Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway: A Beautiful Distraction by Kelsie Leverich

Here at Sassy Divas we are excited to give you a double review from Jennifer and Jamie for A Beautiful Distraction by Kelsie Leverich.   This was a great addition to the Hard Feelings Collection!

A brand new novel in the New York Times bestselling Hard Feelings series—where nothing’s more dangerous than a bad boy with a broken heart…

First Sergeant RafeMurano did everything to the extreme. He trained harder, he fought harder, and, unfortunately, he loved harder. And falling for the wrong woman nearly destroyed him.

Home from a deployment, and without his missions to consume him, Murano is ravaged by memories of his heartbreak. So he drinks until he’s numb and drowns himself in meaningless one-night stands. But they only take the edge off…

Until he meets Fallon.

Haunted by her past, Fallon Kelly knows all too well about the desperate desire for an escape. So when she sees the tatted-up bad boy who’s one punch away from a ride in the back of a squad car, she offers a distraction—one that quickly becomes an addiction.

Little does she know, this bad boy can love so hard, it can break her…

 

The aphrodisiacal sound that vibrated against her as she leaned into him caused her own blissful moan to crawl into her throat. His hands found their way to her ass and he held her to him. Fallon felt his hard cock nestle between her thighs, and as tempting and easy as it would be to slip her panties to the side and sink down on top of him, she wanted to make him delirious first.

She smiled.

He wasn’t too far from it already.

The pads of her fingertips skimmed across his chest, down the deep ridges of his stomach; then she reversed her previous path and did it all over again. Every time her fingers descended, the muscles beneath them would tighten in anticipation. Rocking against him again, she used her mouth to push his head to the side, then proceeded to tend to every delicious inch of his neck, paying close attention to his ear.

He groaned. “Are you trying to distract me or torture me?” he asked, his voice low and strained.

The struggle her body experienced, the out-of-control need that blistered inside her was worth this: the strength she gained from seeing that same struggle mirrored back at her. Pulling away from his neck, she smiled. “It’s such a fine line, isn’t it?”

Strong fingers latched onto her hips, digging into her flesh while he thrust his cock against her. “I’m walking that line right now, gorgeous. Don’t tease me.”

She didn’t know whether to laugh at the pained struggle in his voice or shiver at the threat.

His hips thrust again, his thick erection coaxing a silent moan from her throat as it ran deliciously along her sensitive clit. “I didn’t plan on teasing you, but if it evokes this kind of response from—”

Her words caught as he jerked beneath her, pinning her hips in place as he skillfully abraded her through her panty while dark eyes honed on hers. “And if this,” he said, rubbing against her once more, causing her to latch onto his biceps for support, “evokes this kind of response from you, just think what I’ll do to you while I’m fucking you.”

He shifted beneath her, the tight space of her coupe not particularly conducive to passenger-seat foreplay. Reaching down, he fumbled in the pocket of his jeans that were bunched around his knees and pulled a condom from his wallet.

His hand curled around the side of her neck, his thumb brushing over her lips. There was a gentleness in his touch that formed a small butterfly in the pit of her stomach. Rafe was apparently gifted in awakening cravings her body had never felt before. And butterflies from a tender touch was definitely one of them.

“You want this?” he asked, his gentle tone taking her by surprise as he continued stroking her lips.

She kissed the cushion of his thumb. “Do I look like a woman who does something she doesn’t want? Yes, I want this.” She leaned back into him, her mouth grazing his jaw before she tugged on his lip with her teeth.

 

I first fell in love with Kelsie’s writing in the Valentine Arrangement and she did not disappoint in A Beautiful Distraction.  She has a way of having a strong female and alpha male that is imperfectly perfect.  The mix is always the right amount of angst, heartbreak, sprinkle in some hotness and you have an amazing novel that leaves you wanting more. That leaves you turning the pages of your kindle devouring every word. That is exactly what you get in A Beautiful Distraction.  It’s not your typical love story and that’s what I loved about it! 

Fallon has depended on no one in life.  She has one passion… dance.   She is the owner of an upscale burlesque club and is able to use the stage as an outlet.  Her family life is nonexistent.  She was a just a puppet in their high class show and when she gets pregnant at 17, they turn their backs on her and is forced to live on her own.  She learns real fast that the only one she can depend on is herself.  She doesn’t do boyfriends, she has a few men that she is able to contact on her terms when she needs them.  But she is the one in charge of her life.  I loved Fallon’s take charge of every situation demeanor.  She oozed confidence and knew how to work it.    

Rafe is home on deployment.  He has been scorned by love so he drowns his sorrows in liquor and any women that he can find.  He is has that hard exterior, the dirty mouth, and the tattoos to go with the whole bad boy vibe he gives off.  He is extremely loyal to his friends and family and would bend over backwards to help them.  Even though he has an amazing family life with his brother and father, he refuses to let anyone in to his guarded heart.  He did that once and it left him in pieces so he vowed never again to go down that path.  Until a chance meeting with Fallon at her club.  He is mesmerized with her dancing on stage.  He is captivated by her. 

