Thursday 30 June 2016

Blog Tour, Excerpt & Review ~ Sweet Alibi by Adriane Leigh


Book Description:

From USA Today Bestselling author Adriane Leigh comes a passionate contemporary romance about giving in to desire so sharp and sweet it threatens to consume...

Georgia Montgomery is desperate for an escape from the life she’s been leading. The perfect job, the perfect apartment, the perfect boyfriend—all are on the cusp of driving her over the edge. On a whim, she buys a beach house on the North Carolina coast, eager to spend a summer with her college friends. She thinks she’s found the perfect balance, until one pleasure-seeking playboy turns her world on its axis. Georgia tries to ignore the tornado of emotion that sweeps through her system whenever Tristan Howell is near, but just like an addiction, one look, one taste, one touch is never enough.

The chemistry is scorching and it isn't long before the slow burn ignites into a full-blown wildfire that threatens to consume anything in its path. But Georgia and Tristan can't shelter their love from the outside world, and the moments of exquisite passion they share aren't enough to sustain the relationship. When scars from the past resurface--will their hearts meld together as one? Or will outside forces tear them apart, leaving an empty shell where love and passion once thrived?

*Note: The characters in Sweet Alibi are real and flawed--they make bad decisions and learn hard lessons. It contains a love triangle, a sweet alpha-male with a broken heart, and a leading lady that doesn't always know what she wants. If you love a character-driven romance with a hard-fought happily-ever-after, Sweet Alibi is for you. (Formerly published as The Morning After and Light in Morning duet, now with more than 10,000 words of never-before-published BONUS content!



Buy Links:


Our Review:

Reviewed by Donna ~ 3.5 stars
***ARC received for an honest review***


“I wondered if this would be our battle. He would always fear that I would leave, and I was afraid his past would forever haunt us.”


So, if you have read The Morning After and The Light in Morning duet then please be aware that Sweet Alibi is both books as one but edited and with 10,000 more words of bonus content. I read both those books nearly three years ago and it wasn’t until I was a fair way through Sweet Alibi did something jog my memory and made me look back and realise. So either my brain has turned to mush or the changes made were good enough to make it read as something new.

Sweet Alibi was one book that was jam packed with drama and angst, at about 40% I could have easily thrown in the towel but I didn’t, I was intrigued. I will say that I found our heroine, Georgia, extremely irritating at times, she had no backbone, was a doormat, was fickle, flaky, wishy washy and whiney and just so damn annoying, but there was something about her that made me want to know what had made her that way. Why did her friends treat her like a piece of fragile glass? Why was she so dependent on the boy next door who is now her long-time partner? What were her ties? Just what made her that way? I soon found out. She does grow a pair though, so don’t despair.


“Kyle had given me breath to resuscitate me when I needed it all those years ago, but Tristan was the rehabilitation necessary to make my life worth living again.”


Tristan was adorable with a capital A, he oozed charm, charisma and testosterone and he was most definitely a lady’s man. Having sworn off women he was a manwhore, one or two girls often frequented his revolving door of a bedroom but he was getting older and wiser and was unwittingly awaiting “the one.” The one came when he least expected it and it didn’t help that the one was also in a long term relationship, the one was Georgia.


“…I can’t stay. I want to stay for you, but I can’t. I can’t stay for me. This is crushing me. You’re not mine to want.”


Yes, this does contain cheating and the flip flop of emotions and the toing and froing was enough to give anyone whiplash. Tristan was always sure footed but Georgia was a whole different ball game.  Any other guy would have walked away from the drama, the constant limbo and the mixed signals but this was when I came to believe in Tristan’s intentions. He stayed, he should have run, ran far away as possible.

These two have a lot of hurdles to overcome, a lot of emotions and secrets but this will be testament to their staying power…have they got it? The chemistry was seriously off the charts and it is this that really keeps the reader invested in Tristan and Georgia’s story. Their connection in all ways was palpable and could combust many a pantie. The side characters all had their part to play and made way for some great dialogue which had me laughing in quite a few places too.


“…this beats for you. I can’t live without my heart, and you have it.”


Overall, I loved it, I kept reading but I just felt Georgia in the beginning was a bit overdone and could put many a reader off, however, the woman she turns out to be by the end is a clear reflection on her growth and the emotional journey that she has been on. Tristan was a fantastic influence on her and really gave her the confidence to find her feet and more importantly find herself. Even the coldest of hearts will be rooting for them by the end.


“…I was born to love you.”

Excerpt:

“You’re getting wet.” Tristan lifted a finger and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. I licked my lips nervously, my eyes locked with his. His touch set my skin on fire. I held my bottom lip between my teeth painfully, willing myself to feel anything other than my stomach rolling and the arousal throbbing between my thighs. His eyes darted down to watch my mouth as his lips parted lightly with his breath.
“Georgia,” he whispered as he leaned into me. His lips grazed mine and my eyelids fluttered closed.
Why wasn't I pulling away?
God, I needed to be pulling away, like two minutes ago.
I should have moved my chair away from his when I sat down. Being in Tristan's space did things to me, delicious things like the hair rising on the back of my neck and goosebumps dancing across my skin. My stomach flipped, my breathing hitched, and a slow ache settled between my legs.
“Tristan,” I breathed as he brought his hand to my jaw in a light caress, just like he’d been doing a minute ago to the weathered wood of the deck chair. I parted my lips and the air escaped my lungs in a rush.
“I don't know what this is between us, Georgia, but I want to find out,” he said on a breathy exhale.
“Me too,” I whispered and pressed my lips to his. His soft, slightly salty lips tasted heavenly as I ran my tongue along them. He opened his mouth and our tongues brushed together as his hand cupped the back of my neck, fingers threaded in my hair, thumbs brushing my cheeks. He pulled me closer to him and before I knew it I was adrift in the heady sensation of Tristan.
I lost myself for those few blissful moments attached to his lips. I knew there was a reason I shouldn't be doing this, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember what it was. I ran my palm up his arm and over his shoulder to tangle in his hair.
But the hair was too long. It didn't feel right. It was foreign, and yet the pull I felt to continue to kiss and caress was undeniable.
“Kyle.” I pulled away quickly, mumbling the name. I licked my lips where Tristan’s salty-sweet taste lingered. The feelings that were swirling inside my body and filtering through my head were terrifying and new and right all in the same breath. Tristan watched as my thoughts aligned.
“I’m sorry. I don't know what just happened or why I said what I did, but it can't happen again.” I rushed back into the safety of the house, leaving Tristan alone in the rain.

About the Author:

Adriane Leigh was born and raised in a snowbank in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and now lives among the sand dunes of the Lake Michigan lakeshore.

She graduated with a Literature degree but never particularly enjoyed reading Shakespeare or Chaucer.

She is married to a tall, dark, and handsome guy, and plays mama to two sweet baby girls. She is a voracious reader and wishes she had more time to knit scarves to keep her warm during the arctic Michigan winters.

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