Blog Tour and Giveaway: Starting Over: Barbie Bohrman
Starting OverBarbie Bohrman
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Expected Jan 19, 2016
Single mom Vanessa Holt has a daughter she loves, a supportive family, and her art. Having given up on finding true love—if that even exists, which she doubts—she’s content to put romance on the back burner. But not everyone agrees. Those nearest and dearest are ready to see Vanessa let down her long blonde hair and have some fun.
To put their grumbling to rest, Vanessa agrees to date the first man who asks. Luckily for her, that man is Cameron Thomas, her daughter’s extremely handsome science teacher. She’d felt a spark of chemistry the first time she’d laid eyes on him. Now she’s ready to lay a whole lot more on the sexy bachelor.
But just as things get hot, they also get heavy. When the man who broke Vanessa’s heart reappears, her old doubts and fears about love rush to the surface. Will her fresh start with Cameron be over before it’s barely begun?
“Do you think Indiana Jones is hot?”
Without missing a beat, Julia answers with a
question. “Are we talking before or after Ally McBeal cut off his balls and
slapped an earring on his ass?”
My eyes fly open and I look at her. She’s
still in complete and utter repose and doesn’t seem at all caught off guard by
my question.
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
“You’re asking me if Harrison Ford is hot,
yes?” I mumble a yes, and then she opens her eyes and calmly says, “Well, if
we’re talking about before Ally got her hands on him, yes, he was so utterly
hot it was almost disgusting. But if we’re talking about after she got her
grubby little paws on him and ruined it for the rest of all womankind, then
no, he’s as far away from hot as you could possibly get.”
I rack my brain for a second before saying,
“Before. Yes, definitely before the whole Ally thing happened to him.”
“Well, then, you
know my answer. Hot, superhot.” She closes her eyes again before quickly opening
one of them to look at me.
“Why are you
asking me this anyway?”
“No reason.”
Ugh, I answered way too fast. And by the
severely wicked smile that is now growing on Julia’s face, I know she knows
that I know something that she doesn’t and won’t let up until she does.
“You dirty little liar,” she says and pulls
her legs off of the coffee table. “Tell me everything.”
“There’s nothing to tell.” I pretend to look
at the watch that doesn’t exist on my wrist. “Oh, would you look at that, time
to get Josie and go home.”
I stand up and call out to Josie, then
remember that she has her earbuds in, so I walk toward the television room. But
that’s enough time for Julia to start following me and peppering me with a
series of questions. “Who is this Indiana Jones look-alike? Where did you meet
him? Are you going out on a date with him?”
Ignoring her is
not an option, so I stop abruptly, which makes Julia run right into my back. As
casually as I can muster, I say, “It’s nothing and no, I am not going out with
anyone. So there really isn’t anything to tell, I promise.”
Vanessa Holt has spent the last 13 years focused solely on her daughter, Josie. Everything, and I mean everything, Vanessa does is centered on Josie -- from her career choice, other free time. She doesn't date, doesn't have girlfriends. It is work and Josie. Until she meets Josie’s new science teacher.
Indiana Jones look-alike, Cameron Thomas is nerdy and sweet. He is just as nervous as Vanessa is as they begin to get to know each other. But just as things start heating up between Vanessa and Cameron, an old flame from Vanessa’s past reappears and try as she might to ignore it, the past cannot stay in the past.
These two were cute to watch. From their initial nerves, to Vanessa’s hesitancy to date her daughter’s teacher, there was a lot to love about them. But despite her hesitation, they are attracted to each other in a way they can’t ignore. They understand each other in a way others have not, allowing each to nerd out about their interests without judgement and with support. I might have liked a little more from them together, particularly at the end, but I loved how they fit together.
Vanessa has a great family behind her. I loved the bits of humor they added to the story. I really loved Josie. As a teenage character, it would have been easy if she perpetuated drama. Instead, she was often the level headed one and saw insight beyond what Vanessa was willing to acknowledge. I also really liked Alex and want to go back and read his book, Playing It Safe.
Indiana Jones look-alike, Cameron Thomas is nerdy and sweet. He is just as nervous as Vanessa is as they begin to get to know each other. But just as things start heating up between Vanessa and Cameron, an old flame from Vanessa’s past reappears and try as she might to ignore it, the past cannot stay in the past.
These two were cute to watch. From their initial nerves, to Vanessa’s hesitancy to date her daughter’s teacher, there was a lot to love about them. But despite her hesitation, they are attracted to each other in a way they can’t ignore. They understand each other in a way others have not, allowing each to nerd out about their interests without judgement and with support. I might have liked a little more from them together, particularly at the end, but I loved how they fit together.
Vanessa has a great family behind her. I loved the bits of humor they added to the story. I really loved Josie. As a teenage character, it would have been easy if she perpetuated drama. Instead, she was often the level headed one and saw insight beyond what Vanessa was willing to acknowledge. I also really liked Alex and want to go back and read his book, Playing It Safe.
While this was my first book from Barbie Bohrman, it will not be my last. It was fun and flirty with a fairly low level of drama.
ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review.
ARC provided by Author in exchange for an honest review.
We met Vanessa and her daughter Josie in Playing It Safe as they are Alex's sister and niece. Vanessa is a single mom whose life revolves around work, part time art, and her twelve year old daughter, Josie. She has not dated in years and her social life is relegated to family time. But she is beginning to realize something is missing.
