Release Blitz and Giveaway: Below Deck: Tara SIvec
Tara Sivec
Add to Goodreads
Buy Amazon/Amazon Paperback/B&N/iTunes/Kobo
Release Date March 6, 2017
Declan McGillis can't stand rich people. But working as a deckhand on a luxury charter yacht, he also can't escape them. Declan has spent years kissing their ass and doing their bidding...whatever it takes to make his dreams come true, and nothing will get in his way of being the captain of his own yacht one day.
Mackenzie Armstrong knows what people think when they look at her. She knows from the outside looking in, it seems like her family has it all and doesn't have a care in the world. Things aren't always what they seem, and not only does Mackenzie have the weight of her family's struggles on her shoulders, she also needs to prove to Declan that she's not the spoiled princess he believes her to be.
Declan can't ignore the sparks of lust between them, even though Mackenzie is completely off limits and absolutely out of his league.
Mackenzie thinks a vacation fling is just what she needs to forget about the mess her life has become, and Declan is the perfect man for the job.
Will this be a quick romp in the water, or will it turn into something more when Mackenzie finally gets below Deck?
Declan McGillis usually has no trouble completing his Bosun duties aboard the yacht he works on and keeping things professional with the yacht guest. But Mackenzie Armstrong manages to catch his eye and draws him in. She is the daughter of a wealthy man who chartered the yacht to celebrate his new marriage. Mackenzie is stuck sailing with her new step-monster and evil step-sister along with her dad, but at least she has her bestie, Brooke, along for moral support.
Declan does not want distractions,so he he tries to resist his pull towards Mackenzie and to follow his no dating guests rule. But he ends up playing games as he is pulled into temptation, then retreats, reappears, gets angry or defensive, and the pattern repeats. His attempts to be good, just make both of them crazy.
Mackenzie is totally on board with a cruise fling, she just has to convince him to go with it. But the problem with a vacation fling is what happens if someone gets attached. It's easy to say it's just sex with a time limit, but that runs the risk of someone is singing a different tune by the end. But their lives and dreams don't seem to mesh, so they have to be okay with the inevitable.
Oh my...Declan...I had a love/hate relationship with him. His mood swings, poor communication, insecurities, and fight or flight made my head spin. He was big on making assumptions, believing the worst, and acting quickly. And the boy could avoid, run, or or push her away with great skill. But he also had a vulnerable, scared part of him that I had to latch onto. And when he was happy and they were in sync, he could be charming, sexy, and even sweet.
Mackenzie was strong, funny, sarcastic, and down to earth. She was easy to like. She was at a crossroads and had a lot of stress in her life, and could be self-sacrificing. But she didn't always say what was on her mind either and kept secrets.
Declan does not want distractions,so he he tries to resist his pull towards Mackenzie and to follow his no dating guests rule. But he ends up playing games as he is pulled into temptation, then retreats, reappears, gets angry or defensive, and the pattern repeats. His attempts to be good, just make both of them crazy.
Mackenzie is totally on board with a cruise fling, she just has to convince him to go with it. But the problem with a vacation fling is what happens if someone gets attached. It's easy to say it's just sex with a time limit, but that runs the risk of someone is singing a different tune by the end. But their lives and dreams don't seem to mesh, so they have to be okay with the inevitable.
Oh my...Declan...I had a love/hate relationship with him. His mood swings, poor communication, insecurities, and fight or flight made my head spin. He was big on making assumptions, believing the worst, and acting quickly. And the boy could avoid, run, or or push her away with great skill. But he also had a vulnerable, scared part of him that I had to latch onto. And when he was happy and they were in sync, he could be charming, sexy, and even sweet.
Mackenzie was strong, funny, sarcastic, and down to earth. She was easy to like. She was at a crossroads and had a lot of stress in her life, and could be self-sacrificing. But she didn't always say what was on her mind either and kept secrets.
These two were bound to be the best or worst thing to ever happen to the other. They could talk themselves in and out of everything pretty quickly, and did it over and over. Their banter fluctuated from flirty and sexy to antagonistic and challenging. They were both scared, insecure, and afraid of taking a risk. But their chemistry was never in question.
This was a humorous, fun, frustrating, angsty, steamy, and romantic vacation love story. The yacht and tropical locations were interesting. I liked their side kicks Brooke, Ben, Zoe, and even cranky Marcel. The evil step family were easy to despise. I felt like I went on vacation with some annoying people, but also met a group of quirky and cool ones to hang out with while in luxurious settings and tropical escapes. So it was a sweet and sexy adventure on the high seas with love (and drama) in the air.
I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Declan McGillis has spent the last four years working on high end yachts, catering to the needs of rich people. Currently, he is the bosun on the Helios, in charge of maintaining the ship while it’s at sea. In that time, he has formed some pretty negative impressions of the wealthy people who spend time on the ship. He is happy on the sea, and happier when clients aren’t snapping demands left and right, but he’ll put up with the demands in order to get a fat tip at the end of the trip. He also sets strict rules: no hooking up with the other crew, and no hooking up with the clients.
