✯REVIEW✯: Tempted By Mr. Write by Sara Hantz

Tempted By Mr. Write 
by Sara Hantz
Release Date: September 28th 2015 by Entangled: Lovestruck
Series: What Happens in Vegas #7
Pages: 73
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Author's Links: Goodreads, Website, Facebook, Twitter
View/Purchase: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N

She thought she knew everything about romance. She was wrong.

After losing out on a plum assignment, a romance book conference is the last place journalist Sheridan Farlow wants to be. Love is a myth-like flattering changing room mirrors-and she has the past relationships to prove it. Her editor wants a story? Fine. She'll write an entire exposé...only it doesn't go quite according plan.

Bernard "Mac" Mackenzie is something of an anomaly in the romance-writing world-a man who writes romance and believes in it. And until he met Sheridan, Mac's never felt anything close to the love he writes about. He needs more of her. In his arms, and in his bed.

Their attraction is explosive; even as Sheridan's cynical side battles her growing feelings for Mac. But can she handle writing a biting exposé with an exposed heart on the line?
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

My Review:

Tempted by Mr. Write was such interesting and refreshing story that completely hooked me in from the very beginning.

Sheridan Farlow is a journalist whose assignment of covering the President's appearance has been given to someone else, and that left her with covering a romance book conference instead. She is not happy covering some romance convention that she has absolutely no interest in, but she goes to Las Vegas anyway. Upon arriving she starts to remember why she doesn't believe in love in the first place, but soon after crashing into a handsome stranger who also happens to be a romance writer, she begins to see things differently. Sheridan knows that she should be working on the piece for her editor, yet the more time she spent with Bernard the more she started to realize just how wrong she was about romance and how her future could be different with it. Soon things start to turn for the worse when trusting issues start to take a hold of their situation and she has to decide whether being with Bernard is worth it or not.

Bernard “Mac” Mackenzie has a gift for writing romance novels, and he likes it. He can connect with his readers and he actually believes in it. Yet he wants to write something different, but he is afraid of what that could do to his career. Attending the romance convention should have been just like any other that he has previously attended, but after stumbling upon Sheridan he immediately feelings a connection towards him and he vows to get to know her better even if it means convincing her that love truly exists. As the attraction grows between them so does second thoughts, and the both need to overcome their pasts in order to be together.

Like I mentioned before the story itself was refreshing to read and the characters were likeable. Yet, the story felt like a novella to me and there wasn't a whole lot of development, it felt a bit rushed to me. Needless to say I absolutely loved Mac, he is kind, handsome and he happens to be a bestselling romance writer. On the other hand, Sheridan doesn't back down and she speaks her mind (which I also like). Overall, it was a cute romantic read that will definitely leave you wanting for more. I would recommend it if you are looking for a quick read (since I did say it felt more like a novella than a full length novel). : )

***ARC provided by Entangled in exchange for an honest review.***

My Rating:

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✯REVIEW✯: The Hometown Hoax by Heather Thurmeier

The Hometown Hoax 
by Heather Thurmeier
Release Date: November 16th 2015 by Entangled: Lovestruck
Pages: 191
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Author's Links: Goodreads, Website, Facebook, Twitter
View/Purchase: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N

Leaving was hard, but staying away might be impossible.

Tessa Cutter escaped her tiny hometown and chased her artistic dreams straight to Manhattan. Now she’s home for a camping trip with her family. To keep them off her back, she makes up the perfect pretend boyfriend—successful, important, and most of all, permanently located in New York.

Logan Ridley lost everything when his Manhattan-based personal training studio shut down. Luckily, a friend got him a position as a gym teacher in the small town of Cutter’s Creek. He’s heard a lot about the infamous Tessa, but she’s even better than he imagined. Except, she seems to hate everything about the small town he’s growing to love.

