Review/Excerpt Tour and Giveaway: Come As You Are: Lauren Blakely
Requesting the presence of your pleasure…
What do you get when you mix a masquerade ball, a smoldering secret rendezvous, and a sexy, billionaire hero who will sweep you off your feet? An opposite-sides-of-the-tracks standalone romance that you’re guaranteed to love!
From #1 NYT bestselling author Lauren Blakely, comes the gorgeous and sexy-as-sin forbidden romance filled with wit, humor, and so much heart, COME AS YOU ARE! Secret trysts and stolen kisses abound in this brand new, swoontastic novel. Get your copy of COME AS YOU ARE delivered now!
Come As You AreLauren Blakely
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Release Date April 16, 2018
From #1 NYT bestselling author Lauren Blakely comes a sexy new standalone romance!
I couldn’t have scripted a more perfect night.
For one fantastic evening, at a masquerade party in the heart of Manhattan, I’m not the millionaire everyone wants a piece of. Fine—multimillionaire. But who’s counting all those commas? Not me, and not the most intriguing woman I've ever met, who happens to like dancing, witty banter, and hot, passionate up-against-the-wall sex as much as I do.
There's no need for names or business cards. And that’s why I’m eager to get to know her more, since my mystery woman seems to like me for me, rather than for my huge…bank account.
Everything’s coming up aces. Until the next day when things get a little complicated. (Newsflash — a lot complicated.)
***
He's charming, brilliant, an incredible lover, and right now I want to stab fate in the eyeballs.
I've had one goal I've been working toward, and lo and behold, my mystery man is the very person who stands between me and my dream job. A job I desperately need since my hard-knock life has nothing in common with his star-kissed one.
But it’s time to put that fairytale night behind me, and focus on learning what makes him tick. Too bad it turns out his quirks are my quirks, and his love affair with New York matches mine.
And as we spend our days together, I discover something else that feels like a cruel twist of fate — I’m falling for this naughty prince charming, and that’s not an ending I can write to our story.
Flynn Parker is the new tech "it" man. He is a handsome, charming, rich math nerd who made good as an internet superstar and visionary. Everyone seems to want a piece of him. They want him to fund their projects, or women want him for money or what he can give them. So it is hard to trust people.Sabrina Granger's life is not going so well. She was left at the alter, lost her job, and is struggling to figure out how to pay her bills. She is a funny, creative, quirky, but guarded and anxious. Her life is at a crossroads, and it looks like things might be finally shifting her way.
One night at a masquerade party they collide and share an exciting, passionate experience. They can be whoever they want without expectations or history and just let go. But they soon realize that real life is not like a fairy tale and the perfect night might have to be the end rather than a beginning.
I loved both of these characters. They were just so likable. Their rapport was flirty, dirty, and witty. They shared common interests and senses of humor. But they are also opposites in how they were raised and their life styles. And they both have trust issues. The situation they find themselves in makes a relationship forbidden. They both have responsibilities that make taking the risk difficult. They both have fears and insecurities. But it is so hard for them to resist the pull they have towards each other.
They were totally adorkable with him being a math geek/Renaissance man and her a grammar nerd. I loved their dynamic. Their chemistry was hot, but their connection ran even deeper. She's independent minded and does not like asking for help. He gets her need to take care of her own life, but has the ability to make things easier if she would just let him. Things could be perfect if....
But it seems to be one of those cases of right person, wrong time perhaps...or is it?
This was such a perfectly paced and engaging read that I could not put it down. There was just enough conflict, angst, and drama to keep it interesting, but not take away from the sweet romance. I was totally invested in Flynn and Sabrina. It was even more exciting to me because Flynn is a twin! Yes, there are two of these hot, rich, lovable nerd-men. We got to know his twin brother, Dylan and his love, Evie, and their sister, Olivia in the novella Stud Finder. But this can be read as a total stand-alone. I also really liked her younger brother, Kevin, and outgoing bestie, Courtney. I felt like I became part of their world while reading it.
This book brings together all of the things I adore about Lauren Blakely's books. It has the romantic element of exploring a city and interesting history while also being funny, emotional, sexy, and sweet. Flynn is a perfectly swoony-licious hero and Sabrina's tenacity and spirit make you want to root for her. I absolutely adored them!
I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Sabrina Granger hasn’t had the best luck of late. Left with a cursed dress days before the wedding and losing her job all in a short time span means she has a lot of work to get her life back in order. In the same night, she is overjoyed at the prospect of her dream job and surprised to meet a mystery man she connects with, but the unexpected connection between the job and the man leaves her questioning what she wants most.
Flynn Parker is the next big thing in the business world and his daily schedule proves it. He is highly sought after for interviews and new product pitches both officially and unofficially. Everyone he meets wants something from him, except the woman he met at a masquerade party who seemed to want him for him.
