4 stars

• Buy THE PROPOSITION on Kindle (Amazon)

4 stars.

OK. I. NEED. BOOK. TWO. RIGHT. FREAKING. NOW !!!!!!!!!!!

Gah! Ok, so I knew there was a cliffhanger when I went into this book and early on in the book there is a big “hint” at what its about that I picked up on, so on all accounts, I was ready for it but holy hell my heart was in knots by the end!!!!

*falls down on knees and begs Katie Ashley for an early release of The Proposal*

I have to say, the synopsis of this book was what grabbed me. The minute I read it, I just knew that I had to read this book!!

With her 30th birthday looming over her, Emma feels her biological ticking. Loudly. But unfortunately, there is no sign of Mr. Right anywhere even near the horizon. So she decided to give single motherhood a shot but when her gay best friend backs out of his promise to donate sperm to her cause, she is devastated.

And then in swoops her gorgeous, commitment phobic, serial womanizer, coworker Aidan with a proposition. *waggles eyebrows* He will father her child with the catch of it being conceived naturally.

“Look… Emma wanted the baby, so I agreed to help her.”…
“Ah, you’re like her stud horse or something?”
“Not funny.”

And despite her early misgivings, Emma’s desire for a child wins out and she takes him up on his offer.

“A MWF sex schedule? How efficient,” he mused.
“Please be serious.”
A wicked grin flashed on his face. “Fine, pencil me in. I”ll be ready and erect whenever you need me.” 

But Aidan was a man with serious commitment issues – who balked at any hint of being tied down to something permanent – no matter how much fullness it could bring to his life. And we are left to find out whether or not what he is beginning to feel for Emma will grow strong enough to overcome the man he is….

“…Aidan Fitzgerald is not husband material. But he’s sure as hell stud material.”

I really liked seeing these two people trying to take something so personal so seriously. And adorable watching their real feelings develop even while trying to maintain a “professional” (hmm, wrong word, but you know what I mean) attitude about the whole thing.

There were a few times where I found things a little rushed, and a moment or two that I wasn’t sure about but overall, I just enjoyed the story.

Aidan… I kind of went back and forth on him. I started out grinning from ear to ear and loving where everything was going, totally looking forward to his character’s growth and change and, especially once those started, my heart started to feel whole, but his commitment issues really tore at my heart and frustrated me.

At 90% I was ready to slap him.
At 94% I just wanted to throttle him.
At 95% I was ready to throw my kindle at him and tell him to go fuck himself.
At 96% I just wanted to hug Emma and geld him (and no, trust me, I’m not being too harsh, just read it, you’ll want to do the same thing)

But….. then *holds up one finger* … by 98% despite everything, I saw a spark that gave me hope for him being truly redeemable.

HOWEVER…..

Please please PLEASE may The Proposal have one of the most epic freaking grovels in book history!!!!!!!!!! 

I love stories of characters who are able to catch themselves before they go too far, realize they are on the wrong path and do everything in their power to make things right again so I’m very, very, VERY much looking forward to book #2.

With MUCH. EPIC. GROVELING. (yes, its worth mentioning twice)

So yeah, you should know before you read it that the ending is a cliffhanger (clearly, lol)…

But. Big BUT here. –> Its not the kind where it just ends in the middle of a scene, but rather just ends at a point where it gives you the feeling like things will be fixed in the end but right at the moment you finish, you’ll be willing to barter your everloving soul for the sequel.

This book was a fun read. The story is not too long – I read it in one evening. There is humor, banter, a good plot (this book isn’t just about the sex!) and leaves you desperate to see where the characters will end up.

And book 2, The Proposal, has thankfully be bumped up to an early 2013 release by popular demand *wipes brow*

I.NEED. THAT. BOOK.

NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

That is all  🙂

CASTING: –> Click HERE for Katie Ashley’s personal casting.

