Friday, March 1, 2013

{WICKED WINTER SATURDAYS} REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY ~ TAKE WHAT YOU WANT by JEANETTE GREY


Baby, it's cold outside! Time to snuggle up with a mug of hot chocolate (or a glass of wine!) and fall into a steamy, sexy book.

Wicked Winter Saturdays is a weekly post we started to challenge ourselves to read more steamy books and have a lot of fun. Feel free to join in. (let us know so we can add a link to your post).

The Autumn Review
Sim-Sational Books
Hackaroo's Review
Paranormal and Urban Fantasy Reviews
Insightful Minds Reviews
Taryn @ My Secret Romance

**The books featured on WICKED WINTER SATURDAYS are for adults. If you are under 18 years of age, or do not like smexy books, please stop here. **
 
 
 
 
Series: Stand alone
Genre: New Adult Erotic Romance
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Publication Date: 3/12/13
Format: eARC
Pages: 141
Source: Received from author for review.
She needs an escape…and he’s exactly what she had in mind.

Take What You WantCollege senior Ellen Price spends every spare minute studying to get into medical school. Until spring break yawns before her, as empty as her wallet.

With no money to hit the beach, she fills her empty to-do list with a plan: for just one week, she will become the kind of take-no-prisoners woman she secretly wishes to be, starting with the hot guy at the bar. It's a no-risk situation: at the end of break, he’ll head back to his campus, and she’ll go back to hers. No muss, no fuss.

At first, Josh Markley isn’t sure what to think when the quiet, intense beauty from his pre-med classes approaches him for a night of casual sex. Even more mystifying, she doesn’t seem to return his recognition. But if she wants to play “strangers in a bar”, he’s game.

Their passionate night is a welcome respite from life’s stress, but afterward, Josh realizes he wants more—from himself, from life, from Ellen. Except she still thinks he’s a one-off she’ll never see again. Confessing the truth now—before she figures it out on her own—could shatter the fragile beginnings of just what the doctor ordered. A forever love.

Warning: Contains mistaken identities, a sometimes-glasses-wearing hottie, deep questions about figuring out what you want from life, and a red-hot college romance.

The story of two college students who decide to use Spring Break, a week and a day, to step out of their quiet lives, Take What You Want is a story that turned up the heat and stole my heart.

Guys, I don't even know where to begin with this book! The story totally took me by surprise, getting off to a wicked hot start. I usually prefer to know the characters a little bit before I know them, if you catch my drift. But Grey really made this work. Take What You Want begins with Ellen, who can't afford to go on Spring Break vacation with her friends, picking up Josh in a bar, expecting a one night stand. Josh, realizing that Ellen honestly doesn't know him, doesn't tell her that he goes to school with her, and takes her up on the offer. The two make a surprisingly erotic and emotional connection, and the one night stand becomes a Spring Break fling. Despite her intention to only let go for the break, Ellen finds herself wanting more with Josh. Josh, who's wanted Ellen's attention since Freshman year, doesn't want to let her go. Each realize they have a chance at a forever type of love, but both need to figure out how to tell the truth about who they really are without pushing the other away.

I adored Ellen and Josh, and I love that Take What You Want is told from both points of view.  Both are pre-med students, living a life of responsibility before fun. Ellen is a character with whom a lot of readers can identify. She is quiet, used to blending in among the crowd. She uses Spring Break, and being alone, to step out of her comfort zone. To finally take what she wants. I loved to see her gain more resolve throughout the story and to not sit and wait, but to ask for what she wants of Josh. It was very inspiring, really. And Josh... I adored him. Josh is a lot like Ellen, quiet and studious, but there is a fire in him that stole my heart. The way he sensed Ellen's hesitations and vulnerabilities, and the way he cared for her, made me swoon. I loved Josh's strength, and his resolve to not let Ellen slip away from him.

As for the steam. Let me just say, Jeanette Grey knows how to catch a reader's attention. As I said before, the story begins with a one night stand, which doesn't seem especially romantic. But, the way Grey wrote the scene, exposing exactly why Josh and Ellen want this, and how each is feeling in the moment, it felt anything but cheap or sleazy. It was very erotic and surprisingly emotional. And that's the very best thing I have to say about all of the steamy scenes in Take What You Want, they are both erotic and emotional. Very, very hot, but also beautiful and thoughtful.

