PAUSE (Larsen Brothers 2) by Kylie Scott -Review & Excerpt tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 13, 2021.
When Anna wakes up from a coma after a car crash, she discovers life has gone on without her. Her husband has been unfaithful—with her best friend—and she’s been long since replaced at work. While her old life is a distant memory, her new life feels like an empty shell. Then she meets the stranger who saved her life during the crash, and he changes everything.
Leif Larsen—tattooist, joker, and player—has his own scars thanks to the crash that put Anna in a coma. Helping her move on from her failed marriage, and create a new life, sounds like a perfect distraction. So when he needs a new roommate, he invites Anna to begin her new life with him.
Although their lives may have been put on pause, together they just might find a way to heal.
•••••••
REVIEW:PAUSE is the second instalment in Kylie Scott’s contemporary, adult LARSEN BROTHERS erotic, romance series focusing on the Larsen Brothers. This is thirty something, tattoo artist Leif Larsen, and twenty-seven year old Anna Arndt’s story line. PAUSE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary. Leif was first introduced in book one REPEAT.
NOTE: PAUSE was first released audible format in April 2021.
Told from first person perspective (Anna) PAUSE follows in the aftermath of a near fatal accident that left our heroine in a coma, and Leif Larsen wondering where everything went wrong. Seven months earlier a hit and run accident resulted in Anna losing control of her car, forcing a man on a motorcycle off of the road. Fast forward to present day wherein Anna awakens from a coma only to discover the life she once knew is no longer the same. Another three months will pass, following physical therapy and acceptance, Anna will seek out the stranger she had forced off the road. Enter tattoo artist Leif Larsen, and the man with whom Anna would fall in love. What ensues is the friends to lovers relationship between Anna and Leif, and the potential fall-out as neither one is ready to open their heart to a possible future.
Anna was a married woman the night of her accident but seven months later, Anna would discover her husband had been unfaithful with her best friend and boss. Hoping to connect with the man that stayed by her side at the scene of the accident, Anne will ‘reintroduce ‘ herself to Leif Larsen, a connection that had been forming throughout her stay at the hospital. Leif Larsen struggled in the weeks following the accident that has left him with scars both inside and out. Reading to Anna while she lay in the hospital gave Leif a sense of purpose, a purpose that would lead to something more.
The relationship between Anna and Leif is one of mutual and shared commiseration as the accident left both unanswered questions as to the who and why. Anna needed a place to stay, and Leif offered a room at his place, a room that would bring Anna into the orbit of our storyline hero but neither Leif nor Anna was looking for a permanent relationship having both been burned from relationships in the recent past. The $ex scenes are passionate, erotic and intense but I dislike the use of a certain four-letter word, although only used once, more for shock value than anything else.
The secondary and supporting characters include Anna’s friend Briar; Anna’s ex Ryan, and her ex best friend /boss Celine; Anna’s mother Denise, as well as Leif’s brother Ed, his girlfriend Clementine, and tattoo artist Tessa.
PAUSE is a story of family and friendships, betrayal and loss, relationships, acceptance, and love. The premise is real and heart warming; the characters are strong, determined and sassy; the sexual chemistry is palpable and hot; the romance is seductive and provocative. PAUSE is a wonderfully captivating addition to the author’s Larsen Brothers series.
Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one REPEAT.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed By Sandy
Haven’t started the series? Get book one REPEAT for ONLY 99¢ for a limited time
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What to do?
The rational response would be to give up and go home. Because hiding out in my childhood bedroom has worked out great so far (and this would be sarcasm). It’s been months since I left the house for anything other than a medical appointment. Weeks since I’ve heard from any friends. Right on cue, my cell buzzes inside my tan Coach purse. I don’t bother to look. Mom requests proof of life every hour on the hour. Not even dinner at the country club can distract her, apparently. Her parental concern for me is well past claustrophobic.
My hand clenches the iron railing against a gust of unseasonably warm evening wind. It’s been a while since I stopped using a mobility aid, but things can still feel tricky. The whole damn world does, if I’m being honest. So many things I took for granted have now been turned upside down.
