RELEASE BLITZ & 5 STAR REVIEW: Sink or Swim (Beach Kingdom #3) by Tessa Bailey

Andrew Prince wakes up before everyone else. He schedules the bar shifts, demands perfection from Long Beach’s lifeguards—most of all himself—and makes sure the family debts are paid. His unfaltering worth ethic might leave him exhausted, but it comes with one advantage. It distracts him from the love he’s been harboring since childhood for the girl next door—who he cannot have.

Jiya Dalal has dreams. To fly a plane, see the world below…and prove irresistible to her best friend, Andrew. But she needs to be a good daughter first, which is becoming an increasingly difficult task, since her parents expect a good marriage and the man she loves with all her heart refuses to pursue the blistering connection between them. Just when she’s beginning to believe Andrew truly doesn’t want her, a moonlight tryst on the beach exposes his true feelings. But an echo from the past kept them apart before…and it’s only growing louder with every stolen kiss… 

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2zaEIHO

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2ZeEDxs

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/30g7iDH

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/2z5Dfmb

Goodreads Link: https://bit.ly/2MbDTXM

My Review

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

A couple weeks ago a friend of mine asked me what I did that weekend and I replied with "I read an amazing book!" They know about the romance reading and the blogging, so they asked me "Why was it amazing?" I think I started my answer about 4 or 5 times. Not because I couldn't come up with anything, but because I had a hard time coming up with the RIGHT words. This person doesn't read romance and I just didn't know how to properly express my feelings toward the book. I don't remember what my final answer was but I know that it contained the phrases "friends to lovers", "so much pining from afar that it actually pained my heart (but in the best way possible)", "sexy as hell", and "one of the best books I've read this year". I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't form full sentences and just said the above phrases. 

The first two books in this series set this one up quite nicely. We know that Andrew has been loving Jiya from afar for YEARS, but hasn't done a thing about it. The same goes for Jiya, but she has convinced herself that she has been friendzoned and will never recover from that. But then they both come to the realization that the future Jiya's parents want for her will most likely mean that Andrew will no longer be part of her life the way he is now and that knocks some sense into both of them. This trope always has the "OMG what are we doing" moment and this is theirs. 

Y'all the "moonlight tryst on the beach" mentioned in the synopsis. OH. MY. GOD. It went in a direction that I did not see coming and it was so freaking good. But I guess all those years of pining means that the sexy time are going to be knocked up a few notches. 

I'm really going to miss the Prince family, especially Jamie and Marcus. They are still the absolute cutest and Marcus was the source of some laugh out loud moments that came at the right times. Then there is the epilogue that was *chefs kiss gif*. I laughed. I cried. I sighed happily. It was everything. And even though I would love for Tessa to just keep writing books about them for years to come, the way this ended was just perfect. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.

Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.

She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of eleven years and six-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.

Author Bios/Social Media Links 

Website: www.tessabailey.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tessabaileyisanauthor/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TessaBaileyAuthor/?ref=bookmarks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mstessabailey

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6953499.Tessa_Bailey

COVER REVEAL: Sink or Swim (Beach Kingdom #3) by Tessa Bailey

Andrew Prince wakes up before everyone else. He schedules the bar shifts, demands perfection from Long Beach’s lifeguards—most of all himself—and makes sure the family debts are paid. His unfaltering worth ethic might leave him exhausted, but it comes with one advantage. It distracts him from the love he’s been harboring since childhood for the girl next door—who he cannot have.

Jiya Dalal has dreams. To fly a plane, see the world below…and prove irresistible to her best friend, Andrew. But she needs to be a good daughter first, which is becoming an increasingly difficult task, since her parents expect a good marriage and the man she loves with all her heart refuses to pursue the blistering connection between them. Just when she’s beginning to believe Andrew truly doesn’t want her, a moonlight tryst on the beach exposes his true feelings. But an echo from the past kept them apart before…and it’s only growing louder with every stolen kiss…

Goodreads Link: https://bit.ly/2MbDTXM

EXCERPT

Jiya looked up and found Andrew watching her intently. “What is this, Andrew?”


“We’re dancing,” he rasped, his gaze slightly unfocused.


“You’ve never danced with me like this before.”


His gaze strayed to her lips, before he resolutely dragged them away. “Do you want to stop?”


“No and that’s the problem.” Come on, Mrs. I Don’t Play Games Anymore, bring up the elephant in the room. It’s not going away. “You’ve been different with me lately. Is it...” She took two bracing breaths. “Is it because I’m dating?”

He started to deny it, then changed his mind. “Might be. Yeah. I know that’s fucked up,” he said. “You’ve always been min—my best friend. We won’t have this if you start dating someone seriously. If you...”

“Get married?” 
His complexion turned gray. “Mmm.”
 Cement caked her insides, but she was used to it by now. She’d loved Andrew since she was a child. She’d waited patiently for him to love her back—as more than a friend—and he hadn’t. He’d done nothing about it. So while she yearned to dissect his every word and rejoice in them, ached for what he was feeling, she couldn’t do it anymore without being a fool. “Ask me the question, Andrew. The one you ask me every night.”

A line formed between his brows. “Can I do anything for you, Jiya?”

“Yes.” She took his face in her hands. “You can stay my friend. No matter what happens. Fine, things are changing in my life. But I couldn’t bear it if I ever lost what we have. Just stay my friend. Promise me.”

His jaw bunched. “You know I’d cut my heart out before saying no to you, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then you have your answer.” He wet his lips. “But we’re finishing the dance.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.

Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.

She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of eleven years and six-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.

