4 Smooches!

Synopsis

Mia Ryan was on the path to make all her dreams come true. Her life was everything she wanted it to be; until one fateful night changed everything – leaving her broken and without direction. Nearly a year later, she still has little faith in anyone or anything. Desperate to reclaim her life’s ambition, she takes an unexpected offer that promises to solve all her problems. But as Mia moves forward, she’s faced with obstacles she couldn’t have foreseen. The biggest of them lies within the mystery of Ethan Fitzgerald; a man who affects her like no other, but who she should avoid pursuing, at all costs. 

On a mission himself, Ethan Fitzgerald didn’t care who he pissed off on his road to fulfill his mother’s dying wish. He relied on himself, and was closed off to the world around him – until Mia Ryan walked through his door. Normally one to avoid messy emotions, Ethan’s world is turned upside down by Mia, and he can’t seem to get enough of her. 

There are lines you can cross that will change the course of your life forever …

Review

This book has left me with more questions than answers which is a good thing for an author! I must keep reading to find out what happens next!!  It made me think and made me feel and that in my opinion makes a great book. Our female lead is Mia, a headstrong woman with a bright future in journalism ahead of her until her world comes crashing down and everything she knows and loves comes into question. She gradually picks up the pieces only to be thrown into a situation that could prove to be her big break or a big disaster. Into this whirlwind comes Ethan Fitzgerald, mysteriously hot, intensely brooding and very much her boss in a very conflicted way.  What happens when Mia’s big break and her insane attraction to the man she may destroy become very conflicted?? I want to know!! The book does leave you at a very critical point in the story but it makes me want to read Complicated like right now! I give this book 4 smooches and a big high five to M.M. for making me want to keep on reading 😉

~Misty~

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5 Smooches

Synopsis

Bad girls don’t forgive.
Bad girls don’t forget.
Bad girls don’t fall in love.

Caroline Willis may be known for causing trouble, but she is NOT about to become homeless. So when she learns that her perfect apartment has been double-booked—to a dangerously hot bad boy—Caroline’s bad-girl reputation comes out in full force. He may be sexy as sin, but she’s not afraid of him … or his panty-melting smile.

Rock Canyon’s got room for only one bad attitude—and Gabe Moriarty was here first. Still, starting over means playing it smart, so while sharing his new apartment is less than ideal, it’s worth getting his dream business off the ground. Not to mention that it means shacking up with a sexy wild child. Caroline may be giving him the cold shoulder, but Gabe always was good at starting fires …

Caroline vows to keep things professional with Gabe, but as close quarters begin to ignite the sizzling chemistry between them, she’s left wondering: Bad boy plus bad girl equals nothing but trouble … right?

Review

I have been reading the Rock Canyon Series since before I was a book blogger and have always really enjoyed it but this book, Return Of The Bad Girl, is by far the very best one yet. The writing has gotten so good, the characters have gotten more and more desirable and the storyline is both fun and intense. I love that she is not afraid to get a little deeper with the plots and subject matter.

“What was it about this infuriating woman that reduced him to a twelve-year-old at the pool?”

Caroline left Rock Canyon years ago with a chip on her shoulder and a bad reputation. Gabe is fresh out of jail for a bad decision that has completely changed the course of his life and followed his former best friend, Chase, to Rock Canyon. When both are promised the same apartment they are PISSED but eventually come to the decision to become roommates and nothing more. Although on a physical level both are supremely attracted to the other, on a personality level they cannot seem to say more than one nice thing to each other and clearly know they are not compatible.

“You have exactly three seconds to get out of here before I do everything I’ve been thinking about since the first day I saw you. You decide. Now.”

What these two outcasts don’t count on . . . understanding the struggles the other has faced. Caroline’s story broke my heart and it is clear her heart was broken years ago and she has never really recovered. But when the demons of her past resurface and not only threaten her sanity but the safety of those she loves leave it to Gabe to step in and make sure she is safe. Gabe too though has a past that haunts him every day of his life and it is one that will never go away. A decision he made years ago irreparably changed the life of the one person who matters the most to him and it is certain that it is not something he can ever fully recover from only something he can attempt to live with. This is where Caroline and her ability to understand him and look at his future and not his past help him heal.

