Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Wedding Dare #1 & #2 Series Review + Giveaway: Falling For The Groomsman + Baiting The Maid Of Honor



The Wedding Dare Series
1 Wedding--4 Hot Stories


When four bridesmaids dare one another to find lust—or maybe even love—at the destination wedding event of the year, the groomsmen don’t stand a chance. But little do the women know, the men are onto their game, and sparks will fly alongside the bouquet.

Four bridesmaids. Four groomsmen. Five New York Times And USA TODAY bestselling authors. Long-carried torches, sizzling new attractions, and forbidden conquests will ensure a wedding never to be forgotten.

*giveaways at bottom of page*


Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: Adult
Publication Date: June 9th 2014
Publisher: Brazen/Entangled Imprint
Series: Wedding Dare #1
Pages: 225
Format: eARC
Source: Provided by publisher



She’s the one that got away. He’s the one she can’t forget. Photojournalist Christine Forsythe is ready to tackle her naughty little to-do list, and who better to tap for the job than a hot groomsman? But when she crashes into her best friend’s older brother, Christine realizes her list needs updating. And fast. Tyler Dresco took her virginity during the best night of her life, then bolted. Now that they’re trapped together at a destination wedding, she’s going to get her revenge. Tyler has never forgiven himself for how completely he lost control all those years ago. Being in Christine’s arms had felt right…until he realized what he’d taken from her in the hallway of a cheap motel. And oh, how she’s making him pay for it now. The insatiable heat between them has only grown stronger, but every time things heat up, Christine walks away. With every encounter, things go a little bit further until Christine’s caught in her own trap of seduction. And before their time’s up, Tyler’s not the only one wanting more…




My Review:


A wedding is not the only thing Tyler  and Christine have to get through. They have eight years of air to clear after an encounter where Tyler took Christine's virginity and ran off right after. I love these kinds of stories because you automatically know that with him being the brides brother and her being the best friend to the bride that they can't avoid this come to Jesus moment.

Tyler and Christine were a really fun couple to fall in love with, and it was effortless. The chemistry between them right away was evident so I knew I was in for a treat. Christine has done well for herself as an investigative journalist and has spent the last several years building her career without any time for serious relationships. It's hard to build something else when you know the one that got away was the one you were meant to be with right? Christine was the kind of woman I love to get behind. She was determined, as was evidenced by her choice in career. She was fiercely independent, proven by how she fought Tyler almost every step of the way and she was loving. The way she talked about her brother showed how special their bond was. It would have to be after losing her parents to a drunk driver when she was a freshman in college. That was the catalyst in the story, On a trip to Mexico 8 years prior in order to try and have fun and forget about her pain is when she hooked up with Tyler. Having a crush on Tyler already, plus being young and vulnerable only added to the circumstances surrounding their first connection. She needed comfort when Tyler found her crying trying to get into her hotel room and at first he offers just a shoulder but one thing lead to another and 8 years later, BOOM! Here we are.

Although he was a stubborn ass at times Tyler was a great male character that made me swoon and he just melted my heart overall. He became a doctor and not only does he save lives but he also helps out overseas with the "Doctors Without Borders" program. That right there is a big win in the swoon worthy traits category. Aside form that though his genuine character came out in the way he cared for others around him. Not just his sister but also the time he took to care for Christine and prove to her he's a different man than he used to be. Being a young doctor on the cusp of leaving to head overseas 8 years before, Tyler wasn't ready to settle down and Christine made him FEEL ALL THE THINGS! Of course he probably could have handled letting her down a little better than running out the door with his pants around his ankles but I digress. In his defense though taking someones V-card is a big deal and that can mess with a guy's head it seems because he's beat himself up over it for years. I loved Tyler from beginning to end and didn't stop. Even his moments of being bossy with Christine, I just wanted to pull off my Granny panties and tie them to his FACE! UNFF!

