Review – The Phoenix Campaign by Heidi Joy Tretheway

tpc2-blog-tour-graphic1

Ambition. Lust. Sacrifice. Politics just got a whole lot sexier.
the-phoenix-campaign_small
Grace Colton’s life is a blur—security, appearances, and a desperately fast ramp-up to Election Day. Political consultant Jared Rankin is pulling the strings to win the White House with the Conover-Colton ticket.

But the fragile relationship Grace and Jared forged could be ruined by secrets traded for political leverage. She’s hiding her new relationship with Jared from the public, and concealing a deeper secret from everyone.

When Grace reveals the explosive truth to her running mate, squeaky-clean Senator Conover must confront his own haunted past. Grace’s future—and their campaign—could be ruined by the lies meant to protect what they love most.

Peek behind the curtain and under the covers in this sexy political drama that exposes the true cost of ambition, lust and sacrifice.
The Phoenix Campaign is an erotic romance set in the world of presidential election politics. Recommended for mature readers due to sharp dialogue, wickedly hot sex, and a few delicious taboos. This full-length novel is second in a series but can be read as a standalone.

Amazon | iBooks | BN | Kobo

The Phoenix Candidate:

Amazon | iBooks | BN | Kobo

BFF K’s Review

 

rating_4_80

I love a book that reads like a movie or mini-series and that’s just what I feel when I read The Grace Colton novels by Heidi Joy Tretheway. When said book contains smart political dialogue, interesting political strategy, unexpected plot twists, great characters and some super steamy scenes — sign me up! This book caused some serious sleep deprivation. I was up late 2 nights in a row anxiously turning the pages to see what happens next for Grace and Jared. Heidi Joy Tretheway’s  sharp and savvy writing absolutely captures the feel and flow of a real-life political campaign!

I won’t go into many of the plot details because that would be super spoilery for anyone who hasn’t yet read Book #1, The Phoenix Candidate. The Phoenix Campaign – Book #2 picks up right where the first one left off. Grace finds herself in a HUGE, high profile, heated political campaign. At the same time, she finds herself in a huge, SECRET and heated relationship with a top political strategist. The tug and pull of everything in her life creates a wonderful, angst-driven story where you just want there to be resolution….soon.

If you like politics at all, even a little bit, this is the series for you! I’m loving Grace and Jared and honestly can’t wait to read The Phoenix Decision to see what happens next!

Read BFF K’s Review of The Phoenix Candidate.

cd_4

angst_4

steamy_4

signoff_K_sm

 

Now I can’t wait until The Phoenix Decision!!!

tpc.2

About the Author:

heid-profile-photo-feb-2015

Heidi Joy is a sucker for campfires, craft cocktails, and steamy romance in books and real life. She sings along with musicals (badly), craves French carbs, and buys plane tickets the way some women buy shoes.

Her first career as a journalist took Heidi behind the scenes with politicians, rock stars, chefs, and detectives, all of whom inspire her stories. Heidi Joy is currently working on her eighth book from her home in Portland, Oregon. She adores hearing from readers at author.heidi@gmail.com.

tpc2teaser2

Website | Facebook | Amazon Page | Goodreads | Twitter | BN | Newsletter signup

 

Enter Heidi’s giveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

New Release – The Phoenix Campaign by Heidi Joy Tretheway

Today we have the release day launch of Heidi Joy Tretheway’s The Phoenix Campaign!

1. This is one of the coolest posts ever for a new release….To celebrate the release, Heidi is sharing with us a behind the scenes look at the photo shoot and creation of her sexy covers, as well as a fantastic giveaway!! Be sure to check it all out!!

2. I completely blame Heidi for my book-insomnia-induced haze. This post was supposed to happen YESTERDAY and I totally spaced it, my apologies….be sure to check this out today!

tpc2-blog-tour-graphic1

tpc2teaser
The Phoenix Campaign:

Ambition. Lust. Sacrifice. Politics just got a whole lot sexier.
the-phoenix-campaign_small
Grace Colton’s life is a blur—security, appearances, and a desperately fast ramp-up to Election Day. Political consultant Jared Rankin is pulling the strings to win the White House with the Conover-Colton ticket.

But the fragile relationship Grace and Jared forged could be ruined by secrets traded for political leverage. She’s hiding her new relationship with Jared from the public, and concealing a deeper secret from everyone.

When Grace reveals the explosive truth to her running mate, squeaky-clean Senator Conover must confront his own haunted past. Grace’s future—and their campaign—could be ruined by the lies meant to protect what they love most.

Peek behind the curtain and under the covers in this sexy political drama that exposes the true cost of ambition, lust and sacrifice.
The Phoenix Campaign is an erotic romance set in the world of presidential election politics. Recommended for mature readers due to sharp dialogue, wickedly hot sex, and a few delicious taboos. This full-length novel is second in a series but can be read as a standalone.