The chemistry sparking between them is impossible to ignore, but falling for Logan will trap Tessa in the small town she worked so hard to escape. If they have any hope of a future together, he’ll have to convince her that everything she wants has been in Cutter’s Creek all along...
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

My Review:

The Hometown Hoax is a funny and romantic read that will leave you wanting for more...

Ever since Tessa Cutter left her tiny hometown for the busy city of Manhattan, she has failed miserably to pursuit her artistic dream. Hoping to get feature at a gallery, she has sent some of her best work to just about every gallery in NYC, but has only received no as an answer. With nothing to hold her back, she decides to go back home to a camping trip with her family, but she has to come up with a way to distract her family from keep telling her to come back home. Tessa has escaped town for a reason, and she doesn't want to go back to the life where she had everyone's eyes on her. But when she does get home, she ends up meeting a stranger on her way there and soon things start to turn for the worse. When she finds out that the stranger happens to be her brother-in-law's friend, she does everything in her power to make him miserable in front of her family. Yet as the two start to get to know each other better, she realizes just how much her hometown means to her, but if she is to give Logan a chance she will have to leave her dreams of becoming successful in the city behind, which she doesn't want to do.

Logan Ridley grew up in Manhattan, so he is familiar with the excitement of the big city, yet it was the city that left him broke and with no job. His dreams of having his own gym have been crushed, and that left him with no other place to go, except to the little town of Cutter's Creek. But being an outsider in a town where everyone seems to be about everyone is not easy to get used to at first, but when he gets invited to a camping trip with the Cutter family he quickly accepts. Soon he meets Tessa Cutter and the two have undeniable chemistry that only makes him that much more interested in her, yet finding out that her life is in the city with her boyfriend he decides to step back, only to find out that he might just have a chance with her if he convinces her that Cutter Creek is not bad after all.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was hilarious and sweet. The chemistry between the characters keeps growing throughout the book and that alone had me reading until the very end. Though the characters have their own issues, the town of Cutter Creek becomes a sanctuary for them as the two try to move on from their pasts. Tessa's family was funny and devious in the book that caused a lot of trouble for Tessa and Logan, but that caused the two main characters to realize just how much they loved each other. In terms of personalities, Tessa is a fire cracker, and will say whatever is on her mind. Whereas, Logan is more calm and collective in all sorts of situations. He tries to make things work, and he is willing to go back to the city if it means being with the woman that he loves (which I absolutely loved!). Overall, the writing was great and if you are looking for a romantic story filled with hilarious moments then I would highly recommend reading this book!. :)

***ARC provided by Entangled in exchange for an honest review.***

My Rating: 

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✯BLOG TOUR:✯ The Fix Up by Tawna Fenske {EXCERPT + REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!}

The Fix Up by Tawna Fenske 

Release Date: December 14th 2015 by Entangled: Lovestruck

Genres: Romance, Contemporary

Uncovering this sexy geek's charm is easy. Keeping her hands off of him is impossible.

While he may look like the love child of a movie starlet and an NFL linebacker, Ben Langley has the people skills of a half-drowned porcupine. Why socialize when there are chemistry labs and bad sci-fi flicks? If he has any hope of taking the helm as CEO of the family business, Ben needs an image makeover. Pronto.

Enter Holly Colvin, owner of First Impressions public relations and branding firm, and the woman who just saved Ben from the clutches of an over-attentive sales clerk. Holly's rebranded hundreds of companies in her career, but she's never rebranded a person. The guy clearly needs help, though, and she's just the woman for the job.

With the clock ticking for them both, Holly and Ben face off over wardrobe malfunctions and business jargon that sounds a lot sexier than it should. But can Holly make Ben into the man he thinks he should be without losing the man she's starting to love?

Purchase: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, Amazon UK

My Review:

From the cover to the plot, I absolutely loved reading The Fix Up, it was a page-turner that had me reading non-stop to the very end. 

