August 24, 2016

REVIEW, EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY: The Sapphire Heist (Jewel #2)


Today is a Lauren Blakely love-fest! I have the review plus an excerpt of her second Jewel series book, SAPPHIRE HEIST, and then a double cover reveal for two books coming up that look... ABS-olutely awesome. But, first, back to Steph, Jake and the Cayman Islands...


The Sapphire Heist (Jewel #2), by Lauren Blakely
Publish Date:
August 16, 2016
Publisher: Mountlake Romance
Format: ARC, provided by the author
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon

Rating: 4.5 STARS


(Synopsis) Keep your lover close and your enemy closer…


After giving in to a fiery night of passion, island adventurer Steph Anderson and bounty hunter Jake Harlowe are back to square one. With millions in stolen jewels at stake, it’s hard for Steph not to question her new partner’s true motives—no matter how sexy he might be. Jake is hungry for more of Steph, but he can sense her growing mistrust, which only fuels his own doubts. Worse, there’s undeniable evidence that someone else is now after the jewels—and that they are both in real danger.


Fighting against their magnetic attraction is a distraction these two can’t afford. In order to survive, they’ll have to pull off one more heist—and trust each other with something even more precious than jewels: their hearts.

When we last saw Steph, she was having a crisis of faith in her new partner and lover. Just when she had decided to open up her battered heart to Jake, it appears that he has used that gift to his advantage. And that really hurts her.

But, there's no denying he's good at his job. And, Steph really needs to know once and for all if her step-father is a bad guy or not. So, she decides to stick with him and use his skills like he used her, and when the case of the missing sapphires is solved, she can get rid of him. If wishes were fishes...

Despite the relationship questions, Steph and Jake still make a great team, which I loved. Just because Steph is convinced that Jake is playing her doesn't remove the sexual tension and heat between them. It's still there, which goes so well with the suspense and intrigue surrounding the stolen sapphires. It's tension-filled on all sides, which only meant that there was no way I could put it down until I was done.

The setting of the Cayman Islands, together with Steph's profession as a eco-tour guide and dive instructor is so cool. It made me want to go there. And it made me want to kiss sting rays.

As Steph and Jake work together to figure out who stole the jewels and where they put them, they learn more about each other. Jake learned about Steph's mom and her lack of funds at home, thus fueling Steph's desire to talk her step-dad into helping or copping to stealing. Steph learned about Jake's dedication to his family, which is why he does his job so well.

Sapphire Heist was so much fun. It was a suspenseful and mysterious and super sexy. The ending was fantastic, too. I can't wait for Lauren Blakely to take another turn at romantic suspense!

This woman drove him wild. She was a pistol, a fiery, sexy, determined, tenacious woman who made him crazy, and who he wanted fiercely at the same damn time. “Do you want to try that whole thing again? Like you were doing in your room. Take off my shirt, and strip off my shorts, and pull off my boxers?”
Her lips quirked up. “I didn’t get to the boxers.”

“I know,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Damn shame. Because I like it when you touch me. I like it when you take my clothes off and run your hands all over me. Do you like it when I do that to you?”

She nodded. “So much. So incredibly much,” she said, her voice breathy.

He backed her up against the railing, pressing his pelvis to her and caging her in with his arms. “Are you sure?”

He ground his hips against her, letting her feel the full length of his arousal.

Her breath came fast. “So sure,” she said, wrapping her arms around his lower back and tugging him close. “I want to finish what we were starting in the room.”

He laughed loudly and deeply. “Oh Steph. We barely got started. We hardly got started at all.”

She grabbed his shirt. “Can we please just fuck it out now?”

He cracked up at her question, at the sexy desperation in her voice. “Fuck it out?”

She nodded. “Yes. Your anger. Our mistrust. My doubt. Can we just once and for all fuck it out and let it go?”

He clasped her cheeks in his hands. “I can’t think of a damn thing I’d rather do now than fuck it out. Besides, it’s impossible for me to think straight and properly plan the next phase of Project Diamond unless you put your hands on the railing, bend over, and raise your skirt for me.”

Her eyes lit up, sparkling with a naughty kind of excitement. “Then please allow me to help you think straight.”

He laced a hand through her hair, yanked her close, and planted a hot, searing kiss on her delicious lips. She melted under his touch, and he loved it. Loved the way she responded.

As he kissed her, he lowered a hand to her leg and inched his fingers up the warm skin of her thighs, quickly finding what he wanted—the wet scrap of fabric between her legs. She was so damn turned on, just like he was. He groaned as he kissed her, his bones vibrating with lust as he ran his fingers against the evidence of her desire. He tugged off her underwear, broke the kiss, and spun her around.

Covering her back with his chest, he wrapped her hair in his hand and tugged gently. She gasped and arched her ass higher. Yup. That was his answer. She liked a little rough play. He brought his mouth to her ear. “Do you like it hard? Do you like it rough? Do you like it angry?”

She turned her head to look at him. “With you, so far I like everything.”

Since self-publishing her debut romance novel CAUGHT UP IN US three years ago, Lauren Blakely has sold more than 1 million books. She is known for her sexy contemporary romance style that's full of heat, heart and humor. A devout fan of cake and canines, Lauren has plotted entire novels while walking her four-legged friends. She lives in California with her family. With ten New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than fifty times. Her bestselling series include Sinful Nights, Seductive Nights, No Regrets, Caught Up in Love, and Fighting Fire as well as standalone romantic comedies like BIG ROCK and MISTER O, which were both instant New York Times Bestsellers. In the fall she'll release WELL HUNG, another romantic comedy. To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter! laurenblakely.com/newsletter

Links:
Website: http://www.laurenblakely.com/
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaurenBlakely3
Newsletter: http://laurenblakely.com/newsletter/
Lauren Blakely Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6860216.Lauren_Blakely


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