Take What You Want was a pleasant surprise for me. Based on the synopsis and a guest post by Grey, I had very high hopes. All my expectations were exceeded. I loved this book. It is the first of Jeanette Grey's I've read, but it will not be the last. This is a story that I intend to re-read again and again and I am jealous of those of you about to read it for the first time.


Favorite Quote:

  But this time, he didn't get dressed. Instead, he sat down beside her, gazing at her with all the admiration he'd held for three long years. It didn't matter which Ellen was looking at him. They were both beautiful. Both amazing and smart, and if anything, the duality between her studiousness and her sensuality only made her all the more attractive to him.  ~ eARC, 21%

 
  He kissed her long and deep, then held her gaze with his, never looking away.
  There beneath the stars, he fell into her, trying to tell her with his body that he knew her. To tell her who he was. That he was hers. Not just for a week and a day. But for as long as she would have him.  ~eARC, 42%
 

Preorder Take What You Want at:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Samhain

 
GIVEAWAY

 
About the author:

Jeanette Grey started out with degrees in physics and painting, which she dutifully applied to stunted careers in teaching, technical support, and advertising. When none of that panned out, she started writing. Her stories include futuristic romances and erotic contemporaries, and almost all of them include hints of either science or art.
When she isn't writing, Jeanette enjoys making pottery, playing board games, and spending time with her husband and her pet frog. She lives, loves, and writes in upstate New York.
Connect with Jeanette at:
Website  |  Twitter  |   FaceBook


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25 comments:

  1. I had a couple of spring break flings...but definitely not as passionate as the one in this book!

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  2. I usually shy away from overly-steamy books, but I really like the sound of this one! It's great that the romance manages to be both hot and full of genuine emotion. I'll have to check this one out. Great review, Andrea! :)

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  3. I know you want me to read this one. It sounds like my kind of book! The building on the cover looks like the place Adam and I stayed on our honeymoon in Scotland.

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  4. This one sounds so good!! I have wanted to read it since you did the cover reveal for it. I have never had a spring fling, but I love reading about them. This sounds like a great story that also brings the steam!

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  5. Wow this sounds hot and a little sweet. TBR THE APPLESAUCE!

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  6. This sounds so good! Can't wait to read it!
    Thanks for the giveaway :)

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  7. Nope never had one ... but now I can read about one :)

    Added it to my TBR list so I can read it once it comes out.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  8. I enjoyed this and my review posts soon. While it was hot and steamy in parts..it had a sweet story.

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  9. Nope, sorry. Looks like a cute book ;) thanks for the giveaway.

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  10. Nope never had one ... but now I can read about one :)

    Added it to my TBR list so I can read it once it comes out.

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  11. Aw, this story sounds so sweet. I'm entering. And no….

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  12. Never had one!! Great giveaway!

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  13. Nope. :/ This sounds like a great book! Thank you!

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  14. Sounds like this one will be great research for my new adult book! Must read soon!

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  15. I'm not usually a fan of characters that just jump right into bed with each other but it sounds like it really works in this book. I'm going to give it a try.

    thanks for the giveaway!

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  16. I never did have a Spring Break fling.
    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  17. OHHHHH.....I LOVE LOVE LOOOVE BOOKS LIKE THIS! I just can't resist them. And I am so happy to hear that the romance had emotion, yet it was still steamy. Perfect balance. I really like the sound of this one and I can't wait to check it out! Glad you enjoyed this, Andrea. Lovely review! :D

    ~ Maida
    Literary Love Affair 

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  18. I've never had a spring break fling but I sure want to read about it and live vicariously through them :)

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  19. No I've never had a spring break fling. ..but it sounds fun lol. This book sounds great added to my tbr.
    andieleah78@gmail.com

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  20. No Spring break fling here!!

    A fun read I'd say.

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  21. Nope, never had a spring break fling...but reading your review, I may use Ellen and Josh's fling as a spring break fling read! ;)

    I'm glad you enjoyed the book so much. I've added it to my wish list.

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  22. No, I've never had a spring break fling

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  23. No spring flings! I just have to live through my books, I guess!

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