Ben Langley has the looks and the brains to have anyone at his beck-and-call, but there is something that he lacks and that is his ability to socialize with other people. For a very long time he has been behind chemistry labs while his father worked as the face of the family empire. But now that his father has stepped down from the job, Ben has become the new CEO. With everything that comes with the job, he finds himself at a furniture store getting majorly hit on by a sales associate. When a beautiful stranger comes at his rescue by pretending to be his wife, he immediately becomes attracted to her that he can't stop thinking about their moment together. The only thing that she left him with was her business card, and to find out that she helps rebrand companies, he immediately calls her in hopes of getting her help. Little did he know that she would end up doing more than just rebranding him for his job. 

Holly Colvin is the owner of First Impressions, a public relations and branding firm. When she hears how the sales associate is hitting on a handsome stranger, she decides to help him out by pretending to be his wife. After they part ways, she finds out that the bank has declined her loan request, and she is going to need a lot of money. But when Ben calls her in hopes of getting her to help him rebrand himself, she decides to help him for the right price. As the two start to spend more time together, she starts to see him in a different way, but her past is what is keeping her from moving forward. Now it is up to Ben to make sure that Holly's insecurities are cleared in order for them to have a true relationship.  But that might be easier said than done.

I enjoyed reading this story, it was fun and quick to read. The characters have their troubles and it was nice to have them worked out their problems throughout the book. Ben is a serious geek who is not used to being the center of attention, but when Holly comes in he feels that he can do anything, and that's when he slowly starts to fall for her. On the other hand, Holly has had a rough past where she wasn't allowed to have a career and her job has become her number one priority. When the two of them start to get close, she becomes afraid that Ben might want her to stop doing what she is doing, but when he doesn't that she second guesses what she truly wants. Overall, I loved the plot and the characters, I would highly recommend giving this story a try. : )

***ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.***

My Rating: 

{EXCERPT}

“Look, Mr. Langley—”

“Ben,” he said.

“Ben.” Slipup number one. Yet another sign she needed to back off. “I have to be honest. This is a little outside the realm of my normal corporate branding work. I typically develop high-level campaigns to influence the public’s perception of a company or a product.”

“In this case, consider me the product. I’m the face of the company, and I need help. I’ve spent the last ten years working my ass off for Langley Enterprises, but my closest colleagues were protons and polymers.”

“I take it the protons and polymers weren’t concerned about your hairstyle?”

“What’s wrong with my hairstyle?”

“Nothing, if you’re into that whole rumpled ‘just got out of bed’ look.”

Which I kinda am.

Holly bit her lip, hoping she hadn’t offended him. Hell, maybe she should offend him. Maybe then he’d hang up himself and she’d be off the hook. “I don’t know that I’d be right for this job,” she said at last. “But if you believe First Impressions is the best PR firm for your needs, I can personally select someone from our staff to work with you.”

A silence followed for several seconds, and she wondered if the line had gone dead. Maybe he really had hung up.

“Someone else?” he said at last. “I was hoping it would be you. At least with you, I know we already work well together.”

Yeah. That was kind of the problem. If that kiss was any indication, they worked a little too well together.

“Besides,” he continued before she could voice another objection. “I reviewed the bios for your whole staff on the website. There’s no one else on your team with the same mix of skills you have in corporate branding, public speaking—”

“Ben, I’m sorry, the situation would simply be too…unusual.”

She let the word hang there between them for a moment, hoping he understood what she was driving at. Then again, even Holly wasn’t sure what she was driving at. Why was is so terrifying to imagine mixing business with a guy she found so attractive?

You know damn well why.

He cleared his throat. “If it’s a matter of money, I can assure you, I’ll pay whatever fee you think is necessary. Triple it if you think the assignment is unusual enough to warrant it.”

She grimaced and tapped her pen on the desk. The money was tempting, but she wasn’t that desperate. Was she? She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. But I’m sure you’ll find a PR firm that’s more suited for your needs. Good luck to you.”

Then she hung up before that sexy voice could talk her into something entirely more dangerous than a job.

Like his bed.