• Aidan 
• Emma

My review of book #2:

• The Proposal review

READING ORDER

#1 THE PROPOSITION

• THE PROPOSITION (Kindle)
  
• THE PROPOSITION (Paperback)

#2 THE PROPOSAL

• THE PROPOSAL (Kindle)
• THE PROPOSAL (Paperback)

Prequel – THE PARTY (to be read after)

• THE PARTY (Kindle)

• Buy COME AWAY WITH ME on Kindle (Amazon)

4+ stars

Looking for a steamy, no angst, pure swoon-fest?? Look no further!

I still can’t believe this was a debut novel! The flow, the writing style, the feel of the story, the characters, everything just instantly hooked me from the first scene. Seriously, I read most of this book with this happy little smile on my face and my heart a-fluttering.

On a beautiful quiet morning, Natalie is out on the beach taking photos of the scenery when she is suddenly confronted by a gorgeous man enraged that she was taking his picture and demanding that she turn over her camera. Clearly surprised that she actually wasn’t, and even more shocked (and thrilled) that she doesn’t know who he is, and he apologizes profusely and asks her out to breakfast hoping to smooth over their rough start.

And so begins their relationship. Luke loves that Natalie doesn’t recognize him and that her feelings for him are based purely on what he’s shown her of himself, and Natalie can’t get enough of this amazing, charming man who stepped into her life. But Natalie is a up front, honest girl and when she eventually finds out what he’s hiding, the sparks fly.

“Are you having doubts?”
“Hell, no, I just want to make sure this is what you want, baby. If you say no, that’s fine, but please, God, don’t say no.”

Luke. Oh my god Luke freaking Williams! I have a new book boyfriend (shhh, don’t tell the others)! He was butterflies-in-my-belly, set-my-heart-a-flutter, clutch-my-chest-and-fan-myself swoony! He cooked, opened doors, gave foot rubs, bought flowers (by the truckload), planed surprises, spoiled his girl… and best of all, was completely devoted to and in love with Natalie. Over all, pretty much just pure fantasy man material.

“Is there anyone else?”
“Why is that any of your business?”
“Because you’re the first woman I’ve brought into my home and all I can think about is getting your beautiful body naked and fucking you senseless. I need to know if there is any competition. I don’t share, Natalie.”…
“Saying that you don’t want to share implies that I’m already yours, Luke.”
“Aren’t you?” he whispers.“

Their relationship was very romantic, very quick to develop (remember, this book is pure swoon-fest), and very functional. They each had their insecurities but I really liked how they compromised in each situation. Neither of them would just roll over and give in but would each listen to the other’s perspective and make a decision that respected their feelings.

This book has no external drama or bad guy. No cheating, major stupidity, long separations or anything will make you threaten bodily harm to your eReader. Its solely focused on the romance between Luke and Natalie!

And oh my Lord are there ever boat-loads of steamy sex scenes! Seriously, these guys can’t stop doing it! 😀 Everywhere! The wall, the bed, the bathroom, the shower, the limo, the airplane, the desk, the car, the beach… I’m sure I’m missing a few but this book basically goes from swoon to sex to swoon to sex to more swoon and more sex… mostly vanilla but all hottt!

The book is told in first person perspective from Natalie’s POV for the whole story up until the very sweet epilogue which is from Luke. The writing style was vaguely reminiscent of EL James’ in places. I kind of wavered on whether or not that was a good thing but overall, I guess the fact that I honestly smiled my way through most of the book meant that I really liked it. I love the style and it worked well for this story.

