Release Blitz and Review: Sugar on the Edge: Sawyer Bennett
He’s utterly alone…
Tortured and existing in a dark spiral of despair, bestselling
British author, Gavin Cooke, has come to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to
escape the seedy lifestyle he had been living in London and in a desperate
attempt to regain his writing focus. He’s twisted, bitter and angry at the
world. He’s a loner… needing not a single thing other than his Scotch and a
laptop upon which he can bang out his next erotic, dark thriller.
She’s running in place and getting
nowhere…
Savannah Shepherd’s life is falling apart. Her dream of being a
wildlife photographer seems a distant memory and she’s barely able to make ends
meet. Driving herself forward with no clear goals apparent, she’s about ready
to pack up her bags and head home with her tail between her legs.
Two unlikely lovers…
He’s raw, forceful and a dirty talker. She’s a flowers and
romance type of girl. Yet within each other, they find a mutual craving that
can only be satisfied by giving in to their desires for one another.
Lust turns into something more… something they were not looking
for but tentatively accept. Will it be enough to push them past the obstacles
of Gavin’s bitter past?
*SUGAR ON THE EDGE can be read as a stand-alone*
He smiles at me then, and it’s the most brilliant smile I’ve seen on his face yet. He reaches his hand across the table at me, and I release my napkin to take it. “Now that that’s out of the way, tell me your secret.”
“My secret?” I ask in confusion.
“The secret you said you would tell me maybe someday,” he reminds me while stroking his thumb over the back of my hand.
“Oh, that,” I say with immediate understanding. “It’s not all that interesting.”
“It must be if it’s a secret,” he prompts.
“It’s not really a secret. It’s public knowledge, just not something I talk about.”
“Yet, you told Brody about it.”
“He’s my friend… my closest.”
“I’m betting Brody was never as close to you as I was this morning… when I was deep inside your body.”
I pull my hand away and glare at him. “Why do you always try to shock me with your sexual innuendos?”
“Love,” Gavin drawls in that sexy, English accent. “That wasn’t innuendo. That was pure fact… I was deep inside your body this morning, feeling every inch of your sweet pussy surrounding me.”
“Stop it,” I hiss at him across the table.
He leans back in his chair slowly, giving me a calculated smile. Drumming his fingers on the table, he says, “It’s time for you to stop being shy with me, Sweet. I know you inside and out now.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” I counter.
“I know plenty. I know you’re unbelievably sweet, kind, and caring. I know you have an amazing work ethic. I know you’re smart and funny, and you’re fucking sexy as hell. I also know that you’re a risk taker and that you are nothing like I first thought you were. I know you’re private and timid, but when you get angry, you stand up for yourself. I know your body feels amazing wrapped around me, and I know that I want to feel it again… tonight as a matter of fact. I know that I love to hear you scream in pleasure, and I know my cock is aching for you right this very minute. If I thought you’d let me, I’d pull you into the bathroom right now and fuck you standing in one of the stalls, hopefully while someone came in, and we’d have to be very quiet so as not to get caught. And I know… without a doubt, you’d scream anyway, regardless of the danger.”
Heat courses through my body, along with gratification that he does know quite a bit about me already. That means he was looking at far more than just my tits and ass, and he has found appreciation outside of those things that normally a man would notice about a woman.
“Now, tell me your secret,” he commands.
Gavin Cooke comes to the Outer Banks as a closed-off, loner author drowning his pain in a bottle while trying to finish his book. He has relocated to escape his past and distractions in England and focus. He is unfiltered, short-tempered, and comes off like an asshole. His real estate agent, Casey recommends her room mate Savannah when he needs someone to help clean his his new huge house.Savannah is independent, but stretched way to thin trying to keep her head above water. She works multiple jobs to make ends meet while also volunteering. She is stuck in a rut. Her passion is photography but she has no time to really pursue it. She is shy, usually unassuming, and lets people walk over her. But for some reason she does not let Gavin do so, no matter how intimidating he tries to be.
She becomes a fascination to him and a muse. The more he sees her reactions, the more layers he uncovers of Savannah. And he studies them, dissects them, and uses them for inspiration.
I find it to be macabre, because no matter the fascination sweet Savannah holds for me, when it boils right down to it, deep down I want to break her. I want to prove to myself that she's nothing special. That she's exactly as I imagine her to be. An uninteresting sort of woman who thinks more of herself than she actually is, and in the grand scheme of things, she'll never amount to more.
"I'm not some sort of sick game for you to play with."
