Illustrious Illusions: Guest Post & Review ~*~ Bare Knuckle by Katie Porter

We are super excited to welcome Katie Porter to the blog today!

We have to say we had a bit of a fangirl moment when she emailed us to be a part of this new release!
Some of us have been in love with this series since the first book and it seems to keep getting better.
We are sad to see the series end ~ especially when we live in Vegas and enjoy seeing what authors create with our town.

Without further ado, check out Katie's Guest Post, Giveaway, and Michele's Review
(we had to introduce her to the series)!

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Not Just a Pretty Face

By Katie Porter

Trish Monroe from Bare Knuckle is a sexpot. No apologies. No joke. She’s hot as hell, and having been raised on the pageant circuit, she knows how to work a crowd. That’s why she and her mom moved to Las Vegas.

But becoming a Vegas showgirl hadn’t been the plan. No, it’d been just a stop on the way to the ultimate goal: Hollywood. Funny how life works out, though. Five years on from hitting the Strip in her first role, she’s still performing eight times a week in skimpy outfits for eager tourists. What’s worse, she fills in the income gaps by working as a ring girl at an off-Strip boxing arena.

Making ends meet, however, isn’t limited to supporting her trailer-bound mother. No, Trish has dreams that no longer involve the bright lights of Vegas or the distant hills of Hollywood. At UNLV in theater design and production classes, she’s just another student. No wig. No stage make-up. No feather headdress and barely-there costumes.

Trish was one of our favorite heroines to write because she should be jaded, bitter, insecure, or unbearable egotistical. Instead, she’s been able to maintain a sweet optimism that transcends her place in life. Dreams of escaping a career that has a definite expiration date are only part of it. Most of it is just her. She’s an optimist that life hasn’t been able to break.

Winning the heart of Air Force fighter pilot Eric “Kisser” Donaghue, however, may be the most impossible dream of all. Eric is a voyeur who appreciates a pretty face and gorgeous bod. What he doesn’t realize is that he’s also a sucker for a woman able to drag him into her world—a beautiful world where happy endings are not only possible but, to Trish, an absolute given. Yay for romance novels!

GIVEAWAY ~*~ We'd like to give away a copy of BARE KNUCKLE in any digital format. Just answer the question: Have you ever seen a Las Vegas show, and what did you think of it?

(Available Internationally, format of choice, Winner will be chosen via random.org on Friday 10/11

Please be sure to include your email address so we can contact you. . . )

Thanks again to Illustrious Illusions for featuring Katie Porter and Bare Knuckle!

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Blurb ~

Skin deep is never deep enough.

Vegas Top Guns, Book 5

After a near-fatal plane crash, fighter pilot Captain Eric “Kisser” Donaghue is a changed man. By day he labors to regain his confidence in the cockpit. By night he moonlights as an off-Strip boxer, fighting for prize money to pay for his younger brother’s third stint in rehab.

In the ring, no one cares he once had a face that launched a thousand one-night stands—and neither does Eric. He’s only there to win. Yet he can’t take his eyes off the new ring girl, a glitz-meets-pageant-queen vision of blonde perfection.

Down on her luck but not quite out, Vegas showgirl Trish Monroe lives for the spotlight. The scarred, steely-eyed loner who stares at her from his corner of the ring gives Trish an extra reason to strut her stuff.

Curiosity and the temptation of a no-strings good time bring them together. The discovery of their secret fetishes—she likes to show off, he likes to watch—turns mere sexual chemistry into a fiery exploration of matched passions. They’re a natural fit. Trust in love, however, is harder to earn than trust in bed, especially when this beauty and beast hide even from themselves.

Warning: This book contains a Sin City-style Beauty and the Beast love story, lots of naughty pics and vids, adrenaline-pumped base jumping, and a set of very important note cards. Oh, and as always, an incredibly hot fighter pilot.

What the critics are saying:

“The duo behind Katie Porter goes out with a bang in the last of their phenomenal ‘Vegas Top Guns’ series.” ~ RT Book Reviews 4½ Stars

“It’s deliciously explicit details is guaranteed to ignite the fire within readers.” ~ Fresh Fiction

“These characters have depth, the sex scenes are hot, and the reader will root for this pair.” – Library Journal

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For more about Katie Porter, the co-writing team of Carrie Lofty and Lorelie Brown, visit their website at KatiePorterBooks.com!

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Michele's 10 Inch Review ~*~

Holy Crow! Katie Porter packed so much between these pages. Epically hot sex, naughty photos and some erotic voyeurism between two battered souls, Bare Knuckles or better yet bared souls of Eric and Trish who meet on the premise of a one night stand. They two never knew what hit’em.

Trish Monroe needed extra money bad. So using her good looks and smoking hot body, she moonlighted as a bikini clad, boxing ring girl to as opposed to her struggling daytime musical career while secretly attending college classes as UNLV. After receiving a phone call crushing her musical acting career, she comes across a lone fighter standing in the corridor awaiting his fight.

“You got anything worth drinking, sugar?”

With boyish features on a big stud’s body, he looked goofy. She put him in the slavering-fan category and leveled a megawatt smile.

“Sorry. Coach’s rules

She masked her disappointment with a tiny shrug. “Thanks anyway.”

Eric Donaghue, a wounded Air Force F-16 pilot, is fighting to pay for his brother’s drug rehab to keep him out of prison. He is immediately captivated by Trish the moment they meet. Better yet, he can’t wait to bury himself in her. Imagine his surprise when his one night fling is just as kinky and naughty as he is.

“Give me what you got, showgirl.”

Eric and Trish learn they they’re more alike than they ever realized. A voyeur and an exhibitionist each are compelling the other farther and deeper into sexual exploration. Trust isn’t so easily given. Will honesty be enough to save them or will they crash and burn?

I could not get enough of these two. Their sexual energy burns hotter and hotter with each snap of Eric’s camera. Soon though, dreams and aspirations take root in their budding relationship. They each made me so frustrated with their bullheadedness that I wanted to scream and make them see the truth. I haven’t read the previous stories in this series, but they will be added to my TBR pile.

Check out our review of book 4, Hard Way, HERE