Welcome to the Even the Score blog tour!
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Author: Kate Meader
Published: July 21st 2015
Source: Copy given by author for honest review
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
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Caution: May contain spoilers
He’ll make her an offer she can’t refuse…
Actress Tess McKenzie is performing in the Tenth Circle of Showbiz Hell—dinner theater. All she really wants is to start a theater of her own. Then Tess receives an offer she can’t refuse. She’ll get her funding…if she pretends to be the fiancée to her nemesis, Texan property tycoon Hunter Dade. If she’s going to pull this off, she’ll need all the luck she can get. Break a leg, indeed.
On the verge of a big business deal, Hunter needs to hire a fiancée. He hasn’t quite forgiven Tess for ruining his wedding, but when their chemistry goes from combative to straight-up lust, the “no sex” clause in their mutually beneficial arrangement is tested. Which is a serious problem, because if Tess isn’t careful, she’ll go from breaking a leg to breaking her heart…
My Thoughts:
Tess and Hunter have a past--one that involves Tess convincing his fiancee and her best friend to not marry him. When they run into each other again for the first time since that unfortunate wedding day that didn't happen, the tension is still there. But a new tension develops that neither expect that includes an unexpected desire between them. Hunter proposes the idea of her pretending to be engaged to him so he can gain a property he really wants and she accepts. They try their best to only "act" like they're involved around the people they need to, but it becomes impossible to resist when they're alone. But is it all an act, or is it for real?
Even the Score was romance perfection in a book. I loved the sexual tension, the desire, the lust, the romance, everything. It had the right blend of banter and sexy. I couldn't get enough of Hunter and Tess. I thoroughly enjoyed how the story progressed and how the truth behind Tess ruining his wedding day came to light. I cannot wait to read more by Kate Meader!
My Rating:
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Excerpt
Her eyes sparked in awareness: something had occurred to her, and she was pretty damn pleased about it. “You know what, Mr. Dade? How about you audition for me?”
Say what now? He shifted on the sofa to accommodate his hard-on, and was making a decent job of it when—holy shit—she straddled his lap and placed her hands on his shoulders.
“I should make you pony up a hundred K for being such a gold medal asshole.”
God, she was as light as air, a slip of a thing with all that female power. Did she have any idea how intoxicating she was, the kind of woman men fought wars over? Died for? She settled in on his thighs, the slight weight of her driving him close to insanity. Desire hummed through him, potent and dangerous.
“Now, Tess,” he said, keeping it so casual his bones practically ached with the effort, “I just told you the job is yours.”
“Oh, but haven’t you heard? I’m hiring, too. This girl’s in the market for a guy she can lead around by the dick for, oh, maybe, a weekend. Auditions start tonight.”
The surprises, hell, they just kept on coming. Staying level with Tess was going to require fast thinking, which was mighty difficult, considering all the blood he needed for said thought processes was now hurtling south.
“What would this job involve?”
“Only one task. Make. Me. Believe.”
“That I’m your fiancé?”
Cue her smile, sly and sexy. First time she’d let him in on that action, too. “That you want me more than your next breath.”
If she moved forward a couple inches, his boner would make her believe.
“I’ve worked with a lot of great actors,” she continued with a finger poke in the well of his shoulder, “so if I’m going to take this role on, I need to know you’re not going to screw it up with your amateur dramatics. Let’s see if you’ve got game.”
Oh, he had game all right. Every part of his hardening anatomy was screaming, put me in, Coach.
“I dunno,” he murmured. “I’d hate to force it.”
“Let me help you along, cowboy. I’m used to the director telling me what he wants. So what’s my motivation?”
She wanted motivation? That he could do. His hands fanned her waist, opening onto her hips, and he worked the silence for a full thirty seconds before he spoke.
“Imagine we’re in a room full of strangers, and I brush against you. You’re not completely sure it’s me, but your body knows ’cause it shivers under my touch. Maybe you’re talking to somebody, and you look up because you feel my eyes, heavy on your skin. Your nipples harden. Your panties get wet. Just soak right through.”
Negotiating deals was his forte. She didn’t stand a chance.
Say what now? He shifted on the sofa to accommodate his hard-on, and was making a decent job of it when—holy shit—she straddled his lap and placed her hands on his shoulders.
“I should make you pony up a hundred K for being such a gold medal asshole.”
God, she was as light as air, a slip of a thing with all that female power. Did she have any idea how intoxicating she was, the kind of woman men fought wars over? Died for? She settled in on his thighs, the slight weight of her driving him close to insanity. Desire hummed through him, potent and dangerous.
“Now, Tess,” he said, keeping it so casual his bones practically ached with the effort, “I just told you the job is yours.”
“Oh, but haven’t you heard? I’m hiring, too. This girl’s in the market for a guy she can lead around by the dick for, oh, maybe, a weekend. Auditions start tonight.”
The surprises, hell, they just kept on coming. Staying level with Tess was going to require fast thinking, which was mighty difficult, considering all the blood he needed for said thought processes was now hurtling south.
“What would this job involve?”
“Only one task. Make. Me. Believe.”
“That I’m your fiancé?”
Cue her smile, sly and sexy. First time she’d let him in on that action, too. “That you want me more than your next breath.”
If she moved forward a couple inches, his boner would make her believe.
“I’ve worked with a lot of great actors,” she continued with a finger poke in the well of his shoulder, “so if I’m going to take this role on, I need to know you’re not going to screw it up with your amateur dramatics. Let’s see if you’ve got game.”
Oh, he had game all right. Every part of his hardening anatomy was screaming, put me in, Coach.
“I dunno,” he murmured. “I’d hate to force it.”
“Let me help you along, cowboy. I’m used to the director telling me what he wants. So what’s my motivation?”
She wanted motivation? That he could do. His hands fanned her waist, opening onto her hips, and he worked the silence for a full thirty seconds before he spoke.
“Imagine we’re in a room full of strangers, and I brush against you. You’re not completely sure it’s me, but your body knows ’cause it shivers under my touch. Maybe you’re talking to somebody, and you look up because you feel my eyes, heavy on your skin. Your nipples harden. Your panties get wet. Just soak right through.”
Negotiating deals was his forte. She didn’t stand a chance.
About the Author
Originally from Ireland, Kate cut her romance reader teeth on Maeve Binchy and Jilly Cooper novels, with some Mills & Boon thrown in for variety. Give her tales about brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron or a fire hose, and she’s there. Now based in Chicago, she writes sexy contemporary romance with alpha heroes and strong heroines who can match their men quip for quip.
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| http://indiesage.com/ |
Love the fake fiance story and it sounds like a steamy read. I really think these cover models need to work on putting a tad of expression of their faces. The guy on the cover looks a bit dead...or unconscious. ;)
ReplyDelete*snorts* Oh man! I didn't even think of that. :P
Delete