There’s a fine line between lust and hate.
I don’t care that Drew Merritt spent the last year transforming himself from grungy slob to sexy playboy. With messy, dirty blond hair and gorgeous eyes, his looks aren’t the problem.
His mouth is.
And the stupid things that come out of it.
But after an emergency strands us together, and he does his damnedest to take care of me…
Let’s just say there’s one thing we don’t clash on.
And it doesn’t involve talking.
I’ve despised Drew since I met him years ago. One weekend can’t change us that much, can it?
Spoiler alert: It doesn’t.
Except he left me a little keepsake.
And in nine months, I’ll have a surprise for Portland’s most notorious player.
Title: Surprise, Baby!
Author: Lex Martin and Leslie McAdam
Series: Standalone Companion Novel to All About the D
Pages: tbc
Genre(s): Contemporary, US
Hot Buttons: anal sex, recreational drug use (mention of) <-- highlight to reveal (may contain spoilers)
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This is the first book I’ve read by the writing duo Lex Martin and Leslie McAdam (I’ve also never read anything by them individually, either!) - and I have to say, I’m loving their style. This book is written in dual point of view between both Kendall and Drew with each taking a few of the short chapters each. The style is quirky, fun and in a conversational style that just tickled me.
I should say at this point that this story is a complete standalone - but the couple from All About the D (Josh and Evie) are in this story quite a lot and I’m sure both Drew and Kendall popped up in the earlier book. You don’t need to read them in order, however - and each story has its own happily ever after.
There weren’t a lot of characters in the story - but just enough for me to fall in love with people other than Drew and Kendall. Bee, Shazam and Tristan all stole my heart. If Tristan gets his own book then I’m putting my name down for that right now.
But it’s Kendall and Drew who steal the show. Or, for me - pretty much Drew. Kendall was exactly the kind of heroine I love - smart, sassy, real and just enough kick ass for me to root for her 100%. Oh, and she was honest about her feelings. To a point anyway! But Drew. Ah, Drew. He was so flawed. But all he wanted to do was become a better person. Drew 2.0. While still being 100% himself. He was silly, juvenile, hot, funny and so damn sweet. The way he loved Kendall just killed me. Add in how he was with Shazam and Bee and I fell in love.
The story itself is quite a slow burn. The whole tale is quite easy and meandering. I was expecting something more fast paced and breathless - but instead we really do get to see how Kendall and Drew’s relationship evolves and how they ultimately fall for each other over time. It’s that bit that really hit my feels. As our couple go kicking and screaming headlong into love, I often found myself getting those delicious butterflies in my tummy. It really gave me the nice shivers of happiness.
My one criticism with this book is definitely a personal preference. I’m not one for anal sex. As it appears quite frequently in the kind of books I tend to enjoy, I usually just skip over those parts - no harm no foul. With this book, much more emphasis seemed to be placed on the anal sex between the couple than usual. Always a slight trigger for me, the whole scene and preceding and subsequent chat made me feel uncomfortable and left a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth. But as I say, that’s very much a personal dislike and if it doesn’t bother you - or you like it - then you can consider this a 5 star review!
For me, this was a great introduction to a couple of authors whose style I very much enjoyed and a story which made me smile. I’ll be picking up my copy of All About the D and looking out for other stories from this duo in the future. 4 stars.
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LINKS!
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AUTHOR BIOS!
Lex Martin
Lex
writes contemporary romance, the sexy kind with lotsa angst, a whole
lotta kissing, and the hot happily ever afters. When she's not writing,
she lives a parallel life as an English teacher.
She loves
printing black and white photos, listening to music on vinyl, and
getting lost in a great book. Bitten by wanderlust, she's lived all
over the country but currently resides in the City of Angels with her
husband and twin daughters.
Lex is represented by Kimberly Brower of Brower Literary & Management.
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Leslie McAdam
Leslie McAdam is a California girl who loves romance, Little Dude, and well-defined abs. She lives in a drafty old farmhouse on a small orange tree farm in Southern California with her husband and two small children. Leslie always encourages her kids to be themselves - even if it means letting her daughter wear leopard print from head to toe. An avid reader from a young age, she will always trade watching TV for reading a book, unless it's Top Gear. Or football. Leslie is employed by day but spends her nights writing about the men you fantasize about. She's unapologetically sarcastic and notoriously terrible at comma placement.Always up for a laugh, Leslie tries to see humor in all things. When she's not in the writing cave you'll find her fangirling over Beck, camping with her family, or mixing up oil paints to depict her love of outdoors on canvas.
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WIN!
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