Author Bios/Social Media Links 

Website: www.tessabailey.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tessabaileyisanauthor/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TessaBaileyAuthor/?ref=bookmarks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mstessabailey

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6953499.Tessa_Bailey

5 Star Review: Heat Stroke (Beach Kingdom #2) by Tessa Bailey

Marcus “Diesel” O’Shaughnessy is a brash, oversized CrossFit enthusiast with a naked lady tattooed on his rippling forearm. Jamie Prince is a private school teacher with an extremely low tolerance for bullshit. The two men have zero in common. Well, except for three things.

They’re both moonlighting as lifeguards for the summer.
No matter how hard they try, they cannot stay away from each other. 

And both of them have secrets they’re determined to keep.

But what happens in the shadows of the Long Beach boardwalk can only remain hidden for so long, before the July sunshine reveals the hot, unrelenting connection they never expected, forcing Marcus and Jamie to decide if they’re simply caught up in a temporary heat stroke or if they’ve found something worth rescuing...

Mouth to Mouth Links: 

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2QbM6tH 

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2DiX4ux

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2ALLQMJ 

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/2PAkYrg 

Heat Stroke on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2NDsjCY

My Review

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

Marcus has a crush on Jamie. He's had a crush on him from pretty much the moment he met him. But he's confused. He's straight. Or at least he thinks he is. Jamie has always thought of Marcus as a pain in the butt. He likes to get in Jamie's way and always makes a point of making sure their lifeguard chairs are next to each other. But Jamie senses that Marcus is confused about his sexuality and thanks to a past incident, he is not about to help him figure things out. But Marcus is persistent and manages to wear Jamie down and the two end up spending some time together. And that is when everything changes. 

Holy cow. Y'all, Marcus and Jamie are everything! These two couldn't be more different, but together they just work. You can't help but love Marcus. He sees the world in a very simple way and Jamie appreciates that. He probably thinks too much about everything and being around Marcus is just easy. 

Their story is sweet, a whole lot of sexy and just plain adorable. The sexual tension was thick and there were a few moments that made me need a cold shower. Jamie is a take charge kind of guy and Marcus is more than willing to take part in that role play. I just loved them together!

Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.

Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.

She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of eleven years and six-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.

Website: www.tessabailey.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tessabaileyisanauthor/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TessaBaileyAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mstessabailey 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6953499.Tessa_Bailey 

COVER REVEAL: Heat Stroke (Beach Kingdom #2) by Tessa Bailey

Marcus “Diesel” O’Shaughnessy is a brash, oversized CrossFit enthusiast with a naked lady tattooed on his rippling forearm. Jamie Prince is a private school teacher with an extremely low tolerance for bullshit. The two men have zero in common. Well, except for three things.

They’re both moonlighting as lifeguards for the summer.
No matter how hard they try, they cannot stay away from each other.
And both of them have secrets they’re determined to keep.

But what happens in the shadows of the Long Beach boardwalk can only remain hidden for so long, before the July sunshine reveals the hot, unrelenting connection they never expected, forcing Marcus and Jamie to decide if they’re simply caught up in a temporary heat stroke or if they’ve found something worth rescuing...

Mouth to Mouth Links: 

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2QbM6tH

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2DiX4ux

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2ALLQMJ

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/2PAkYrg

Heat Stroke on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2NDsjCY

Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.

Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.

She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of eleven years and six-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.

Website  Instagram  Facebook  Twitter  Goodreads

5 Star Review: Mouth to Mouth (Beach Kingdom #1) by Tessa Bailey

A man with a prison record has no place around a fresh faced college student. Tell that to Rory Prince. He should stay the hell away from Olive Cunningham. There’s one small problem, though. She won’t stop almost getting killed—and with this too-smart, too-sweet girl holding his heart in her hands, Rory is powerless to do anything but keep saving her.

Homeschooled from a young age, Olive is now out on her own and discovering the world, one milkshake flavor at a time. Until recently, she has experienced life through books. She’s walked in a million sets of shoes while flipping pages—enough to know that Rory gives her once-in-a-lifetime feelings. If only he would stop trying to protect her…from himself.

Goodreads

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2QbM6tH
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2DiX4ux

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2ALLQMJ

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/2PAkYrg

My Review

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

I love a surprise. And then add on the fact that is a Tessa Bailey surprise and it becomes THE BEST surprise! I was lucky enough to get an early copy of this book and I LOVED it. It was a quick read, but one that I could not put down.

Olive had a unconventional childhood that left her feeling abandoned and alone. She sees her move to New York as a way to not only start over, but to also find out who she really is. When Rory saves her from walking in front of a bus their connection is instantaneous. He sees her innocence and knows that she should definitely stay far away from him. But Olive knows what she wants. And that is Rory.

These two! Damn. All Rory wanted to do what protect Olive and if that means staying away from her, he'll do it. But of course the universe has other ideas and the two find themselves in each other's path and the end result was usually Rory saving Olive in some way. And I know what some people are going to think, but honestly in the end, it was Olive who saved Rory. Trust me on this.

Rory. Phew! That dude was INTENSE, but in the best way possible. His feelings for Olive ran deep and there were these moments when he was so tortured by them. I just wanted to wrap him in my arms and hug him until everything was okay again. And there is the scene toward the end of the book where he essentially rips out his heart (and mine!) to give it to Olive and I big time ugly cried. So thanks for that Tessa!  ;-)

Now Rory has two brothers, Andrew and Jamie, and I loved how Tessa dropped some breadcrumbs about the rest of the series. If the stories go the way I (and a few others) think they will, I will be a very happy reader!  

Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.

Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.

She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of ten years and six-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.

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