Author Guest Post
How Many Is Too Many?
Huge thanks to Jersey Girl Sizzling Book Reviews for having me here today! I'd love to share a little bit about the first book in my new Hot Shots series, Test Shot, from Loose Id.
First, check out the cover! Mad love to the designer, Valerie Tibbs, who is an absolute genius and captured the book perfectly. The story is m/f/m and set in New York City, one of my absolute favorite places in the world.
This series has been a true labor of love for me. Last summer I came up with the idea for an erotic talent agency and pitched it to a publisher who gave me ideas on how to strengthen the concept. I decided to shelve it for a while, but the characters and the setup wouldn't leave me alone. Back then, Drew and Kirby, the hero and heroine of book two, Money Shot, were the characters in book one but I wasn't ready to write about them yet. So I decided to make their story the second book, which left me needing new characters for book one.
Layla, Sawyer and Aidan's story didn't exactly evolve into the book I'd expected to write and I think I enjoyed the process even more because Sawyer, in particular, refused to do anything I'd had in mind for him. He's one of my favorite characters I've ever written because he's unflinching in his honesty - and his willingness to put himself on the line. All three characters risk a lot in this story and their world looks very different at the end of the book than it did in the beginning, that's for sure!
Now it's your turn! When reading a series, do you prefer all the couples' pairings to be the same or does it not matter to you? (All m/f, all m/m, all m/m/f, etc.) Why or why not?
About The Author
USA Today bestselling author Cari Quinn wrote her first story - a bible parable - in 2nd grade, much to the delight of the nuns at her Catholic school. Once she saw the warm reception that first tale garnered, she was hooked. She attempted her first romance in junior high, long before she'd ever read one. Writing what she knew always took a backseat to what she wanted to know, and that still holds true today.
Though she also fires up her computer as a graphic designer, proofreader and editor, she can't resist the lure of disappearing into a world of her own creation. Now she gets to pen sexy romances for a living and routinely counts her lucky stars. The only thing she loves more than writing is hearing from readers! Visit Cari at www.cariquinn.com.
Virtual Book Tour Contest Giveaway
Win 1 of 10 eBook Copies of Test Shot
Contest Dates: Jan 14 - 28, 2013
The Contest is tour-wide and open internationally. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
Book Review
Test Shot by Cari Quinn
Book 1: Hot Shots series
Publisher: Loose Id
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
Format: eBook - 262 pages / Kindle - 381 KB / Nook - 627 KB
ISBN: 9781611189421
ASIN: B0092V0Y5Y
Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance
BUY THE BOOK: Test Shot
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by CBLS Promotions.
Book Description:
Layla Palmer is starting over in New York City with a new job at Hot Shots, an agency that specializes in hiring talent for jobs with an erotic bent. Happily engaged, she writes off the changes in her relationship with her fiance, Aidan, as growing pains. But that all comes into question when her beloved fiance comes up with a startling suggestion: he wants to watch her have sex with another man.
Aidan's a man on the edge, fighting demons he won't name in fear of losing the woman he loves forever. But the game he's playing can only continue for so long, especially when the man they decide to invite into their bed turns out to be Layla's newest prospective model, Sawyer Blake.
Passion explodes between them, threatening to spill over and burn them all. Soon Aidan and Layla's already incendiary relationship hits the boiling point. Now she's fighting her own battles, including the conflicted feelings of lust and love she harbors for both men. But how can she figure out who to trust when everything she ever knew is changing, including herself?
Book Excerpt:
“Like what you see?” Sawyer couldn’t help flexing a little for her. She was so pretty, and he wanted to impress her even if he knew this was a one-time thing. It didn’t matter. Right now, she belonged to him.
“You know I do. I love your body.” Layla fanned her hands over his chest, grazing his nipples with her pinkies. He stiffened at her purr of pleasure. “Sensitive here?”
She lowered her head to lap at one of them, then repeated the move on the other while she hooked one leg around his hip and massaged her heel into his back. Her wet pussy met his skin, leaving some of her arousal behind. First on his thigh. His belly. Finally on his cock. She eased back again, stirring up just enough air for him to feel every trail of her desire across his skin.
“Jesus Christ, Layla.”
“I need you. Hurry.”
Sawyer did a backward crab walk to the basket of supplies and grabbed a couple of condoms. Bright pink and blue. Man. But they’d get the job done.
