Lauren Dawes : New Adult

#NewBookSaturday: Shadow Born: a New Adult Urban Fantasy Novel (Shadows of Salem Book 1) by Jasmine Walt & Rebecca Hamilton

, by Unknown

Book Review: Sexy Lies and Rock & Roll by Sawyer Bennett

From NYT Bestselling author, Sawyer Bennett, comes a SEXY new stand alone romance…When you’re a rock god, fame and fortune are your two best friends, but they can be fickle bitches. Everyone wants a piece of me and I have no clue how to deal with it all. I’m being sued, pressured to sign contracts, and fending off rabid women who want to steal my virtue.

Well, not that I really have any virtue, but still… my life has turned completely bat-shit crazy.

That’s why I need Emma Peterson. She got me out of a bit of a jam once, and I know she can do it again. The only problem is that sweet, prim and totally straight-laced Emma doesn’t want anything to do with me. Not professionally, and certainly not personally.

It’s not that I want her in that way. Let’s be realistic… it would take a crow bar of epic proportions to get her to spread those legs for me.

No, I only want her legal expertise and for her to make sense of my crazy world. It’s a good thing I have just the leverage to make her do my bidding, because her refusal is not an option.

*Sexy Lies and Rock & Roll is a hot, romantic comedy stand alone.

I’m just going to start off by saying I love Sawyer Bennett and her books. I’ve been a fan since the beginning with the release of Off Sides in 2013. Even though I normally stick to urban fantasy and paranormal romance, I do occasionally (okay, let’s face it, more than occasionally) dip my toes into the romance pool. Sexy Lies and Rock and Roll is an all new stand-alone novel, and another feather in Bennett’s literary cap.

It follows the story of Evan and Emma, perhaps two of the most opposite people likely to meet. Evan is an indie rock star about one year into making the big time. Emma is a straight-laced, painfully prim lawyer being sent to represent him. It’s an unlikely and disastrous meeting at an interrogation table at the police station that sets them both on a path they never expected to walk together.

Overall, I liked the book. The characters were well-developed. They felt real to me, which is incredibly refreshing when it comes to the genre as I’ve often found the female character to be too flimsy to stand up to any real criticism. Emma is unhappy with her life, and she makes no apologies for saying as much. She knows she’s boring. She knows she’d rather be alone in a room with her nose stuck in a book. What she doesn’t know is that her blinkered view of the world and of who she is as a person is completely wrong.

Evan is your typical contemporary romance male character for a few reasons – smoking hot body, low-slung jeans, tight t-shirts, intense eyes, shaggy hair – and also not your typical rock star for a number of reasons. Whether that makes him realistic or not is a moot point. Evan works as a character because he’s human. Yes, he’s a guy, so sex is on his mind for the most part, but we also see a sweet side to him. He’s humble, grounded and more than willing to give up his one-night-stand lifestyle for the right girl.

He pushes Emma’s boundaries, forcing her to see what he does. He has his alpha tendencies, but for someone like Emma who lives and dies by rules, this is exactly the kind of man she needs. The result is some great chemistry on the page.

There are more than a few steamy scenes in this book, so if you prefer using your imagination to fill in the blanks, I’d probably avoid this book. I, for one, like the amount of detail given and there are so pretty hot scenes in Sexy Lies and Rock & Roll.

So, what didn’t work in this book? There were two things I wasn’t crazy about. The first was the predictability of the story. Now, I wasn’t expecting something different at all. It seems that most romance books follow the same path, but that’s not the reason people read them now, is it? People read them to fall in love with the characters and to ride the roller coaster of emotion with them. And Bennett sure does roller coaster rides well.

Secondly, there were occasions where the maturity level of the characters (mainly due to the vocabulary used) seemed to vacillate between teenage girl and that of an educated, mature, twenty-something woman, who was also a lawyer. I found the distinctions jarring at time, but thankfully, they didn’t occur so often that the character lost her appeal.

Sawyer Bennett still has me as a fan. She has a real knack for writing and I enjoy reading her books, enjoy the way they flow and make me forget about the time. I always have a ‘just one more page’ reaction to her writing and I hope that never goes away.

About Sawyer...