Amazon | iBooks | BN | Kobo

The Phoenix Candidate:

Amazon | iBooks | BN | Kobo
tpc2teaser3RELEASE DAY EXCLUSIVE:

TPC1.1

Behind the scenes at a sexy photo shoot

Have you ever seen a book cover and thought, huh, I think I’ve read that before? Maybe you’re just seeing the same stock photo. It’s no secret in author circles that the best stock photos make the rounds … a lot. That’s why I decided to do a custom photo shoot.

Thanks to my massively talented friend Adrian Hale, a hair and makeup artist who works with photographer Josh Baker of AzulOx Photography, we arranged a shoot featuring the gorgeous Callisto and David:

TPC 2.2

TPC 2.2B

The setup: Adrian’s house. The girl let us totally mess up the place, bless her heart.

TPC 2.3

 

While David and Callisto were total pros, I was in the corner accidentally making inappropriate comments (oohs and aahs and that’s hot and I’m going to need a moment alone). We saw the shots pop up on a tablet in real time. In most cases, the last shot was the best. Josh said, “I know when we’ve got it right. That’s when we stop shooting.”

TPC 2.4

We took inspiration from Pinterest and from the idea of a push-pull dynamic in Grace and Jared’s relationship throughout the series. The models were actually pushing and pulling on each other during the shoot, which makes their muscles flex and makes the pose more dynamic.

TPC 2.5

My favorite shot is pure improv. She’s a trained ballerina and he’s an acrobat, so they know how to move their bodies in amazingly beautiful ways. Callisto was imitating Kate Winslet’s moment on the bow of the Titanic, played by David.

TPC 2.6

They were preparing for a pose like this. What a difference lighting and perspective makes (comparing my shot from the side vs. Josh’s professionally lit photo, shown here on his camera).

TPC 2.7

TPC 2.8Now for the hard part: choosing a favorite image. I loved this photo for David’s amazing abs in this pic, but some readers felt that it didn’t show enough connection for the characters.

TPC 2.9

In the end, I chose the photos that felt right. Here’s the before and after for The Phoenix Candidate, the first book in the series:

TPC1

And here’s the before-and-after for The Phoenix Campaign, book 2 in the series:

TPC2.1

I hope you enjoy the series!

tpc.2

Heidi Joy Tretheway Bio:

heid-profile-photo-feb-2015

Heidi Joy is a sucker for campfires, craft cocktails, and steamy romance in books and real life. She sings along with musicals (badly), craves French carbs, and buys plane tickets the way some women buy shoes.

Her first career as a journalist took Heidi behind the scenes with politicians, rock stars, chefs, and detectives, all of whom inspire her stories. Heidi Joy is currently working on her eighth book from her home in Portland, Oregon. She adores hearing from readers at author.heidi@gmail.com.

tpc2teaser2

Website | Facebook | Amazon Page | Goodreads | Twitter | BN | Newsletter signup

 

Enter Heidi’s giveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Blogs Taking Part in the Release Day Launch

Obsessed With Myshelf | Book Freak

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents | Adventures in Writing

random jendsmit | Books to Breathe

The Literary Gossip | Addicted Souls Book Blog

Seeing Night Reviews | Collector of book boyfriends

Sanaa`s Book Blog | Books and Bubble Bath

Literary Nook | My Favorite Things

naughty Book Eden | Indy Book Fairy

Obsessed by Books | MakeMyDayBookclub

Smut Book Junkie Reviews | grownupfangirl

Read, Write, Ripley | Friends Till The End Book Blog

2 Greek Girls Reading | For Whom The Books Toll

The Phantom Paragrapher | A Life Bound By Books

Read-Love-Blog | Caffeine and Books

Between The Lines | All Romance Reviews

Hot Guys in Books | Romance Obsessed Book Blog

Shawna Shauntia | Love Affair With Fiction

BFF Book Blog | Hooked on Boos

Short and Sassy Book Blurbs | Becky on Books

Nerdy Book Freak | Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

bujoijoi22 | All Booked Out

Books Need TLC | My Book Filled Life

Travels n Reads | Jeune Taylor

Jax’s Book Magic | undercover book reviews

Review – The Phoenix Candidate by Heidi Joy Tretheway

tpc-blog-tour-graphic

 the-phoenix-candidate-medium

Fans of Scandal, House of Cards, and The Good Wife will love Grace Colton…

Congresswoman Grace Colton is the most famous woman in politics—and the loneliest—until a drawling, sexy stranger offers her one night, no strings and no regrets.

Grace wakes to an empty hotel room and a phone call: the dark horse for the 2016 presidential election, Senator Shep Conover, is considering her as his vice presidential running mate. But first, Grace must be vetted and coached by Shep’s political consultant, Jared Rankin, who already knows too many intimate details about her. He’s Mr. One-Night Stand.