Author Bio:

Tawna Fenske is a romantic comedy author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with a quirky twist. Her offbeat brand of romance has been praised by Booklist as “A tame Carl Hiaasen on cupid juice,” and RT Book Reviews nominated her debut novel for contemporary romance of the year. Tawna is a fourth generation Oregonian who can peel a banana with her toes and who loses an average of 20 pairs of eyeglasses per year. She lives in Bend, Oregon with her husband, step kids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets.

Email, Website, Blog, Twitter: @tawnafenske , Facebook

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✯BOOK BLITZ:✯ Chance of a Lifetime by Marissa Clarke {EXCERPT + GIVEAWAY!}

Chance of a Lifetime by Marissa Clarke

Release Date: November 16th 2015 by Entangled: Lovestruck

Series: Anderson Brothers #3

Pages: 220

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Sometimes the biggest risk is playing it safe…

Gen Richards is tired of living down to her family’s expectation of the helpless blind girl. Resurrecting her high-school bucket list that begins with “kiss a total stranger” seems just the thing until she finds herself in a panty-melting lip lock with her big brother’s best friend. 

Chance Anderson thrives on adrenaline, but Genny’s the one risk he’s not willing to take. His recklessness a decade ago landed her in the hospital and ejected him from her life. He’s bad for her and everyone knows it—especially her big brother. 

Chance reluctantly helps Gen complete her bucket list in order to keep her out of trouble. Running through a freezing fountain, playing Spin the Bottle while fending off a mad horde of stinging insects, and skinny dipping with homicidal attack swans don’t hold a candle to the real danger: falling for the one person he can never have.

Purchase: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, Entangled Publishing

{EXCERPT}

As the ride ended and they screeched to a halt, she was still laughing, free of all pretense and layers. And he found himself in awe.

Chance Anderson knew at that moment, he was completely and totally screwed. No way would he make the week without breaking every one of his own rules.

***

It had to be the residual adrenaline from the roller- coaster ride or maybe her anticipation of her upcoming fake skydive giving her crazy imaginings. Whatever it was, thoughts like that were taboo and needed to stay relegated to the privacy of her bedroom. The one place she couldn’t inadvertently send the wrong signal and end up in a heap of trouble with an irreparably shattered heart.

***

Her plan had completely backfired. Instead of showing him what he was missing, he tortured her with what she’d never have. All thanks to her overprotective big brother and Chance’s misplaced sense of honor or whatnot.

***

He fell quiet for a moment, and she itched to touch his face to read his expression. When they were teens, she kept her fingers on his face so that she could “see” him as he spoke. Touching him now would be a disaster, though. Her fifteen-year-old crush didn’t hold a candle to the adult lust threatening to spontaneously combust inside her now.

***

She reached toward him and made contact. Unfortunately, the thing she brushed across felt suspiciously like the zipper fly of his jeans. He hissed through his teeth and took a quick step back.

Yep. Nailed it. “Sorry.”

***

“Seriously, Chance. What are you two doing naked in my pond in the middle of the night?” Will shoved the gun in his bathrobe sash like some day spa vigilante.

“We’re skinny-dipping, duh,” Chance answered in his best smart-ass little brother voice.

***

For as long as she could remember, she’d loved him. And then when her hormones hit in her early teens, she’d wanted him. But what was once a general longing was now a razor- sharp need.

***

What would she not give, truly, to look on him with seeing eyes and take him in as the rest of the world was lucky enough to do? Her nails bit into her palms and suppressed tears stung her eyelids. She’d give anything. Everything.

With a deep breath, she loosened her fists, blinked hard, and squared her shoulders. Screw this pity party.

She’d seen Chance in a way no one else ever would. She’d seen him smile through her fingertips, his dimples sinking into his warm skin beneath her touch.

***

“Hey!” Will, the middle Anderson brother, called out as he strolled into Michael’s office wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt. Chance relaxed a bit. Will’s good-natured, even personality was the perfect counterbalance to Michael’s controlling one.

