Be Careful What You
Kiss For (Love Rewritten, Book 1)
When a psychic gives Tensley the chance to erase her biggest
regret and replay her life with the one who got away, who would have thought a
simple “do-over” could go so terribly wrong—and feel so right?
TAKE IT...
When Tensley Tanner-Starbrook gets the chance for one life
“do-over” from a well-intentioned but bumbling psychic, she goes for it. But
that change turns everything else upside down. Instead of a buttoned-up
corporate executive, she’s now an entirely unbuttoned exotic dancer. And she’s
face to…face with the one man she’s never been able to get over.
TO THE MAX
Detective Max Hunter has come a long way from high-school
bad boy, and with everything on the line, nothing can stop him…except seeing
his first love dancing in the club he’s been assigned to investigate. Torn
between getting her far away from the place and needing her help as an insider,
he knows only two things for sure: Tensley’s stirring feelings he thought long
ago buried, and a relationship with her would be career suicide. Yet, maybe,
just maybe, this was a love meant to overcome the past.
EXCERPT:
From the 2015 RITA nominated Be Careful What You Kiss For:
One by one, her arms snaked along the stage, her ass in the air and hair falling around her shoulders as her nipples brushed the floor, sending waves of an I-can’t-believe-I’m-doing-this thrill through her. The man in the striped shirt gripped his drink and leaned forward. Tensley made straight for him, the tip of her tongue working a lazy, seductive journey around her mouth.
His face lit up in anticipation, which turned to raw desire as she reached the end of the stage and rose on her knees to stroke herself while watching him through her lashes. Then she beckoned him toward her with one crimson-tipped index finger. He stood as if in a trance, not seeming to notice as he tripped over a chair. He just kept going.
Come to Mama. This was so not Tensley Tanner-Starbrook. But who had to know that? No one.
For a few minutes of her life, she could be someone else. Have a little fun. Ride on up to the orgasm bar and mix her own, instead of hoping someone like Bryan, who got points for congeniality, but couldn’t rock her world if his cock was twice its size…would do it for her.
Head back, she thrust both arms in the air and her crotch toward the mesmerized man. Hell, yes. Shewas Delightful, thank you very much.
His hand snaked forward.
The voice of another man sliced through it all to jolt her brain, if not the body performing independent of her brain, to a screeching halt. “Back up, buddy,” he said, loud enough to be heard over the music. “No touching her.”
With a gulp, her arms still triumphantly in the air, she shifted an uncertain gaze to the chair, cloaked in shadows, where that voice had come from.
It couldn’t be.
Razor-sharp memories pushed forward in her mind. The warm white bath of moonlight. A summer breeze washing over their damp, naked teenage bodies. The smell of newly mown fields. The lump in her throat before she worked up the courage to whisper, “I love you.”
Nooooo. She had to stop dancing. Had to end the dizzying swirl of confusion that had caused her to think—
Shadow man got to his feet and her eyes shot straight to his tall, dark silhouette. His fingers flashed into the light as he lifted a drink to her. “Lookin’ good.”
Max.
With every bit of physical strength she could find, Tensley grabbed the finger still motioning the man in the striped shirt forward. She pulled both hands down and to her sides. Her tongue tried to poke forward to lick her lips again, so she sank her teeth into it, hard, and let out a screech. She tasted blood.
Her body wasn’t giving up that easily, though. Before she knew it, she was back on her feet, gyrating and grinding, moving as though her two hands weren’t engaged in a go–stop–go battle. Every time her hip shot to one side, she stomped her foot, in the vain hope that would stop it. Something halfway between a purr and a growl came out of her mouth as she concentrated on jamming both hands on her waist. And keeping them there.
Again with the hip thrusting. Again with the stomping.
The striped-shirt man backed up, his expression baffled. Possibly because he’d never seen a step-dance striptease before.
Her hips continued on and then her leg joined in, kicking high as the music hit a crescendo, undeterred by the fight she was having with herself. It wasn’t until she ended up doing a vertical split of sorts, legs on the pole, fists still glued to her waist, that the music finally stopped and she regained control of her body.
Tensley eased her extended leg down and off the pole, inch by inch, and stood in the middle of the stage. After a minute or two of stunned silence, the crowd responded with polite applause and a few cat calls.
If he’s here, really here, I don’t want to know. I don’t. The man in the striped shirt approached to drop a twenty on the stage. Tensley peered past him into the darkness, trying to get a better look at the man she didn’t want to see.
The audience seemed to be waiting for her to do something. Tensley put one foot behind the other and bobbed a curtsy straight out of Miss Jodi’s tap dance class. Miss Jodi had always said a lady should never leave a performance without a curtsy.
