[Blog Tour- Review] Cassie's Temptation by Sophie Stevens [GIVEAWAY] $50 Amazon/B&N GC

 

Cassie's Temptation

by Sophie Stevens

If there are only three truths in life, they are these. Women will always try to change a man. Men will always say anything to get a girl in bed. Tyler Mason will always have a long line of girls trying to domesticate him, and none will succeed. If one of these ceases to be true, the world will cease to exist.

These are the rules as college student Cassie Faye knows them, so when she gives up on dating in favor of a man who can satisfy her without tempting her heart, her next-door neighbor Tyler tops the list. Tyler isn’t the type of boy Cassie would fall for, but he’s the perfect guy to teach her how to claim her sexual independence without losing her heart in the process. Too late, Cassie finds out that under his womanizing exterior is an attentive, considerate lover who brings out passions in her that she'd barely glimpsed before.

What if she’s wrong about the third truth? What if the world as she knows it is about to cease to exist?

EXCERPT

Tyler edges next to me, and I draw in a deeper breath, reveling in how good he smells. I don’t think he’s wearing cologne. Tyler doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who’d douse himself in a smelly spray. His scent’s probably just a mixture of soap and laundry detergent. It practically makes me swoon, though I’ll never tell him that. 

He leans down next to my ear. “Still mad at me?”

“Yes.” Despite how good he smells, I’m still annoyed he kissed me after doing god-knows-what to two other girls.

“I tried to leave,” he whispers. 

“Could have tried harder.”

His knuckles skim my spine and stop just above my tailbone. “Never underestimate the power of your rack, cupcake.”

I flush as much from his touch as his words. “Why do you call me cupcake?” I ask. 

His hands slide to my hips, and my breath catches. He pulls me against him, my rear pressed into his crotch. It’s a tiny movement, and the room’s dim enough that nobody seems to notice. His body is hard where I’m soft, and I clench my hands to keep from touching him. 

His fingers twists in my hair, and he gently tugs my head back until his lips are almost touching my ear. His hot breath shudders against my skin. “Because you’ve got chocolate hair and chocolate eyes and a creamy middle I want to delve my tongue into.”

My breath catches in my throat, making a kind of shrieking noise. Every eye in the room turns to me. Tyler releases my hair as I slap my hand over my mouth. I’m such an idiot. I’d thought he’d say something cute like, “Because you’re so sweet.” Leave it to him to turn a Hostess snack cake dirty.  

This book gave me all the feels. Cassie has just gotten through a bad breakup and has sworn off relationships for the foreseeable future. But, her roommate brings up that a "hug buddy" aka f buddy would be a great idea. Cassie is hesitant at first, but when Liz recommends their hot, promiscuous neighbor, she eventually concedes. 

Tyler is the neighbor player. He's tall, dark, and Caribbean blue eyed. What's not to like? But, deep down, Tyler is so much more. Cassie is only looking for a hug buddy, but she gets way more than she bargained for in the end. Tyler has a multitude of layers that Cassie would never know, and in the end she doesn't know what's coming for her. I loved the chemistry between Cassie and Tyler. It was so natural. I also loved Tyler. He could be an a-hole sometimes, but mostly he was really sweet and genuine. I was rooting for him from the start. 

This book had me swooning. Cassie and Tyler's relationship was just too cute, and I really loved their dynamic in the book. It had a natural flow to the relationship, and there were layers to the characters and the story. There were many times I caught myself smiling, because I just loved the dialogue between the two. Tyler is just too sweet for his own good. I am excited to see what his backstory is pertaining to his sick girlfriend and his hate of hospitals. 

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys contemporary romance. I am kind of picky when it comes to contemporary romance, but this book did not disappoint. 

Thank you to the Goddess Fish Promotions for providing a copy of this book. These opinions are my own, and were not influenced in any way. I was not obligated to provide a review. 

Sophie Stevens is a southern girl at heart, living in Texas with her husband and three kids. During the day she’s an aviation engineer. At night she moonlights as a naughty romance novelist with a passion for writing steamy love scenes that make her husband blush. When she’s not testing PCB boards, driving children to practice, or writing, she can be found curled up next to her black kitty reading a good book—a romance of course.  

Cassie’s Temptation Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Cassies-Temptation-Wimberley-University-Novel-ebook/dp/B09HJF3PTH/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&qid=1633446559&refinements=p_27%3ASophie+Stevens&s=digital-text&sr=1-2&text=Sophie+Stevens

Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100073453241979 

Cassie’s Temptation Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Cassies-Temptation-289597109517587 

Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/SophieS59013526 

Website: https://authorsophiestevens.com/ 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59120207-cassie-s-temptation?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=jMHKPo89WE&rank=5 

The book will be on sale for $0.99.

GIVEAWAY

Sophie Stevens will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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[Book Tour- Review] Red Velvet Crinkles and Christmas Sprinkles by Maria Imbalzano [GIVEAWAY] $15 Amazon GC

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Maria Imbalzano will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Competitive, work-obsessed Bella Simonetti has just been fired from her high-paying job at a Manhattan law firm. At an all-time low, she returns home and helps her parents at their small-town gift shop, but the business is failing and may not make it past the Christmas holidays.

Successful landscape architect Dean Jackson is like a son to Bella's parents. But he's a persistent annoyance to her—he seems to have forgotten his unforgivable blunder thirteen years earlier.