Grace is torn: Play nice with Jared to join the senator’s ticket, or play hardball and back the slick frontrunner? Grace must decide where her loyalties lie and if she can trust Jared with her future—and her heart.

The Phoenix Candidate is an erotic romance set in the world of presidential election politics. Recommended for mature readers due to sharp dialogue, wickedly hot sex, and a few delicious taboos. This full-length novel is first in a series and can be read as a standalone.

BFF K’s Review

rating_5_80

The minute that I finished the Phoenix Candidate, I did something I don’t do very often, I emailed the author! I absolutely had to tell Heidi Joy Tretheway how much I loved her book. It is fantastic, full of smart, richly developed characters and a story line that I LOVED!

I have a strange interest and fascination with politics and have since 1980 when I got to vote in a mock election for US President in Kindergarten! I started volunteering for campaigns when I was in Jr. High. I’ve worked for 2 US Senators and behind the scenes of a few campaigns in various capacities. So much of The Phoenix Candidate is just spot on – I really really really loved it! (And, if you’re not a dorky political wonk since Kindergarten, never fear, Tretheway does a fantastic job of explaining the votes and totals and electoral college ramifications so that it’s easy to understand!)

This is an entertaining novel, not a civics lesson. The twists and turns the story takes are really interesting. They’re also written with intention, some of the scenes might happen “in real life”, some might not. But, it all makes for a absolutely intriguing storyline. I so wish that we could end up with an election that would come down to a final decision, between good candidates, at the party convention! The book is written in many ways to reflect the kind of people, candidates and elections that I wish would really exist! And there are some antagonists that I KNOW exist in the real world!

Oh and I may have forgotten to mention that there are some super-hot, downright steamy scenes between Grace and Jared. Holy Hotness!!!!

I was loving the book, wondering how it would end and if anything would come next. Then, I read the first chapter for the Phoenix Campaign at the end of this book…I’m floored and I can’t wait to read more about Grace and Jared!!!

Strongly developed characters, steamy scenes, a fantastic-feisty heroine and just enough suspense to keep you turning the pages….this book is fantastic, I definitely recommend you one-click!

cd_5

steamy_4

heroine_5

suspense_3

signoff_K_sm

 

Amazon | iBooks | BN | Kobo | Print

tpcteaser4

tpcteaser3

 

About Heidi Joy Tretheway:

heidi-profile-picHeidi Joy is a sucker for campfires, craft cocktails, and steamy romance in books and real life. She sings along with musicals (badly), craves French carbs, and buys plane tickets the way some women buy shoes.

Her first career as a journalist took Heidi behind the scenes with politicians, rock stars, chefs, and detectives, all of whom inspire her stories. Heidi Joy is currently working on her eighth book from her home in Portland, Oregon. She adores hearing from readers at author.heidi@gmail.com.

Website | Facebook | Amazon Page | Goodreads | Twitter | BN | Newsletter signup

Enter Heidi’s giveaway!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Release – The Phoenix Candidate by Heidi Joy Tretheway

TPC RDLBanner

Today is the release day launch for The Phonenix Candidate by Heidi Joy Tretheway and we’re really excited to bring you this book – come back tomorrow for BFF K’s review – this is a GREAT book!

tpcteaser2
Exclusive Excerpt:

Setup: Senator Shep Conover has just asked Congresswoman Grace Colton to consider being his vice presidential running mate in the 2016 presidential election. But before he’ll choose her, she must be vetted and coached by his political consultant, Jared Rankin—the stranger she thought was a one-night stand.

 

I hold the wingback chair for support and paste a smile on my face as I watch the senator leave the suite. That leaves me and Jared and a hell of a lot of silence.

He picks up several thick manila files from a side table, perhaps the same ones I saw in his hotel room last night, and sits in the chair opposite me. His expression is unreadable.

I remain standing. Fight or flight. That’s what I’m deciding as I lament there’s nothing in view that I could bludgeon Jared with.

“Ms. Colton. Please, have a seat.” He gestures to the chair I’m supposed to occupy.

“No.” I sound like a petulant child.

“Grace—”

“No! What the hell was that, Jared? What the fucking hell?” I bend to get in his face to really shout him into submission, but he grabs my wrist.

I struggle but can’t break from his grasp. His deep brown eyes are smoldering with intensity, and I shoot as much hatred as I can from my eyes.

I’m embarrassed. Mortified. This man who has seen me naked, who made me scream his name less than twelve hours ago, is now Ms. Colton-ing me like I’m his kid’s schoolteacher.

That sends a shockwave to my gut. I know nothing about this man: not whether he’s married, or has a kid, or exactly what his business is here.

Sensing that the fight’s left me, Jared drops my wrist and slowly stands.