He tossed a quick glance at the sofa and noted Aidan sat almost as placidly as before, if not for the tight lines of strain carving his face. Without shame, Aidan drew his gaze down Sawyer’s body. His eyes didn’t fire with anything but mild interest, but the look alone caused Sawyer to turn away.
This was new territory for him, being observed while he was with a woman. That watching-being-hot thing apparently only applied while everyone was dressed, because if he thought too much about Aidan studying them—and likely getting aroused himself—Sawyer had a feeling he’d go as limp as overcooked broccoli.
He tore open the condom and unrolled it over his length, hoping Layla would give him time for a repeat performance. If he didn’t get inside her fast, his thoughts would win. And he wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Pink’s your color,” she teased when he threw the other condom on the coffee table.
“It’s yours too.” He drew the swollen lips of her pussy apart, visually drinking his fill of the arousal coating dusky rose flesh. Her clit stood proudly, begging for the press of a finger or the flat tip of his tongue. He’d do both before the night was over. “Look at that, all for me.”
“Yes.” She jerked her head, and he knew she’d glanced at Aidan. “All for you.”
He stroked her with two fingers. Up and down he rode her seam, finally pushing them into her sheath. Fuck. So tight. Inferno hot, even more so than before. Her muscles squeezed him as he started to move, testing them both with his deep glides.
Good goddamn, she turned him on. Enough to forget where he was. Even why he was. There was just the two of them, giving and taking pleasure.
Twisting his hand around, he gave her three fingers and used his thumb to toy with the button of distended nerves, each flick pushing her nearer to the point where she’d rain over him. He caught her gasps with his mouth and pushed into her harder. Knowing she could take it. That she yearned for him to shove her to the limit of her control. He could see all that, and more, in the glazed depths of her eyes.
Her orgasm approached with hurricane force. He could feel it gathering inside her, a vortex gaining speed. Drawing energy. He wanted her to break around him, a moment only they would share.
He pulled free, and she cried out. “Shh.” He quieted her with a kiss. “I’ll give you what you need.” He tweaked her nipples with his wet fingers, then licked off the juice he’d displaced.
She gripped his head in both hands, holding him while he tucked his nose into the curve underneath her breast and absorbed her scent as if it were air. Lovemaking had never before been this sweet—or this bitter.
“Sawyer, please.” She encircled his width and scorched him right through the condom. “Come into me.”
“You know I do. I love your body.” Layla fanned her hands over his chest, grazing his nipples with her pinkies. He stiffened at her purr of pleasure. “Sensitive here?”
She lowered her head to lap at one of them, then repeated the move on the other while she hooked one leg around his hip and massaged her heel into his back. Her wet pussy met his skin, leaving some of her arousal behind. First on his thigh. His belly. Finally on his cock. She eased back again, stirring up just enough air for him to feel every trail of her desire across his skin.
“Jesus Christ, Layla.”
“I need you. Hurry.”
Sawyer did a backward crab walk to the basket of supplies and grabbed a couple of condoms. Bright pink and blue. Man. But they’d get the job done.
He tossed a quick glance at the sofa and noted Aidan sat almost as placidly as before, if not for the tight lines of strain carving his face. Without shame, Aidan drew his gaze down Sawyer’s body. His eyes didn’t fire with anything but mild interest, but the look alone caused Sawyer to turn away.
This was new territory for him, being observed while he was with a woman. That watching-being-hot thing apparently only applied while everyone was dressed, because if he thought too much about Aidan studying them—and likely getting aroused himself—Sawyer had a feeling he’d go as limp as overcooked broccoli.
He tore open the condom and unrolled it over his length, hoping Layla would give him time for a repeat performance. If he didn’t get inside her fast, his thoughts would win. And he wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Pink’s your color,” she teased when he threw the other condom on the coffee table.
“It’s yours too.” He drew the swollen lips of her pussy apart, visually drinking his fill of the arousal coating dusky rose flesh. Her clit stood proudly, begging for the press of a finger or the flat tip of his tongue. He’d do both before the night was over. “Look at that, all for me.”
“Yes.” She jerked her head, and he knew she’d glanced at Aidan. “All for you.”
He stroked her with two fingers. Up and down he rode her seam, finally pushing them into her sheath. Fuck. So tight. Inferno hot, even more so than before. Her muscles squeezed him as he started to move, testing them both with his deep glides.
Good goddamn, she turned him on. Enough to forget where he was. Even why he was. There was just the two of them, giving and taking pleasure.
