The Brothers Ali Series by Celeste Granger 💕 Guest Post, Series Tour & Gift Card Giveaway 💕 (Contemporary Romance)

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From USA Today Bestselling Author, Celeste Granger. Singapore brought them together and almost tore them apart. Textile specialist, Aya Masters, travels the world negotiating in high powered board rooms and bridging the economic divide between the poor and the wealthiest of the wealthy. The only absence in her life is the love of family. Basel Ali, international finance manager for Ali International, crosses the globe seeking out new investments for his family’s millions. Private jets, board rooms and five-star hotels are the accommodations that signify his life. For Basel, honoring his family and the family name are everything. A chance encounter in Singapore brings Aya into Basel’s orbit. He finds himself lured by her exotic beauty, brilliant mind, and sophisticated allure. Aya notices Basel, too, and finds herself not only intrigued by him but willing to take a risk with the one thing she’d always protected, her heart. The uncanny magnetism between the two shifts the world on its axis and throws Basel and Aya into a whirlwind romance neither could have anticipated. This book is a standalone and has a happily ever after. This book is interconnected to the Brothers Ali Series.

World-renowned archaeologist, Dr. Cairo Davis spends most of her time digging in dirt uncovering secrets, hidden things that remind us of a past long since forgotten. Although famous, Cairo is not one for the glitz and glam that infamy offers. She’s not impressed by private jets and five-star hotels. She likes to keep things simple. Israel Ali, Director of Acquisitions for Ali International, his family’s business, is two sides to the same coin. He enjoys the perks of being one of the hottest eligible bachelors in the Southwest region, women dying to be on his arm, red carpets, five star everything. Yet, Israel is just as happy on an excursion to unearth buried treasure. An expected encounter brings the two personalities together on a collision course destined for love. Yet, Cairo has a secret she would much rather keep to herself. Israel is determined to unearth the treasure that lies inside Cairo. She resists his pursuits sending the duo into an emotional entanglement that nearly costs them, real love.

Racquel Alexander, Owner of Charles’ Barber Experience, is consumed with extending her father’s legacy by expanding the Barber Experience into new markets. Losing her father changed Racquel’s worldview, narrowing her focus to only those things that help her father live on and not just in her memory. Khalid Ali, Director of Investments for Ali International is all about the business of conquering new territories, investing in new ventures, and expanding his family’s legacy. He is persistent, determined, and focused. A thunderstorm, a flat tire, and a knight in shining armor coming to save her changes the course of Racquel’s existence, but not in a good way. That accidental encounter brings her nemesis, Khalid Ali, into her orbit, rocking Racquel’s foundation and disturbing every preconceived notion she ever had of him. Holding on to old things is easy. Accepting new things is hard. Khalid dares Racquel to accept new things like how his nearness compels her soul to swoon and her heart to thunder in her chest; and how their undeniable magnetism seismically shifts the atmosphere and causes the earth to quake under their feet. When enemies become lovers, it's tumultuous and passionate and confusing and incredible. When enemies fall in love, it’s unpredictable.

Naomi Singleton is a woman on a mission. As the Public Relations Director for the Barber Experience and starting her own public relations firm, Naomi has her hands full. But there’s something else that consumes Naomi, her desire for a man, Tareef Ali, who doesn’t seem to return her affections. Tareef’s cold shoulder makes Naomi wonder if finding love is a thing out of her reach, until another man is more than willing to fulfill Naomi’s romantic desires, Attorney Malcolm Bridges. As Director of Legal Affairs for Ali International, Tareef dispenses the law with expertise and vigor. His billionaire status doesn’t keep him from working for the people. When a wrongful conviction case pits Tareef against his nemesis, in a court battle, he soon finds it’s not the only fight on his hands. It’s the battle for Naomi’s heart.

Ameer Ali, Director of Engineering for Ali International, is the youngest of the Ali brothers, and the one who took after his mother, majoring in both mathematics and environmental engineering. Ameer’s academic prowess, business accouterment and undeniable good looks, makes him one of the most eligible bachelors in the southwest. He was single and happily so, until his accidental encounter with Siobhan Greer. Something about Siobhan moved Ameer in a way that piqued his curiosity and drove his intentions. Siobhan, owner of Move with Me Dance Studio, is a woman with very clear goals and lofty ambitions. Yet hauntings from her past keep Siobhan battling old demons that interfere with living in the present. It’s a battle that has kept her mentally entangled and unable to love past her pain until she meets a man who titillates her imagination and challenges her to dream even bigger dreams. But it’s not just the two of them. There are other players in the game who can determine whether what Ameer and Siobhan feel for each other is enough. This is a standalone and ends in a HEA/HFN.

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from Khalid

"I thought we could watch old movies on the big screen, but I wouldn’t be able to focus,” Khalid answered.

“Why is that?” Racquel purred.

 “You’re making it difficult for me to keep my hands off you.”

“You don’t want me to be too easy, do you?”

