So Wicked by Melissa Marino - Review, Excerpt, and Giveaway

Fate has a wicked sense of humor.

Alexis's new life was made up of two things: baking and hiding the details of her old life in Chicago. The first allowed her to finally find some happiness. And the second is about to be destroyed by a man who knows all her secrets.

Marshall Rawlins was prepared to do anything when he moved cross-country to launch an upscale cocktail bar---anything except work with Alexis, his best friend and business partner's ex-wife. Adding Alexis's boozy-baked goods to his menu would be a major feat for his bar. But striking a deal means getting in bed with the enemy.

Battling between distrust and desire, Alexis and Marshall give in to a passionate, forbidden affair. They know if they're discovered the consequences would be bad---it's just hard to remember that when being together feels so, so good.

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Review
I wasn't sure how I would be able to be okay with the couple in this book. If you've read So Twisted, which I highly recommend so you get the whole story, you'll know why this pairing makes no sense. I had faith, though, and was not disappointed. I was able to understand Alexis  bit and even like her. I liked her and Marshall together even though I knew it could not end well. I loved the story and was happy with how things came together.

My Rating: *****
Steam Factor: !!!!
Notes: Language.

Excerpt

“Al?” he muttered.

And then it wasn’t about what was right or wrong, or needing or wanting.

It was about me.

It was about him.

Us.

I rotated my head to bring my eyes back to his.

And then there was nothing else to say.

No more questions.

No more answers.

His lips touched mine, so tentative at first to gauge if I would kiss him back. I did, not because I wanted to, but because I needed to. We sighed against each other’s lips as heat rose all around us. One kiss, and we retreated only slightly, glancing into each other’s eyes for reassurance, before our mouths, our lips, were back where we both wanted them to be.

On each other.

My hands wrapped around his neck to bring him even closer, as I was backed up into my car. His body pressed against mine, and with no place for me to run to, I melted. Our lips parted simultaneously, our tongues meeting together with mutual moans. His hands slipped around the small space behind me, gripping the fabric at the back of my uniform dress in his fists, before releasing and moving them up and down.

I tasted what was left of my cupcake creation on his tongue, the hint of bourbon and chocolate, and it made something move inside me.

All I could think was this wasn’t just a good kiss. This was an amazing kiss—a kiss that I’d remember. It wasn’t crazed or rushed, but it wasn’t tentative. It was desire and longing coming together in a movie-worthy kiss sequence.

He moved. I moved. Together. Perfectly.

Cars passed by, alarms went off, and the conversations from people walking down the street behind us, going about their lives like they had no idea the world was imploding, were all there.

But I heard nothing.

It was only his hands in my hair, his mouth on my neck, and his panting breath against my skin. My fingers dug into his hair, yanking him closer, but with no room for him to move, he nudged my legs open with his knee and stepped in between them.

He paused for a moment and I startled.

I asked, “Is this okay?” as I continued to stare at his lips.

We were out in the open, outside the bar, for all to see. Any of his employees or people who knew me could’ve seen.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

A question with a question, and there was no right answer. Logic and reason would bring me to one direction. His pleading eyes that my own had drifted to would lead me to another.

“Yes,” I whispered.

I wanted more. I wanted him.

All of him.

I wanted his words against my lips and his hands on my bare skin. I wanted to trace the tip of my tongue across every one of his tattoos and know their story. I wanted us to kiss all the bad memories away and remember how good it was to be wanted.

And as I looked at him straight on, feeling him hard against my leg, I knew he wanted the same.

About the Author

Melissa Marino is a full-time writer and part-time Storm Trooper collector. When she's not writing, you can find her watching Friends reruns, mastering her cupcake frosting swirl and hunting for the perfect red lipstick. Melissa lives in Chicago with her husband, son and very opinionated dachshund.

Social Media Links

www.melissa-marino.com

www.facebook.com/melissamarinobooks

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Giveaway

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Review: So Screwed by Melissa Marino

Description:
He's charming, wicked, and handsome . . . and she needs to stay away

For Evelyn Owen, work comes first. Being a wedding planner to the city's elite fills her nights and weekends, and she doesn't have time for distractions. Especially in the form of a sexy bartender with killer dimples . . .

Abel Matthews knows how to serve the ladies. But lately, the only woman he wants is just out of reach. That's because Evelyn has already been warned about his playboy ways. Still, there's something about her that makes Abel want more than a quick fling.

Evelyn knows that she shouldn't trust Abel. Yet she's seen a side of him no one else knows, and she can't turn away. But Abel is hiding something from her . . . and if he doesn't confess soon, it will tear them apart.

My Thoughts:
I stayed up too late to finish this one. I couldn't stop reading until everything was okay. I loved Abel. There's more to him than he normally lets people see. Evelyn was fantastic as well. She's very focused and strong and won't let Abel get away with anything. They just fit so well, though they both had their insecurities. And keeping secrets never ends well. I just loved these two together. I read So Twisted and thought they were great characters. While each book stands alone, I highly recommend that one as well.

My Rating: *****
Steam Factor: !!!!
*Notes: Language

My Source: author


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So Twisted by Melissa Marino - Release Day Excerpt

SO TWISTED by Melissa Marino
Book 1 of the Bad Behavior series
Forever Yours, Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: Nov. 1, 2016

— SYNOPSIS —
Sometimes it feels good to be a little bad.