She wondered, though, if Miss Jodi had meant every kind of performance.
Footsteps again clattered across the stage and the woman who had threatened to evict her earlier grabbed the mike to demand, “Now, are y’all ready for Terrible Tawny, the Tahitian Temptress?”
The audience sounded its approval and the woman spread her arms wide, the sleeves of her sparkling costume nearly knocking Tensley off the stage. She stumbled backward, but caught herself. New music blared and Terrible Tawny began to move her hips from side to side in time to the beat. Then she backed up, one long-limbed step at a time, until she reached the spot where Tensley stood.
Another sharp gyration and Tawny pulled off part of her costume with a flourish. When it landed on Tensley’s head, the crowd responded with hoots. Tensley reached up, yanked it to the floor and then tucked her hands under her arms, pulling them in tight as she shuffled backward out of the spotlight.Get me out of this place.
She hesitated at the top of the stairs, struggling to get her bearings. She had to call the police. Report this. And say—what? All she could remember was the flash above Madame Claire’s head. And the words she’d said. A do-over. The psychic had said it was possible.
What if the idea for revenge that Tensley had tossed off had actually happened? If she’d punched Rhonda Reardon. What if—this strip joint was now her life?
A wave of nausea turned her knees to Jell-O. She grabbed the metal handrail for support as she half-teetered, half-fell down the few stairs, then sat at the bottom and closed her eyes.
It couldn’t be true. She wouldn’t let it be true. She’d click her heels together three times, like Dorothy, and…
Then she heard his voice, inches away, rocketing straight through the music. “Been a long time.”
Her stomach did a double backflip. She remained perfectly still.
Warm breath ruffled the hair over her ear, caressing her skin. “I want a private dance.”
Tensley opened her eyes and turned to the one man she’d never been able to get out of her system, even though he’d shattered her heart so badly, it had never properly healed. Virtual gymnasts began spinning, twirling, leaping, falling off a balance beam in her stomach, until she had to press a fist tight to her middle to make them stop.
“Max.”
This book had a really interesting premise. I was really
looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately, this particular story didn’t work
for me. The book wasn’t bad but parts of it pissed me off.
I wasn’t sold on the stripper storyline. I’ve read a few other
books with similar themes and had no problems but in this case, it just didn’t
work for me. Maybe it would have worked if Tensley hadn’t turned into the typical
TSTL heroine in a romantic suspense that says she won’t take stupid risks then
takes a stupid risk….AND gets caught.
Honestly, I could have made due with all of the above.
Granted, it wouldn’t have been a 5 star read, but I could have powered through
it and enjoyed it. What really killed this book for me was Max’s ex,
Rhonda. I really loathed the fact that she was still in his life after all
these years. I just couldn’t get past the fact that the same woman that was the
cause of their break up back in high school was still in his life and still
hung up on him and wanted him back. I know that there needs to be some kind of
issue to overcome but I really hated that she was the issue. I also realize
that based on the premise and that the heroine’s biggest regret revolved around
Rhonda so it made sense that she would have to deal with her again but I just
couldn’t deal with her presence and how horrible she was. Her mere presence
tanked the book for me.
I definitely loved the premise and Tensley’s scenes with her
bff and cat but I wish the overall story had played out differently. I would
have loved to see Tensley and Max reconnect in Tensley’s “real life” as opposed
to the messed up do-over life. As for the end…well…it wasn’t really a HEA. It
was more of a promise of things to come.
I wish this had worked for me. It wasn’t awful, it just wasn’t
for me.
PURCHASE LINKS
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU KISS FOR
K*ss Happens (Love
Rewritten, Book 2)
Emma Zane has one magical chance to erase the past and
reclaim her soulmate lover and her dreams of a successful songwriting career,
but as the song says, it ain’t gonna be easy.
KISS HAPPENS
What if you could have one “do-over” in life? Emma Zane, who lost her lover and soulmate, Chase Chapman, and her passion for songwriting when she couldn’t find the courage to go to Nashville, is about to find out.
What if you could have one “do-over” in life? Emma Zane, who lost her lover and soulmate, Chase Chapman, and her passion for songwriting when she couldn’t find the courage to go to Nashville, is about to find out.
But a do-over, even a magic one, isn’t that easy. Emma’s
abruptly thrust into a new life as an award-winning songwriter, only to find
out she’s double-crossed Chase, stomped on others with her custom-made boots,
and is engaged to a rising country star who has Emma locked into an ironclad
contract. Now the woman who once pushed aside her dreams and the man she loves
have to navigate a new world to reclaim both—without racking up more regrets
than the one she started with. As the song says, it ain’t gonna be easy.
