4 Smooches

Synopsis

Nate:

It’s nearly impossible to be surrounded by love but not understand it. My parents, my sister, and just about everyone around us has no trouble accepting that love. To give your trust to someone else and believe they would die before hurting you. I’ve witnessed it—I’ve seen the power of it—but I’ve also seen the pain. Because for me, I’ve only loved someone I could never have, and my biggest fear is that by giving her my love, all I would do is ruin her. I should have tried harder, but I’m not sure I can because I only feel complete when I’m with her.

Emberlyn:

The only time I feel like I belong is when he’s near. His infectious smile warms me straight to my bones. Any insecurities I have vanish with just a wink from him. A sliver of his attention makes me feel invincible. But all it took was one drunken night of truths for me to lose everything I had begun to crave. Now, I’m not sure how to move on because I only feel complete when I’m with him.

He said I was too young. I said he was perfect. He said our families wouldn’t understand. I said we could weather any storm. He said he would ruin me. And he was right.

Review

“You were fucking born to be mine, little firecracker, and mine you will fucking be.”

Nate Reid was everything I imagined and nothing I imagined all at once. When I’m With You is the third book in the Hope Town series by Harper Sloan featuring the kids from her Corps Security series. Both Nate and Emberlyn are children from the original series and despite their large age gap have been attracted to each other since they were younger. But when Nate rejects a young Emberlyn when she is 18 their close friendship is irreparably damaged and both must now long for the other from afar. But years have passed and mistakes made and now is the time for Nate to finally claim what is his.

“You’re trying to distract me with your talented fingers and huge penis, aren’t you?”

Overall, I was pleased with the development of the story and the journey that Nate and Emberlyn went through. Nate definitely takes after his dad is  all kinds of claim her as his own protective alpha. I do wish there was more resistance from Maddox and even some confrontation between Maddox and Axel because I think that would have had the potential to be both super dramatic and super angsty. But even without that the plot was fast passed and gripping. I was sucked in at the very beginning. If you have been following the series I definitely think this is one of the best yet in the Hopetown series and I am excited to see where Harper takes us with the rest of the Corps kids.

“God, Ember. I mean it, baby. Not one more day can I spend without you.”

While for me personally I cannot say that I love with this series with the same all consuming passion as I did with the Corps Security series, I can say that I was unable to put this book down and I was completely surprised by some of the twists and turns she brought to the table this time. If I had to sun up When I’m With You I would totally say it is Magic Mike with light touches of BDSM and really who isn’t into imagining sexy man bunned Nate Reid stripping for us all. Plus Harper always gives us good alpha! 😉

~miranda

4 Smooches!

Synopsis

Recipe For:
A Roll In The Hay Hot Crossed Buns Love

Ingredients:

1 Chef (equal parts sexy and carefree)
1 Pianist (equal parts uptight and endearing)
1/8 inch of drywall between their apartments
2 opinions on everything

Combine all ingredients, mix vigorously, and be prepared for an explosion of heat.

Pianist Ella Thomas is training for the competition of her life. Finally in an apartment of her own, she can practice from dawn till dusk.
But she didn’t bet on the sexy and frustrating neighbor keeping her up all night – even if he does cook like a maestro and kiss like it’s his job.

Jake Matson is living his dream as Head Chef at one of the most popular restaurants in San Francisco. He’s easy going, flirtatious and not looking for love. He didn’t expect to be completely distracted by the girl next door, whose buttoned-up appearance hides the seductive firecracker underneath.

What happens when opposites attract? As their tension fires up, can they create a new kind of music together or will everything boil over?

REVIEW

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3 Smooches

Synopsis

O​livia Simon is starting over in the Big Easy. Her new job as a yoga instructor means she gets to pursue her passion, while giving her the motivation she needs to get back on track. But she’s scared. Really scared. Scared her abusive ex-boyfriend will find her. Scared of all things that go bump in the night… and day. She knows her ex will have a claim on her future happiness unless she can find her own peace. Which starts with Kyle.

Kyle Avery, a former college baseball player on the brink of going pro, is also starting over. His dream since Little League was shattered when a jealous rival went too far in a pre-season game. After a few surgeries, all Kyle is left with are a few rods in his leg, a rebuilt knee, and no idea who he is without baseball. But when he trades center field for a yoga mat, he finds solace in a way he never imagined. Kyle knows there’s something about Olivia. Something he needs to move forward.