These two meet under the cover of anonymity and find an immediate connection. But when daylight hits and reality comes crashing down, they find they still have that connection, no matter how hard they try to ignore it.
I loved their chemistry, and witty banter. Both are intelligent people and their conversations show it. The literature references were a fun aspect to their growing friendship. They both have issues holding them back from fully trusting, but as they open up to each other they each begin to wonder if there could be more, if the timing was different.
This was yet another reminder of why Lauren is one of my go-to authors. Once I started, I didn’t want to put the books down. I was engaged from cover to cover in the characters, their connection, and the roadblocks they faced. She builds characters, relationships, and a world that goes beyond the surface of entertainment. It was fun to see bit and pieces from Flynn’s siblings, who we met in another book, as well as meeting a variety of new characters.
Flynn Parker is the next big thing in the business world and his daily schedule proves it. He is highly sought after for interviews and new product pitches both officially and unofficially. Everyone he meets wants something from him, except the woman he met at a masquerade party who seemed to want him for him.
These two meet under the cover of anonymity and find an immediate connection. But when daylight hits and reality comes crashing down, they find they still have that connection, no matter how hard they try to ignore it.
I loved their chemistry, and witty banter. Both are intelligent people and their conversations show it. The literature references were a fun aspect to their growing friendship. They both have issues holding them back from fully trusting, but as they open up to each other they each begin to wonder if there could be more, if the timing was different.
This was yet another reminder of why Lauren is one of my go-to authors. Once I started, I didn’t want to put the books down. I was engaged from cover to cover in the characters, their connection, and the roadblocks they faced. She builds characters, relationships, and a world that goes beyond the surface of entertainment. It was fun to see bit and pieces from Flynn’s siblings, who we met in another book, as well as meeting a variety of new characters.
I was gifted a copy.
~FLYNN~
I part my lips to speak, to tell her I’m not a VC. But I flash back to the racquetball game, to the face-lift suggestion from my sister. If this angel thinks I’m a VC, that means my face-lift is working. My costume is doing what I want it to do—it’s making it possible for me to be me. To have a conversation as Flynn Parker the guy, not as Flynn Parker the multimillionaire.
She doesn’t know who I am. And I don’t correct her. “It can be.”
She nods thoughtfully then roams her gaze over my black attire. She taps her bottom lip. “Hmm. Let’s see what we have here tonight because I don’t think you’re a ninja.”
I punch the air. “Keep going.”
She studies me more closely. “You’re something mysterious. You’re trying to fly under the radar. Am I getting warmer?”
More like hot. “Yes.”
Her brow knits. “You want to go unnoticed, at least for the moment.”
I tense, hoping she’s not putting two and two together as to my identity. Absently, I raise my hand to my glasses, wondering if they give me away. But then I remember. I’m wearing my contacts tonight, something I rarely do.
She snaps her fingers. “I know! You’re a stealth start-up,” she says, using the term for a new company that’s keeping quiet.
I raise my arms in victory, a thrill racing through me. “Everyone else has guessed code ninja or SEO ninja, but you’re the first person all night to get it right. I am, indeed, a stealth start-up.”
Admittedly, donning black pants, a black shirt, and a black eye-mask might have made it challenging to guess. But then again, the angel figured it out, and all without the missing start-up button.
“Your lips gave you away.”
She recognized me from my lips? I furrow my brow behind my mask. “What do you mean?”
“Your mouth,” she says, raising her fingers dangerously near to my lips. “I could tell you weren’t a ninja because your lips aren’t covered. Ninjas cover you’re their mouths.” I relax again since she was referring to my clothes. “Only their eyes show. But you’ve covered most of your eyes, and you’re showing only your mouth and your chin. That’s how I knew you had to be something other than a ninja.”
“I could kiss you for that,” I blurt out. I take a step back and hold up a hand. “I’m sorry. That was probably terribly inappropriate.”
A smile slowly spreads across her lips. “No, it wasn’t inappropriate. It wasn’t inappropriate at all,” she says. Something in the way she takes her time with each word tells me she wouldn’t mind being kissed. That gives me one mission and one mission only: keep talking to this angel.
✦The audiobook is narrated by Sebastian York and Andi Arndt! ✦
✦Audible ➜https://adbl.co/2DTfbDi
✦Audible ➜https://adbl.co/2DTfbDi
Lauren Blakely
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A #1 New York Times Bestselling author, and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that's hot, sweet and sexy. She lives in California with her family and has plotted entire novels while walking her dogs. With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than 90 times, and she's sold more than 2.5 million books. In April she'll release COME AS YOU ARE, a sexy new standalone romance. To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter! laurenblakely.com/newsletter
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