I'm having the hardest time with this series. I love stories
about musicians and song writers but...there's something about the set up of
this story that rubbed me the wrong way. Don't get me wrong, the book wasn't
bad, I'm just thinking it wasn't for me.
I really do love the concept...character has regrets and
gets a do-over to do things differently. I just really hate that the do-overs
seem to always include someone screwing over someone else and the character
turning into a raging bitch or asshole in the new life, leaving the
"old" character trying to convince people that the bitch/asshole they
knew wasn't the real them.
One thing that made this better than the previous book was
the fact that Emma didn't "go back" and turn the whole book into basically a dream.
PURCHASE LINKS
K*SS HAPPENS
Starts With a Kiss
(Love Rewritten, Book 3)
With the help of a seemingly innocent spell, Anya Ramsay is
about to completely change the direction of her life—and it’ll be a wilder ride
than she ever expected.
STARTING OVER
Everything will finally be better. In college Anya Ramsay made the worst mistake of her life, but a gypsy spell now offers the chance to have done everything different. To have done everything right. The college car accident that disfigured her face and paralyzed basketball star Ryder Brandt, the man she’s always loved? It’ll have never happened. But nothing is ever so easy, just as some things—like Ryder’s kiss—can never be forgotten. To rectify all, Anya has to come to terms with who she is and what she’s done. Rewriting this mistake will be a ride wilder than the original, but at the end of the trip is a happy ending—and a life with the perfect man for her past, present and future.
Everything will finally be better. In college Anya Ramsay made the worst mistake of her life, but a gypsy spell now offers the chance to have done everything different. To have done everything right. The college car accident that disfigured her face and paralyzed basketball star Ryder Brandt, the man she’s always loved? It’ll have never happened. But nothing is ever so easy, just as some things—like Ryder’s kiss—can never be forgotten. To rectify all, Anya has to come to terms with who she is and what she’s done. Rewriting this mistake will be a ride wilder than the original, but at the end of the trip is a happy ending—and a life with the perfect man for her past, present and future.
So…wow. I’m
surprised. The first two books in this series didn’t work for me. I loved the
premise but the actual stories and I didn’t get along. So I wasn’t excited to
read this. I didn’t have high hopes. It’s not often that after two duds in a
series the third book will magically work for me. And honestly, I only read it
because I signed up to review it. Like I said, I didn’t have high hopes. So I
was more than a little surprised when this book worked.
I don’t know
if it was because Ayna and Ryder had a more series situation in the past or if
I just liked the way it played out better than the others, but I did enjoy this
book.
Similar to
the previous books, the do-over didn’t go as planned. Ayna and Ryder had been
in a car accident years ago, leaving her scarred (physically and emotionally)
and leaving him paralyzed. All Ayna wanted was for Ryder to be ok, to have not
been paralyzed. I actually wished that Ayna’s do-over had worked. Don’t get me
wrong, I didn’t have a problem with Ryder being paralyzed but I really felt bad
when the only thing the do-over did was remove Ayna’s scar.
I went back
and forth about one part of the story. Ayna has always loved Ryder. After the
accident, guilt and hurt and trauma makes them go their separate ways. But even
though she built a life for herself, she never forgot him or stopped loving
him. So she contacted him online…as someone else. That part was fine. The part
that got me was where she used her friend’s picture and when he wanted to meet,
she got her friend to pretend to be her alias. Even that was ok-ish. My issue
came when it looked like her friend was flirting with him and falling for him
and at one point, looked like she had hooked up with him. That just didn’t work
for me. Up until that point, I had liked her friend. But at that point, I
wanted to throw my kindle.
Other than
that, I really did enjoy Anya and Ryder’s story. They had a great connection
and really deserved their happy ending.
PURCHASE LINKS
STARTS WITH A KISS
ABOUT JANE LYNNE
DANIELS:
Jane Lynne Daniels grew up a city girl, only to meet the
love of her life at the annual Volunteer Fireman’s Ball in tiny Grass Valley,
Oregon. She and her husband and dogs recently moved from the Pacific Northwest
to Ohio, where they miss the rain and ocean, but love the change in seasons.
Jane is doing her best to adopt a Midwest accent, but since people look at her
funny when she tries, it probably isn’t working.
MEDIA LINKS:
Website: www.janelynnedaniels.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaneLynnDaniels
Genres: Erotic
Romance, Fantasy
Thank you, Lindsay, for hosting the Love Rewritten series on your blog today.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome! Happy to do it :)
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