Then she meets her daughter's adorable, nerdy but sexy Science teacher. They begin a somewhat awkward dance of flirtation and dating.
I adored Cameron. He was just the right combo of geek and hot. He had a good heart, and was patient and kind. But he also knew when he needed to be more assertive. He did not always come of as suave, but he was charming and sweet. I admired Vanessa's devotion to Josie and her family, but will admit she frustrated me at times. I hated to see her keep putting Cameron on hold. Her fears and insecurities were easy to mask under the guise of good parenting and family issues.
But it actually was probably a pretty realistic portrayal of a long time single mother new to the dating game and trying to deal with some new and nerve wracking personal issues. It would be easy to become overwhelmed and virtually shut down.
There were some funny, sweet, and heartfelt moments between her and her daughter, her family, and with Cameron. I liked getting more with Alex, Julia and little Violet from Playing It Safe. Her daughter Josie was both a typical teen and an exceptional one in many ways as she also handled some changes during this story. It was told in only Vanessa's point of view and I would have liked to have had Cameron's as well. I would have also liked to see more development with her and Cameron's relationship. It seemed to kind of happen fast (both the good parts and bad ones) without much actual together time and I wanted more scenes with just the two of them working towards their relationship and dealing with the issues. But it was still an engaging story of personal growth, family ties, taking chances, and second chance love. It was truly about Vanessa finding a way to start over and begin living her life again.
Then she meets her daughter's adorable, nerdy but sexy Science teacher. They begin a somewhat awkward dance of flirtation and dating.
I adored Cameron. He was just the right combo of geek and hot. He had a good heart, and was patient and kind. But he also knew when he needed to be more assertive. He did not always come of as suave, but he was charming and sweet. I admired Vanessa's devotion to Josie and her family, but will admit she frustrated me at times. I hated to see her keep putting Cameron on hold. Her fears and insecurities were easy to mask under the guise of good parenting and family issues.
But it actually was probably a pretty realistic portrayal of a long time single mother new to the dating game and trying to deal with some new and nerve wracking personal issues. It would be easy to become overwhelmed and virtually shut down.
There were some funny, sweet, and heartfelt moments between her and her daughter, her family, and with Cameron. I liked getting more with Alex, Julia and little Violet from Playing It Safe. Her daughter Josie was both a typical teen and an exceptional one in many ways as she also handled some changes during this story. It was told in only Vanessa's point of view and I would have liked to have had Cameron's as well. I would have also liked to see more development with her and Cameron's relationship. It seemed to kind of happen fast (both the good parts and bad ones) without much actual together time and I wanted more scenes with just the two of them working towards their relationship and dealing with the issues. But it was still an engaging story of personal growth, family ties, taking chances, and second chance love. It was truly about Vanessa finding a way to start over and begin living her life again.
ARC provided by Author in exchange for an honest review.
Each book is about different couples so can be read as stand alones but the characters do cross over. The heroine in Starting Over was introduced in Playing it Safe.
Promise Me
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Kim's 4.5 star review
Kim's 4.5 star review
Sabrina Chandler has had a rough go at love: just before her high school graduation, she found her boyfriend in the arms of her so-called best friend.
Tyler Anderson, the town’s sexy bad boy, stepped out of the shadows then to save her pride. Drawing strength from him, she left everything behind and sought a new life for herself, far away from the pain and shame.
Fast forward ten years: Sabrina is settled in Miami, happy at last—until her best friend urges her to attend her high school reunion and face her painful past once and for all.
And…maybe meet the mysterious Tyler once again.
Can Sabrina find the courage to face the demons in her past, let go of the pain, and move forward into happiness? Or will insecurity and self-doubt ruin her one chance to get the love she’s not sure she even deserves?
Julia Boyd has dated more than her share of jerks, and she’s done even pretending to like them. Putting her dating life on hold and focusing on her event planning career is a much safer bet for the blue-eyed blonde…until she meets her newest client.
Organizing the opening for an art gallery should be a breeze for Julia, but gallery owner Alex Holt is becoming very distracting. Tall and muscular with enough charisma and sexy dimples to make Julia swoon, Alex could be the perfect man. The two of them click immediately, creating enough witty banter to ignite sparks.
But just before flames of passion can erupt with Alex, Julia begins planning an engagement party…and learns the groom is Aiden, the man who broke her heart years ago. When Aiden admits that he still has feelings for Julia, everything changes. Should she seek shelter in the familiarity of the past, or should she risk everything on a brand-new love?
Born and raised in Miami, Florida,
Barbie Bohrman dreamed of becoming an author. Long after she had given up, a
book club's prologue contest enticed her to give it one more go. What emerged
were the beginnings of her debut novel, Promise Me. Now she's living her dream
and writing stories that entice readers to escape and break away from reality.
When she's not writing, you can find her trying to get through the books on her
Kindle (more than a thousand at last count) or watching Lost or Seinfeld. She
currently resides in New Jersey with her husband and two children.
What’s
up next for Barbie Bohrman
Readers can look forward into
some of my upcoming books including:
Something More than This,
release date April 26th, 2016 from Montlake. It's a new standalone contemporary
romance with all new characters.
Pre-order on Amazon
Pre-order on Amazon
Then I also have The Divorcee which I'm set to release in
summer 2016.
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