5 Smooches!

From NYT Bestselling author Lauren Blakely comes a sexy new standalone romance…

Let me count the ways why falling into forbidden love is not my wisest move…
1. She works with me every single day.
Did I mention she’s gorgeous, sweet, kind and smart?
2. She works in my home.
Playing with my five-year-old daughter. Teaching my little girl. Cooking for my princess. Which means…
3. She’s the nanny.
And that makes her completely off-limits…But it doesn’t stop me from wanting her. All of her.

***

The other nannies in this city don’t call him the Sexy One for nothing. My boss, the amazingly wonderful single father to the girl I take care of every day is ridiculously hot, like movie star levels with those arms, and those eyes, and that body. Not to mention, the way he dotes on his little girl melts me all over. But what really makes my knees weak are the times when his gaze lingers on me. In secret. When no one else is around.

I can’t risk my job for a chance at something more…can I? But I don’t know how to resist him much longer either…

REVIEW

I’ve been singing Lauren Blakely’s praises through the last three books of hers (Big Rock, Mister O and Well Hung) that I’ve read. This author is a romantic comedy genius, and what she does to bring a male character to life in her books is incredible. No one, at least no other author that I’ve read, has been able to get into the mind of a male character in quite the same way that Blakely does. I don’t know how she’s able to portray these heroes the way that she does, and I don’t care. I’m just rejoicing in the fact that she can and she does.

“…it’s time to get my head on straight and lasso my heart to keep it in check.”

Both Simon and Abby are deeply attracted to each other, but for their own reasons, each is keeping it to themselves. They’re both operating under the assumption that their attraction to the other is unrequited, one-sided and inappropriate. The thing is that they’re both so drawn to each other, their attempts at distance and professionalism are just not working. I absolutely loved watching them dance around each other and their white-hot attraction to each other. It was fun, it was flirty, it was sexy, and this type of back-and-forth, the will-they-or-won’t-they dance they were doing is exactly why I am a devotee of the romance genre.

“I might want her, but I sure as hell can’t have her.”

Simon adores everything about Abby; he’s totally smitten. She’s smart, she’s phenomenal with his daughter, and she’s sexy. The more he gets to know her, the more he’s realizing that she is everything he wants. The problem is that he doesn’t want to jeopardize the role she plays in his daughter’s life as her nanny. That, and he doesn’t want to become the clichéd single dad who is lusting after the nanny. I must say, though, I adored being in Simon’s head as he pined for Abby. His thoughts, his feelings, his crush on her, it’s the stuff giddy, breathless, heart-pounding romances are made of.

“Must. Reign. In. Desire. To. Launch. Self. At. Simon.”

Abby has been lusting after Simon since the very beginning of her employment. The problem is that not only does she love her job, but she needs it, too. She’s become very attached to the Simon’s daughter and is wholly dedicated to her in her role as Hayden’s nanny. The thing is that her attraction to Simon is becoming increasingly difficult to bury and ignore. I really loved Abby, she was such a multi-faceted heroine. She may have played the part of calm and cool as a cucumber on the outside, but inside, she was anything but collected. Her heart called out to this man, and she was struggling to contain it. Not to mention that she was sure, so sure, that everyone could see the little hearts swirling around her head every time he was near.

“…this is one of those moments when something happens… when this thing… shifts from a simmer to a bubbling-over-the-pot boil.”

They have so much in common, and not just where Simon’s daughter is concerned. I loved the way that they bonded, not only over Hayden, but also over languages and nature. There is no way that I can write this review without mentioning their first kiss, though. That kiss… good God, it left me weak-kneed and fanning myself. Hell, I’m pretty sure I was even panting. Thankfully, I was sitting down when I read that scene, or I would have absolutely melted into a puddle of lovesick goo on my kitchen floor. (Read this book, and you’ll see what I’m talking about!) I positively adored Abby and Simon together; this couple just made my heart so very happy.

“Our lips touch, and it’s like a world that was ordinary has now turned extraordinary.”