“The ride’s not over yet, princess.”

Overall, Return of the Bad Girl was an addictive read that had me laughing, crying and turned on all in one great book. While this can very easily be a standalone I highly recommend this whole series and am sure you won’t be let down.

~miranda

5 Smooches

Synopsis

Looking for the perfect mix of smart, sexy, and sassy? Mai Tai’d Up continues USA TODAY bestselling author Alice Clayton’s Cocktail series, which began with Wallbanger and continued with Rusty Nailed and Screwdrivered.

Eligible bachelor Lucas Campbell is very available, but very picky. A veterinarian in Monterey, California, his life is perfect: he works, he sails, he loves the ocean and the mountains—so why rock the boat? Then Miss Chloe Patterson comes along.

Chloe has the body of a supermodel, the mouth of a sailor, and the fashion sense of teenage guy in 1990s Seattle. A former Miss California, she walked away from a cushy life, bought an old ranch outside Monterey, and turned it into Our Gang, a sanctuary for rescued and abandoned pit bulls. A woman who’s clearly not afraid of dog poop, she enjoys rehabilitating her “warrior angels.”

Local gossip reports that she ditched her fiancé the night before their wedding (true), and that she moved up north to start a new life (also true). She didn’t want to be tied down (true), but she wouldn’t mind being tied up—especially by that hot vet she’s seen around town a few times (true, true, and have-you-seen-his-butt?-true).

But is Chloe ready to date again? And is Lucas ready to take on not only Chloe, but forty pit bulls? One moonlit sail, two bottles of wine, and a few sailor knots might just do the trick.

Review

In her mid-twenties and living her mother’s dream beauty queen, Chloe, is about to get married to Charles Preston Sappington as in TODAY! But she can’t just can’t! This isn’t what she wants and isn’t who she should be so she does what any self respecting woman does . . . she runs leaving him just hours before the wedding. Now her whole world is turned upside down and she is leaving the home she has always known in San Diego for Monterey, California. She has always been involved in the Our Gang Charity while on the pageant circuit but she is about to dive head first into starting and running her first pit bull sanctuary for them. Finally doing something she loves and can be proud of.

“Gingers are my kryptonite. Always have been, always will be. Show me a hot ginger guy and my pulse will start a’racing.”

Enter super hot, super sexy, super red-headed veterinarian Lucas. While helping her set up and get ready with her charity these two become close. It is clear from the beginning that they are attracted to each other but having both just gotten out of long term relationships they know it’s best to deny their feelings and just be friends. I have to admit watching these two deny the chemist that is clearly there is both funny and  frustrating. You just want them to say fuck it and get together but it is never that easy. Chloe is keeping one big secret from Lucas and it’s one that could ruin all the hard work they have put into their friendship and budding relationship.

“What? Beauty queens get themselves off all the time. Believe me.”

If you are a fan of hilarious books with tons of sexual tension then BAM this is definitely a book you will want to read. Alice Clayton has such a natural ability with wit, which is something that can be hard to find in a good book. While Wallbanger is still my favorite in the series and no man can ever take Simon’s place I truly did love Lucas and Chloe and can easily see re-reading this book again in the future. Lucas is so sexy and loving I just adore him and when they finally give into everything they have been feeling  . . .well . . . OH MY!

“You want to know what I’m thinking? Right this very second?” “Uh huh,” “It’s a little bit dirty,” “I’ve never really had the dirty,” “Still want to know, what I’m thinking about?” “I think so?” “You think? What I’m thinking about right now, is the same thing I’ve been thinking about since you showed up in this town, blushing in that mirror over the bar. How you’d look spread out for me, naked and pink.”

~miranda