review || LEATHER AND LACE { you don't want to miss this! }

 

 

 

Leather and Lace by Jessie Evans

Publisher: Self Taught Ninja Press (7/13/2014)

Series: Lonesome Point, Texas, book 1

Genre: Contemporary

Source: Purchased 

My Rating: ★★★★1/2

 

 

grab it for free { now until 1/20/2015 } at these retailers ||

amazon | bn | kobo | smashwords

 

add to { goodreads }

A sexy, swoony romance from New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Jessie Evans.

 

Cowboy bikers, fireworks, and romance, oh my...

 

Wild girl, Mia Sherman, has a secret--she isn't as fearless as she pretends. Descended from Lonesome Point, Texas's founding family, Mia grew up hearing tales of an old Irish curse that had followed the Shermans to America. At age twenty-four, Mia is still terrified of the stories, because they aren't stories. They are a warning about what will happen if Mia allows love and romance into her life. The curse struck Mia's grandmother and her great-great-whatever grandmother, and Mia knows she could be next. The first-born daughter of every generation is cursed to lose her husband on her wedding night, which is one of the many reasons Mia has sworn off relationships.

Until the fateful day Sawyer Kane rides his Harley into her life...

Rancher turned restoration expert, Sawyer Kane, can't believe his luck when the feisty owner of the lingerie shop next to his hotel turns out to be the curator of his latest project, a ghost town he's been sent to restore. He's looking forward to long, hot days talking history, and hotter nights with Mia, but the redhead with the killer smile seems determined to keep him at a friendly distance. But when a dangerous man from Mia's past arrives in town, Sawyer finds himself drawn into her inner circle, and into the legend of Lonesome Point itself.

Can true love conquer all, even a centuries-old curse? Mia and Sawyer may be the first to find out.

 

look for these other books in the Lonesome Point, TX { series } .

 



LEATHER AND LACE (Book 1)

SADDLES AND SIN (Book 2)

DIAMONDS AND DUST (Book 3)

The 12 Dates of Christmas: A Lonesome Point Holiday Novella

GLITTER AND GRIT (Book 4)

CHAPS AND CHANCE (Book 5) coming March 17

ROPES AND REVENGE (Book 6) coming soon

 

Fans of Brenda Novak, Lori Wilde, and hot, alpha cowboys will love the Lonesome Point Texas series!

 

{ excerpt } .

 

Sawyer searched her face in the glow of the moon, the soft light making her look even sexier than she had in the yellow bulbs strung above the farmer’s market. “I really like you. A lot.”

 “I like you, too,” she said, her full lips curving at the edges.

“But I meant what I said before, about not being ready for anything serious.” The words tried to stick in his throat, but Sawyer forced them out. He owed Mia honesty, and he wanted to make damned sure they were on the same page before things went any further. “I want to make sure that’s still okay. I wouldn’t ever want to hurt you.”

 Her smiled faded, but her eyes remained soft, unguarded. “You won’t hurt me.” She ambled down the stairs, stopping on the stair above his, putting them face-to-face and their lips inches apart. “I’m fine with a night, or a week, or the summer…however long feels right. And when it stops feeling right, we go our separate ways, no anger, no regrets.” She lifted her arms, twining them around his neck, sending arousal surging through his body. “This is exactly what I need, Sawyer. You are what I need, and I can’t wait to touch you. Everywhere.”

 Any hope of resisting vanished as that last word feathered between her tempting lips. Sawyer closed the distance between them, claiming her mouth as his arm wrapped tight around her waist, crushing her body to his. Her breasts flattened against his chest and her body heat caressed him, making his pulse spike and a moan sound low in his throat. He wanted this woman—badly. And he was past ready for them to be alone in a room with a bed, a door, and a lock to keep the rest of the world out.

Sawyer lifted Mia off her feet, carrying her through the shop entrance before kicking the door shut behind them.

“Up the stairs,” she whispered against his mouth. “Bedroom’s up there.”

 “You taste fucking amazing.” He hitched her thighs around his waist and took the stairs two at a time. “How can you taste this good after tequila and tacos?”

 “How can you lift me like I weigh ten pounds?” she asked, breath rushing out as his fingers dug into the strong muscles of her ass. “God, I love your hands. I couldn’t stop staring at them today.”

 “I love your ass,” he said. “And your legs, and your shoulders in that tank top, and the freckles on your nose. I’m a fan of every inch of you.”

 “The feeling’s mutual,” she said, thighs tightening around his hips. “Right here. Blue door.”

 Sawyer opened the door at the top of the stairs, and moved into the shadowed room. He smelled vanilla and lavender, a feminine scent that was sexy and homey at the same time. He peered over Mia’s shoulder, spotting a bed with ruffles cascading down the sides, and an odd-looking rug warming the hardwood floor beside it, but he didn’t stop to flick on the light to get a better look at Mia’s choice of decor. The moonlight streaming through the window cast enough light to see the heat in her gaze as he laid her down on the bed, and that was all the illumination he needed.

