Book Tour for Underneath It All by Cassandra Carr (Review & GIVEAWAY)

Cassandra Carr is here again today with the next installment in the Storm series, Underneath It All.  Keep reading to get a taste of this sports-themed romance along with my impressions of it.  To learn even more about this book visit the other blogs hosting this tour.  Make sure to fill out the form for your chance to win 1 of 3 e-copies of the first book in this series featuring a mix of hockey and romance!

Professional hockey player Rob D'Amico is confused when he's chosen to take part in a reading program for inner-city students. While athletes are role models, he tends toward the gregarious and playful side, rather than a studious bent.

Despite the lack of funding plaguing her inner-city district, every day kindergarten teacher Alaina Rossa ensures her students learn something to prepare them for life. At first she's unsure how a hockey player will help her achieve that goal.

When Rob visits Alaina's class for the first time, they welcome him with open arms, despite the lack of even the basic supplies for their education. He takes it upon himself to get the students what they need, sweeping Alaina up in the excitement.

As time goes by and she learns more about Rob, Alaina finds her heart opening to him. Is it possible her soul mate could be found in a world so different from her own? And for Rob, the last person he thought he'd find forever love with was an elementary school teacher wearing clothes permanently stained with finger paint. But when you're playing for keeps, sometimes you have to get a little dirty.

EXCERPT:

Rob slowly moved closer, giving Alaina a chance to back away. She didn’t, and with a slight tightening of his hand in her hair, he brought her the rest of the way, then kissed her.Alaina had him under some kind of spell. When he’d first met her, he’d thought she was a frump with a stick up her ass. Now he realized she was just serious about her work. Considering what he’d given up to be a hockey player, including friends, free time, and many experiences others took for granted, like going to his high school prom, he could respect her attitude.
Their tongues circled each other briefly before she retreated and allowed him to take over the kiss. With a moan, he aligned their bodies, sliding his other arm around her waist. After several moments, his lungs screaming for oxygen, he pulled back.
Her eyes were wide. “Wow. Do that again.”
His laugh sounded almost maniacal to his own ears. “With pleasure.”
Leaning over her more, he pressed her into the couch, and the cushions groaned under their combined weight. Rob put as much weight as he could on his forearms so he wouldn’t crush Alaina as he laid open-mouthed kisses along her jaw to her ear. She moved restlessly beneath him, breathy moans escaping her open mouth, and he felt his self-control crumbling. He hadn’t come in his jeans in years and didn’t relish the thought now.
But he couldn’t stop kissing her. Like an addict, he had to have more.

Buy Links:  Amazon  |  Amazon UK  |  Smashwords  |  All Romance E-Books  |  BN

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

The second installment in the The Storm series is a sweet story that shows the slow build-up of a relationship between the kind-hearted Rob and the quiet and pristine teacher Alaina.  It reacquaints us with hockey players seen in the first installment and brings the love story of Sebastian and Sarah to an immensely happy conclusion while leaving yet another cliffhanger to end this story.

Alaina teaches at a poor inner-city school and thus feels the pains of living frugally.  She's a standoffish woman at first, untrusting of everyone, but is soon won over by Rob's kindness.  She wants more for her students, and for herself, so Rob's visits become a welcome occurrence.  He gives her the financial means to help her students and the emotional support to keep fighting for those kids.  He makes her feel good about herself but also self-conscious as she doesn't want to be a kept woman dependent on his help.  She's grateful for him but is angered by how easy things are for him too.  It's an emotionally difficult relationship at times that leads her to many tearful moments but immensely satisfying too as seen by the numerous steamy encounters and quiet moments of cuddling.

Rob is a strong-willed person not like other athletes as he's frugal with his money and only wants to do good.  He doesn't want to live in the spotlight, he just wants to be appreciated for the man he is rather than the athlete.  He's the perfect boyfriend saying and doing many sigh-worthy actions.  He's a supportive boyfriend who's always there to build her confidence whenever she doubts her appeal.  Even when he's at his lowest emotionally, after sustaining an injury, he's still a sweet and supportive man.

Ms. Carr brings the game of hockey to life in realistic scenes both on and off the ice that depict all that a player goes through on a daily basis.  The hockey scenes were nicely balanced with the burgeoning romance to allow for a slow build-up, almost too slow at times.  There's no big misunderstandings to keep them apart, it's all emotional issues stemming from their financial differences.  Financial differences also allow for a subtle commentary on lack of school funding that is brought up throughout the story and continue to bind Alaina and Rob together.  Overall, this was an enjoyable read that went on a bit too long with no real roadblocks to a HEA left hanging.  I'm curious to see where things go for these two and the rest of The Storm in a future installment.

My rating for this is a B-

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

AUTHOR INFO:

Cassandra Carr is an Amazon-bestselling and award-winning erotic romance writer who lives in Western New York with her husband, Inspiration, and her daughter, Too Cute for Words. When not writing she enjoys watching hockey and reading an astounding number of books her husband has no idea she's snuck onto her Kindle. Cassandra's books were nominated by The Romance Studio and The Romance Reviews for their "Best of 2012" awards.

WEBSITE:  http://www.booksbycassandracarr.com

FACEBOOK:  http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCassandraCarr
TWITTER:  http://www.twitter.com/cassandra_carr
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