Callie has found the perfect job. As nanny for a single dad and his adorable daughter, she can pay off her student loans and live in a nice house in the heart of Chicago. There's just one problem-her new boss. Definitely no dad bod here. Just six-plus feet of raw, sexual energy. Whoever heard of a dad being so hot?

From the sparkle in his daughter's eyes, Aaron can see that hiring Callie was a good decision. But Callie's breathtaking smile and long legs have him thinking about his own needs. Aaron knows it's a bad idea to get involved with the nanny, but it's been years since anyone has captivated him like Callie.

When living under the same roof proves too tempting to resist, Callie and Aaron discover a mind-blowing passion unlike anything either has experienced. But with a curious child and a nosy family in the mix, their secret, no-strings fling soon turns into a twisted, tangled knot...

— PURCHASE —

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— EXCERPT —

Startled, I spun around to see Aaron standing in the entryway of the kitchen. I placed my hand on my chest as I tried to catch my breath.

“Speak of the devil,” I said. “You scared me.”

“The devil, huh?” he asked, dragging his fingers through his dark hair.

There was no smile, no hint of joking. I didn’t know what he was doing by coming to me again. There was no room left in me to try and figure him out.

“Did you need something?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I heard you down here and—”

“Wait,” I said, stopping him. “Did you hear me on the phone?”

His large shoulders lifted as he took in a deep breath. He didn’t need to say a word. He absolutely did hear. There are times when you’d think to yourself, Wow. Things can’t get much worse than this. Then like magic, it does. This was one of the moments.

I turned back toward the sink, and after a moment, I heard him move, stepping cautiously toward me. I couldn’t face him.

“I didn’t mean to listen,” he said. “But I need to know.”

“What?”

“If what you said was true.”

He came up behind me, but I still couldn’t look at him. I knew if I did I would lose what little control I was holding on to.

His movements got closer.

Closer.

Closer. So close.

My body adhered to the warmth coming off of him, willing me into submission. I knew in my mind I couldn’t do that, but my body, my body was screaming something different to me.

“Calliope,” he whispered into the back of my neck. “Tell me. Please.”

His hands circled my waist, and I lost all resolve when he pulled me into him. His lips grazed my ear. “Tell me,” he repeated.

I was almost light-headed, our bodies melting into each other, his warm mouth breathing softly on my neck. “What do you want me to tell you?”

His grip around my waist tightened, and he spun me around, our faces just inches apart. His eyes lingered over my face, settling on my mouth. He dragged his tongue over his bottom lip, the energy between us enough to make me tremble.

Before I even knew what he was doing, he shifted me away from the sink and picked me up from the waist, lifting me onto the countertop. With his eyes still fixed to mine, he placed his hands on my bare knees, spreading apart my legs.

He stepped into me while lazily dragging his hands from my knees to my hips. His movements continued up my side, increasing pressure while passing my breast and letting a thumb graze over the swell underneath it.

He still hadn’t answered my question when his hands reached my neck, and he intertwined his fingers behind it.

He leaned forward. “Tell me it’s okay for me to kiss you. I need you to say this is okay,” he begged.

I shut my eyes tightly, knowing the only way I could refuse him would be if I didn’t have to see him. “I can’t. You said—”

“Look at me,” he demanded.

I should’ve shouted at him that enough was enough, and we couldn’t keep doing this dance. I should’ve reminded him about Delilah and how she was the most important thing in all of this. I should’ve told him we both knew it was wrong. I should’ve told him that despite the pull, the unstoppable force chipping away at our resolve, we could never be right together because the twenty-four-year-old nanny wouldn’t be enough for a man like him. I couldn’t ever be enough for him.

I should’ve said all these things.

I should’ve pushed past him and run out of the kitchen.

But I didn’t do or say any of those things.

Instead, I did the one thing I knew I shouldn’t. I opened my eyes, met his, and willed myself to stay strong.

He reached his other hand up to the side of my face, cautiously and painfully slow. “I know you feel it, too. I see it in the way you look at me, the way your entire body responds when I move close. I just heard you say the words on the phone. I’m telling you I feel it, too. I’ve fought it, but…” He trailed off.

I tilted my head, resting my cheek into his touch. Everything about him surrounded me, and I fought against the voice inside of me, the screaming voice that shouted this was wrong.

But there was another voice that told me that this was maybe a once-in-a-lifetime thing, that if I walked away I’d never feel this kind of intense pull to another man again. Yeah. That voice was so much louder.

“Are you sure?” I whispered. “Only if you’re sure.”

His expression looked almost pained, and I knew he was battling the same voices in his own mind. “I’m not sure, but I can’t walk away anymore.”

He was leaving it in my hands. It was all me. I knew what I should do, but…

I grabbed his shirt in two fists and pulled him toward me, our lips almost touching. “It’s okay.”

Our lips connected in a fiery passion and my body lit up everywhere. The answer was right there. This was what I wanted.

And it was what he wanted, too.


WLB Review: Click here

— ABOUT THE AUTHOR —

Melissa Marino is a full-time writer and part-time Storm Trooper collector. When she's not writing, you can find her watching Friends reruns, mastering her cupcake frosting swirl and hunting for the perfect red lipstick. Melissa lives in Chicago with her husband, son and very opinionated dachshund.

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