“What’s the challenge in that?” Racquel hummed.

“There is none,” Khalid agreed.

Easing his chair back, Khalid stood up and extended his hand to her. Racquel eased her chair back and accepted his hand. Khalid helped to lift her to standing. They padded across the yard, Racquel’s bare feet feeling the soft grass underneath them.

“I’m already in my suit, but you are,” Racquel’s voice dropped off as she untied the robe and let it fall to the ground.

Before Khalid could only imagine what she would look like wearing the white one-piece with a peekaboo teardrop cutout slightly exposing her cleavage and the high rise cut showing off the thick of her thighs. He didn’t have to imagine anymore.

“Oh, my,” Khalid uttered as anthracite eyes took her in wholly.

“But you’re still dressed like that,” Racquel pointed out.

“Not for long,” he uttered.

Reaching down to the tail of his shirt, Khalid lifted it over his head, discarding it on the grass. He moved closer to her, then slowly lifted Racquel’s hand to his chest. The strength she imagined from a distance, and experienced only once, she felt up close. It was a wicked reminder of how she felt the first time they were flesh to flesh. Khalid’s raven skin was smooth, except for the rigged veins that trailed along his musculature. Racquel felt the thump of his heart against her hand. It matched the thump of her heart, beating hard in her chest. Racquel’s eyes momentarily left his as she looked down at her hand against him. They shared a moment, a thread of connectivity weaving between them. Their hands moved together, lower down to his ripped abs. Racquel traced them, each one, and her jewel screamed. Khalid never allowed his eyes to leave hers.

Racquel continued to be mesmerized by Khalid. He released her hand, placing it claimingly on her waist, but she continued to trace her fingers lower, finding the edge of his jeans, trailing a single finger lightly against the fabric. She lifted her other hand, unsnapping the button and lowering the zipper. Her eyes trailed upwards to find Khalid staring down at her, his eyes vacillating from her orbs to her lips and back to her orbs again. Khalid’s eyes returned to her mouth as he lowered his lips to meet hers. He moved his hands over the back of her neck then kissed her deeply. Khalid’s slow drugging kisses were an intoxicant, and Racquel found herself willing to drink more from him, her thirst becoming insatiable as their mouths melded together. When he moaned against Racquel’s lips, her jewel thumped ferociously in response. Racquel leaned in and kissed Khalid even more intensely, keenly aware of her own eager response to the flame of his kiss.

Racquel’s hands continued to trail the edge of the fabric around his waist, easing what kept him hidden from her off his hips, Khalid’s jeans and briefs falling to the ground. His lips pulled away from her.

“Now, I’m like this, and you’re,” his words fell off as he stepped out of the last of his clothing.

“Do something about it,” Racquel hummed against his mouth.

She only had to say it one time as Khalid eased the white straps from her shoulders. His hands didn’t stop moving until her beautiful body was fully revealed to him. He held her balance as Racquel stepped out of the bathing suit. This time, she reached for his hand. Khalid willingly followed her, his eyes admiring her curvy silhouette as Racquel walked on tiptoe to the beachfront entry of the pool. Looking over her shoulder, a sexy smile eased across Racquel’s pouty lips as she released Khalid’s hand, sashaying further into the water. Khalid stood where he was watching her, admiring her, longing for her. When Racquel disappeared under the water, her exquisite form moving effortlessly through the water, Khalid felt a hard thump in his chest and a hard thump in his loins.

He moved in her direction, slowly walking towards the deeper water. She surfaced like a mermaid, the turquoise water running over her face and then cascading from her. Khalid reached for her coiling her into him. But she was totally wet, Khalid was not. Racquel smiled as she hoisted herself, aided by the buoyancy of the water, and pushed Khalid down by the shoulders until he was fully submerged. He took her down with him, and their bodies danced in the multicolor water until it was hard to breathe.

They emerged together. They were both smiling, but the smiles didn’t last long. This time when Khalid reached for Racquel, he made sure she couldn’t get the jump on him by pulling a fast one. He reached for her wrists, and once he had them, pinned them behind her.

“Ah,” she gasped as his form moved in on her form, and his mouth found hers once again. The passion they shared was indescribable, their energies merging as their auras danced around them. Khalid released her hands and then trailed hot, lingering kisses down the length of her neck. Racquel felt her yoni thump in response. But he was not going to be the only one giving pleasure. She reached for him as well, taking the thickness of his manhood in her hands. Racquel pulled her mouth away from his as she slowly stroked his length, pulling in her bottom lip and releasing it slowly between her teeth. She was driving Khalid mad.  

1. Can you, for those who don't know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author? Hello everyone. I’m Celeste Granger, USA Today Bestselling Author of Black Contemporary Romance. I’ve been writing professional for the past two years. Unlike some authors, I didn’t know I wanted to be an author since I was a child. I knew I always enjoyed writing, and written expression. I understood the power and potency of words, but I didn’t know I wanted to be the one authoring them. I have written a lot, as a means of personal expression for a while, but it wasn’t until a very good friend of mine read some things I wrote and encouraged me to pursue it and consider writing professionally. I considered it, studied the self-publishing journey, and decided two years ago that I would give it a chance. I’ve been writing ever since. 

