Book Tour for Seeing Red by Holley Trent (Review & GIVEAWAY)

To start the week off on a steamy note I'm introducing you to Seeing Red by Holley Trent, a complicated story featuring a marriage of convenience.  Keep reading to get a tantalizing taste of this story, along with my impressions of it, and learn even more by visiting the other blogs hosting this tour.  Make sure to fill out the form below for the chance to win a $25 and $10 bookstore GC and two bundles of books too!

She married him to save face, but will it be at her heart’s expense?

Megan Coffman needs to put her divorce from one of rock and roll’s biggest womanizers behind her—fast. Dubbed “Poor Meg” by the music media, she’s sick of being pitied and thinks the best way to show the public she’s moved on is to flash her brand new engagement ring. But now she needs a man and a wedding to go with it…
Thirty-five year old Russian expatriate Seth “Red” Rozhkovlikes the idea of an instant family and agrees to play husband for a year for a virtual stranger. Women just want him for one thing anyway, and it’s not happily-ever-after. A mutual friend swears if Red plays his cards right, he could have Meg for keeps. He’s willing to try.
Meg finds Red an enigma. He’s a gentle giant, solicitous almost to a fault—and the no-strings-attached sex is amazing, but she’s used to being used. What’s Red getting out of the deal? How can she trust a man who hasn’t asked her for anything in return?

EXCERPT:

“Is that what you want?”
“What I want is obviously irrelevant.”
She leaned back and craned her neck up to see his dark expression. “Excuse the hell out of me? You entered this agreement willingly.”
“I did. Just as you entered kicking and screaming.”
“You haven’t seen kicking and screaming yet.”
All of a sudden, the angles and planes in his face looked sharper, more shadowed. His enlarged pupils made his hazel eyes dark, and the slight flaring of his nostrils gave her warning that she’d pushed some button he’d never before exposed to her.
“Really?”
She was gonna push that button again. She jutted her chin up and said, “That’s right, Red. I spend every waking moment looking for an avenue out of this thing.”
“I see.” In one second, he had her hauled up over his shoulder, and before she could register direction or intent, her tennis shoes were yanked off one by one, and he didn’t lose his stride one bit. By the time he slapped on the bedroom light, she’d lost her socks, too.

FIND AT GOODREADS here.

BUY LINKS:  AMAZON  |  BN  |  KOBO  |  iTUNES  |  ARe

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

The marriage of convenience theme is normally seen in historicals where it was a common circumstance.  In Seeing Red this theme is brought into modern times where it feels less believable, particularly the reasons behind it.  The relationship that develops from it therefore creates inequality as the heroine gains much from the marriage while the hero ends up being used as I see it.  It's clear that the heroine has all the control while the hero acts completely chivalrous which made him my favorite part of the story.

Meg is reeling from a disastrous end to an even more disastrous marriage to a rock star where she was constantly cheated on and portrayed as weak and pitiful by the media because of it.  She wants to shed that label, and courtesy of a friend's unconventional plan, she finds herself married to the kindhearted Seth and on her way to a rocky road to HEA.  Meg is a hard person to like at times.  Even her friends and Seth call her a shrew.  She's domineering and likes to be in control which leads to her steamrolling over others throughout the story.  Past hurts have hardened her heart and she's become cynical of love.  She sees this marriage as a means to an end but is more than happy to reap the benefits of the steamy connection she has with Seth which leads to numerous sexual interludes.  Being with Seth though slowly brought out a softer side but doubts kept her from fully committing until it's almost too late which left me frustrated.  Ultimately, while I applaud Meg taking control of her life and standing up for herself and her son, I never completely warmed up to her and felt that Seth deserved much better.

Seth was the perfect hero.  He was subtly charming and oozed sex appeal though he never saw himself that way.  He's a bit of a geek, very smart and awkward around women but is very kindhearted.  He was willing to do whatever Meg wanted of him though as he's had a crush on her for a long time.  For him, this marriage gives him the chance to win her over, but it's a very difficult journey as he doesn't know how to do so without changing parts of his personality which left me sad for him.  He desperately wants to be part of a family as he was left abandoned long ago but knows Meg could take his newfound family away at any time as this marriage is just for show.  Even though he knows she's difficult he relishes and wants to foster those rare moments that she lets her guard down and enjoys life.  He also takes to her son quickly and is a better father than her ex-husband ever was which endeared him to me even more.  Add in a sturdy body and a Russian accent and I was left drooling.

Along with a unique main couple was a large cast of secondary characters that left me further conflicted as even though they called each other friends they often acted to the contrary.  This left a feeling of tension hanging over the story and left the HEA in doubt until the hastily crafted ending.  Though I had issues with the heroine the highlight of this story was Seth, who I'm still dreaming about!  He would do anything to make the woman he loved happy, even sacrificing his future happiness to give her what she at first thought she wanted.  The sexual interludes were also a highlight as they were steamy and varied in their intensity.  Because of this, and Seth, fans of erotic reads will find this a satisfying tale and I look forward to Ms. Trent's next book.

My rating for this is a C+

*I got this book from NetGalley for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

AUTHOR INFO:

Holley Trent is a Carolina girl gone west. Raised in rural coastal North Carolina, she's a lady with Southern sensibilities, but in 2011 her adventurous spirit drove her to Colorado for new experiences.
She writes sassy, sexy contemporary romances and paranormal romances set in her home state. Seeing Red is her third novel from Lyrical Press. She also has work available from Musa Publishing and Crimson Romance.

WEBSITE:  http://www.holleytrent.com/
FACEBOOK:  https://www.facebook.com/writerholleytrent
TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/holleytrent

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway