Book Blurb:
Nick Traynor and Ian Donovan spend a lot of time and effort keeping it very hot, only physical, and purely superficial. But when their resolve starts to slip, a woman is tossed into their midst.
Hannah Williams wants nothing more than to do her job until something better comes along, but is forced to own up to her visceral reaction to Ian, her new boss, and later to Nick, his sometimes lover.
Lust has a funny way of turning into companionship, and eventually evolving into a deeper connection. Faced with the internal and external complications of their potential three-way relationship, they begin to heal and trust, to consider that it might work. Then life tosses them a hardball, forcing them back into their respective corners, where each must choose what is most important.
Three people determined not to commit, thrown together by fate and undeniable attraction--their nights heat up and emotions run high in spite of a claimed mutual desire to "keep it simple." In the process of honest self-discovery, can they learn that while love is never simple, it is definitely worth fighting for?
The following book clip is rated NC-17!!!
“Hey,” she said, smiling and scratching
the seeing-eye dog between the ears. She looked up, letting her gaze take in
the full Marine dress uniform of the man attached to the animal. The crisp,
formal clothes seemed to hang on him, even though he was fit, but it was
obvious at one time he had been even bigger. His classical, masculine V-shape
was breathtaking. His shoulders were broad but not bulky, his jaw firm, clean
and the rest of his face at that moment showed stress that marred its model-like
perfection. His golden yellow hair was thick, and touched the color of the
uniform jacket. She bit her lip and dispelled the sudden erotic loop of
imagery—Ian and this man, together. “Hi,” she said, holding out a hand. “I’m
Hannah.”
His face turned to hers, and his smile
was so incredibly sexy and innocent at the same time her heart started
pounding. He held onto her a few seconds longer than was polite. She tugged but
he wouldn’t let her go. “I hear your heart,” he said, quietly.
“Oh, wow, that’s…um, cool.” She had no
idea what to do with her arms, hands, or heartbeat. Jamie was all over the dog
and Brutus was panting and wagging his tail like mad. The party flowed around
them, getting louder by the minute. Suddenly, Hannah wanted to be alone. Or more
precisely she wanted to be alone with the man in front of her. He wore his
emotional pain like a medal on his uniform. And something about him compelled
her to want to help—or possibly it was because Ian still loved him. Wow. This could get messy. She squared her shoulder and decided to stick
with usually worked best for—brutally direct. “You must be Nick.”
His grin faded slightly. “Yeah, I guess
I am the only blind ex-Marine with a dog date here, huh?”
She leaned into him, determined to keep
to the path of directness. “It’s okay. I know about you and Ian”
He stiffened. “Really. Well, tell me
something then, Hannah.” He put his lips
near her ear. The overwhelming compulsion to put hands on him made her knees
wobbly. She gripped the chair back. The party noises kept ramping up. But she
barely heard them, too mesmerized by Nick’s face, voice, and the warm hand in
the small of her back. “Tell me what you think you know about me. And Ian.” His
lips tickled, making her break out in goose bumps. She turned her head, saw
Ian, caught his eye. And it gave her strength.
“I know he loves you.” She said, then
took Jamie’s hand and was about to lead him away before she said or did
anything she couldn’t take back with the sad-faced, ridiculously handsome blind
man in the Marine uniform.
But Nick gripped her arm lighting a
small fire on her skin. The dog snuffled around her leg, whining as if sensing
his master’s distress. “The hell you say.” He said, his jaw tight. “Besides, he
has the smell of you all over him right now. I don’t know if it’s your perfume
or shampoo or what, but you smell like rich, sweet honey. And I can tell he’s
been dipping into it—into you. Not that I blame him.”
“I don’t wear perfume and use unscented
shampoo.” Her knees shook at his innocuous yet sexy words. She ran a fingertip down his face, unable to
resist.
“Don’t,” he flinched away. “I’m not
interested in your type.” But his low voice said otherwise.
Angie J's review:
I was given this book as an ARC but the author for a true and honest review of the novel.
To begin with I must say 5 stars are not even enough. This is one of my favorite books by this author. I love the way she builds each relationship so that you can actually feel their love (even when they don't want to admit they are in love) and it makes you believe their relationships. Ian is such a mess and very selfish, Nick is so damaged and hurt and Hannah is so open and naive. The 3 of them have some very hot and steamy scenes as a pair or as a 3some. If you have read ANY of Liz's books you know she can write some hot scenes and this book doesn't disappoint.
