The Bookish Babe: Ophelia London

Sunday, June 15, 2014

BLOG TOUR: MAKING WAVES by OPHELIA LONDON ~ REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

Welcome to the Making Waves Blog Tour, with Ophelia London and hosted by Wordsmith Publicity! Today I have a review and giveaway to share with you. Visit the tour page to follow all the stops.

Series: Perfect Kisses #3.5
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Entangled Bliss
Release Date: 6/16/14
Format: eARC
Pages: 122
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 stars

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She’s in over her head and he’s in hot water…

Visiting her friends Ellie and Charlie in Hawaii was supposed to be a much-needed vacation for journalist Justine Simms. But when she learns the notoriously reclusive pro-surfer Chase Ryder is coming out of retirement for a competition, she knows she’s found the perfect exclusive to save her career. Of course, then she learns he’s the gorgeous, secretly nerdy guy who broke her heart a year ago.

Will Davenport—aka Chase Ryder—doesn't do interviews. He keeps his real name out of the papers and doesn’t mix his public life with his private. That is, until the still-heartbroken Justine blackmails him into giving her an exclusive. Seeing Justine, stunningly beautiful as ever, brings back all the feelings he had before. But despite their smoldering attraction, nothing has changed since he had to leave her the first time.

My Review

Oh, Entangled Bliss, it was been too long since I've picked one of you up. How I've missed you and your sweet romances that leave me swooning and smiling simultaneously! And though Falling For Her Soldier is the only Perfect Kisses novel I've read until now, I quickly realized that I've missed this series. To have the opportunity to revisit Charlie and Ellie, now living in Hawaii, was a treat.

Basically, Making Waves is the perfect summer beach read. You have the gorgeous Hawaiian setting, a surfer hero with a secret, and a second chance love story. Justine - sister to Mac from Speaking of Love- is visiting Charlie and Ellie (from Falling For Her Soldier), who've been relocated to Hawaii, on a much-needed vacation. The past year has been rough on Justine, who lost her best friend in a tragic accident, and her boyfriend Will the next day. When a big story on pro surfer Chase Ryder nearly falls in her lap, Justine decides to go for it. When she approaches Chase for an interview, the past collides with her present. Justine has questions, and Chase wants another chance.

Despite my efforts to connect the dots between this and previous installments, Making Waves can definitely be read as a standalone. I will admit though, that revisiting Charlie and Ellie made me smile a lot, and if I hadn't read their book before, I would most definitely be making it a priority. And honestly, it makes me want to go back and read Playing at Love and Speaking of Love, as well.

Everything I've said about the series as a whole aside, I enjoyed Making Waves for the fun and romantic love story it was. Chase was deliciously complicated, and Justine was intriguing in her own right. I was pulled in by the twistiness of their past relationship, and finding out why Chase left Justine like he did. London gave the two a fantastic sense of chemistry, and wow, did she give good visual for Chase's surfer physique. *fans self*

Making Waves was such a fast, fun read. I cared about and believed in Justine and Chase. I smiled, I swooned, and I left the story feeling happy and satisfied and ready for the beach.

The Perfect Kisses Series

Falling For Her Soldier (Perfect Kisses, #3)

(covers lead to GoodReads pages)

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About Ophelia London

Ophelia London was born and raised among the redwood trees in beautiful northern California. Once she was fully educated, she decided to settle in Florida, but her car broke down in Texas and she's lived in Dallas ever since. A cupcake and treadmill aficionado (obviously those things are connected), she spends her time watching arthouse movies and impossibly trashy TV, while living vicariously through the characters in the books she writes. Ophelia is the author of DEFINITELY, MAYBE IN LOVE, ABBY ROAD, the Perfect Kisses series including: PLAYING AT LOVE, SPEAKING OF LOVE, and FALLING FOR HER SOLDIER (coming Jan 2014). Visit her at www.ophelialondon.com. But don't call when The Vampire Diaries is on.

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Sunday, March 23, 2014

REVIEW: FALLING FOR HER SOLDIER by OPHELIA LONDON

Series: Perfect Kisses #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Entangled Bliss
Publication Date: 1/13/14
Format: eARC
Pages: 219
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3.5 stars

She fell for the nice guy, but will she fall for the real guy?

Ex-ballerina Ellie Bell has twenty-four days left until her self-imposed man-less year is up. No more falling for the wrong kind of guy—charming, sexy, bad. Why can’t she find someone sweet like Charlie Johansson, her soldier pen pal? His e-mails meant the world to her, and she can’t stop thinking about him…until she meets Hunter, whose muscles and cocky smile threaten to have her relapsing.

Before Charlie “Big Game Hunter” Johansson’s last tour of duty, he’d gone through women like crazy. But after connecting on a real, emotional level via letters with his best friend’s sister, Charlie’s ready for a relationship—with Ellie Bell. But then her brother introduces him as Hunter. Proving he’s no longer a player by becoming Ellie’s dance partner for an Army benefit seems like it could convince both siblings he’s changed, but the harder he falls for Ellie, the harder it is to come clean. Can he convince her to fall for the real him before it’s too late?

I'm adore the Bliss line from Entangled, and I've heard really good things about all of Ophelia London's books. Falling For Her Soldier is the third in the Perfect Kisses series, but can easily be read as a standalone. However, with the glimpses of past leading couples, and with hero Charlie being Tess from book one's brother, I will say that now I would love to go back and reading Playing at Love and Speaking of Love.

Falling For Her Soldier has a trope-double whammy: falling for the brother's best friend, and a case of mistaken, or misrepresented, identity. I almost always love the falling for the brother's best friend, but am sometimes iffy on the misrepresented identity, lies of omission or not. In this case, it absolutely worked for me. Charlie's shame at his former "Big Game Hunter" ways, his hope to become a better man, and his feelings for Ellie all combined to portray a man who is desperate to win the woman he'd come to care for via correspondence. Despite the duplicity, I got Charlie and I wanted him to win his girl.

The girl in question, Ellie. She is nearing the end of a man-free year. Bad choices and bad relationships have caused her to spend the past year working on herself, evaluating why she always picks the wrong guy. I liked that she was very self-aware, and adored seeing her fall for the soldier despite her resistance.

Characters who strive to do and be better, and a romance that was sexy and intimate behind the scenes has me recommending this to fan of Bliss (or Bliss-like) books. Falling For Her Soldier was a really sweet, endearing love story.

Favorite Quote:

He traced his fingers up her spine, then slid a hand under her hair, resting it on the back of her smooth neck. When they finally kissed, he felt the strangest sensation of coming home, like when he took that first step onto American soil after a long deployment. His heart pounded hard, pushing hot blood through his veins, while at the same time, he felt at peace with her, free, yet securely connected.

The Perfect Kisses Series