Likewise Fallon can feel someone watching her dance, even though the room is packed, all she sees is him. Something about him is different.  After she is finished with her show, she goes back to her owner duties.  Rafe is involved in an altercation and Fallon has no choice but to remove him from the club before he is thrown in jail.  Normally, she would allow this to happen but with him, something is different.  They both feel the charge that is between them and they both know they have never felt this with anyone. 

“She is the only person who’d given him full relief from the agony still residing in his chest.  She was a remedy that didn’t numb him.”

“He was a confusing, compelling contraction. He absorbed her hidden emotions yet at the same time her made her feel.  He was dangerous, yet his nearness alone gave her a sense of security she’d never experienced. He was a stranger, a beautiful distraction”

When they get together, sparks fly!  Its smoking hot and magnetic.   They both are used to having a relationship on their own terms… they don’t do them.  Period.  But they cannot ignore the need to be with each other.  You want to root for them to find their happiness. They both feel like they don’t need each other but deep down they do.   When a person from Rafe’s past makes an appearance, it threats to ruin what they have worked to build together.  Can they work past their own demons and find happiness?  Or will this person from the past threaten it all??  You’ll need to read to find out! 5 huge stars!

Beautiful Distraction was very steamy romance that will have you saying please please give me more!  This story was told in a third person POV, although I am not always a fan of third person it truly flowed ok with this book.  I would give this a 4-4.5 stars!  I hope y'all enjoy this story as much as I did...oh who am I kidding your gonna love it!

Fallon is the owner of a burlesque club that was given to her after the owner passed away.  She never thought her life would turn out the way it did because she came from a prestigious family but when something happens as a teenager her life will be turned upside down and she finds herself dancing at the club.  She is a no attachment kind of woman, she keeps her sex life just that sex nothing more.  When she meets a stranger Rafe will she throw all her inhibitions to the wind and let him be her distraction?  Or will her heart get involved?  

Rafe is a hot sexy military man who is dealing with a broken heart.  When he loves someone its deep and meaningful and he doesn't know how to deal with the pain of losing that love.  He makes a promise to himself that he will never get involved with a woman that would make him feel that way again.  So he thought.... that was until he meets Fallon and she will literally flip his emotions all over the place.   Can he let go of his past and start over with this wonderful woman?  Or will his past creep up and steal everything he has tried to push away?  

Can these 2 be each others beautiful distractions or will there hearts become apart of it and it will no longer be a distraction but a real epic love?

Go get this book now!  I look forward to more from this author and hopefully soon!  Thanks for a great read!  

Fallon- For owning a burlesque club where inhibitions were checked at the door, Fallon was pretty reserved when it came to her personal life.  It was just easier that way.  It was her coping mechanism, her life preserver, her safety net. Keeping everyone around her at a safe distance from her heart was the only way she knew how to protect it from herself.  

Arm's length.  That's how she liked to keep her relationships, intimate and platonic alike.  That was her motto.  

He was a confusing, compelling contradiction.  He absorbed her hidden emotions yet at the same time made her feel.  He was dangerous, yet his nearness alone gave her a sense of security she'd never experienced.  He was a stranger.  A beautiful distraction. 

Missing the effect a touch, a caress, and embrace could give.  She been limiting her body's contact, carefully safeguarding it.  But the complete honesty his body gave to her penetrated her previously indestructible barriers.  Rafe's touch was treacherous, though.  Frenzied and chaotic in a way that was simplistic and easy.  She knew the dangers that lay ahead with every flame that flickered between their connecting bodies.  

Rafe:  There was something desperate on that woman's face that sent a desire through him beyond that reaction of seeing her bare tits or her round ass.  She was fucking beautiful.  And the way her body moved caused his eyes to lock on her even before she removed her clothes.  She was elegant and strong.  Nothing about the way she danced was intended to arouse the men in the crowd.  No, she moved like she was trying to seduce herself.  Like she was the only person she was dancing for.  It was sexy as hell.

A part of him---a large part of him-- craved this.  Always had.  Passion of every form had always coursed through his veins.  Whether love or hate, good or bad, it ran deep.  So deep that its strength consumed him.  Sometimes it was a curse, harboring a blazing intensity inside him.  Especially when that blaze had formed and inferno, turning his control to ash.  

Kelsie Leverich is the New York Times bestselling author of The Valentine’s Arrangement as well as other contemporary romance titles. Kelsie grew up in the small town of St. Joseph Illinois before getting married and following her husband from one Army post to another.  After eight years, they finally settled down in Avon, Indiana with two adorable knuckleheads that are better known as her kids.  Kelsie's life revolves around her family (to include three dogs and a cat) and most of the time, actually all of the time, it’s a crazy mess—but that’s the way she loves it!  When Kelsie’s not writing, you can usually find her snuggling on the couch with her kids and a good book or out on the lake with family and friends.  Kelsie is not a morning person, has a soft spot for animals, loves musicals, hates seafood, and thinks laundry is the source of all evil.

Represented by Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

You can find Kelsie on Twitter and Facebook, or visit her website at www.kelsieleverich.com

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