For me the most amazing part of the book was the EPILOGUE!!! OMG the dog tags......sigh....Epilogues are always epic with Liz. (The beer label holds some secrets so be sure to study it well.) I also loved the fact the each character is very well written and each character has been developed. I felt that the secondary characters like Gavin, Ian's twin brother, and Alyssa, Nick's sister and future wife of Gavin, had great purpose in the novel. They made sure to "poke their noses in" when it was important for the story line. Another aspect of this book I loved was the theme of family. All the characters in the novel want family and grab on to it or push it away when they feel they should. The family dynamic was a very big underlying theme and I seem to find that with a lot of Liz's novels.
So now I need to know why are you still reading this review? You should be running to download it because the book is one of the best stories I have read by one of the most amazing authors I have read.
Interview with Amazing Author Liz Crowe:
Twinsie Talk Q:
WOW!!!
Honey Red knocked me out. However, I
love your writing and I knew it would.
You have a knack for writing amazing Ménage love stories. Before you were writing, did you enjoy
reading them OR did you just jump in head first and write one?
Liz A : Ok,
brutal honesty time: I have only read a few ménage like stories and have
not enjoyed THAT many of them. Because I
like to try and keep things as real as possible in all of my books I explore
the inherent “fantasy” element of any ménage concept. Truly, humans are
hardwired for possessiveness and jealousy and this sort of arrangement just
doesn’t work for most/many real humans. I’m not saying it won’t or can’t just
that it is so rare as to be like the elusive unicorn in many cases.
My
first meange book was Vegas Miracle and got a lot of folks angry because it
has at its core a taboo subject in the “romance” genre: a marital
infidelity. I knew this going into it,
of course and was not expecting any less. However, back to the “real life”
nature of the books I enjoy reading and writing, I explore how forgiveness is
essential in any marriage, and, like it or not, infidelities are something that
many married couples deal with at some point in their relationship. And
sometimes, a marriage can be salvaged, I just let my characters in that
particular book form a pretty awesome threesome by the end.
Honey
Red on the other hand is more about 3 wounded souls finding themselves
surprised by their reactions to each other, in quick succession after declaring
themselves in in “for the sex only.
Twinsie Talk Q:
The next book releasing for you is part of the
Stewart Realty series about Evan and Julie.
What do you think the readers will be surprised to find out about this
couple?
Liz A: How very dark their backgrounds are and how
deep their wounds go. Both of these
people bring some serious baggage to their relationship table. I really enjoyed
going into “deep point of view” with them both, exploring how they came to be
where they are, both by very surprising roundabout routes only to meet, resist,
come together, learn to trust and be tested many times by their own tendencies
to avoid a deeper emotional relationship. It may sound like Jack and Sara but
it is definitely not—while those 2 certainly spent some time figuring out what
they wanted from each other, Evan and Julie spend more energy figuring out what
then need from themselves first. It’s a hot one, with Evan’s journey to “Master
Dom” peppered with some very amazing stints as a sub to some powerful women.
But ultimately I think readers will be surprised to find out how much they
enjoy a story with as many layers as this one will contain.
Twinsie Talk Q:
Which do you prefer? Writing the continued family saga of Jack or
stand alones?
Liz A: Both really. Of course the “Jack saga” will
end in 2013 when I release Good Faith in the fall. It’s gonna involve the loss
of a major character.
The Black Jack Gentlemen series will be a
ton of fun too though, with a whole fresh set of characters to love (and
hate).
Twinsie Talk Q:
When I read one of your books I know I will be
completely submerged into your world. I
feel every emotion the characters feel and have even slammed my nook shut to
spew out cuss words or sobbed through an entire box of tissue! I know when I read Essence of Time, I talked
to you after I finished. You said you missed a certain character (don’t want to
spoil anything) so my question is this, do you feel as we the readers do during
your writing sessions? Meaning are you
sobbing uncontrollable and screaming at your characters as well???
Liz A: I’m a reader too so I can relate to
connecting in a deep way with characters, unwilling to let them go when the
book ends (although that does not happen to me much due to my innate cynicism.