But Olivia loves to run, and it’s too soon for her to be playing house. Olivia and Kyle want to invest in each other, but the secrets they’ve kept take a dangerous turn when Olivia’s past returns with a vengeance. Devastated and helpless, Olivia wonders who she can really trust, and Kyle questions if he was ever able to keep her safe

REVIEW

I had a lot of issues with this book, and they all boil down to the same problem: the lack of plot and character development. For me, this was such a critical issue that I was left with more questions when I finished the book than I had understanding of what I had just finished reading. It’s frustrating because I’m not completely certain what the whole story was with regards to some of the key plot arcs, and for that reason, I don’t feel comfortable enough to summarize the story with quotes like I normally do at the start of a review.

A major problem for me was that I never really developed any connection to or empathy for the heroine, Olivia, and this is the direct result of significant character development issues. I never really “got” her, I never fully understood what exactly she was running from, what happened during the catalytic event that had her moving “in the middle of the night” to escape her ex-boyfriend of five years, Braden. What exactly was she escaping? Aside from a few ambiguous statements about her treatment and neglect during that relationship, which began while she was still in high school and is the one of the two underlying sources of all of her issues, the readers don’t get more than a brief, cursory glimpse into it. We don’t get a clear and decisive explanation of exactly what happened during this traumatic incident and there was no real, in-depth delving into that relationship to give the reader a better understanding of the supposed five years of abuse and neglect that she repeatedly said she experienced at that boy’s hands. Whatever it was, though, it was enough to set her running from him, moving to another city (only two hours away, but whatever), and it left her with panic attacks and nightmares.

A lot of concern was repeatedly expressed about how Braden could have tracked her down in a city the size of New Orleans on the night of her birthday to the exact club where they were celebrating. It was eluded to more than once that they were “missing something,” especially when it came to his ability to find her on that particular night, and it left the reader, or at least this reader, thinking that there may have been a potential tip off from someone close to Olivia. Instead a ridiculously implausible, impossible scenario was offered offhandedly near the end of the story as to how he found her, and I vocally reacted, startling my husband as I yelled out “Oh come on!” when it was so casually thrown out there as an explanation. This was something that bothered Kyle for most of the book, it lead me to believe that it would be some sort of twist or betrayal, and I was expecting a big reveal, like one of her friends was feeding information about her to Braden. Instead it was a wasted opportunity, and considering that this was one of the few plot threads that actually had a decisive conclusion, albeit a flimsy one, I was left disappointed.

Then there was the whole arc concerning Olivia’s brother, Tyler, and the intimation that he had some role in all of this, whatever “this” was. He was apparently Braden’s best friend, and there were some veiled references about him potentially being involved in Braden’s business. Inexplicably, he started blowing her off on the few occasions she was actually able to reach him, and then he just stopped responding to her calls and emails at all, even going a step further by changing his email address and phone number. Why? Olivia and Kyle even made this big, dramatic trip to LA to confront him. What we got out of Tyler was another rickety reason for all this massive drama as he’s apparently just “keeping it on the DL” in LA. Huh? His sister was attacked by her abusive, stalking ex and hospitalized as a result, and he can’t return a single phone call? It’s stated that he “turned” on Braden, and that detail is furthered by the information that he’s moved nine times within Los Angeles in the short time that he’s been out there. Instead of backing up that detail by making him difficult to not only reach but to actually locate, the readers were expected to just believe that he’s in hiding while he still goes to work everyday at a PR firm that Olivia used good old Google to quickly locate. Why bother hiding at all? She shows up to his office, unannounced, and after some awkward posturing, her big confrontation was instead an enormous flop for the readers as the meat of their conversation happened out of sight in the hotel’s bar, and the readers weren’t privy to it, given instead a scene of Kyle waiting and worrying while watching TV in the hotel room. Seriously?

Olivia has stated that she never had anyone who “took care” of her before, and it was important to her that she stand on her own. I can appreciate this young woman’s desire to stand on her own two feet. But her reactions each time poor Kyle or his incredibly generous parents did something kind and thoughtful for her were so over the top that they were downright rude and bordered on obnoxious, and as a result of these confusing reactions, she came off as immature, unappreciative, ungrateful and wholly ungracious. Why would a simple gift spark such a reaction? Why would a dinner out – a date with her boyfriend for crying out loud – garner such a strong reaction? I may have a general idea, but I definitely didn’t get the full motivation behind such insulting reactions to normal boyfriend behavior, and instead of building my sympathy towards this character, it stoked a strong dislike of her. Her constant panicking, her standoffish and just plain rude behavior, and all this seemingly unnecessary, self-created drama annoyed the heck out of me. As a result, all of these issues, concerns and lingering questions prevented me from embracing this character, from even liking her, and I just could not connect with her or her story.