Rubbing a hand over his short military cut, a reminder of his recent Marine tours, Will looked back and forth from Chance, who stood fists at his side, to Michael, who was red in the face, still glaring from behind his computer screen, then dropped into a wing chair facing the desk. “What’s going on?”

“Chance is being an idiot.”


“Michael’s being an asshole.”


Will leaned back and grinned, flashing trademark Anderson brother dimples. “Business as usual, then.”

***

Will joined him on the end of the pier, feet hitting the water with a splash. “You let her go.”

A waterbird landed on the surface a few yards out, then took off with something in its beak, water spraying from its wings. “I had no choice.”

“Like hell you didn’t. You’ve seriously got the most fucked-up logic, little brother.”

Maybe he did. “When you love someone, you have to let her go.”

“When you love someone, you fight for her.”

“Now you’re the one with the fucked-up logic, big brother. You can only fight for someone who is willing to fight for herself.”

Will studied his toes beneath the surface of the clear water and scrubbed a hand over his closely cropped head. “It scares me that that makes sense.”

***

AUTHOR BIO:

Marissa Clarke lives in Texas, where everything is bigger, especially the mosquitoes. When not writing, she wrangles her rowdy pack of three teens, husband, and a Cairn Terrier named Annabel, who rules the house (and Marissa's heart) with an iron paw. Marissa also writes young adult novels for Penguin USA under the name Mary Lindsey. She is represented by Kevan Lyon of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. 

Website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads

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REVIEW: Pretend It's Love by Stefanie London

Pretend It's Love 
by Stefanie London
Release Date: September 28th 2015 by Entangled: Lovestruck
Series: Behind the Bar
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Author's Links: Goodreads, Website, Facebook, Twitter
View/Purchase: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N

Bar manager Paul Chapman is sick of his family’s traditional ideals. Marriage, babies, and a white picket fence? Not his gig. But now that his ‘golden child’ big brother is tying the knot, Paul’s screwed. His ex will be there...and she’s having his cousin’s baby. Unless he wants to show up to the wedding alone and face his family’s scrutiny, he needs a girl on his arm. Now. 

Cocktail specialist Libby Harris has spent her life earning the nickname Little Miss Perfect, all to win the love of her wealthy, controlling father. But she deviated from his plan, and now her business is on shaky ground. If it fails, she might as well kiss his respect—and her dream—good-bye. Her only hope? Convince the hottest bar in town to take on her product. 

Luckily for her, the owner’s brother is sexy as sin and in need of a perfect girlfriend...

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

My Review:

I enjoyed reading Pretend It’s Love; Stefanie London did a good job coming up with a fresh take to your typical “fake-relationship-type-of-story.” 

At the beginning we get to meet cocktail specialist Libby Harris, whose idea of creating the perfect cocktail has come to an abrupt stop after learning that a celebrity has just stolen her idea. Now the bars that were supposed to take on her product are backing out and she has no idea what to do. But Libby is determined to do whatever it takes to prove to her father that she can make a name for herself in the business world without having to go back to medical school just to get his approval. After accidently bumping into stranger outside a bar, her luck increases when she discovers that he is the bar manager and his brother might just be interested in her product if she has the help of Paul Chapman with her. 

When Paul Chapman bumps into Libby outside his brother’s bar, he knows that he can help her get her product feature there. After having had a long conversation with his family, he knows that he is running out of time to get someone to go with him to his brother’s wedding as his date/girlfriend. So he does that only thing that came to his mind at the moment. He asks Libby to be his fake girlfriend and in return he will get his brother to get her product in their business. She agrees immediately, but as the two spend more time together they soon start to realize that their chemistry is getting stronger and they might just be falling for each other. 

From the characters and the plot, the story takes us to a ride filled with twists and turns that made it hard to stop reading. The chemistry between the main characters is undeniable. It is evident from the beginning that they both want their families to approve of what they do, but they are also proving them wrong. Libby has an overprotective father who has influenced her whole life. Now that she is ready to break free, he has turned away from her and that has made Libby that much more determined to get her business to work. 