If an author can make ME feel that strongly that is a rare book). But as a
writer (at least for me) it’s a much different process and experience. I have
had a few sad/surprise endings in my books, Essence of Time as well as Paradise
Hops. I get emotionally invested in my characters but when I suss out a tough
ending or Hans the hot German muse holding my beer reveals it to me while I’m
doing something else like in the grocery (where I stopped dead in my tracks on
a busy weekend and got cussed out by a few shoppers when I realized how to
“solve” Lori’s man dilemma in Paradise Hops) I go with it, gut it out, and may
shed a tear (I surely did over Essence of Time I assure you) but at the end I
feel triumphant because I have hopefully crafted a story and a character that
will have the EXACT effect you are talking about.
Random Silly questions:
Twinsie Talk Q:
What’s your favorite Tap room beer? (I can say for ME I enjoyed the Premium Lager.)
Liz A: No contest: Gulo Gulo the India Pale Lager
(I’m a hop head). Glad to hear you enjoyed the Premium Lager! It is the beer
that pays the light bills as they say.
Twinsie Talk Q:
If you could pick the book that would be your
very first NYT Best Sellers List, which book would you want it to be….and you
can pick any book you have done or are thinking about writing.
Liz A: Paradise Hops followed by Mutual Release
which will be followed by In His Shadow a non erotic, first person
“memoir-like” book about a woman obsessed by and ultimately nearly destroyed by
a man posing as a “Dom” but who is merely a smart, manipulating abuser.
Then a sort of dystopian political
thriller/fantasy I’m pondering called Precious Vessel that will explore how
women of a certain class level become infertile and end up being manipulated by
a “fertility czar” in order to make sure the “lower classes” don’t take over
America.
Twinsie Talk Q: Of all the females in your books, who do you
feel you identify best with and least with?
Liz A: Best: it’s a tie between Julie (upcoming
Mutual Release) and Sara. Yes, I said Sara and I know many readers have been
aggravated and even hate her but she is probably the most autobiographical
character I’ve written (until I wrote about Julie). But it’s more about
personalities less about actual events in my/their lives.
Least: um….well, there is a bit of me in all
my females I think so I guess Victoria, the evil crazy wife from Cheeky Blonde!
Twinsie Talk Q:
What is your favorite sport : Soccer Or
Football? I ask this because you write a
lot about soccer but with the Tap Room and the university being down the road
you are doing a lot of tailgating.
Liz A: It’s a tie, frankly. I love them both! (but
I love basketball too!)
But I do pay extra for all the cable soccer
channels….I think those dudes are the most fit of them all!
Twinsie Talk Q:
Last question is a multiple kind of
question….here goes…..I am going to ask you about a character from ANY of your
books. I would like you to tell us what
actor(s) you want cast in the rolls for when Hollywood realizes your books need
to be made into movies……..
Jack and Sara from the Realty Series?
Jon Hamm and January Jones
Andreas from the Turkish Delights series? Sakis
Rouvas (look him up!)
Sean Garrison from Cheeky Blonde? Bradley Cooper
Nick, Ian and Hannah from Honey Red?
Nick: Channing Tatum
Hannah: Emma Stone
Ian: Josh Lucas
THANK YOU Liz for stopping by and answering some fun and serious questions for us. We are still FLOORED by your comment about the loss of a main character. You have us in a tail spin.......but then why am I shocked? Your books always put me in one!!! Thanks for allowing us to promote your books and series. You are truly an amazing author and person!! We wish you the very best!
About the author:
Microbrewery owner,
best-selling author, beer blogger and journalist, mom of three teenagers, and
soccer fan, Liz lives in the great Midwest, in a major college town. Years of experience in sales and fund
raising, plus an eight-year stint as an ex-pat trailing spouse, plus making her
way in a world of men (i.e. the beer industry), has prepped her for life as
erotic romance author.
When she isn't sweating inventory and sales figures for the
brewery, she can be found writing, editing or sweating promotional efforts for
her latest publications.
Her groundbreaking romance subgenre, “Romance for Real Life,”
has gained thousands of fans and followers who are interested less in the “HEA”
and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”)
Her beer blog a2beerwench.com is nationally recognized for
its insider yet outsider views on the craft beer industry. Her books are set in
the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch and in high-powered
real estate offices. Don’t ask her for
anything “like” a Budweiser or risk painful injury.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