Twisting his hand around, he gave her three fingers and used his thumb to toy with the button of distended nerves, each flick pushing her nearer to the point where she’d rain over him. He caught her gasps with his mouth and pushed into her harder. Knowing she could take it. That she yearned for him to shove her to the limit of her control. He could see all that, and more, in the glazed depths of her eyes.
Her orgasm approached with hurricane force. He could feel it gathering inside her, a vortex gaining speed. Drawing energy. He wanted her to break around him, a moment only they would share.
He pulled free, and she cried out. “Shh.” He quieted her with a kiss. “I’ll give you what you need.” He tweaked her nipples with his wet fingers, then licked off the juice he’d displaced.
She gripped his head in both hands, holding him while he tucked his nose into the curve underneath her breast and absorbed her scent as if it were air. Lovemaking had never before been this sweet—or this bitter.
“Sawyer, please.” She encircled his width and scorched him right through the condom. “Come into me.”
Reviews:
"Test Shot will lead you down a road of passion and heart break almost at the same time it takes you from the ultimate highs to the lowest of lows. You'll enjoy the roller coaster of human emotions and probably miss these characters when you reach the last page." - 5 Stars, Sizzling Hot Books
"This book is outstanding. It played with my emotions, tore strips off my heart and left me reeling. I didn't expect this book to hook me the way that it did and didn't predict the way the plot turns would leave me ignoring life in general to keep reading right up until the end." - 5 Stars, Scorching Book Reviews
"Man oh man, oh man! I love when I "discover" a new author who immediately engages me and makes me want to neglect everything in my house so I can finish her book from cover to cover. Cari Quinn has done that with her first book in the Hot Shots series, Test Shot. Besides an amazing cast of characters she has managed to write a brilliant story with a plot line quite unlike anything I've read before. A True Gem." - 4.5 Stars, Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
My Book Review:
Relationships change when you invite another person into your bedroom ...
Layla Palmer, Aidan McMurray and Sawyer Blake have left their home in Nebraska for the city that never sleeps, New York City.
Layla and Aidan have been in a relationship for four years and are engaged to be married. Aidan is a medical doctor, who accepted a position teaching medical students. Layla is a talent agent, who accepted a position at Hot Shots, an agency specializing in hiring models for clients in the erotica business. Layla and Aidan's relationship has been floundering, so he suggests bringing a man into their bed. Layla isn't exactly eager to engage in a threesome, but she agrees to it because she loves Aidan.
Sawyer Blake is a young sexy model, who comes to NYC looking to make it big. He is recruited by Layla to join Hot Shots agency, and finds himself attracted to the beautiful engaged woman.
Layla and Aidan invite Sawyer to their home and engage him in joining them in a threesome. Adding a third person into their already strained relationship opens up a Pandora's box of complications that will ultimately result in changing their lives.
Test Shot is an emotionally charged erotic romance story that delves into the complexity of relationships, and the complications and changes that arise in the relationship when a couple engages in a threesome. Author Cari Quinn weaves a gripping tale full of emotional angst and steamy sex that takes the reader on a wild roller coaster ride.
Written in the third person narrative, the reader is drawn into Layla, Aidan and Sawyer's riveting story where secrets, doubts, emotions, changing behaviors and conflicted feelings further complicate their already floundering relationship when they engage in a threesome with Sawyer. You can't help but get invested into these characters' lives, the emotional pull is so strong, and the passionate and heart wrenching but oh so steamy sex scenes in this story will keep you turning the pages as the threesome's relationship unfolds.
I loved the author's character development of Layla, Aidan and Sawyer. Layla and Aidan have a lackluster sexual relationship, fueled by Aidan's distance, secrets, and demons that haunt him; while Layla and Sawyer share a sizzling chemistry that is swoon worthy. The author does a wonderful job of delving into the complexity of the threesome's evolving relationship and the resulting life changes that come out of it.
With a realistic cast of characters; engaging dialogue and interactions; and a storyline that weaves the complexities of romantic relationships with that of steamy erotic and voyeuristic sex scenes, Test Shot is a gritty tale of emotions, tensions and longings that will resonate with you long after the last page has been read.
Test Shot is the first book in the Hot Shots series.
RATING: 5 STARS *****
I don't have any particular pairing that I prefer. So long as there's chemistry, the emotions & it's well written that's what I enjoy reading about. Looking forward to reading this book!
ReplyDeleteHi Jessiel! Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I agree that there has to be chemistry and emotion in the story to keep my interest. I hope you get a chance to read the book. :)
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