Since the release of her debut contemporary romance novel, Off Sides, in January 2013, Sawyer Bennett has released more than 30 books and has been featured on both the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists on multiple occasions.

A reformed trial lawyer from North Carolina, Sawyer uses real life experience to create relatable, sexy stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From new adult to erotic contemporary romance, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.

Sawyer likes her Bloody Mary’s strong, her martinis dirty, and her heroes a combination of the two. When not bringing fictional romance to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to a very active toddler, as well as full-time servant to two adorably naughty dogs. She believes in the good of others, and that a bad day can be cured with a great work-out, cake, or a combination of the two.

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, by Unknown

In giveaway, interview

Interview: Sawyer Bennett (Part 2)

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, by Unknown

In giveaway, New Adult

Interview: Sawyer Bennett (Part 1)

Okay, so I know this isn't anything to do with fantasy, but I absolutely ADORE this author, and she so kindly agreed to grant me an interview and giveaway. Sawyer Bennett is the author of the Off Series, as well as two other books called Forever Young and To Catch a Dark Thief. I have already reviewed her Off Series which you can find here, and I have Forever Young on my TBR and review list.

I sent Sawyer off some questions, and here is what she had to say...

Me: Who is your favourite couple from the Off Series and why?

Sawyer: My favourite couple from the Off Series is Emily and Nix of Off Limits. I just love how broken Nix was and how transformed Emily had become since introducing her in Off Sides. Emily agreed to give him only what he could handle, and in turn, he fell hard for her. He wanted more and didn’t even know it until he lost her. And of course, the way he got her back (yes, we’re talking tattoo magic here), is the most swoon worthy moment I’ve written.

Me: If you could choose one of your male characters to magically come to life from the pages of your books, who would it be, and why?

Sawyer: This one is easy...I think it would be Flynn from my upcoming release of Off Chance (due out 10/21/13). He is about as good of a man as you can get. Flynn would just make the world a better place.

Me: How do you prepare to write? Do you just have an idea, sit down and start typing, or do you plan?

Sawyer: I usually start with an idea that I’ve mulled over in my head for a bit. I know the basic premise of the plot, I know where it will start and where it will end. All the stuff in the middle just comes out as I write. It’s a very organic process for me. Sometimes I might plot out the basic ideas for each chapter, but then I just let my imagination take over and spit stuff out.

Me: Are there parts of you, your friends, husband and life in the pages of your books? How much inspiration comes from these sources, and how much is simple fiction?

Sawyer: Oh my gosh, I write so much stuff from my own life in my books. Sometimes it feels like cheating since I’m stealing ideas from my life. I couldn’t even begin to tell you all the things in every book that are so “me”, but a few come to mind. Nix’s character is based in part on my ex-husband who was a Force Recon Marine. My dog, Atticus, plays a prominent role in Off Chance. And without giving anything away, there is an entire chapter in Off Chance that is based off a specific scene in my life.

Me: Can you tell us about your experience with becoming a published author?
Sawyer: I thought long and hard when I started writing as to how I wanted to go about being published. I’m not a very patient person, and the ease with which you can self-publish just seemed the best route for me to take. I took a great online course through our local RWA chapter on the mechanics of self-publishing, and I’ve learned a lot about it since then through trial and error. The reasons I like it versus traditional are that I can operate on my own time table, I have complete creative control, and frankly, I think you can generally make more money as a self-published author if you have the fan base.

Me: Can you tell us something about yourself that not many people know?
Sawyer: Hmmmm… let’s see. My first career was that as a trial lawyer. I’m still a majority owner in a law firm here in Raleigh but I’m in the process of selling my interest out so I can write full time. I love being in the courtroom and I think that has helped me be a writer. As a trial lawyer, I have to tell a convincing and entertaining story to the jury. That translates easily to writing as long as I can put the story from my head on paper.

Because I love Sawyer so much, I had a stack of other questions that I asked her. A second post will be coming soon, but in the mean time, here's your chance to enter a giveaway to get your hands on a copy of her upcoming Off Series novel, Off Chance with Flynn as the man to steam up your Kindle.

About Sawyer:

Sawyer Bennett is the pen name for a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. She is married to a mobster (well, a market researcher) and they have two big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn’t have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.

Stalk Sawyer...legally

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