Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Book Tour for The Marine Cowboy by Heather Long (Review & GIVEAWAY)


Today I bring you another delectable installment in Decadent Publishing's 1Night Stand series with The Marine Cowboy by Heather Long.  Read my review and make sure to fill out the form below for your chance to win other books in Ms. Long's Always a Marine series.  To learn even more about this book visit the other blogs hosting this tour as well.

Turning down a billet at Mike’s Place in Dallas, Sergeant A.J. Turner left Iraq for Freewill, Wyoming with one goal in mind—to forget the last five years. Trading his MARPATS for jeans and his cover for a cowboy hat, he plans to work his ranch and pray the green grass, tall trees, and sweet mountains can wash away the taste of the desert.
The last thing he expected was a reminder of a promise made to his buddies: one night to help them all start again.
Sheri Vaughn quit her corporate job, sold her house and moved to Freewill on a whim. Six months after her divorce, she’s hardly ready to put her toe in the dating waters again. One bottle of wine later, however, she signs up for Madame Eve’s exclusive 1Night Stand service and lists a very particular set of qualities she wants in a man; he must be honorable, courageous, forthright, single, have served as Marine, but be a cowboy at heart. If she wants to dream, at least she can dream big.
But when local hero A.J. Turner arrives home, Madame Eve comes through, and Sheri has to find the courage to make her dream a reality…
Can one night, even a night arranged by Madame Eve, fulfill both a promise and a dream?

EXCERPT:

“What branch did he serve in again?” She glanced at the waitress curiously. Bea was born, married, gave birth to her children and buried her husband in Freewill. The town fixture wasn’t going anywhere. She also took Sheri under her wing from the day she arrived, treating her like an old friend—or a daughter.
“Marines, honey. That young man is definitely one of Freewill’s proudest.” She winked and went back to work.
A Marine. A tremor raced over her belly and her stomach seemed to bottom out.
The message waiting in her email this morning from Madame Eve made so much more sense. Biting her lip, she strained to look down the street. She wished she’d paid closer attention to him when he walked in, but she only got one good look at his face when he turned and caught her staring.
Her cheeks heated at the memory. The man was gorgeous and wore his masculinity like a second skin. He’d caught her attention the moment he entered the café. She hadn’t missed the corded muscle in his arms, tense and well defined even as he drank a cup of coffee.
But his smile.
Her heart squeezed. The polite smile creasing his rugged face turned him from a looker into a full-blown heartthrob. Her body hummed in reaction. To a smile.
Wow. He just got home. Dial down the hormones. 

BUY LINKS:  ARe  |  AMAZON  |  BN  |  BOOKSTRAND  |  DECADENT PUBLISHING  |  DIESEL  |  iBOOKS  |  KOBO

OTHER BOOKS IN THE ALWAYS A MARINE SERIES:
Once Her Man, Always Her Man
Retreat Hell! She Just Got Here
Tell It To The Marine
Proud To Serve Her
Her Marine
No Regrets, No Surrender
Merry Christmas Marine,
Semper Fi & Good Night

The Marine Cowboy
The Two and The Proud
A Marine and A Gentleman
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Combat Barbie

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

Decadent Publishing gives readers exactly what they want with their 1Night Stand series which are quick reads with likable characters reaching for their HEA after a steamy one-night stand.  Ms Long's story involves AJ, a Marine coming home after a long time fighting overseas who longs for peace and quiet.  After applying for a good-hearted woman to ease his pain through the 1Night Stand agency he's introduced to the quiet and reserved librarian Sheri, who shows she's not as quiet and demure as she appears.

The premise of this story is immensely appealing as it's many a young girl's dream, to be swept off her feet by a military man ala An Officer and a Gentleman.  AJ is the perfect hero in that he's sexy, charming, and knows how to treat a woman.  He's a hardworking cowboy with an aw' shucks attitude who, when he winks (which he does very often), makes you melt.  He's tired after his long tour of duty and longs for the quiet countryside and a return to his ranch.  His Marine brothers are just a phone call away and it's this fact that binds this book to the other books in Ms. Long's Always a Marine series.  After being betrayed by her husband, the divorced Sheri leaves big city life behind to become the town's librarian.  She appears quiet, wears glasses, and always has a book, but that's where the stereotype ends.  Once she meets her dream man AJ she turns into a sex kitten.  Their promised encounter leads to a night of non-stop steaminess that looks like it could lead to more in the future.

This is the kind of story you read to escape the stresses of the day. We don't dig too deeply into these character's lives, we're living in the here and now.  There's no powerful emotions or issues, no roadblocks to happiness, just a hot read with likable characters.  As I too have a thing for military men I found myself falling for AJ and am intrigued by the closeness he has to the other Marines.  It has me definitely wanting to read the other books in Ms. Long's series as her story gives a girl exactly what she dreams of....a picture perfect hero to sweep her off her feet.

My rating for this is a B.

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

AUTHOR INFO:

Heather Long lives in Texas with her family and their menagerie of animals. As a child, Heather skipped picture books and enjoyed the Harlequin romance novels by Penny Jordan and Nora Roberts that her grandmother read to her. Heather believes that laughter is as important to life as breathing and that the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus are very real. In the meanwhile, she is hard at work on her next novel.


**********GIVEAWAY********** 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Decadent Publishing


For more information about Decadent Publishing authors, books, and their submissions guidelines, visit www.decadentpublishing.com.  Decadent Publishing is current accepting submissions in all sub-genres of romance, including their ongoing series'.

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for the chance!!

    Kassandra
    sionedkla@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I cannot wait to read this latest book of Heather's! Thank you for the giveaway.

    JessieL62 at comcast dot net

    ReplyDelete