“I’ve fallen in love with a beautiful, sexy, sweet, jealous control freak.
Shit.“

So given all the boat-loads of swoon and steam, what made it 4 stars instead of 5? There were a few small things, nothing huge though, but there were a few moments that made me give the page the “squinty skeptical eye” and go hrmmmm (but nothing lingering, just kind of a moment that I got over quickly). I also found there was a bit too much focus on body image talk – at first it was fine, but it was mentioned several times over the course of the book and eventually got to be a little much for me. And while the heroine was definitely not what I’d call annoying, she did have a few (luckily, very short) moments that made me roll my eyes. And lastly, and this might sound weird, but some parts of the story just felt a little ‘too’ perfect at times. But still, I mean, for a pure swoon-fest, that’s kind of what you want, right? 😛

This book left me completely satisfied with Luke and Natalie’s story. There is a HEA (no cliffhanger!) and I’m very much looking forward to more from this author. And she just told me we have a LOT to look forward to: Book #2 “Fight With Me” which will follow Jules’ (the best friend’s) and Nate’s story and is scheduled for release on Jan 4, 2013. Then Will’s story, “Play With Me” comes out in March!!! oh, and we get an Isaac/Stacy novella this December too! Seriously, Kristen Proby sure knows how to keep her readers happy 😀

If you love steamy romance without excess drama, then definitely add this book to your TBRs 🙂

Thank you to the author Kristen Proby for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. 

• Buy COME AWAY WITH ME on Kindle (Amazon)
• Buy COME AWAY WITH ME on ePub (Smashwords)

CASTING:

Luke: Click here
Natalie: Click here

Here are the links to the available books in Kristen Proby’s With Me In Seattle series:

4 stars

Just like with the first two, this book is another gem of a fluff read.  A lighthearted, sexy, hilarious, over-the-top  frenemies-to-lovers story. Pure fun! 

Teasing, banter, a cocoa addiction, a bad boy, a tough girl and some seriously crazy pranks involving super glued boxer shorts, three week old fermented yogurt, laxatives, being hog tied with medical tape, being chained to a toilet, many purple nurples…. the list goes on to ‘fun’ that landed them more than a few overnight jail time and bans from stores.

Guys, don’t take this book seriously, just enjoy the ride 🙂

Ever since preschool Connor has been certain that Rory “had been put on this earth solely for him to torture and torture her he did.”  He would tease her mercilessless and she’s give back every bit as good as she got. As they grew older, the  severity and frequence of their pranks grew until pretty much everyone in the town knew to duck for cover when they were breathing the same air.

“She’d been the prettiest little girl that he’d ever seen and he just had to push her and pull on her pigtails.”

Now, twenty-five years since they first met in preschool, their two rival construction companies have been hired to do a joint project much to the disgruntlement of both Rory and Connor, and are they are forced not only to work together but to collaborate on the job, the constant close quarters lead them to explore if maybe there is something other than just the intense desire to torture each other between them.

“As long as I’m stuck with you on this project and you try to get in my way, anything goes,” she said…
“Is that a fact?” he demanded evenly.
“Yes,” she practically hissed as her eyes narrowed no his.
You’re only here because of my generosity, Rory. Push me and you might just find yourself locked in the trunk of a car and on a ferry headed off to Nova Scotia… again,” he said softly, loving the way she practically shook with rage against him.
“I knew that was you, you bastard!” she snarled…
“You deserved it,” he felt obligated to remind her.

Oh Connor *shakes head* … lol, I had to laugh at his antics. He was just such a lovable asshat. On one had it was totally cute that he secretly cared for her, but when you got inside his head, I just couldn’t wait for the next time Rory would kick his ass.

But I loved that no matter what Connor did, Rory never gave him the satisfaction of ‘winning’ and always stood up for herself. Oh, and lets not forget that she’s got five hot older brothers watching her back too (hmmm… *wonders about future books*)

And I was not expecting the HOTNESS from this book! Their first love scene took up 4% of my kindle!! Whew *fans self*

“Oh my God!” A woman whispered loudly. “They’re going to do it on the front lawn!”

And in case you are missing those yummy, always-hungry Bradford men from the first two books, fear not! Both Jason and Trevor have absolutely hilarious cameos that had me laughing myself silly! Love those guys so much <3

“Tell me that you didn’t break the ban, Rory. Tell me that there aren’t two Bradfords beating the shit out of each other over the last slice of cheese in my kitchen,” he pleaded, already knowing and dreading the answer.”