I really did like the hero, Kyle, though, but his character wasn’t fully developed either. He was injured in what was apparently a dirty and deliberate late hit during a college baseball game that effectively ended the promising professional baseball career that lay ahead for him. But it was implied that there was more to it than just an unsportsmanlike late hit and that something awful happened after the hit, but we never learned exactly what that was. The implication was that there was some sort of history between Kyle and the opposing player responsible for his injury and that jealousy is a possible reason behind it. But, the hit was never fully detailed beyond impact, that supposed history between the two of them wasn’t elaborated upon, and I was left feeling like I was missing a key piece of Kyle’s story, which was very frustrating for me as Kyle and his story was one of the main reasons I kept reading this story.

I could go on. There were just too many holes in the plot and too many missing pieces of these characters’ histories that made it too difficult for me to connect with this story. I was left frustrated and confused when I finished. The saving grace for me, and why I’m comfortable with a 3 smooch rating, is that the author’s writing style is good, and it’s obvious that she has talent. Had these plot points and characters been fully fleshed out, I’d have enjoyed this story. Even lacking in details as it was, I still kept turning the pages, hoping for clarification, and that in itself is an indication of interest in the story and characters on my part. The author and this series both have a lot of potential. I think with some more experience, the right support to nurture her talent, and perhaps a more seasoned group of beta readers asking these probing questions during the writing process as well as an editor who demands the same, and she’ll put out some really great books in the future. I can see the promise in Sophie Lira’s writing abilities and her natural talent. Ultimately, though, Safe With You just didn’t come together cohesively for me, and it gets 3 smooches.

~ Danielle Palumbo

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5 Smooches!

Synopsis

Tahoe Roth.
Irreverent, cocky, playful and naughty.
He’s not the guy you date.
He’s the one night stand.
The one your mother warned you about.
The one your body craves.

You’d think the man who called me succulent would want to strip me down and spread me out on his bed—like he’s done with countless others.

But he passed on my offer….

Just like I’d once passed on his.

He’s wary, like I am.

He’s broken, like I am.

And everyone knows two broken parts can’t ever make a whole.

Tahoe and I are strictly friends.

So I distract myself with other men.

He doesn’t think my new man is good enough. This blond blue-eyed beast doesn’t think any man is—himself included.

But the more time we spend together, the more confused I feel.
I’m trying to open myself to love.

Yet I’m quickly realizing that the only man I want is Tahoe Roth.
The one man who will surely break my heart.

A sexy new Manwhore series standalone contemporary romance from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katy Evans.

Review

MOVE THE HECK OVER MALCOLM SAINT, because Tahoe Roth is in house and he completely stole my heart forever and ever!  Do not get me wrong, I loved Manwhore and I never thought that I would love Tahoe so immensely but that man.  God, I can’t even.  I think this book really spoke to me because it is a true friends to lovers romance and you get to witness Regina and Tahoe establish their friendship from the very beginning.

“…two broken people, a little angry at whatever hurt them, having nothing to vent and no one to punch, not really.”

You are there for every little act of friendship, every little too intense stare, every little caress or touch that flames the intense friendship that Tahoe and Regina have.  These two are fast best friends and there for each other through everything.  I have to tell you that I adore a book with sexual tension and this one was just like, WHOA.   I awarded Malcolm Saint with the best first kiss Ive ever read in Manwhore but I think that Tahoe and Regina get the best sexual tension award for me, by far.  It just built and built and built and built…you know what I mean.  It was crazy and I was almost panting with just wanting to Tahoe to give her just one tiny kiss.  Goodness!

“I like the way they smell, and I like the way they feel between my fingers.”

Gah, guys!  Tahoe is absolutely a fabulously delicious filthy talker and Regina wasn’t the only worked up over this sweet, beautifully sad man.  His words.  I loved them all!

“God, this mouth belongs to me, this mouth was made for me.”

These two broken people support each other in the most special of ways and man I shed a few tears for them.  Sometimes it takes a while to establish an unbreakable bond of friendship and love enough to move the next step and Regina and Tahoe are perfect examples of that.  And they had me rooting for them so hard.  I just loved them both so much and was so invested in their story!

“why would any woman want to be anything else when they are you, huh?”

This is a gorgeous friends to lovers romance and it blew me away.  Probably my very favorite from Katy Evans so far.  Now, I am positively salivating for Callan’s book!

~Amie

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