"Cheeky Blonde" by Liz Crowe

Title: Cheeky Blonde
Author: Liz Crowe
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Sub-Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 141 pages
Heat Rating: Spicy
Rating: 5 Cups

Available at:
Amazon | B&N | Decadent Publishing | All Romance eBooks

Blurb:
Violence, intrigue, and passion are brewing in the craft beer world. When bitter rivals Jennifer Baxter and Sean Garrison meet, the notorious and handsome owner of Garrison Brothers Brewing stays true to form, seducing his rival at a national brewer’s convention.

Sean arrived at the convention expecting to get down to business, including his stated goal of hiring Jen away from Brick Street Brewery. But the beautiful fellow craft beer expert provides more of a distraction than he expected.

When sabotage strikes their fellow breweries, they unite to solve the mysteries. But fate and rumors brew more than beer as love, lust, jealousy, and misunderstanding collide in a way neither could have expected or anticipated.

Can they overcome the malicious chatter long enough to explore the emotion bubbling beneath the surface? Or will lust fall flat and leave them nothing but memories of the moment that slipped away?



Marika's Review:
I will admit that I’m partial to Ms. Crowe’s beer books. My brother worked in the bar business and then beer business for over 15 years so I’m well versed in the basics of brewing, marketing and the tasting of beer. I love beer myself but sadly, can’t drink a lot of it anymore. Health issues you see. I’ve waited for at least 6 months for this book to come out and I was not disappointed. It had everything I like in a book. An engaging plot from the start, great sexual tension build up and the suspense element that was woven in was spot on.

Jen Baxter is an up and coming brewery owner that has a great reputation in the business. She a man in her life, sort of but once she sees the rock star of the beer business Sean Garrison, her life will never be the same. While trying to fight her attraction to Sean at a beer festival and keeping her wits about her, she is also trying to keep the green eyed monster at bay.

The scenes that took place at the festival were hilarious. Who knew that you could have that much none sex but still feel the sexual tension build up between two characters? Some of the best scenes with Jen and Sean were when they were NOT having any kind of sexual anything but the teasing, torture and flirting. Liz does a spectacular job of this with Jen and Sean. Yes, they are not celibate, there are other ways but the build up towards them in bed is spot on with me. Once you finally get there, it’s totally worth it and heartfelt.

The secondary characters flew off the page for me. They only enhanced the story and moved Jen and Sean along to their ending. I really felt for Dylan throughout the whole book. That said the scenes with Dylan and Julie are great. Do not skim over the scene at the brew house when they get home from the festival. Trust me. I couldn’t decide whether to squirm in my seat or laugh out loud. You figure it out for yourself. Liam, Sean brother is important to the story, too. As Sean’s sounding board and business partner, he has a stake in this, too.

The suspense element that Liz wove into the plot was interesting. Do not skip these scenes. They explain what is happening in the background with the saboteur and how it will all play out in the end. Plus, you might learn a thing or two. I sure did.

Overall, I loved this book. My biggest complaint was that I wish it were longer or that a sequel is coming. Yes, this book is over 141 pages but I’m greedy. Jen and Sean are two people that I could sit down with at a bar and become friends with over their competing beers. I felt connected with Jen, Sean, Dylan and yes, Sean’s ex-wife Victoria. Run, don’t walk to buy and read Cheeky Blonde. You will be glad that you did.






--

**Disclaimer: This book has been provided to Coffee Beans & Love Scenes (“CBLS”) Reviews free of charge by the author in exchange for an honest review of this title. No money has been exchanged for this review. This review reflects the opinion of the individual reviewer and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any other CBLS reviewer or this blog’s owner, editor or administrator.

"Tulip Princess (Turkish Delights book 3)" by Liz Crowe

Title: Tulip Princess
Author: Liz Crowe
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Sub-Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 73 pages
Heat Rating: Erotic
Rating: 4 Cups

Available at:
Amazon | B&N | Decadent Publishing | All Romance eBooks

Blurb:
Lale Deniz was always prone to wildness. But when her family is ripped apart at the seams, she becomes more reckless than ever. Desperate to stop her self-destructive slide, her parents step in and send her to America to live with her brother, Emre. Just the chance, she thinks, to escape the tragedy suffusing her Istanbul home.

Andreas Michos, Greek former NFL star, the recently divorced athletic director at UNLV, floats through life seeking fulfillment. He has reason to doubt his own abilities as a natural Dom and has given up finding his perfect mate. Until he agrees to a 1Night Stand.

Set against a backdrop of ancient cultural clashes and Mediterranean family dynamics, Lale and Andreas meet in Las Vegas at the Castillo resort for their date. But it seems Madame Eve and destiny will both fail this time, unless Lale and Andreas are willing to relinquish enough control to discover what happiness can be found inside the soul of the other. Will stubbornness keep them from connecting, or can they let go long enough to heal?



