Blog Tour: Taste the Heat by Rachel Harris (review, excerpt, giveaway)

Taste the Heat
written by Rachel Harris
published by Entangled: Bliss

find it here: Barnes & Noble, Amazon, iBooks, Goodreads

Why did I pick this book: I participated in the blog tour hosted by InkSlinger PR. (I received a copy of this book for review purposes.)

Did I enjoy this book: I did enjoy this book. The beginning was a bit slow for me. It really took me awhile to get into this book. In fact, I didn’t know if I would like this book or not. But I kept reading because I enjoy Ms. Harris’s writing.

And Ms. Harris did it again…she left me with that giddy, happy, goofy grin with excited goosebumps at the end of Taste the Heat. In fact, I was finishing this book while pushing my middle child in the stroller around the neighborhood – as an aside, the kid is close to 40 lbs but he loves walks in the stroller. It was a good workout for Momma. Anyway, I’m sure the neighbors were looking at me funny because of the goofy grin on my face and the few times I laughed/gasped/squealed out loud. Thank you, Ms. Harris, for those moments.

Taste the Heat was an easy read with just enough romance, troubled backstories, and happiness. I loved Colby and Jason’s early interaction at the cookoff. You could feel the tension between them. As they rekindle their friendship and childhood crushes, it starts to get steamy and emotional. Colby really goes through a lot emotionally while back in her home town. I loved their first overnight date. So romantic. So sweet. So sexy. There were some predictable moments. That’s okay. But I absolutely LOVED!!! the ending. I really did have happy chills and goosebumps despite the fact that I was sweating while pushing my son in the stroller. (It really was a workout! Really!!)

All-in-all, a good read.

Would I recommend it: I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good romance, not quite chick lit, story. I would recommend any of Ms. Harris’s books to anyone.

Will I read it again: I probably won’t. But I may read a few scenes every now and then. 😉

About the book: One sexy fire captain. One Cajun chef. One combustible kitchen…

When chef Colby Robicheaux returned home to New Orleans to save her family restaurant, the last person she expected to reconnect with was her brother’s best friend and her childhood crush. As tempting as a sugar-coated beignet, Jason is one dish she can’t afford to taste. Colby can’t wait to leave the place where her distrust of love and commitment originated and go back to Vegas.

Fire captain Jason Landry isn’t looking for love, either. Disillusioned by his past, he knows he should be focusing on finding the perfect mother for his daughter. But when he first sees Colby, all grown up and gorgeous, he can’t help but be drawn to her. And when she suggests a no-strings-attached fling, Jason can’t say no.

Please enjoy the following excerpt from Taste the Heat. 

Colby’s shoulders shuddered with an attempt at a calming breath. Jason squeezed her tighter, stifling a groan as the tips of her breasts pressed firmly against his chest. He slid his hands to her waist, and Colby lifted her head with a shy smile.

“Feel better?”

She nodded and licked her lips. “Thank you. I don’t normally do the ugly cry. It felt good.” She gave a self-deprecating laugh and covered her face. “Although I’m sure I look like a hot mess right now.”

Sweeping her hands aside, Jason glided his thumbs across her cheeks. Wiping away the lines of smeared makeup, he looked into her clearing gray eyes and said, “You’re gorgeous.”

A flash of uncertainty crossed Colby’s face, and he bent his head to prove it.

The first brush of his lips was light. He didn’t want to take advantage of her emotions. He just wanted to assure her that regardless of her tears, she was still one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. But when a sigh escaped her parted lips, and she fisted her fingers in his hair, Jason abandoned timid and gentle. He gave in to the desire that had been snapping and building between them since the day of the competition, and proceeded to kiss her senseless.

Reaching down, he palmed the smooth skin of her calf. It felt like silk in his hands. He skimmed his fingers down the soft length to her ankle, hooking it around his hip. Colby made a satisfied noise in her throat. She wiggled closer and, happy to oblige, he tugged her fully against him and deepened the kiss. He swallowed her moan.