2. What are you passionate about these days? My peace. This last year has been a tumultuous time for so many people with Covid quarantine, civil unrest, and the ramifications of those things combined with economic hardship for so many. My peace has become critical. Sometimes I have to unplug from information overload and retreat into my own head space where my characters live and be a part of the fictional world for a while. It’s much more peaceful there. 

3. Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie? I think the entire Ali series would make a fantastic movie series. The characters are so dynamic and intriguing and lovable. The characters experience real situations that many people can relate to. I think the Ali’s as a series would be a hit!

4. Do you have any “side stories” about the characters? There are two additional stories that accompany the Ali Brother’s series. Even Me, focuses on a character from Tareef’s story that I felt compelled to write because Jennifer deserved her own story. She deserved a chance at her own happily ever after. 

She feels so undeserving. He sees a woman worth loving.

Jennifer Williams faces the hardest battle of her life. She is incarcerated in maximum security prison behind the death of her husband, sentenced to life. She resigns herself to the hand fate has dealt her. Jennifer killed her husband. That fact is indisputable. Yet, some things happen that are completely unexpected. A higher court decides to hear her legal case on a clemency petition. Attorney Tareef Ali fights to protect Jennifer in the courtroom. Prison guard, Quinton Miller enters her life. He’s seen her before, even though she’s never seen him. He’s drawn to her even though she’s behind bars. Quinton fights to love her even though Jennifer feels she doesn’t deserve it. A romance begins to brew that neither can deny. But breaking Jennifer’s barriers isn’t easy when she feels love isn’t within her reach.
This is a standalone novella with a HEA.

Trigger warning: Gratuitous profanity, some violence, detailed sexual encounters.

Even Me

There is another spin off story Here’s to Us, that offers the finale of Tareef’s story and the conclusion to the series. 

He loves without condition.
She loves with reckless abandon.
With a kiss at midnight comes wedding bells for Naomi Singleton and Tareef Ali.

This story is a bonus to the Brothers Ali Series and ends with a happily ever after.
To read Naomi and Tareef's full story, read Tareef: Brothers Ali Book 4.

Here's to Us

5. Where did you come up with the names in the story? Names are very important to me, again the power of words. I do a lot of research on names because they help to build the character and that character’s characteristics. I like names that have powerful meanings because I write powerful characters, although flawed, they are powerful. Their names have to truly represent them. 

6. Do your characters seem to hijack the story, or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story? I would like to act like I am the boss in this situation. I really would. However, more times than not, the characters are really the boss. Although I am the one who introduces them, and think I create them, they really are their own entity. They introduce themselves to me and I am merely the vessel through which the story is told. 

7. Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write? No, they don’t. The characters reveal themselves to me over time, sometimes way before I even begin to write the story. Other times, they reveal themselves when as they come into the story.

 

8. Where did your inspiration for this book come from?

I like what I like. I am not a fan of struggle love. That has been the way, a lot of times, that Black love exists – only in that space of struggle. I wanted to show that all love doesn’t have to be based on hardship. That’s why I write Alpha male and Alpha females that don’t have that as an issue which gives room to delve into the emotionality of the characters. It was also important to me that both the hero and heroine had means so the hero wasn’t rescuing the heroine from an impoverished situation. That sets up a power struggle that I also see too much of in books and in life. So not just the Ali series, but all my stories are based on eliminating those foundational elements so the love can blossom based on more intrinsic factors.

9. What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book? That answer is simple. I do lots from the character names to their occupations to their background stories and conditions, wedding venues, wedding attire, to the places they go on vacation. Although the stories are fictional, I think it is important to paint a picture for the reader. That picture can be supported and made clearer with facts. Substance is important and research helps me to go past my imagination and offer real information that makes the fantasy of fiction more delicious, if you will.  

10. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be? Trust yourself. Trust your gift. Never give up. The road you are taking may be a lonely one but it is so worth it. People close to you may not understand. They may try and dissuade you because they don’t see the fruits of your labor. They may not support you because they don’t see you in that light. But keep pushing forward. Keep pressing on. When it gets rough, don’t quit. (I believe this is a word for someone who may be experiencing this same situation, whether it’s writing or some other endeavor). Trust the process. There will be storms, weather them. You are built for this.

I would also tell my younger self as well as my present day self to write down your goals. Write the vision and make it plain. A dream that is not written down will remain a dream. It can’t manifest just in your thoughts. You have to write it down, and then revisit it. From what you have written down, you can determine what work, what effort is necessary to achieve the goal. Don’t be weary. It will happen for you. Manifest that thing, do the work, and watch your wildest dreams come true.