Marika's Review:
I will admit that Tulip Princess was a hard read for me. It is the final book in the trilogy of the Deniz siblings. Lale is wild and doesn’t seem to want to settle down anytime soon. Her parents are at their wit’s end and decide that she needs to go live with Elle and Emre. While she is there, she helps them with her niece and finds that she doesn’t need that lifestyle anymore. When Elle decides that Lale needs a night out, she sets her up with Madame Eve and Emre is livid. The intense dialogue between Lale, Emre and Elle is beautifully written and handled with humor (yes, you will chuckle at Elle) and honesty. While I liked Lale very much, I didn’t like Andreas in the beginning. It wasn’t until the end of the book that I finally made a connection with him. Lale and Andreas were too much alike and it took them to fall apart before they realized that they were perfect for each other.

As a whole, the series was one of the best trilogies that I have ever read. The writing, pacing, plots and dialogue were beautifully done. Each book delivered on the emotional scale for me, too. With Elle/Emre, I was laughing and sighing. With Tarkan/Caleb/Adem, it was crying and joys in Caleb’s healing. Lale/Andreas it was frustration and then belief that they would make it as a couple. If you have put off buying the series because its multicultural or that some of the subject matter that Liz brings to the surface is not for you…think again. It is a series that should be read, discussed and re-read again. A word of caution though…okay, a couple…bring tissues, carve out a couple of hours and please, please read them in order. You can read them as stand alones but reading them order only enhances each book.





--

**Disclaimer: This book has been provided to Coffee Beans & Love Scenes (“CBLS”) Reviews free of charge by the author in exchange for an honest review of this title. No money has been exchanged for this review. This review reflects the opinion of the individual reviewer and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any other CBLS reviewer or this blog’s owner, editor or administrator.

The Arrival of Lily Curtis by Rachel Brimble

Title: The Arrival of Lily Curtis

Author: Rachel Brimble

Sub-Genre(s): Historical, romance

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Publication Date: June 24, 2010

ISBN #: 978-1601547927

Format: eBook from Author

Reviewer: Marika

Rating: 5 Cups

Blurb:*

At the mention of an arranged marriage, Elizabeth Caughley feels her life is over at the age of three and twenty...so she hatches an escape plan. She will reinvent herself as a housemaid. Overnight, Elizabeth becomes Lily - on the understanding if her attempt at independence fails, she will return home and marry a man of her parents' choosing. Viscount Westrop will ensure his legacy is passed to his own son one day. Even though he feels insurmountable pity for the unborn child already, he knows how much pain a broken promise can cause and will do what is right. But with the arrival of his new housemaid, his plans are thrown into disarray. Lily is funny and feisty and the most beautiful creature on earth - Andrew is thunderstruck. But if anyone suspects how much he wants to ravish her and endlessly love her, Andrew's lineage will undoubtedly be in peril

Review:
Historical novels have been hit and miss with me lately. I’ve read both mainstream and erotica historicals and up until now, I lost faith in them. The Arrival of Lily Curtis restored my faith and excitement in historical novels.

Elizabeth is not your typical historical heroine. She is feisty, educated and knows what she wants out of life. She doesn’t like the “society image” that she is expected to live. She wants to live her own life on her terms and not by someone else’s. She wants to marry for love, not for duty or money. Her parents have reluctantly agreed to an arrangement of Elizabeth working as a maid on an estate to earn her own money so that she can live free of society in Paris, France. What drew me to Elizabeth/Lily were her spirit and her commitment to be true to herself and no one else. Ms. Brimble wrote Elizabeth/Lily will such passion that she would be a girlfriend to have in your corner.

Andrew is not your typical historical hero, either. He is a man that knows that he marry for duty and to produce the heir apparent but wants to marry for love instead. Unfortunately, he made a promise to his father and he will not break it. What Andrew didn’t factor in was Lily. She tempts him on a different level all together. She’s the maid but he senses something more in her. Once he gets to know her as a person and not a maid, he is hooked.

Ms. Brimble’s story could be set in any setting and the story would still be there for us to enjoy. What makes The Arrival of Lily Curtis set apart from other historical novels is the world that is created is described with fluidity and constant that I felt like I was there with them. She doesn’t describe a scene in such detail that you skip the showing of the scene just to get to the dialogue. The dialogue is sharp, funny and emotional. The secondary characters in the book are a big part of the story but don’t distract from Lily and Andrew. They enhance the story and add depth to each scene that they are in with them. While the bedroom scenes are sensual, they are not over the top and very appropriate for the time period.

I was sorry that this book ended. I felt like Lily and Andrew’s story could go on forever. I highly recommend this book to anyone that has lost faith in the historical genre; it will be restore with The Arrival of Lily Curtis.


Available at:
Amazon (Kindle Edition)
Barnes & Noble (Nook book)


--

*Blurb Courtesy of Amazon

**Disclaimer: This book has been provided to Coffee Beans & Love Scenes Reviews free of charge by the author. No money has been exchanged for the review of this eBook. This review reflects the opinion of the individual reviewer and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the other C&R reviewers or this blog’s administrator/editor.