Surrounding the wedding of Kady and Colton, whom we met in Dare To Resist which is the setup for the stormy Christine and Tyler are pushed together repeatedly in a cosmic alignment of the stars. The wedding activities that are setup for the entire week have them in close proximity several times even when a scavenger hunt takes them off the beaten path for a night under the stars. Albert's had my heart in a constant state of pitter-pattering watching her two fiercely hardheaded characters TRY to resist each other but with the past connection they shared and the current heated passion jolting through them it was inevitable they got hot and heavy. One of the main things I usually love about Adult romance is the moment where the characters finally give into their feelings and throw caution to the wind. That moment between Catherine and Tyler was hot, twice. In the beginning I thought Albert's was going to drag out their sexcapades seeing as how Cathrine would run off and was more gun shy than a deer during open season, but thankfully she gave me what I wanted in a relatively pain free time frame. Couples who have fun together always make me feel like relationships can't be all bad. The way these two laughed together and played when they stopped being so concerned about feelings made me feel connected to them. They were real and didn't seem as if I was being told a story but experiencing their love affair first hand and that's a great way to write a story in my opinion. They had moments where they frustrated each other and me but seeing the outcome made all that craziness worthwhile.

The Wedding Dare series is an interesting way to bring several authors together and establish characters and you would think it would be difficult to work out all the logistic but Albert's managed to write characters that felt authentic as well as characters established by another author seem genuine to who they were. I'm anxious and excited to see how the other books flow into the others as I continue in this wickedly sexy series. Falling For The Groomsmen was very sexy and fun, with two people I couldn't imagine not being together when the story was finished. Albert's wrapped me in a warm cocoon as her story came to a close and left me with a sweet gooey feeling.




Quotes:

"You look tired. I'm guessing you didn't sleep well last night? Was something bothering you? Something...hard...perhaps? Tell me. Were you able to lay on your stomach at all?" eARC 40%

"You make me live - and I've never been happier. You're the one person in this world who makes me feel alive, and baby? I feel fucking alive right now. I feel like I own the world." eARC 96%



About this author:

Diane Alberts is a multi-published, bestselling contemporary romance author with Entangled Publishing. She also writes New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling new adult books under the name Jen McLaughlin. She's hit the Top 100 lists on Amazon and Barnes and Noble numerous times with numerous titles. She was mentioned in Forbes alongside E. L. James as one of the breakout independent authors to dominate the bestselling lists. Diane is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency. Diane has always been a dreamer with a vivid imagination, but it wasn't until 2011 that she put her pen where her brain was, and became a published author. Since receiving her first contract offer, she has yet to stop writing. Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a schnauzer mutt, and a cat.Her goal is to write so many fantastic stories that even a non-romance reader will know her name.

Links:


Buy Links:

AMAZON 
B&N
KOBO
iBooks



Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: Adult
Publication Date: June 9th 2014
Publisher: Brazen/Entangled Imprint
Series: Wedding Dare #2
Pages: 192
Format: eARC
Source: Provided by publisher


He’ll own her from the very first touch. Julie Piper and Reed Lawson have nothing in common. She’s a people-pleasing sorority girl hiding behind her perfect mask. He’s a take-no-prisoners SWAT commander who isolates himself from the world. But when they’re forced together at their friends’ posh destination wedding, one thing is clear—Reed wants Julie more than he wants his next breath. Which is why he’s not about to stand by when she’s dared to seduce another man. Julie wants neat, tidy sex, so she could get back to what she does best—making everybody else happy. She never expected to slip into a dark bedroom and have her mind blown by rough, demanding hands, and a sinfully filthy mouth—neither of which belong to the best man. One night should have been all Reed needed to get the blond temptress out of his system, but when one taste is nowhere near enough, he'll be forced confront the effects of his hellish past. One that may push Julie away forever...just when he realizes he can't live without her.