 “I want to taste every inch of you,” he said, working open the buttons on his shirt. “Head to toe.”

 “No toes,” she said, pulling her tee shirt over her head, revealing a white lace bra a shade lighter than the creamy skin of her breasts. “I’m not a foot girl.”

“You will be when I’m done with you.”

 

 

 

about Jessie Evans || New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Jessie Evans, gave up a career as an international woman of mystery to write the sexy, contemporary romances she loves to read. She's married to the man of her dreams, and together they're raising a few adorable, mischievous children in a cottage in the jungle. She grew up in rural Arkansas, spending summers running wild, being chewed by chiggers, and now appreciates her home in a chigger-free part of the world even more. When she's not writing, Jessie enjoys playing her dulcimer (badly), sewing the worlds ugliest quilts to give to her friends, going for bike rides with her house full of boys, and drifting in and out on the waves, feeling thankful for sun, surf, and lovely people to share them with.

connect with jessie || website | facebook | twitter | goodreads

 

 { review } .

 

I stumbled across LEATHER AND LACE in a one-click Facebook group. It was free and had a nice cover, so why not? As I've stated a few times, I'm a sucker for a well-done cover. Everything about the Lonesome Point, Texas covers do it for me -- the typography of the title, the author's name, the placement of the words, and oh, yeah, the picture's not bad to look at either.

 

However, LEATHER AND LACE was not the first book in the series for me to read. In fact, I forgot about it, as I tend to do with my purchases when I'm in the midst of a huge blog-tour-and-NetGalley-for-fun reading list. I actually read GLITTER AND GRIT first, and it was for a tour. Tour books get top billing in my Erin Condren planner. After I finished GLITTER AND GRIT, I went into a bit of a book coma.

 

And then it dawned on me.

 

I owned LEATHER AND LACE.

 

Granted, I still didn't open the book. I deligently formatted this post for the sales blitz and thought, you know... I have the book. And while I didn't need something to read, I could most certainly squeeze the book in.

 

And oh, my, am I glad I did.

 

I must confess, it's not often that I read a book that I don't like. Yes, a few do stumble into my hands, but for the most part, I find a slew of things that I like about the book.

 

But that wasn't the case here (the whole not liking a book thing). I can usually tell if I'll like the book by the first paragraph, and if I don't get a feel there, I will most certainly read the epilogue.

 

Didn't need the epilogue.

 

All it took was Mia, a grown woman mind you, panty-ing her cousin's gnomes and falling into a large hunk of a man to get me hooked.

 

There were many things done right with this book.

 

Mia being a daredevil -- kissing a total stranger just to keep him quiet while her cousin searches for the perpatrator; Mia being totally comfortable in her skin and flirty yet hiding that little 'urban legend' -- because, let's face it, you can be sexy and confident and still hold on to that... urban legend; Sawyer having a crazy ex-girlfriend but not really letting that get in his way; Sawyer being a big, bad biker dude, shaved head and all, but being a genuinely nice, honest guy...

 

I also like that even though Mia went all easy-girl-kissing-behind-bushes on him, she isn't actually an easy catch. In fact, Sawyer has to work for her.

She shooed him again, with increasingly urgent flaps of her hands, until Sawyer had no choice but to take a step back.

“I really don’t mean to be rude,” she continued as she herded him across the shop. “But you’re only in town for a few days, and I don’t do short term relationships—”

“But I—”

“Or long term relationships,” Mia hurried on, before Sawyer could tell her he was in town for at least the two weeks it would take to finish his consult, and conceivably much longer. “Any relationships, really. I’m a schoolmarm— spinster. It’s kind of a family tradition, and I’m big on tradition. Super big.”

Sawyer’s back hit the door, but before he could reach for the doorknob, Mia lunged around him, hauled the door open, and all but shoved him out onto her front stoop.

“So take care,” she said, waving at him with a falsely cheery smile. “Enjoy Lonesome Point.”

Sawyer opened his mouth to say he’d enjoy it a lot more if she’d tell him what he’d done to get on her bad side, but before he could speak, she’d slammed the door in his face hard enough to make him flinch.

“That went well...

Mia also has a couple of strong friendships, such as with Bubba. Not only does he partake in the shenanigans she likes to pull, he has her back. He doesn't want her to let her past jeopordize her future and recognizes Sawyer as a good guy.

 

Sawyer is also that insightful guy that we all wish we had -- you know, the one who knows it's something when you say it's nothing. When he feels Mia putting up her walls, he shares his darkest parts yet doesn't push her to do the same, and when Mia's darkest parts show up and she pushes him away, he doesn't let her... he just lets her take a seperate vehicle and she comes to her senses.

Altogether, I loved this book and wish I'd gotten to it sooner. My book funds are a bit low, or else I'd be buying the other 2 books and novella right now -- after seeing Mia and Tulsi's friendship, and seeing Tulsi in GLITTER AND GRIT, I'm super interested in her and Pike's falling, Pike being Mia's brother and all.