RELEASE BLITZ & REVIEW: Honeyed (Ashton Family #2) by Carrie Aarons

 NEW SMALL TOWN ROMANCE 

Looking for a friends-to-lovers, marriage of convenience romance set in a small town? Say no more! Carrie Aarons' just released Honeyed, and it's everything you want in a love story! This is a book about best friends who have always denied their feelings for one another ... until the broken boy is set to inherit a fortune with only one stipulation outlined; marry the small town girl he's always loved in secret.

Growing up in a house full of brothers, it’s not a surprise that Alana Ashton is the princess of Hope Crest.

Being the only female of the small town’s founding family means that while she usually gets her way, she has to work doubly hard to earn and keep respect. Veering from her expected path to follow crazy dreams, like opening her own shop, not only isn’t in the cards, it’s also not taken seriously. So when her best friend, the ex-high school quarterback with a smile of gold and a traumatic past, proposes marriage out of the blue after years of Alana not-so-secretly pining after him, the answer isn’t an automatic no.

Marrying him, and the fortune they’ll both inherit if she specifically says I do, could be just the thing to set her vision in motion. But can she keep their decades-long relationship strictly business, or will those long unrequited feelings fool her into thinking this union will be for life?

Warren Teal is the orphan no one wanted but everyone speculated about.

After his father tragically took his mother from him, Warren’s story has been broadcast in the media for years. Cue the Ashtons, who took him under their wings the first time Alana brought him home in middle school. Years later, Hope Crest’s royal family offered him a job at their renowned restaurant, and Warren thought he’d found the quiet, under-the-radar life he’d always been searching for.

Until the day he received a letter leaving him a fortune. There was just one catch; he must marry to receive it. And not just anyone, but the gorgeous, stubborn woman he’d always loved in secret but never felt worthy of. Knowing he could return the favor and grant her wildest dreams, he popped the question.

But when his past comes for the future they’re building, she gets caught in the crossfires of the danger and darkness meant for him. Divorce, and breaking his own heart, seem like the only options to keep her safe.

Even if doing so means he may never get to confess that their fake marriage is the realest love he’s ever experienced.

Read it now in KU: mybook.to/Honeyed

Goodreads

My Review

I received an advanced copy of this book with the promise of an honest review. 

Warren is set to inherit a lot of money, but there is one catch. He must marry his best friend, Alana, first. The two have always harbored feelings for the other person, but they value their friendship too much to do anything about it. When Warren goes to Alana with his dilemma, she has no problem helping him out.

At the start of the book, Alana and Warren are working through something. They haven't spoken in a while and they definitely miss each other. Once they are married and living in the same house, they have to face not only their feelings for each other, but what they really want out of this relationship, especially since they have to stay married for five years!

Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and then throw in a marriage of convenience and you got yourself a great book! I loved Alana and Warren's friendship so much and it was wonderful to watch them grow into their marriage and finally give in to their feelings. The author is so good at writing small town romances and I just love the Ashton family so much!  

CW: Murder a parent (off page), death of a loved one  

4 STAR REVIEW: She Was Made for Me by Jenn Morris

 Sparks fly as a reclusive carpenter and a workaholic project manager fight their forbidden attraction in this steamy romance about finding that all-important work/life balance.

Violet

I never meant to lie to my parents about my job—I only wanted to make them proud. So when Dad asks me to return to New York to manage the renovation of a townhouse he owns, I can’t say no, even though I’m in way over my head.

But the real challenge comes in the form of Kyle, the gruff and ruggedly-handsome foreman, eighteen years my senior and my father's best friend. We clash on everything, except for the chemistry that sizzles between us—chemistry he stubbornly denies.

Kyle

Returning to New York wasn't in my plans, until my oldest friend entrusted me with leading a restoration project and keeping an eye on his headstrong daughter.

Keeping an eye on her is easy; resisting her not so much. She's beautiful, hard-working, and infuriating as hell. The more she challenges me, the more I want to throw her across my knee and teach her a lesson. No matter how much I fight it, Violet’s determined we should be together. And she’s right.

She might be my best friend’s daughter, but she was made for me

Please note: this book is a steamy, open-door romance, told in dual first person point of view. It contains cursing and on-page sex, including dirty talk and very light BDSM (spanking). Additionally, it contains an age gap of eighteen years, with an older man/younger woman dynamic (the heroine is 25, the hero 43). It is intended for readers 18 years and older.

My Review

I received an advanced copy of this book with the promise of an honest review. 

Gahhhhhh! I love a good age gap! Kyle and Violet were fantastic and I really enjoyed this book!

Kyle and Violet meet in a coffee shop without knowing who the other person is or that they will be spending the next few months working together. It's clear there is an immediate attraction between them and Kyle is about to ask Violet out on a date, but then they find out who the other is and Kyle takes a big step back. He's turns into grumpy, construction man and even though Violet gets frustrated by him, she finds herself being even more attracted to him. 

Both Kyle and Violet try to keep things professional and they manage to do it for a while, but eventually they just can't help themselves. They don't care about the age difference or the fact that Kyle is her father's best friend. Or the fact that Violet probably won't be sticking around once the project is over. So they have a lot working against them.

The author has given us quite a gem of a story. This book is sexy, sweet and quite steamy at times. I think this may be the biggest age gap that I have read and I was a little worried that it may be a little weird or creepy, but thankfully the story never went that way.