, to give him the show he craved and so much more.

“Turn around.” Aidan’s gentle plea was belied by the hunger in his eyes.

Beth did as he requested, receiving a sense of empowerment and pleasure that could never come from being one of the most popular actresses in the country, but only from the admiration of the man for whom she cared so deeply—the man who knew the real her, not the enhanced version created by the movie studio, and still desired her above all other women.

At the completion of her rotation, Beth made the thrilling discovery that Aidan was aroused. His erection pushed against his briefs, giving her the strongest indication yet as to how he looked beneath them. She longed to touch him like she did in the bathroom at his house, only in the flesh. And this time, she would bring him to orgasm.

Aidan set down the towel and moved toward her, his hair wild and damp, his eyes gloriously green and greedy. Beth breathed in deeply as his arms encircled her waist and he pulled her close. He smelled like lavender soap and summer rain. 

“You look stunning, Beth.” Aidan whispered the words, but they resonated as though he’d shouted them for the world to hear.

He leaned forward and kissed her carefully, kindling her internal flame of desire. Beth pushed her hands into his hair and pressed her lips more firmly to his, even adding a bit of tongue.

Aidan pulled back. His eyes searched hers, as if he sensed there was an additional method to her erotic madness. “Have you ever had an orgasm?”

Beth frowned. While she’d hoped that was where things would lead for both of them tonight, she wasn’t expecting such a blunt question. “I told you I’ve never been with a man before you.”

“I know.” Aidan glided his hands down her back, caressing her with silk and sweetness. “What I mean is… have you ever pleasured yourself?”

Beth’s eyes widened. “No, never. I was always under the impression it was inappropriate for a woman to… you know…”

The silence that greeted her was unnerving.

“Why, is that bad?” She pitched him a tentative glance.

“It’s not bad.” His voice sounded throatier than before.

“Are you certain?”

Aidan’s eyes grew darker. “I prefer that you’ve never had an orgasm.” He leaned in until his hot breath skated across her face. “Because I want to be the one to give you your first.”

Beth’s flame ignited into a raging inferno.

With a hum, Aidan brushed his lips to her ear, his fingers dancing over the skin the lace of her negligee revealed. “And I would like to do it tonight. That is, if you’ll award me the honor, little dove.”

Beth’s anxiety vanished as her desire and anticipation solidified into something so overwhelming, she couldn’t dream of saying no to him.

“I’m yours, Aidan.” A desperate whimper joined her reply. “Lay your hands on me… please.”


Available Now From:








Five Reasons To Read The Starlight Trilogy: 

1. A sweeping Technicolor tale of forbidden romance. 

2. A detailed homage to the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema

3. Cameos from many of your favorite classic film stars. 

4. Transformation of a small town girl to silver screen starlet through Hollywood’s unforgiving lens. 

5. Close-up of a 1950s bad boy channeling a tragic past and the stress of sudden super stardom through the art of Method acting.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexandra Richland spends rotating twelve-hour shifts working as a registered nurse at a Toronto hospital, indulging in her love of science and medicine, and caring for patients with their own unique tales to tell.

When she is not on duty, Alexandra escapes into her own imagination. Therein lies a fantasy world of thrilling adventure, gorgeous men, classic Hollywood glamour, exotic getaways, and a seductive dose of romance. Alexandra captures these stories in her popular novels, The Starlight Trilogy and Frontline, her novella Slip Away, and her short story, Gilded Cage.








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