Blog Tour + Excerpt + Review: "S’more Than a Feeling" by Marika Ray

Today, I'm delighted to participate in the blog tour celebrating the release of "S'more Than a Feeling" by Marika Ray, book #2 of the Blueball Band of Brothers series. Characters from the previous book make appearances in this one, but it reads as a standalone.

 

After being discharged from the Army, Lincoln Angelo decides to settle down near his childhood friend Bain in the small town of Auburn Hill, aka Hell. He hasn't even been in town for 24 hours when a prank gone awry ends with a herd of cats on the loose, and he teams up with an attractive new acquaintance, Keva Mooney, to help get them back home. Several hours later, their steamy hookup is interrupted by the surprise arrival of Linc's best friend - and Keva's older brother - Boston, who hadn't realized that his sister had also moved to Auburn Hill. After he punches Linc, Boston makes him promise that he'll stay away from Keva; even though he can't stop thinking about her, Linc agrees. He leaves town to rejoin the Army so that he won't be tempted to pursue her, and several weeks later, what she thought was a stomach virus turns out to be a baby on the way.

 

Five years later, Lincoln is finally out of the Army for good and headed to one of Auburn Hill's neighboring towns, Blueball, for a job at a glamping resort. He's never forgotten about Keva, so with Boston's blessing, he plans to track her down and ask for another chance. Now that Linc's working for her best friend's husband, it's only a matter of time before they run into each other and he figures out the secret she's been keeping: Lucas, their nearly 4-year-old son. Learning that he's a father makes Linc more determined than ever to win Keva over, but she's afraid to trust him. Can Linc prove to Keva that he won't leave her ever again?
 

This sweet and swoony story gave me all the feels! I completely understood why Keva was so hesitant to let Linc back into her life, but his desire to be there for her and Lucas was obviously genuine. I loved the way her walls gradually came down as she realized that she didn't have to do everything on her own anymore. The book's secondary characters were also a ton of fun and added a great deal of depth and humor to the story, particularly Keva's best friend Paisley and her husband Gannon. Linc and Gannon ended up developing quite the bromance, which turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the book.

I highly recommend "S'more Than a Feeling" for all steamy rom-com fans and look forward to the next book in the series.

 

*Review copy provided by the author via Enticing Journey Book Promotions. All opinions expressed are my own.   

 

About "S’more Than a Feeling"

I think I just slept with Mr. Perfect. Too bad he turned out to be my brother’s best friend.

The tattooed stranger rode a motorcycle while helping me collect stray cats. My boots gave me blisters and he carried me on his back. I needed help and he didn’t ask questions before assisting me. Could there be a more perfect man? It just made sense to lick him and claim him as mine right then and there.

I probably should have asked him more questions before we slept together.

Like, what’s your last name? Where’ve you been living before moving here to my hometown? Is my older brother your best friend?

You know. Those kinds of questions.

But sadly, I didn’t. And now I’m staring at two pink lines and Mr. Perfect is nowhere to be found, leaving me brokenhearted and on my own. Even though I love my son with every fiber of my being, he’s also a daily reminder that I’ve made the worst mistake of my life.

It’s only years later when Mr. Perfect shows up in town again that I begin to see that I was never in love with him back then.

But I might be now.

 

 

Read an Excerpt from "S'more Than a Feeling"

I’d successfully avoided him all day. Probably because he’d been building a pergola with Gannon on the far side of Glamper’s Paradise. Not that I’d been watching him hard enough to notice the sweat pattern on the back of his shirt or how his muscles flexed while holding up planks of wood. Nope. I was too busy moving in for that.

“I want in, Keva.”

Damn him and that smooth-as-whiskey deep voice. It gave me shivers and made me think of hot, dirty kisses out in the woods.

“What?”

“I read the letter you sent me, and I swear I never saw it.” Linc stood and walked toward me, looking older, but also just as handsome as I’d remembered him all those years ago. “If I’d seen the letter, I would have opened it. I can promise you that. I would never have left you and Lucas on your own. I can’t roll back the clock, but I can be here now. Let me in. Please.”

I had to squeeze my eyes shut to keep him out. I’d wanted to hear those words so badly when I was pregnant with Lucas. It was years too late, but the girls were right. I needed to let him back into our lives. For Lucas’s sake. To be a father for Lucas, not a partner for me. With my walls firmly in place, I opened my eyes again.

“I think Lucas would like that.”

Linc crowded closer. I could see the scruff on his chin that hadn’t been there before. “And what about his mama?”

I swallowed hard. He did not mean what my stupid heart wanted him to mean. I knew this and yet my heart kept pounding out a rhythm of hope.

“I want what’s best for Lucas.”

Linc nodded. “You’re a good mom, Keva. Lucas is lucky to have you.”

I didn’t want it to, but that simple statement soothed some emotional wounds I didn’t know I had. I didn’t want his praise to mean anything, but it did. “Thank you.”

Linc reached up, his big hand tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear. His barely there touch sent my limbs trembling. “I’m asking you to give me a chance to be a good dad. It’s only fair.”

I had to lock my knees and clench my hands into fists to keep from leaning into that hand of his.