When Bella transforms her parents' gift shop into a cookie cottage, Dean's generosity and magnetic smile are hard to resist, and those feelings of unrequited adolescent love come rushing back. But can Bella let go of the past and accept Dean for the man he is today?

Read an Excerpt

She ignored the little voice in her head encouraging her to come clean. Especially since she planned to live in her parents’ house until she could find a job. Maybe she’d share at dinner tonight. After a bottle of wine.

The back door squeaked open and a gust of air blew in before the door was firmly closed. “Good morning, Barb. Clive.”

The guest came in and gave her mom a kiss on the cheek before slapping her dad on the back. Bella’s mouth flew open as she watched the scene, a tiny gasp escaping.

Dean Jackson! What is he doing here?

“Honey, you remember Dean don’t you?” Her mom’s smile grew much bigger than it had been all morning. “Your brother’s friend from high school?”

“Of…of course I do.” Bella buttoned the top button of her pajamas before her hand flew up to assure her messy bun was still on top of her head. Fire flamed her face as she puzzled out the reason for his presence at seven-thirty a.m. on a Wednesday morning. Or any time, for that matter.

“Dean’s been like another son to us,” her dad beamed. “Ever since your brother took that job in Boston, he’s helped us do whatever needs to be done around here or at the store. And he’s my golf buddy.”

Dean’s gaze zeroed in on her, and her thoughts fuzzed. She would have loved to slink upstairs, but no way was she going to get out of this chair sporting flannel pajamas and bunny slippers. Was nothing sacred around here?

*I was given this book in exchange for an honest review*

This Christmas novella was a cute, lighthearted read! The main character goes home because she is laid off from her New York lawyer position, and she can no longer afford to pay for her swanky apartment in the city. So, she goes home to her little hometown while she waits for a job offer. But, while she is there she has a chance to reconnect with one of her brother's friends from high school. Unfortunately, he also hurt her in high school, so she's not feeling the connection. He is determined to get back into her good graces though. Meanwhile, her parents are having trouble with their small shop in their town due to less customers. So, Bella helps out by determining a new business model focused mostly on her mom's beloved cookies.

This short novella reminded me of a Hallmark movie, so I loved it. It had family, Christmas cookies, holiday spirit and a little bit of romance sprinkled in. It was a nice little holiday book wrapped in a bow. It was fun, light hearted and sweet. I would recommend it to anyone that is looking for a Christmas romance movie with a guaranteed happily ever after. 

Maria Imbalzano is a retired matrimonial lawyer who now writes full time. Instead of drafting motions, legal memoranda, and briefs, although fascinating, she now spends her days creating memorable characters and taking them on their emotional journeys through her contemporary romance novels.

Her novel, “Unchained Memories,” won the Wisconsin Romance Writers Write Touch Readers’ Award and the ACRA Readers’ Choice Heart of Excellence Award. “Sworn to Forget,” the first of the four-book Sworn Sisters Series was a finalist for the illustrious RONE award as well as the Book Buyers Best Award. Her novellas, “The Blueberry Swirl Waltz” and “A Song For Another Day” each came in first in their category in the National Excellence in Story Telling contest.

Website: http://mariaimbalzano.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariaimbalzanoauthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mariaimbalzano
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/Mariaimbalzano_author
Blog: http://www.mariaimbalzano.com/category/blog/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7276749.Maria_Imbalzano
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/maria-imbalzano

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09FYVGDWR
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/red-velvet-crinkles-and-christmas-sprinkles-maria-imbalzano/1140147130
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/red-velvet-crinkles-and-christmas-sprinkles/id1585527197

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[Book Review] Our Finest Hour

 

Sometimes broken hearts need whiskey. Sometimes they need music. Other times, only a night with a stranger will soothe the pain.

On the night Isaac and I met, we tried all three.

When it was over, we went our separate ways.

We planned to never see each other again, but I should really know by now that plans don’t work out the way they're supposed to.

It has been four years since that night, and it’s a bizarre twist of fate that lands me in need of help only Isaac can give.

I don’t want to be attracted to him, but I am.

I don’t want my heart to skip a beat when it sees him, but it does.

And I really don’t want him to look at me that way, but he won’t stop.

Because things aren't like they were four years ago. And this time? We don’t have the option of parting ways when the sun comes up.

This was another book I found on TikTok. The premise was this: a woman gets broken up with on April Fools, meets a guy at a bar, has incredible chemistry with said guy, has a one night stand, gets pregnant, guy was leaving the next day, woman can't find him, woman has a baby girl, baby girl breaks her arm five years later, and finally the pediatric surgeon is the baby's dad 😳.

This book was a lighthearted and refreshing read. The main character has a troubled past, because her mom left her as a child. So, she has some trust issues. This book follows her character growth and and the inevitable healing she must do to have a healthy and happy relationship. The male main character is charming and a sweetheart. I enjoyed reading their relationship dynamic and how he guides her into a relationship. He's gentle and patient, which is exactly what she needs. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book as a quick, enjoyable romance read. If you enjoy happily ever afters and healing emotional trauma then this book is for you.

Jennifer Millikin is a two-time recipient of the Readers Favorite award. She writes contemporary fiction with elements of romance, emotion, and hard-learned lessons. Her characters are flawed and authentic, and some parts of her stories are more fact than fiction.