On the other hand, Paul’s family is all over his personal life. Not only did he just suffer from a bad break-up, but now that he has to face his ex at his brother’s wedding and he doesn’t know what to do about the situation. His only option is to get a fake girlfriend, and Libby came in just at the right time. As the pair start to spend more time together, they soon start to reveal more about each other, and they ultimately have to decide whether they want to take their relationship to the next level. Like I mentioned before, I really enjoyed reading the book, it was fast and filled with steamy scenes. I highly recommend it. : ) 

***ARC provided by Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest reivew. All opinions are my own.***

My Rating: 

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REVIEW: Unexpectedly His by Maggie Kelley

Unexpectedly His by Maggie Kelley
Release Date: August 17th 2015 by Entangled: Lovestruck
Genres: Romance, Contemporary

Author's Links: Goodreads, Website, Twitter, 

View/Purchase: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N

A match made in Manhattan...

By-the-book Marianne McBride wants to prove she's more than a computer geek in a pair of horn-rimmed glasses. But how did she end up hiding in a cake, waiting to sing "Happy Birthday" to Nick Wright, a sexy and arrogant serial-dater? Not exactly part of her plan. Especially when she finds herself kissing the birthday boy, and then running like hell...

Nick falls for no woman. No strings, no commitments, and no relationships. Not even with the sweetly curvaceous bombshell from his birthday. But then he's hit by a bombshell of his own. He needs to find the perfect faux fiancée, or kiss his key to the executive washroom goodbye. Fortunately, his matchmaker sister has the perfect girl in mind.

Now Nick and Marianne have to pretend they're in love for six weeks. No dating. No sex. 

And definitely no acting on the wickedly-hot chemistry that could ruin everything...

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Review: 

Aside from the great cover, Unexpectedly His was such a great book to read. From the very beginning we meet Marianne McBride, a computer geek who has always been one to follow the rules and do what she is told. Though she is good at what she does, she wants to get out of her shell, and her boss who also happens to be her best friend comes up with the perfect idea. Marianne will be hiding in a cake, and when the right time comes sing “Happy Birthday” to non other than her best friend's brother. Now that should sound simple enough, but when she is wearing the shortest and tightest dress she has ever seen while singing to her crush, made things a lot worse for Marianne. Needless to say, she does sing to him and after seeing his stunned face, she kisses him and runs away. She bows to never bring that subject again after that day, but secretly hopes that Nick did not recognize her. 

The night of his birthday party will always be in Nick's mind, especially when he gets kissed at the end. Now he can't figure out who she was and it's driving him nuts. To add to his already crazy state-of-mind, his boss gives him the news that he is going to become partner only if he settles down. After receiving the news, he reaches out to her sister in hopes that she'll help him out, and she has the perfect idea of who to match him with. But Nick doesn't want an actual relationship, he only wants a fake fiancee, someone that is going to look nice beside him after meeting other executives. When his sister tells him about Marianne, he is taken back since she is reserved and a workaholic as well. But he doesn't have a choice, and so he agrees. When he proposes the proposition to Marianne, she only asks him to attend a family reunion in return for a six week engagement. Soon the pair is living together, and the more time they spend together, the more they start to like each other. Secrets get revealed as well and soon they both have to face obstacles in order to be together. 

I really liked the overall plot of the story, it flowed nicely and we get to understand the characters more after they start to get to know each other. They are both driven by their work, but together they balance each other out. Their chemistry is not instant, at least from Nick's POV, though he is somewhat attracted to her he doesn't find out who she really is right away. We do get to find out a lot of secrets and how they can potentially break the couple apart as well. All in all, the book was a total page-turner for me and quick to read. The ending was perfect, it totally fit with the story and tied things nicely at the end. I highly recommend it. :)

***ARC provided by Entangled: Lovestruck in exchange for an honest review.***

My Rating: 

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