I’ve read thousands of romance novels over the years (hello, romance novel book reviewer here!). We romance fans always talk about the “swoon” and how a particular hero is so swoony. I truly believed that I had a well and thorough knowledge of exactly what a swoony male lead entailed. I was wrong, so very wrong. Until I met Simon in the pages of The Sexy One, I had no idea what a truly swoon worthy hero was. Simon kept my heart soaring, racing and thumping in my chest from cover-to-cover. Blakely did an incredibly job telling their story because I felt the rush that Abby felt when his attention turned her way, I felt my breath accelerate with hers, and I definitely blushed when she did. By far—BY FAR—this character stole my heart in way that no other male lead character ever has.

I can’t begin to adequately convey how much I loved this book. Without question, The Sexy One is my favorite by Lauren Blakely to date. Without hesitation, I’m giving it 5 smooches, but even with that high rating from me, it still doesn’t feel like enough. So let me sum it up by saying that this book has not only catapulted itself onto my 2016 top favorite books list, but it’s also landed a spot on my all-time top favorites list.

~ Danielle Palumbo

BUY IT NOW

5 Smooches

Synopsis

Joel Anderson doesn’t take anything seriously.

Not his relationships, which have been few and far between since his brutal divorce. Not the drama of working in a tattoo parlor, which seems to be around every corner. When things get him down, he smiles and cracks a joke. But he’s not the kind of man you cross, or you’ll find yourself at the wrong end of his fists.

Annika Belousov takes everything seriously.

Like her job as a reality television producer, given that she typically has something to prove. Or her love life, which is defined by a series of requirements — affluent, ambitious, accomplished, to name a few. Definitely her family, who worked their whole lives to afford her every opportunity, a sacrifice she doesn’t take lightly. When she’s tapped to produce a reality show at Joel’s shop, she doesn’t think twice, just goes in for the kill, as if there were any other way.

The second Annika walks into Joel’s shop, he makes it his mission to crack her open, but she’s not having it. He’s all wrong — too crass, too hairy, to un-serious. But it doesn’t take her long to find out there’s more to him than smirks and tattoos. And what she finds could put her career and his heart on the line.

Not that Joel cares. Because for the first time in a long time, he’s found his tonic.

Review

Staci Hart never ceases to surprise me and Tonic was just that; fresh new and surprising I loved every moment of it.

‘Something about her made me feel reckless, more reckless than usual. ‘

I was lucky enough to read an early copy of Tonic and from the start I knew that Joel and Annika were going to be something else. Polar opposites in every way and yet somehow together they just worked. Typically, characters like Annika’s are not my favorite. She was cold, stern and serious and still somehow Staci made sure we saw her softness and made it impossible not to fall in love with her. Then there is Joel, older, bearded and tattooed with a fun outlook on life you cannot help but be drawn into him. They brought out the worst in each other and the best in each other. They had an intense fire between then which melted her ice façade and only served to make him sexier than he was before. I loved them.

‘Joel and I made no sense. He was charming and annoying and bossy and hairy and all wrong. He was everything I wasn’t. He was everything I’d tried to avoid in my life. He was the opposite of what I needed, of what fit into my plan.’

Staci did a phenomenal job of building Joel and Annika’s relationship, friendship and chemistry. I was on edge waiting for it to all come to the surface. But no fear, there is an epically sexy and amazing first kiss. So much sexual tension was in the air in the build up to them finally kissing that when it finally happens and the sexual tension dams break there is a flood of desire that finally comes to the surface. I was in awe of that kiss. It was what all first kisses should be.

‘And then I did the unthinkable. I pushed my brain down the trash chute, let go of that doorknob, and spun around.

Three steps and I was in his arms.

Two heartbeats and I looked into his eyes.

One breath and I kissed him.’

Tonic is a deviously sexy standalone with characters you’ll that takes place in a tattoo shop and really who doesn’t love a tattoo shop. I highly recommend this sexy and fun book (with a good dash of drama) to all readers. I loved it and know you will too.

~miranda