Book Tour for A Slower, Lower Leap by Lila Munro (Review & GIVEAWAY)

Those wanting a story that leaves a warm and fuzzy feeling with fall for A Slower, Lower Leap by Lila Munro courtesy of its to die for hero. Keep reading to learn more about this book and my impressions of it along with having the chance to win some great goodies just for commenting.....

When you’re the last man standing…

Not only was Logan Delaney the last of his siblings to remain unmarried and unsettled, his entire family believed he’d never find a wife. The baby of eight, he’s been dubbed an irresponsible player and told he’ll never amount to a hill of beans. And at one time, Logan may have been okay with those descriptions, but no more. On a quest to prove his worth, he’s spent the entire summer learning the family business, staying in at night, and saving his money. And if his family would stop meddling in his affairs and trying to dictate who he should and shouldn’t be seeing, he might just show them he’s found the one, Lizzy Jenkins.

And have a bad reputation to blame…

Elizabeth Jenkins had always known Logan Delaney existed, but he’d never so much as turned one glance her way until she handed him his butt on a silver platter in three sentences or less over the phone. After that it seemed at every turn there he was and the more she resisted the heat building between them, the bigger the fire got. Until his family interfered. And why wouldn’t they? Between Logan’s legacy and her baggage, they were a disaster in the making.

Can you be trusted with a fragile heart?

But Logan doesn’t run when he finds out about Colby. In fact, he embraces Lizzy’s special needs son and defies the advice of everyone urging him to leave Lizzy alone. But after one moment of weakness, Logan finds himself knee deep in a marriage complete with the little boy whose father bailed before his birth and Lizzy’s grandfather, who needs constant care as well.  Then there's the man who just might be the demise of it all.  

EXCERPT:

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” He handed her the cup she’d been looking for. “And Colby’s with Mom. He’s safe. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt that little guy. I wanted to talk to you, away from all those little rows of corn.”

“About what?” Lizzy popped the capsules in her mouth and chased them with a healthy swallow of tea.

“You must be joking. About what? About whatever it is I feel when I’m within spitting distance of you. And you just admitted you feel it, too.” Slowly inching toward her, Logan backed her into the door frame until she had nowhere left to go.

“Feeling things and doing something about those things are two different things,” she said, her heart rattling in her chest as her eyes landed on his lips.

“Oh, believe me, woman, I’m aware of the difference.” With his blue eyes blazing, he curled one hand around her nape and descended on her mouth before she could protest.

But where Lizzy would have expected Logan to be fierce and demanding, she found he was tender and questioning, for all of two seconds. When she acquiesced, because God help her she couldn’t deny him, he took the kiss deep, delving between her lips as if he were a man starved. Running her arms around his neck and leaning into him, Lizzy let that kiss run clear to her toes and back, heat settling in every minute hiding place along the way to simmer and tease. His hand shifted to her jaw, his other cradling her head and she took what he gave with greed. How long she’d needed, how long she’d been without this, the human connection between two people with mutual desires. And Lizzy wanted so much more. If Logan had pushed for more she feared she’d have given in right there and freely turned over whatever he asked for.

“Logan?” she whispered when he pulled away and touched his forehead to hers.

“Shhh…” He placed his thumb over her lips. His breath came in short gasps matching hers. “No. Let it be.”

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

A Slower, Lower Leap is a heartwarming feel-good story with a Lifetime movie feel to it that features a former irresponsible young man that in the name of love completely turns over a new leaf and becomes a to-die-for hero who is sugary sweet.  Logan is the youngest of the Delaney children and up to now has been a womanizer who doesn't take responsibility seriously.  He has the hots for Lizzy but with all the baggage that comes with being with her his family has tried to keep them apart since they don't think his carefree ways are what she needs.  He can't hold back his feelings any longer and decides to become the kind of man who deserves to be with her and undertakes a romantic slow and steady assault to win her over.  From there on he becomes the quintessential hero in his constant desire to give her everything she wants, both in and out of the bedroom.  Logan's interactions with Lizzy were heartwarming with a sensual build-up to their sexual interludes.  His interactions with her special needs child Colby were equally as heartwarming and it's those scenes in particular that had me completely won over.

Lizzy had Colby at a young age and with parents who disowned her and a man uninterested in being a father it's caused her to grow up quickly.  She has had no time for fun or personal happiness until Logan bursts into her life.  Life revolves around work, school, and Colby which makes what Logan's offering hard to accept.  The difficulties of being a single parent were vividly portrayed throughout the early part of the story and made Logan's incursion into this ready-made family even more admirably romantic.  I loved how perfect he was to Lizzy and Colby, but felt Lizzy walked all over him sometimes in her habit of jumping to conclusions.  He was the one who worked hardest at their relationship and the few times he asked for a sign that he was worthy she slapped his overtures down and it left me frustrated with her at times.

There was a large cast of secondary characters courtesy of the large Delaney family and it seemed as if each one had something to say which made the story feel a bit crowded at times.  I often find children annoying in stories but found Colby delightful and realistic in his actions for being a special needs child.  His interactions with Logan especially showed how mature Logan's become and gave me all sorts of warm fuzzies.

Throughout most of the book I found myself completely won over by the super sweetness of the storyline but late in the story my happiness became diminished.  Two events occurred that seemed to come out of nowhere, one more than the other, which caused a lot of emotional trauma but seemed to wrap up just as quickly as they started.  These events once again gave me the feeling of a Lifetime movie and pulled me out of my bubble of complete enjoyment with its over the top feel.

Lila Munro is a master at writing sweet and sexy romances and has done so once again with this story of what really defines love. With an amazing hero and vivid depiction of small town living I found much to entertain me barring the slightly disappointing and brisk ending.  Although this is part of a series it's easy to read on its own and those looking for the perfect hero will find him in Logan Delaney.

My rating is a B.

*I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

AUTHOR INFO:

Lila Munro currently resides on the coast of North Carolina with her husband and their two four-legged kids. She’s a military wife with an empty nest and takes much of her inspiration for her heroes from the marines she’s lived around for the past fifteen years. Coining the term realmantica, she strives to produce quality romance in a realistic setting. Her genre of choice is contemporary romance that spans everything from the sensual softer read to BDSM and ménage. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading everything she can get her hands on, trips to the museum and aquarium, taking field research trips, and soaking up the sun on the nearby beaches. Her works include The Executive Officer’s Wife, Bound By Trust, Three for Keeps, the Force Recon series, the Slower Lower series, the Identity series, and the Private Collection. Currently she is working on two new series set to release summer of 2013, the At Your Service line and the Steele Image line. She’s a member in good standing of RWA. Ms. Munro loves to hear from her readers and can be found at:

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YOU CAN FIND HER WORKS AT: AMAZON  |  ARe  |  NOOK  |  BOOKSTRAND

**********GIVEAWAY**********

Lila will be awarding one set of signed copies of the first two books in the series, A Slower, Lower Love and A Slower, Lower Life to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour (US/CANADA ONLY), and a $10.00 gift card to Amazon or Barnes and Noble, winner's choice, to a second randomly drawn commenter.

-To be entered, leave a comment, along with your email addy.

-Winners will be chosen randomly from all comments made throughout the tour, so the more you comment the greater your chances of winning.  A list of all participating blogs can be found here.

-Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM CST on 3/22.