My Review:

I knew the minute Reed stepped into the restaurant in Falling For The Groomsman that he would be Tessa Bailey's guy. The same way a mother knows her child just by hearing it's cry. Nobody does the damaged alpha quite like Bailey so I knew I was in for a treat with this one and I might be slightly biased because I just love her work but I knew she wouldn't let me down.


Reed and Julie are the complete opposites in almost every way. He's Mr. Dark and Broody and she is little miss sunshine. He had a rough childhood with an abusive father and she had a loving childhood with adoring parents and a big sister she looked up to. Together they made the perfect couple but they didn't start out that way. From their first encounter Reed came on a little too strong for Julie's liking and when the bridesmaids made a pact to seduce the men Julie chose to go after the more sensible choice by picking Logan the best man. When her plan to sneak his room key into her purse lead her to Reed's room instead it was on from there!

Reed was the perfect mix of gruff, sexy and bossy. He wasn't quite an Alpha-Hole but he he did walk a line without making me and Julie for that matter, feel like a possession. He knew just when to turn on his bossy side to get her out of her head and relax and enjoy the attraction between them. He grew up in a not so pleasant environment when his mother left him with his abusive father and at times things got dicey for him. If it wasn't for the friendships he made with a young Colton and Brock he might not have survived. Reed made something of himself though becoming an Atlanta SWAT team leader but he's kept himself from being with anyone fearing his darker side wouldn't be fair to bring into a relationship. That's why Julie was the absolute perfect choice for him. her sunny upbeat disposition was what he needed to bring him out of the darkness. After reading the series I think Logan best describe what Julie was for Reed in Best Man With Benefits

"He'd had enough darkness in his life. He deserved some Sunshine, and Julie practically radiated warmth."

Julie hasn't had things to easy in life after the death of her bid sister a few years back she basically turned herself into a yes woman. Doing the bidding of not only her parents but always helping her friends and putting herself out there to try and be more like her sister used to be. Her parents don't make it any easier on her with all their comparisons and Julie has lived a life of mediocrity because of it. Losing her sister Serena made me sad for her and it warmed my heart that she met reed when she did. He brought out a side of her and opened her eyes to her complacency she's fallen into. Julie wasn't used to a guy like him and it was so much fun to watch her melt when he whispered dirty words in her ear or touched her in a sexy way.

Every relationship experiences growing pains but with most normal relationships that happens gradually over time. Reed and Julie have only until the end of the week when the wedding will be over and real life takes over to decide if what they have found in each other is strong enough to carry on once real life sets in. They both struggle with not feeling good enough for one reason or another. Reed's was due to how he was raised and Julie's was an internal battle of not feeling as good as her sister was. Every moment these two spend together was such a dramatic but intense and romantic moment. Reed really surprised me with how amazing he was to Julie and I loved seeing how happy he made Julie and the realizations she came to about herself were perfect. Bailey has a way of incorporating you into her story through her characters. Baiting The Maid Of Honor was sexy, romantic, VERY steamy and sweetly endearing. everything I wanted to happen for this couple, I got. All with a nice little cherry on top so Call me biased if you want but I think Reed and Julie are my favorites. Two completely different people, One incredibly amazing story, Baiting The Maid Of Honor was a total win all the way through.


Quotes:

"It's a good thing you're not the best man." She leaned back to study the placement of the lights. "You'd be about as useless as an ashtray on a motorbike." eARC 24%

~ God, he didn't even want to think about sleeping without her snuggled up against him, her blond hair wrapped around him like a safety blanket. She'd become his constant, the only source of pure happiness he'd ever known. eARC 94%


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Tessa lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and young daughter. When she isn't writing or reading romance, Tessa enjoys a good argument and thirty-minute recipes.





Links:



Buy Links:







3 comments:

  1. Ung. I just want to pet these. Love both their books and hot damn those covers! I need to make some time for these pronto!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Damn. I really want to read these. MOAR TIME, PLEASE!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I need to read these for Sexy Saturdays.

    ReplyDelete

We love getting your comments so lay it on us! Thanks for stopping by!