review || A FRIENDLY FLIRTATION { blog tour } by Christine Warner

Entangled | February 15, 2016 | Contemporary Romance
Friends First, book 3
★★★★

SOURCE: TASTY BOOK TOURS

One kiss can change your life... 

Allison Hall is fed up with being a social outcast. Even at the tech company where she works for her brother and his best friend, Jared, she's the invisible nerdy girl. What she needs is confidence-and that requires a makeover and dating tips. And she knows just the man to help... 

Jared Esterly is shocked when Allison asks for his assistance and turns her down, knowing that her brother-his business partner and best friend, Nick-would kill him if he dated her, even if it is just for practice. But when Al's attempt to make changes on her own fails spectacularly, Jared reluctantly steps in. Things heat up quickly, and soon lessons move from the salon to the bedroom. 

When overprotective big-brother Nick discovers Jared is dating Allison, their friendship and business partnership sour. Allison, consumed by guilt, must make a choice: stay with Jared, even though that means ruining his friendship with Nick and possibly his career, or leave the one man who sets her on fire.

purchase here

{ add to goodreads } .

{ about christine warner } .

Christine Warner is living her dream in Michigan along with her family, three laptops (she might have a slight addiction, or maybe it’s a fear of one imploding from overuse) and a much loved assortment of furry friends.

Besides laughing and a good round of humor, she enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading, writing but no arithmetic. A confessed people watcher, she finds inspiration for her stories in everyday activities. She loves to read and write about strong heroes and determined, sometimes sassy heroines.

A girl gone wild, at least where social media is concerned, she enjoys meeting other avid readers and writers on Facebook, twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and her website at christine-warner.com.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

{ day in the life : a typical writing day with c.w. } .

It’d be fun to say that my typical writing day starts out with soft music in the background as I sit in front of my computer dripping in diamonds and designer clothes. Of course there’d be a gorgeous man dipping strawberries in chocolate and feeding them to me while the soft whir of an overhead fan keeps us cool and comfortable.

Oh, the dream ☺

In all truth I start out my writing day making sure I’m comfortable—which means I am in yoga pants or scrub pants and more than likely an old faded tee. And, even though I have an office, I never use it. I’m always working out of my living room, sitting in my oversized love seat, feet propped up on the ottoman, and surrounded by amazing outside views. The living room has the most windows in the house and it’s the perfect place to write. There are usually books and papers and sticky notes spread around me, a dog snoring at me feet, and a cat crowding me for space. Cats can be so pushy.

I’ve now just smashed that pretty picture described in the first paragraph to smithereens. Lol

In order for me to write, I like to have it totally quiet. No television or music. I generally turn off my phone and have a cup of tea, coffee, water, hot chocolate—something liquid nearby. I get pretty absorbed once I get going, but when I do run into a scene that doesn’t work for me, or I have to think about the wording I want to use in order to convey my point, I will get up and do housework. Kind of crazy, but I’ve talked to other authors who end up doing the same thing. ☺

For some reason throwing in a load of laundry—or folding it—vacuuming, washing dishes, or putting a meal together in the crockpot gets all my creative juices flowing.

I don’t have a certain time frame I follow or a certain word count I shoot for when I’m writing. Some days the words flow and some days they don’t. I just write. Some days I’ll be at the laptop for 7 hours—with those cleaning breaks—and other days I am having a harder time and might end up with only a couple hours. I don’t force it because whenever I have in the past the words that I managed to get on the page I usually delete the next day.Writing is such a passion, a driving force that consumes me at times—it is by no means glamorous—but I wouldn’t want it any other way ☺

{ excerpt } .

She leaned her forehead against his chin, then tilted her head back, parting her lips and inviting him in for another kiss.

And he wanted seconds. More than he’d ever imagined. The soft blush creeping over her face, the way her breasts strained against her blouse as she tried to regain her breathing only encouraged him. Holy. Fuck. With her it’d be too easy to forget where the hell they were. And he didn’t like an audience. Not now. With Allison, not ever.

But that didn’t stop him from running his thumb over her bottom lip. For a second he lost sense of where they were when her eyes grew dark and her lashes fluttered gently over her skin. She looked so beautiful, and that protective urge— or maybe he should just call it what is is…lust—overtook him. He couldn’t picture her with anyone but him. Fuck. He didn’t want her with anyone else. Screw Nick. He’d deal with him later.

If anyone would teach Allison how to please a man, let a real man do the job.

Him.

She was ready, so was he. He was willing, and so was she. And they were both adults. “Al, I don’t want you with any of these men.”

She sighed, sagging against him. “Are we really going to have this conversation again? I—”

He took her mouth in a hard kiss, parting the seam of her lips with his tongue and thrusting inside, swallowing her gasp. She melted against him. He slid his hands down her throat, past her shoulders, and lower still until he curved his arm around her back and squeezed her rear. She smiled into their kiss, and this time he melted. “Do I need to rephrase?” he whispered against her mouth.

She shook her head, their mouths still touching. “I really only wanted one man in this room, but I didn’t think he wanted—”

“You better be talking about me.” He leaned back just far enough so he could watch the way her emotions flickered across her eyes. Excitement. Uncertainty. Acceptance. She nodded, her lips parted and moist.

“Are you telling me—?”

“I’m telling you I’ve come to my senses. Or lost them completely.”

{ review } .

There's something sweet about a friends-to-lovers story, and to make an entire series of it without the trope feeling old? That's pretty much greatness. This go around, we have Allison and Jared -- Jared, who is Allison's friend and boss, but above that, is her brother's best friend. When Allison decides she needs a makeover, she asks Jared for his advice -- because her brother is certainly no help.

Like Nick, though, Jared doesn't think she needs to change, but Al is tired of being looked over. I loved watching as Jared truly noticed Allison, and watching as he watched her butterfly wings finally open and take flight. Above that, though, I loved how well he knew Allison -- both pre- and post-arrangement. His take on her favorite animal and exhibit? Super sweet in a rom-com movie type way.

Add in that pesky brother/friend, and there's definitely some emotional turmoil in the mix.

Altogether, this was another fun little addition to Ms. Warner's friends-first series. It's nothing too horribly deep, but has enough little cutesy things to keep it from going sour.

for other reviews & tour goodies,

click here { ! }

{ previous reviews in series } .

A FRIENDLY ENGAGEMENT 4★ { review }

{ giveaway } .

a Rafflecopter giveaway