Neighbors
By L.S.
Murphy
Publisher: Entangled Flirt
Genre: contemporary romance
ISBN: 9781622663743
Blurb:
Rena Woods has a great life. She
recently landed the contract to decorate the home of basketball wife, Cecilia
Hood, her business is growing, and this contract could make her the elite
decorator in St. Louis. Rena’s sacrificed her personal life for her company
without a single regret. When Staff Sergeant C.J. Riker moves in across the
hall, Rena can’t stand to be around him. He may be on the volcanic side of hot,
but his attitude sucks. Riker does whatever he can to get under Rena’s skin.
After a massive blow to her
business sends Rena on a self-destructive binge, Riker is there to save her
from doing something she might regret. Could there be more to Riker than meets
the eye? And will he open up enough to Rena to tell her how he lost his leg or
shut out love forever?
Buy Links:
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Excerpt:
The moving van blocked my car on the street outside
my building. Thanks to a freak storm knocking out the power the night before, I
was already running late for an appointment halfway across the city. The
meteorologists in St. Louis should just add “we think” to every forecast to
save themselves the trouble. Of course, my mother would have said I was always
late, no matter what the reason. It’s her favorite complaint, besides pointing
out her lack of grandchildren. Never mind my two older brothers with three kids
between them.
“You’re not getting any younger, Rena,” she chided
the night before as we had our weekly phone conversation. Mom loved using my
name against me as added emphasis. “You’ll be thirty in a few years. And it’s
all downhill from there.”
Such a positive influence.
The cars were covered in summer leaves. The winds
had sent tree limbs to the center of the streets. Despite the storm, the air
had already lost its “fresh rain” scent and regained the heavy humidity of a
St. Louis summer.
Soulard’s neighborhood association had a policy that
movers could not start until after nine o’clock in the morning. It was ten
minutes until nine, which was also the time I was supposed to meet my biggest
client.
I hammered my palm against the door of the moving
van, leaving a wet handprint on the white paint. A guy with dark hair cut in
the traditional USMC hairstyle—short on the sides with an inch on top—leaned
out the window. He lowered his wraparound sunglasses and cocked an eyebrow. A
smirk played above his stubbled jaw. I wanted to smile back—guys with dimples
were a weak point for me—but I was running way too late to flirt. Too bad.
“Could you move? You’re blocking me in.” I motioned
to my red hatchback, which my best friend Maddie had dubbed “The Tomato.”
He stuck his arm out the window and opened the door
from the outside. His dark, sleeveless t-shirt revealed a tattoo of the eagle,
anchor, and globe on a tight bicep. I figured he was around my age, give or
take a year or three. As he climbed down, my gaze traced each curve of his
athletic frame until the prosthetic caught my attention. I felt his eyes on me
as I stared too long at the fake leg.
“Are you done yet?” he snapped with a voice hardened
by the Corps. It was the same voice my uncle, a retired sergeant, used on my
cousins. It made you want to stand at attention and shout “Yes, sir” at the top
of your lungs.
Before I could come up with a decent sounding
apology for letting my eyes linger too long where they shouldn’t have, he
stalked past me and around the back of the truck. His elbow brushed against the
bare skin of my arm. Goosebumps spread to my shoulder. It’d been too long since
a guy, any guy, made that happen. Just freaking great. I don’t have time for this.
I spun on my heel and hurried after him, glad he didn’t see the embarrassment
color my cheeks. Good job, Rena. Piss off the hot Marine. It’s not like you
haven’t seen a guy with a prosthetic before.
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My Review:
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About
the Author:
L.S. Murphy lives in the Greater St.
Louis area where she watches Cardinals baseball, reads every book she can find,
and weaves tales for teens and adults. When not doing all of the above, she
tends to The Bean (aka her daughter), her husband and a menagerie of pets. “A
Reason to Stay”, a contemporary romance novella, is available as of November 2,
2012. Reaper is her debut young adult novel and is available as of January 7th,
2013.
She is a member of Society of
Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and the St. Louis Writer’s Guild.
Website: http://lsmurphy.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LSMurphy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LSMurphyAuthor
Tumblr: http://lsmurphybooks.tumblr.com/
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Wow, after reading the excerpt, I know I have to read this. I can't remember if I ever read any story in which the hero with fake leg. Fake hand or eyes, I did. Leg, not yet. Thanks for posting this.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the giveaway.
Thanks for the great review and for being a stop on the blog tour. :)
ReplyDelete