This is the problem with living the supposed dream. With having an airtight plan for your life. Meet Prince Charming and marry him. Find the perfect job. Only problem is, if something goes wrong, when reality smacks you upside the head and sends you reeling, then there’s no system for putting the pieces back together. There’s no Plan B because it never occurred to you that you’d need one. A lack of imagination on my part, perhaps.
A motorcycle pulls up to the curb and it’s like everything happens in slow motion. Something about this long, lean man just makes time want to stand still. A denim-clad leg is swung over the back of the iron beast. A helmet is removed and shoulder-length hair tumbles free. High cheekbones and perfect lips are framed by stubble and all I can do is stare.
I don’t know if I’m intimidated or turned on or what.
“Can I help y . . .” he begins. There’s the faintest spark of recognition in his eyes.
I continue to stand there frozen.
“Fuck me,” he mutters, stalking closer. His gaze slides over me from top to toe, lingering on the small scars on my left cheek from the glass. There’s no attempt made to hide his curiosity. “It’s really you.”
Nichelle the nurse described him as being a nice young man. Nothing more. Certainly nothing that would prepare me for this. And I dispute “nice.” Ripped denim, battered leather, and a Harley-Davidson motorbike are not nice.
“Never seen you conscious before,” he says, getting even closer.
I just blink.
From beneath the collar and cuffs of his leather jacket emerge colorful tattoos. Lots of them. Blue waves and black letters. Red flames and white flowers. The man is a walking, talking piece of art. My parents would be horrified. Ryan too, for that matter. Not that any of their opinions matter. I need to forge my own path. Go my own way.
“How did you find me?” he asks with a faint frown.
“Oh. Ah.” I smooth down the front of my pale blue midi-length linen summer dress. My dark hair is slicked back in a low ponytail and my makeup is simple but perfect. It’s nice having some things I can control. “One of the nurses from the ICU told me about you and I wanted to come say thank you. But maybe an apology would be more in order?”
For a moment he pauses, then he asks, “Do you want to come in?”
Good question. The fact is, I don’t know. Nor do I know how to do this. Something made obvious when my mouth opens, but nothing comes out. So much nothing for such a length of time that it’s beyond embarrassing. Dammit. Whatever it is I came here looking for, it wasn’t this. Him. Whatever.
“We’ve never properly met, have we?” He holds out his big hand. “Hi, I’m Leif.”
“Anna.”
While I’m tentative, he shows no such reserve. Strong, warm fingers enfold my own stiff and cold ones. There’s no attempt at a dominating handshake or groping. He gives my hand a squeeze, just the one gentle squeeze, before setting me free.
“I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but that would be weird.” He grins conspiratorially and oh my God. Everything low in my stomach wakes up and takes notice. Shame on my lady parts, but the chemical pull of the man is ridiculous. It takes me a minute to remember that I’m a married woman. Mostly. Well, somewhat anyway. I certainly have no business smiling at him like I am. My life is messed up enough without adding a crush. Perhaps it’s in reaction to me, I don’t know, but the mirth disappears and his gaze becomes serious. A little bleak even. “I still have nightmares about that day, you know?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault.”
“I shouldn’t have come.”
“Don’t, Anna. Don’t look like that. I didn’t tell you to hurt you or make you uncomfortable. I was just . . . sharing.” His expression changes again, a more subdued smile taking the place of the brief hint of trauma. Then he suddenly winks at me all flirty like. I don’t know how to react. I can barely keep up. The man is a whirlwind. “Want to come in and have a beer with me?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“I just . . . I don’t want to remind you of things you’d rather—”
“I want you to come inside. I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.”
A drink with a pretty wild man that I have a strange sort of history with or a swift return to safety and boredom? I don’t overthink it. I don’t even hesitate. “Then yes, Leif. I’d love to.”
Kylie is a long time fan of erotic love stories and B-grade horror films. She demands a happy ending and if blood and carnage occur along the way then all the better. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and one delightful husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet
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