Mackenzie Armstrong is on the Helios in an attempt to relax away from work for a couple weeks, reconnect with her father, and maybe find a way to live in peace, if not harmony, with her spoiled, pampered stepmother and stepsister.
Declan and Mackenzie catch each other’s eye early in the trip, but a few rocky missteps mean their interactions are antagonistic in the beginning. But despite the anger simmering between them, there is also attraction and they can’t deny that there is definite chemistry swirling at sea.
I felt for Mackenzie through the whole book. She was in a rough place with her family, and saw things her father didn’t want to see, which kept things tense between them when they used to be so close. At the same time she was also dealing with the back and forth from Declan while she just wanted to relax for a bit.
Declan was often frustrating with his self-sabotage and flip-flopping decisions. He had the making for a full on swoony hero, and he did eventually redeem himself, but during the time they were on the ship, he was epically frustrating to read.
Mackenzie Armstrong is on the Helios in an attempt to relax away from work for a couple weeks, reconnect with her father, and maybe find a way to live in peace, if not harmony, with her spoiled, pampered stepmother and stepsister.
Declan and Mackenzie catch each other’s eye early in the trip, but a few rocky missteps mean their interactions are antagonistic in the beginning. But despite the anger simmering between them, there is also attraction and they can’t deny that there is definite chemistry swirling at sea.
I felt for Mackenzie through the whole book. She was in a rough place with her family, and saw things her father didn’t want to see, which kept things tense between them when they used to be so close. At the same time she was also dealing with the back and forth from Declan while she just wanted to relax for a bit.
Declan was often frustrating with his self-sabotage and flip-flopping decisions. He had the making for a full on swoony hero, and he did eventually redeem himself, but during the time they were on the ship, he was epically frustrating to read.
This was a fun, summery read that left me wishing I was on a cruise ship myself, on a beach somewhere, or at least poolside with the sun shining down. The side characters kept things grounded while adding humor to the situations these two find themselves. I loved both Ben and Brooke and the support they offered to Declan and Mackenzie. The epilogue had me smiling at how far this couple had come over the course of the book, and wrapped things up nicely while giving readers a glimpse at what had happened after the main plot was over.
I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.
“Feminists all over the world would be hanging their heads in shame at me right now, wouldn’t they? I’m weak and pathetic and easily forgiving of asshole behavior,” I complain to Brooke, leaning against the doorframe of our bathroom while I watch her apply make-up. “Tell me I’m weak and pathetic.”
Brooke sighs, pulling her face away from the mirror and lowering the mascara wand from her eye to stare at me in the reflection.
“I will do no such thing. You aren’t weak and pathetic. And you aren’t easily forgiving, either. You stuck to your guns and made him feel like a jerk. What you are, is easily distracted by a pretty face and a magic dick,” she informs me, turning around to lean against the sink.
“You’re right,” I whisper, my eyes widening with this sudden discovery. “I’ve always rolled my eyes at women in books who keep going back to the same asshole over and over again. It’s because of the magic dick. And now I get it.”
“The fucking magic dick,” Brooke agrees with a nod.
“But seriously, this doesn’t make me weak and pathetic that I forgave him so easily and basically threw my vagina at him in a challenge?” I ask as she turns back to face the mirror and finish applying her mascara.
“He explained why he did what he did. He was an assuming asshole, but he still realized he was wrong and fixed it. You accepted his apology and admitted you’re still in need of a good dicking, and he’s the closest available dick to give you said dicking. I see nothing wrong with that,” she shrugs.
“That was a lot of dicks in one sentence.”
“There are a lot of dicks on this boat. You think you’ve got problems? Ben is the best sex I’ve ever had and he’s a man-whore,” she complains, shoving her mascara tube back into her make-up bag and grabbing her bottle of perfume from the counter.
Tara Sivec is a USA Today best-selling author, wife, mother, chauffeur, maid, short-order cook, baby-sitter, and sarcasm expert. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two children and looks forward to the day when all three of them become adults and move out.
After working in the brokerage business for fourteen years, Tara decided to pick up a pen and write instead of shoving it in her eye out of boredom. She writes in a wide range of genres including Romantic Comedy, Romantic Comedy/Mystery, Romantic Suspense, New Adult Drama, Contemporary Romance and Psychological Thriller. Her novel Seduction and Snacks won first place in the Indie Romance Convention Reader's Choice Awards 2013 for Best Indie First Book and she was voted Best Indie Author in the Indie Romance Convention Reader's Choice Awards 2014.
In her spare time, Tara loves to dream about all of the baking she'll do and naps she'll take when she ever gets spare time.
0 comments