Leaves rustled in the wind. Unseen wings fluttered and buzzed. And their heavy breaths filled the air, turning Jason on even more. Colby’s mouth tasted of citrus. Sweet, like the daiquiri she had drank, and like her. He teased the corners of her mouth. Licked the satiny skin of her upper lip. And gently bit down on her pouty lower one. He knew he needed to break the kiss soon—his daughter was sleeping in the tent only a few yards away—but this woman was like a drug. And he was quickly becoming an addict. Jason shifted to press his lips to the sensitive skin just under her ear.

Breathless and panting, Colby tilted her head as he trailed his mouth along the column of her neck. “I’ve always wondered,” she admitted with a shiver, “what it would be like to kiss you.”

He arched an eyebrow in surprise and grinned against her skin. “If memory serves me right, this is our second kiss.”

A shocked gasp of air escaped her throat. “You remember Kiss and Catch?”

He looked at her and nodded, remembering every stolen moment of that childhood kiss.

She gazed back with dazed eyes, and chewing the corner of a slightly swollen lip, admitted, “That was my first kiss.” Her tone was almost bashful, the flush of her skin darkening to rose before a hint of the vixen came back and she said, “Okay, so I’ve been curious how the adult Jason would compare.”

He chuckled as he dipped his tongue into the hollow where her pulse fluttered. “And the verdict?”

“Meh.”

At her laugh, which he noted sounded like music again, Jason nipped the delicate skin and then licked it. Inclining his head, he confessed, “You were my first kiss, too.”

Colby went motionless in his arms and he leaned back, not surprised to see disbelief in her eyes. He shrugged. “I hadn’t come out of my shell yet.”

She grinned in delight.

Jason shifted her so she was out of the shadow and firelight warmed her face, then he said, “I have an idea.”

“Hmm, sounds dangerous,” she teased. “Any chance it involves burrs in delicate places and unexplainable mosquito bites?”

“No,” he said with a laugh. “But I like where your mind is.” Colby sighed with mock disappointment, and he added, “And you’re not too far off.”

That got her attention. Placing her hands on his thighs, she propped herself up and tilted her head, waiting for him to continue.

“Tonight I realized that we’re not that different,” Jason began. “We’ve both been burned by love, and neither of us have any interest in going back in for a round two. But we’re human. We have needs. And crazy chemistry.” Colby’s grin stretched into a wicked smile. “What would you say to an arrangement?” he asked. “One where it’s understood that feelings are off the table. Just fun, companionship, and a whole lot more of this.” He grasped her hips and tugged her closer so there was no mistaking what he meant.

She shook her head with a smile but locked her ankles around his back. “You had me at crazy chemistry,” she teased. Then her smile faltered a shade and she reminded him, “I’m leaving at the end of the summer.”

“I know.” He lifted his shoulder in a show of indifference. “It’ll be a summer fling.”

Colby’s eyes lit up at the word fling. “That, sir, may just be the best idea I’ve ever heard.” Smashing her mouth against his, she sealed their agreement with a kiss.

Victory tasted like citrus. He did it. He bought himself an entire summer with Colby, and maybe, just maybe, it would convince her to stay. He could be very persuasive when he needed to be.

And if his best friend ever found out what he just did, Jason would have his ass kicked.

 

About the author: Rachel Harris grew up in New Orleans, where she watched soap operas with her grandmother and stayed up late sneak reading her mama’s favorite romance novels. Now a Cajun cowgirl living in Houston, she still stays up way too late reading her favorite romances, only now, she can do so openly. She firmly believes life’s problems can be solved with a hot, powdered-sugar-coated beignet or a thick slice of king cake, and that screaming at strangers for cheap, plastic beads is acceptable behavior in certain situations.

When not typing furiously or flipping pages in an enthralling romance, she homeschools her two beautiful girls and watches reality television with her amazing husband. Taste The Heat is her adult romance debut. She’s the author of My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century and A Tale of Two Centures. She loves hearing from readers!

Find Ms. Harris here: web, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads

 

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