I did like also that as strange as their relationship was, when the inevitable ‘something’ came between them, it was dealt with rationally and functionally instead of the usual freak out and stupidity that often plagues novels.

And despite the craziness of the story, I did love that there was a touch of sweet heart warming backstory that came out that gave a whole new insight into Connor.

“When this project was over, he was keeping her, deal or no deal. She belonged with him…This morning he had a taste of what it could be like between them and he’d have to be out of his fucking mind to give that up.”

I can’t wait for more from this series!!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m feeling a massive craving for some hot cocoa 😛

• Buy CHECKMATE (Kindle)

CASTING:

• Connor –> Click here
• Rory –> Click here

Almost 4 stars (3.5-4)

“My dad once told me that one day I’d meet someone who drives me so crazy I want to strangle her and yet never would because I can’t bear for her to be gone. Well, that’s when I’ll know I’ve met a woman worth keeping.”

I felt a little torn about this book. I did really like the story, I was into it and I did care about the characters  but I wish it had made me feel more emotionally connected to it..  If I could, I’d give the first half of the book 4-4.5 stars, and the second half of the book 3 stars.

I really liked the beginning of this book. It had a bit of a sad background so a serious enough mood was set but as soon as the hero and heroine met (first chapter), I was smiling and grinning. They really didn’t have the smoothest of introductions and pretty much started out disliking each other. He found her uptight and abrasive and she thought he was an annoying womanizer. But despite that, neither of them could get the other off their mind and so they set about exploring what might be happening between them.

Lena was an interesting character. Deeply hurt and scarred by an accident she was involved in nine years ago in which her sister died, she cut herself off emotionally from relationships and came off as abrasive on the surface in an effort to guard her heart from losing someone else that she might establish a connection to. Consequently, when she first met our hero, Mason, she did her best to push him away… but luckily, he’d have none of it.

“I don’t know why, Lena, but you’ve done something to me. I can’t get you out of my mind.”
Lena shook her head slowly, even though he couldn’t see her, and whispered softly, “I’m truly sorry for that. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
So softly she almost missed it, he whispered, “Let me in, Magdalena O’Donnell. I want to know all of you.”

Mason was a local-celebrity chef. As the owner of a popular restaurant, Exquisite, and one of Chicago’s most eligible bachelors with a bit of a Casanova reputation, he was used to women tripping over themselves to be with him and was very intrigued by this woman who seemed genuinely unaffected by his charms.

“You’re so button-ed up, professional. You make me want to unbutton things.”

I did love that they didn’t just fall into each other’s beds right at the start. In fact they almost had some sort of “anti-attraction” thing going for a while… but once they started to actually started dating a little, ho boy did it get hot for a while!! Kissing, talking, touching, petting. I needed a cold shower.

And speaking of showers. Holy shower scene. I mean, really! This scene is proof that something can be panty-melting hot without one single bit of touching in it!

Overall though, I liked seeing them fall in love, their bedroom scenes were hot!!, there were few moments that made me squint skeptically and go hmmmmmm, and one serious WTF moment (I mean, really, that whole hair/cock thing was just plain weird! … haha I’ll let you guys wonder about that one 😛 ), I didn’t like that in the middle of the book the story skipped forward 6 months because I felt that further disconnected me from them both individually and as a couple, and then towards the last 25% there was a big misunderstanding that was really both their faults and although it was an understandable and believable human error at first, I felt it became far to drawn out and then after that, the book ended so soon that it just felt a little rushed.

I did however like what that misunderstanding did for them as a couple. It gave it a great turn around because neither of them were perfect and each had qualities that ended up helping each other out. Mason saved her in the first half of the book, and then in the second half, it was Lena’s turn to save him.

“Let me be what you need… Let me save you from yourself.”

It was a good book, but I just wish I felt more connected to it.

• Buy EXQUISITE for Kindle (Amazon)

CASTING:

• Mason –> Click here
• Lena –> Click here