I hold my ground, standing toe to toe with him. His hair is combed neatly, but I remember the way my grasping fingers teased it into wild waves last night. His stubbled jaw remains.

I fold my arms across my chest because my gray pantsuit and silk top aren’t doing the trick. My heels don’t boost me to an even height with Jared.

His thumb brushes my lower lip and I gasp and take a step back.

“Pouting doesn’t suit you. Tuck that lip back in.”

“Don’t touch. I bite,” I snarl, angry that he’s mixed the familiarity from last night with the utter seriousness of this political opportunity.

“So do I,” Jared says, taking another step toward me and forcing me to step back. “But you like it.”

I bump into a wall covered in fancy wallpaper. Jared’s body cages me in.

“You’re a bastard.” I’m even angrier he’s getting to me. I grab his shirt, ready to push him back, but he captures my wrists and slams them against the wall above my head.

“I hear that a lot.” Jared’s body molds against me. I feel his erection hardening as he presses his hips into mine, and my traitorous body responds in turn, too eager to tip my hips at just the right angle.

I can’t get the word bastard through my lips again when every cell in my body is screaming Encore! Encore!

“How could you?” I hiss.

“It’s what you wanted. No stories. No strings.”

“But I’ve got a hell of a lot of regret.” I move to turn away from him, but Jared lowers his mouth toward mine. His lips land on my jaw and skim down my neck, his tongue explores the hollow of my throat then glides back up my neck to taste the soft skin behind my earlobe. I whimper and twist, but he just anchors me harder, both body and wrists.

“You knew,” I hiss, trying to get my brain to focus on why I’m here, not the hardening length in his pants that has me rubbing against him like a freaking cat in heat. “You knew who I was and you let me … you let me humiliate myself.”

I stifle a cry as his teeth come out, sinking into the flesh at the base of my neck. It stings, and the twinge heightens my need to retaliate, to touch him in all the ways he’s touching me. To drive us to release.

His knee presses between mine and my legs part, my body in full meltdown.

“You didn’t humiliate yourself. You just let go. Got out of your head for One. Fucking. Minute.” With each word his hips rock against mine until my core is aching to be filled again.

My God, is he really going to make me come? With every stitch of clothing on? I struggle against his hold on me. “You knew who I am. You knew we could be working together!”

“I didn’t go to the club expecting to pick you up, if that’s what you’re wondering.” His lips are inches from mine and his eyes narrow. The force in his expression nearly my undoing.

“Bullshit. You were all about picking me up.”

“And do you regret it?” Jared’s voice drops to a low, dangerous whisper.

No! “Yes.”

He drops my hands. Spins and strides to the opposite side of the room.

I go cold. And fucking frustrated. He wound up my body so tight that I’m vibrating with tension, needing just a little more to take me over the edge.

He gathers the folders and slides them inside a leather attaché case as if we’ve been sipping coffee for the last five minutes rather than slammed up against a wall. “Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“Your place.”

I almost snap, imagining the relief he could offer to my wound-up state. But his face says all business. He looks at his watch. “We’ve got a long list on our agenda today. Your place is good enough to start.”

tpcteaser

About The Phoenix Candidate:

the-phoenix-candidate-mediumFans of Scandal, House of Cards, and The Good Wife will love Grace Colton…

Congresswoman Grace Colton is the most famous woman in politics—and the loneliest—until a drawling, sexy stranger offers her one night, no strings and no regrets.

Grace wakes to an empty hotel room and a phone call: the dark horse for the 2016 presidential election, Senator Shep Conover, is considering her as his vice presidential running mate. But first, Grace must be vetted and coached by Shep’s political consultant, Jared Rankin, who already knows too many intimate details about her. He’s Mr. One-Night Stand.

Grace is torn: Play nice with Jared to join the senator’s ticket, or play hardball and back the slick frontrunner? Grace must decide where her loyalties lie and if she can trust Jared with her future—and her heart.

The Phoenix Candidate is an erotic romance set in the world of presidential election politics. Recommended for mature readers due to sharp dialogue, wickedly hot sex, and a few delicious taboos. This full-length novel is first in a series and can be read as a standalone.

Amazon | iBooks | BN | Kobo | Print

 

About Heidi Joy Tretheway:

heidi-profile-picHeidi Joy is a sucker for campfires, craft cocktails, and steamy romance in books and real life. She sings along with musicals (badly), craves French carbs, and buys plane tickets the way some women buy shoes.

Her first career as a journalist took Heidi behind the scenes with politicians, rock stars, chefs, and detectives, all of whom inspire her stories. Heidi Joy is currently working on her eighth book from her home in Portland, Oregon. She adores hearing from readers at author.heidi@gmail.com.

Website | Facebook | Amazon Page | Goodreads | Twitter | BN | Newsletter signup

Enter Heidi’s giveaway!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway