Blog Tour and Giveaway: Trophy Husband: Lauren Blakely

by Reviews by Tammy and Kim - Friday, May 24, 2013

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Sometimes you can't help falling in love, even when you try to do the opposite...Successful fashion blogger McKenna Bell has spent far too long protecting herself after the way her ex-fiancé left her at the altar for a college chick he met the night of his bachelor party. Loving again, trusting again, well, that's just not in the cards. Especially now that her ex is back in town with his new woman, demanding custody of McKenna's favorite creature in the whole world--her dog. No effing way. McKenna's had enough of him, and she decides to even the score by finding her own hot young thing -- a Trophy Husband. Sure, she's only twenty-seven, but doesn't that make it even more fun -- and infuriating to her ex -- to pursue a younger man? When she declares her intentions on her daily blog, her quest quickly skyrockets in popularity, and that's when Chris enters the picture, and he’s got all the assets. He's handsome, successful, and turns her inside out with a kiss to end all kisses, the kind that makes you feel like a shooting star. But loving again could mean losing again, and it's so much easier to focus on getting even, isn't it? Unless, you just can't help falling in love. Which means McKenna will have to come face to face with what she really wants in life -- protecting her heart from hurt, or letting go of her fears of a new beginning.

Graphics by A Book Whores Obsession

Excerpt:

I start the Craiglist search with the Personals section and type “trophy husband” into the search bar. I tap open the first entry.

“Extreme satisfacktion for the rite woman. Hansome male seek to belong to the woman who need to have nothing but the finest at her cummand. If your fantasy is to be in the company of a beeuutiful, intelligent and discrete, sexy man than you is getting warmer.”

Our public education system is much worse than I thought. After all, is it really that much to ask for one’s potential next mate to be able to make a noun and verb agree? The answer, evidently, is yes. I try the next entry.

“Let me be your boy toy. I will obey your every order and serve your every wish.”

At least his grammar is correct. And his writing has a nice rhythm to it, so I click through to his photo.

Ouch.

I am just going to pretend I didn’t see that.

I squeeze my eyes shut. I remind myself that I am not a prude. I am not a priss. I am not weirded out by sex, or sexy people, or public displays of affection. But I am pretty sure – and I wouldn’t have known this before because I have never seen one – that I am not into penis piercings.

So I move on to the next entry, trying my best to un-see what I just saw.

“I have a job, my own place in the city and am clean and well-kept,” the next one writes.

What, like a lawn?

I hit the home button on the browser, returning to the safe haven of Google, then lay my cheek on the edge of my desk, wondering yet again if I am out of my mind? Because clearly I am not cut out for a Craigslist match. As much as I’d love to end my streak, I also wouldn’t mind a bit more than a fling. I’m almost embarrassed to admit this because I’m supposed to be an independent woman – hear me roar – but I would really like to have a boyfriend.

The word sounds so high school, but I don’t care. I don’t want to be alone any longer. I want to be in love and carefree and have someone to talk to, laugh with, make fun of other crazy people in San Francisco with. Someone who would never even think of leaving me with two mixers and a vintage white dress.

I can picture it perfectly – a night out on the town, then we’d come home, turn on some torch music, he’d take me in his arms for a slow dance. Touch my hair in a way that sends sparks through me. Then a hand on the back of my neck, bringing me closer, lips meshing with mine. He’d slide his hand down to the small of my back, while laying a smoldering path of kisses down to the hollow of my throat.

We’d slow dance and sway, the kind of dance that’s not for anyone else to see. The kind that’s a delicious tease of foreplay, where every subtle move, every brush of the fingers, and dusting of the lips on shoulders, is the promise of what’s to come. That dress straps will be pushed down, that zippers will come undone. Clothes will fall in the floor in a heap, tugged off quickly, as the dance moves to the couch and shifts into something horizontal. Slow and tender and tantalizing, each move, each touch turning me higher, sending me further into a dizzying state of longing.

My breath catches at the thought. Not only the prospect of kisses that ignite goosebumps all over me, but the possibility of someone who wants only me. Who only has eyes for me. Who wants to look at me, longing and lust in his perfect green eyes, and then throw me down on my couch, strip me naked, and bury his face between my legs.

Okay, so evidently, I both want a boyfriend and the kind of oral plundering that makes you quiver, and roll your eyes in the back of your head, and grab the guy’s soft, shaggy hair, and shout his name over and over into oblivion.

Then curl up in his arms, safe and warm, and know he’ll be there the next day and the next and even then some

Is that so much to ask for?

Love, and a talented mouth?

"Wow...I feel like that has the making of some crazy romance novel.""No, seriously. the best ones have these crazy plots, and earth-shattering orgasms, and then some big gesture like confessing your love on a billboard, and then happily ever after."

Trophy Husband was a fun, unique, quirky read. I love Lauren Blakely's lively sense of humor. Her heroines are always smart, determined, successful and looking for true love. Her men are hot, sexy, and swoon-worthy. McKenna and Chris are no exception. McKenna is a successful fashion video blogger who has been suffering from the worst kind of broken heart and her most significant current relationship is with her dog Ms. Pac Man. When she realized that her ex jerk fiance got himself a trophy wife and she got her fairytale ending, McKenna decides to show that women can also play at that game. So she embarks on a search and video blog contest for a trophy husband: a young, sexy man to make a statement.

Most of all, I don't know how to begin to let someone into my wounded heart. I don't even know if my heart is healed, or if the scar tissue has just grown so thick and knotty that no one can ever touch me again.

I may be hunting for a boy toy, but somewhere inside of me I am still longing for someone to sail away in the moonlight with.

In the midst of all this, she meets Chris. He is a more mature 29 year old video game vlogger and they immediately hit it off, have chemistry and shared similar interests. She tries out some of her candidates for the contest, but Christ just keeps coming to her mind...literally. They both have video blogs, so maybe a little cross promotion is in order.

I liked McKenna. She is sassy, feisty, intelligent, and sweet. She has good friends who both support her and tease her, but her ex has really done a number on her and continues to interfere in her life. She has a very vivid imagination and fantasy life. She has a tendency to get a little carried away. I totally loved Chris! Hubba Hubba! He was sexy, sweet, funny, successful, and just perfectly swoony. But he was down to Earth and real. Together they were fun, had great rapport and chemistry.

He's lickable. He's kissable. He's chat-up-able. He's precisely the type of guy a girl can fall into some kind of crazy crush for.

But can he compete with all the young candidates and does he even want to? And does she really want a young trophy husband or a real husband? And if she changes her mind, how will she manage to get out of this whole mess?

This was a quick delightful read that drew me in and just left me feeling happy. It was funny, sexy, romantic, emotional and just plain fun. The premise was unique and different. The main characters were likable and down to Earth. But what always stands out for me in Lauren Blakely's books is sense of humor that always shines through and makes me laugh.

Thanks to Lauren Blakely for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lauren Blakely

Website/Facebook/Twitter/Goodreads

Lauren Blakely is an unabashed fan of clever jokes, toast, and good guys in novels. Like the heroine in CAUGHT UP IN US, she thinks life should be filled with movie kisses and coffee drinks. Lauren lives in California with her husband and children, and spends her days writing both true stories and make-believe ones.

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