review || SWEET SURPRISE + scavenger hunt

Sweet Surprise by Candis Terry

Publisher: Avon Romance (1/27/2015)

Series: Sweet, Texas, book 4

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: 

Buy from || amazon | bn || add to goodreads

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Playing naughty or nice . . .

Fiona Wilder knows all about falling in lust. Love? That's another story. Determined not to repeat past mistakes, the single mom and cupcake shop owner is focused on walking the straight and narrow. But trouble has a way of finding her. And this time it comes in the form of a smoking hot firefighter who knows all the delicious ways to ignite her bad-girl fuse.

Can lead to heartbreak . . .

Firefighter Mike Halsey learned long ago that playing with fire just gets you burned. He's put his demons behind him, and if there's one line he won't cross, it's getting involved with his best friend's ex. But when fate throws him in the path of the beautiful, strong, and off-limits Fiona, will he be able to fight their attraction? Or will he willingly go down in flames?

Or a sweet surprise!

Join the Hunt

(See Details Below)

*SCAVENGER HUNT*

Each host will have a different letter placed within their post during the SWEET SURPRISE Release Blast! 

Readers, you will have to visit EACH tour stop to find the letters, and then enter the "Secret Word" into the Rafflecopter for more chances to win!   

You can enter ONE WORD per day, five words to find!

{ giveaway } .

a Rafflecopter giveaway

about Candis || Candis Terry was born and raised near the sunny beaches of Southern California and now makes her home on an Idaho farm. She’s experienced life in such diverse ways as working in a Hollywood recording studio to chasing down wayward steers. Only one thing has remained the same: her passion for writing stories about relationships, the push and pull in the search for love, and the security one finds in their own happily ever after.

Find Candis Here

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

{ excerpt } .

Lightning never strikes twice.

Bullpucky.

On a stormy, sleet-driven afternoon, Fiona Wilder sat pinned between the steering wheel and the driver’s seat of her once-pretty-cool little Ford Focus.

If anything had to happen to her more than once, she’d prefer something fabulous like winning the lottery, trips to Hawaii, or even free groceries at the Touch and Go Market. At the very least, she’d appreciate a double-dip victory from the Bubble Buster Car Wash.

But nooooooo.

Thanks to someone else’s road rage, she got to be the unlucky recipient of a car accident on San Antonio’s busiest highway.

For the second time.

From the moment she’d merged from the on-ramp, she’d watched the van and pickup truck play a dangerous, aggressive game. She’d even changed lanes to get out of their way. Instead, she’d lucked out. Judging by the van attached to the hood of her car and the SUV tucked into her rear bumper, she’d become the cheese in a three-car collision road-rage sandwich.

Last time she’d escaped with minor bruises. This time, the pain charging through her head and left leg signaled the fate factor had flipped her a fully extended middle finger.

Though her current situation had her packed in like a sardine, she thanked God Izzy hadn’t been in the car. Nothing in the world meant more to her than her little girl. And that little girl would start to worry when her mommy didn’t show up on time.

Fiona sighed. With her car currently jam-packed between two heavyweights, the likelihood of going anywhere for a while seemed slim.

A wave of dizziness spun her head while she blindly reached for her purse to grab her cell phone. When her searching fingers came up empty she realized the impact must have flung her bag to the floor. Anxiety twisted through her stomach. Someone else could dial 911; she needed to get a call to her babysitter.

Through the sleeting mist, she heard the oh-too-familiar wail of emergency vehicles and tried to remember if Jackson was on duty. Ironically, her first accident was what had brought them together. He’d been the hunky fireman to rescue her. And she’d found love.

Sort of.

Now, as the sirens grew closer and louder, and the familiar flash of red lights cut through the storm-filled sky, Fiona tried to take a deep breath to stifle the pain. Just more of her good fortune that her lungs weren’t willing to cooperate without making it feel like her chest was caving in. She shoved panic aside and settled for the quick shallow breathing pattern she’d used giving birth to Izzy. In the meantime she waited for San Antonio’s finest to show up and pry her out.

