Book Tour for Sail Away With Me by Kate Deveaux (Review & GIVEAWAY)

I'm ending the year on a steamy note by bringing you the fun and flirty read, Sail Away With Me by Kate Deveaux.  Keep reading to get a taste of this book along with my impressions of it.  You can learn even more about this book by visiting the other blogs hosting this tour.  Make sure to fill out the form below for your chance to win a $50 Amazon GC and 1 of 5 e-copies of this book too!

Before Jody Carter and her three best friends ever set foot aboard the luxury cruise ship, Jody falls into the arms of uber hunky celebrity guest Taggart Keith, when he saves her shoe from falling to the depths of the sea. Their attraction is undeniable, but the recently divorced single mom knows the last thing she needs is to complicate her life in just seven short days. But that’s exactly what happens when Jody throws caution to the wind for once in her life and gives into a week of sensational pleasures.  Taggart helps her discover her more sensual side — one tantalizing night at a time.

EXCERPT:

“Hey there, Jody,” he called out.
“Oh, hi….Taggart,” she said with surprise, pretending she hadn’t seen him.
“We really have to stop meeting like this.” He smiled and walked towards her   down the narrow hall dotted with luggage.
She laughed nervously at the cliché that was proving all too true if she was to keep her sanity. “I guess so. Well, this is my room.” She fidgeted with her keycard as he came up beside her.
“Mine’s just down the hall.” Taggart pointed behind him, but he just stood there, his tall frame close to her. She looked up at him, overly aware of the scent of sandalwood, one of her favorites. Very masculine.
“Mmm...coincidence,” she said, the hallway becoming smaller by the minute when he flashed that boyish smile, with one corner of his mouth raised. Cocky, but undeniably sexy at the same time.
Unable to break the gaze, she tried to insert the keycard into the lock, not paying attention to what she was doing. The card grazed the slot and she forced her eyes away from his.
“I guess you didn’t find your friends after all?” he inquired, leaning casually against the wall, as she slid the keycard all the way in the lock.
Caught red handed at her own lie, she smiled down at her shoes. “No, I didn’t.”
“So you can have that drink with me after all,” he stated flatly, placing his hand over hers as she held the key in the lock.
Her heart pounded in her chest. She couldn’t move a muscle. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said.
He frowned but left his hand on hers. “Because?”
Because? Her mind raced. She couldn’t tell him it was because she was afraid. Afraid how her body trembled when he was near, how her cheeks burned and her sex thrummed.
“I’ll wait,” he said with a devilish grin eyeing the keycard still in the lock.
“I really don’t think it’s a good idea, is all.”
“You already said that,” he said straight faced, but she could see the playful look in his eyes. As he removed his hand, he continued to lean easily on the doorframe, his face close to hers as if he had all the time in the world to wait for her to be ready. He was close enough she could see the barely visible laugh lines when he smiled and the slight five o clock shadow on his chiseled jaw.
“Look Taggart,” she said, just saying his name made her heart beat faster. “I’m not ready for…” her heart beat rapidly thinking about just what she wasn’t ready for… to be intimate with a man.
“Ready for what?” he teased. A flush of desire rushed through her. He was playing with her, flirting with her.

BUY LINKS:  RED SAGE  |  AMAZON  |  BN

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MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

I was at first drawn to this book for the superficial reason of the heroine having the same name as me.  By reading it though I found an entertaining and super steamy read, realistic in its depictions of romance for a single mother trying to juggle many roles and the ups and downs of a supportive group of friends.  This story took us from the exotic locations visited during a cruise to the homey feeling of small town America and how that affects a woman's actions in the dance of love.

Jody is still recovering from a divorce and the belief that she's frigid.  Her friends take her on a cruise to relax, put the past behind her, and enjoy her newly-single status.  A flying shoe leads to a life altering encounter with the charmingly seductive writer Taggart that has her channeling her inner vixen in an unexpectedly spontaneous relationship that will end in a week.  Their week together is like a fantasy with its numerous scorching sexual encounters and non-stop romantic words that every woman longs to hear.  Jody's not normally the type to act so wantonly but knowing things will end soon have her diving into everything Taggart offers wholeheartedly.  She's shocked when they both admit to feeling more but with such different lifestyles she doesn't see a future for them.  Taggart's not like any man she's met before though and is surprised to find him on her doorstep trying to make a permanent place in her life until his possessive agent gets in the way.  Jody is an average woman trying to juggle the roles of mother, daughter, and bread earner which leaves little time to be a sexual creature.  Almost every sexual interlude therefore had a frantic feel to it as their relationship always seemed to be ticking away.  Jody's a loyal friend as well as was seen in the many secondary plot lines revolving around her girlfriend's trials and tribulations.  These scenes were realistic but felt a bit intrusive at times and took away from the romance between her and Taggart.  I admired Jody and her striving to be independent, she's a modern-day woman and I was rooting for her HEA every step of the way.

Taggart is the kind of man every woman wants to meet!  He's sexy, charming, rich, and says every romantic word a woman wants to hear.  He sweeps Jody off her feet in a whirlwind of sex, seduction, and empowering compliments.  He also doesn't take no for an answer and even though he and Jody live very different lives he wants a life with her and will do whatever necessary to claim her.  Taggart's great with her friends and easily ingratiates himself with them as well as her son.  On almost every level he's perfect, except when it comes to his relationship with his overly possessive agent Felicity.  Her antics are over-the-top in her dealings with Jody as jealousy has her accusing and threatening Jody, and ultimately Taggart, at every turn.  Taggart's excuses for her and tendency to forgive because of their complicated past left me a bit disillusioned and frustrated by him.  Even though these issues are ultimately dealt with in a quickly glossed over finale it left his image a bit tarnished in my eyes.

From start to finish Ms. Deveaux has created a story that nicely blends reality with a scorching hot fantasy-like romance.  With its likable heroine and her supportive group of friends there's a feeling of girl power permeating the story as they protect each other at every turn.  The hero is almost perfect and left me swooning numerous times throughout the story.  Though certain aspects of the story felt like a Lifetime movie in the melodramatic and over-the-top reactions, I still found much to enjoy between the pages.  Fans of hot romance and soap opera action will find this appealing too and have me looking forward to reading more from this author.

My rating for this is a B.

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

AUTHOR INFO:

Kate Deveaux is a contemporary erotic romance writer and die-hard romantic. A former wedding planner, she has always been “in love” with love! Kate is currently working on several fictional stories – each filled with sexy romance, heroines who are no shrinking violets and heroes who make your heart skip a beat. She is a member of Savvy Author, Romance Writers of America (RWA) and their erotic romance chapter, Passionate Ink. Kate currently resides with her husband in Arizona.

WEBSITE:  http://www.katedeveaux.com
FACEBOOK:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kate-Deveaux/349294291841235
TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/KateDeveaux
PINTEREST:  http://pinterest.com/katedeveaux

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