Oh, Gavin...He is interesting and magnetic. He is obnoxious, cocky, dirty talking, jaded, and even rude especially under the influence of alcohol. But under that he is sweet, loving, vulnerable, and terrified. But he has reason to hide and drink himself numb. His past broke him and he's been living in darkness without a lifeline. And only the light of Savannah could begin to reach him.
"Because I'm dark that way. I'm way too bitter for your brand of sweet."
And even though she initially seems meek and bendable, she is also strong willed, stubborn, and fiercely independent. He encourages her to be even more bold, stand up for herself, and go after what she wants out of life.
He pushes her to explore the barriers of her comfort zone and she does the same for him. You can feel their intense chemistry, passion, and need. They meet in the middle at a place that both excites them and soothes their battered souls. They are a perfect balance of sweet and filthy...hot and connected...dark and light...and together they begin to open up and find that something more...
She represents everything that's the antithesis to my darkness. She represents the possibility of moving myself out of that darkness, and allowing a little bit of bright back into my life.
But there are certain triggers and situations that could push them too far. Will it shatter their little safe bubble of light in the darkness?
I was sucked right into this installment. I did not really have a feel for Savannah from seeing her in the other books, but I really liked her in this one. She had many sides to her and Gavin kept trying to peg her between being an anti-heroine and a heroine. She often proved him wrong about her reactions and strengths. And Gavin just drew me right in. He was obviously hurting and had a hard time believing that he could find true happiness again. He was deep, complex, and completely breakable under his protective layer.
I loved seeing more with the other characters especially getting more with Brody (Make it a Double). It was good to see his progress continue as well as catching up with the other characters' lives and see them all interacting. They truly are a family that is there for each other. They are protective, tease each other, and stand up for one another.
It was told in both points of view and I was happy to get into Gavin's head even when it was a darker place. There were times that were snarky and funny. And lots of of sexual tension and sexy times. But also some that were sweet, romantic, and tender. Of course there were frustrating and dramatic situations too and I knew they were coming, but just had to wait and watch it all hit. Their story was intense and passionate with underlying sadness, loss, and fear. But it was heartfelt and painfully beautiful too. I fell for the sweet, filthy, broken boy underneath the facade just like Savannah did.
I love this series and I am looking forward to Casey's story. She was in this book quite a bit and her time is definitely coming. And even though Wyatt was not in this one, I still want to see more with him in future stories.
I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.
On the Rocks (Last Call #1)
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He left to travel the world for fame and glory, but only after spurning Gabby Ward and crushing her young heart. Now Hunter Markham has come back home to the sand and salty breeze of the North Carolina Outer Banks so he can open up Last Call, a beach bar nestled among the dunes of the Atlantic.
Gabby Ward is not happy that Hunter has returned. Bitter over his rebuff years before, she’s content to stay far away from him and his dangerously charming ways.
Gabby’s well-schemed plans to ignore Hunter go up in flames when he presents an offer to her that she simply can’t refuse, throwing them together in a common quest to each reach their goals. Working together day in and day out proves to be problematic for Gabby, who soon realizes that the feelings she had for him are still very much alive. Hunter struggles to reach through to Gabby’s cold heart, all while starting a new career away from his life as a top ranked, professional surfer.
What starts out as a mutual business arrangement soon turns into a passion that neither of them can continue to deny.
Hard choices lay ahead for both of them when Hunter is offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to return to the pro surfing tour.
Choices that could destroy what they have built or take them further than they ever had dared to hope.
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Make It A Double (Last Call #2)
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Brody Markham has endured a nightmare, spending the last five years in prison and losing everything that was dear to him. Now he’s back home, trying to survive in a world he doesn’t recognize anymore. While his family and friends desperately try to reach through to him, he shelters himself further and further away from their love.
Alyssa Myers has worked her entire life to distance herself from the luxurious and privileged lifestyle in which she was raised. Running her non-profit agency, The Haven, she is content to spend her days helping abused animals find sanctuary, which fulfills her in a way that money just can’t buy.
Maybe it’s that she recognizes in Brody some of the same characteristics she sees in her homeless wards, but Alyssa is powerless to stop her personal quest to make Brody whole again.
While Brody struggles to surface from the darkness, Alyssa tries to protect her heart in case he’s not willing to accept the light that she offers him.
*MAKE IT A DOUBLE can be read as a stand-alone*
USA Today Best-Selling author, Sawyer Bennett, is a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. She is married to a mobster (well, a market researcher) and they have two big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn’t have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.
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