“Ma’am?” A big fist rapped on the driver side window. “Are you okay?”

With another hee-hee-who, Fiona lifted her groggy gaze up past the big khaki coat with yellow and reflective stripes, to the handsome face and intense dark eyes staring back at her from behind the rain-streaked glass.

Her heart played a quick game of hopscotch.

Apparently, even pressed in the car like a ravioli, she could appreciate a handsome face.

A wicked bolt of lightning struck not far beyond the massive fire engine. From beneath the yellow helmet, the most perfect masculine mouth she’d ever seen lifted in a reassuring smile, even as the slash of brows over those dark eyes pulled together. The fireman said something she couldn’t hear over the drumming of rain, the shriek of sirens, and the ringing in her ears.

Squinting, she tried to identify him, but the aftermath of the collision had other ideas and sent another wave of vertigo tilting through her head. This time, everything went black.

{ review } .

I absolutely love my military romances... but there's just something about those super sweet contemporaries that just make your heart smile -- and my heart was certainly full of smiles with SWEET SURPRISE.

SWEET SURPRISE was my first 'trip' to Sweet, Texas -- and it will certainly not by my last. I have so many questions! I want to read Jackson's book... I want to know more about Jared and Reno and Jesse... I can't wait to read about Jake -- because his profession alone makes him sexy.

...I also want to know why Reno's name doesn't start with a 'J' -- because maybe it does and because I haven't read any other story, that's simply why I don't know.

But SWEET SURPRISE...

Fiona is divorced and trying to make a go of it on her own. For far too long, she's relied on everyone around her and finally she's doing something for herself, by herself. She's opening up a cupcake shop, she's moving into a new house -- she's being independent.

...of course, meddling ex-mother-in-laws sometimes have different ideas for you.

Mike has his share of baggage and while he's all for some fun -- long term is not anywhere in his future. But again, meddling mother's of best friends sometimes have different ideas for you.

Of course, there's that whole guy-code thing. Mike wants to get to know Fiona, but how do you date your best friend's ex-wife, especially with the crap that makes up his life?

She was his best friend's ex, and he was just too fucking broken.

I do enjoy my fast-paced romances (so long as they're believable, of course) but this one flows nicely in a normal way -- sure, Mike and Fiona flirt and make eyes at eachother, but the first move really isn't made until a good 70% into the story, and even then the real good stuff doesn't happen for a bit after that. I love that they get to know eachother.

Mike and Fiona's chemistry is so great. While Fiona's trying to be a "good girl" and not let her alter ego, Naughty Fiona, take over, her mouth sometimes gets the best of her -- therefore, she and Mike will spew innuendos all over the place -- tasting the goods, using his tools...

One of the biggest parts of this story that made my heart happy (and my eyes watery) was how close Fiona is to the Wilder family -- the family she's now divorced from. She and her ex-husband have a fabulous relationship -- it's more than the whole 'getting along because we have a child together': they are truly great friends.

Fiona is still "little sister" to Jackson's brothers. Fiona is invited to all the family functions.

Fiona is still a Wilder, for all intents and purposes.

"Can't do that till all my babies are settled down."

"But I'm not one of your babies."

Jana's head tilted. "Aren't you?"

At Fiona's hesitation, warmth and love filled Jana's eyes.

She reached out and cradled Fiona's cheek in her palm. "Sugarplum, I may have given birth to five boys, but you are a daughter of my heart. Divorce from my son doesn't sever the love I have for you. Nothing ever will." She gave Fiona's cheek and gentle pat. "You remember that."

(and oh, gah, there go the watery eyes again...) 

So needless to say...

I love this story. Love this family.

Cannot wait to see them again!

SOMETHING SWEETER by Candis Terry is the 

Harlequin Junkie Book Club Read for January!

Mark your calendars for Jan 29th!

(6pm PST/9pm EST)