FIND ME (The Found Duet #2) by Laurelin Paige-Review and Book Tour
FIND ME
The Found Duet #2
by Laurelin Paige
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic romance
Release Date; August 25, 2015
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 25, 2015
The Conclusion of Gwen and JC’s Story
Gwen Anders came to The Sky Launch to begin fresh, away from the horrors of her past. She fit in quickly, becoming good friends with her co-manager, Alayna Withers and the owner of the club, Hudson Pierce. Though the circumstances that brought her here were not the best, she’s never felt more at home.
But starting a new life means letting go. And there are some things she doesn’t want to leave behind – like JC, the man who taught her how to let loose. The man she wasn’t supposed to fall in love with. The man she doesn’t want to lose.
Now, with the reason she ran still a threat, Gwen fears she’ll never be able to move on completely. And if she does, can she still hold out hope that JC loves her enough to come and find her?
•••••••••••••••
NOTE: You can read Sandy’s review of FREE ME (book 1) at the end of this review.
REVIEW: FIND ME is the second installment in Laurelin Paige’s contemporary, adult The Found Duet erotic, romance duology focusing on the mysterious billionaire JC Bruzzo, and night club manager Gwen Anders. FIND ME should not be read as a stand alone as most of the premise builds upon the events of book one –FREE ME-wherein the storyline’s cliffhanger leaves the reader wondering where everything went wrong. The Found Duet is a spin off from Paige’s FIXED SERIES but you do not have to have read the previous series to understand the premise.
Told from first person point of view (Gwen Anders) with an epilogue written from JC’s point of view, FIND ME advances the duology one year and in all that time Gwen has not heard from or seen the man with whom she had fallen in love. Threats against our couple found Gwen and JC going in opposite directions leaving a grieving Gwen considering her options for the future. One year is a very long time to pine for the man who promised one day he would return but pressure from family and friends finds Gwen seeking out a relationship from another direction.
FIND ME is a story of passion and romance; heartbreak and betrayal; letting go and moving on. There are tender moments wrapped in a comforting blanket of promises for the future that are often eclipsed by the darkness that threatens to destroy everything they have. JC is a broken man who desperately wants to protect the people that he loves but in doing so leaves a trail of heartbreak and pain in the wake of his need to run once again.
Hudson Pierce and his wife Alayna Withers-Pierce play a secondary and supporting role throughout the series. Gwen’s sister Norma and the man in her life Boyd must consider their own options towards a future together; and Gwen’s brother Ben, whose own life begins an upward climb towards a happily ever after. We are introduced to Hudson’s younger brother Chandler- a man who fell in love with a woman whose heart belongs to someone else. Chandler’s story will be told next in CHANDLER (April 2016). The price paid for Gwen and JC’s happily ever after is heartbreaking and sad.
FIND ME focuses on retribution and revenge; secrets and lies; forgiveness and a happily ever after. The premise is romantic and intense. The characters are impassioned and emotional. The $ex scenes are erotic and seductive. The future is heartwarming and free. FIND ME is a welcome read for lovers of erotic romance storylines.
Copy supplied by the tour promoter.
Reviewed by Sandy
Jesus, I was so horny already, and I hadn’t even seen him yet. I’d thought about taking care of myself before JC got there but wasn’t sure if that would make things better or worse. By the time I’d decided it would make it better, Ben was there, and now JC was ringing my buzzer.
“You look incredible,” he said when I opened the door.
I blushed as I gave him a once over. He was dressed in khakis with a fitted shirt and a lightweight jacket. Lots of buttons, I thought. Which was a good thing, considering how damn good he looked. Had he always been that buff? “You do, too.” My thighs felt hot. Good thing I’d changed out of my pants.
I really should have pulled out my vibrator earlier.
“You brought flowers?” I’d been so taken by him I hadn’t noticed the small bouquet in his hands. Three red roses dressed with some smaller white bell-shaped flowers I couldn’t identify were wrapped in a red ribbon. I hadn’t expected it. “I didn’t know you were the kind of guy who brought girls roses.”
He shrugged with one shoulder. “I’m trying to impress you. I have a feeling this date is a test of some kind, and I want to make sure I pass.”
“Not a test,” I said dismissively. Though, wasn’t that what this was? A test to see if we got along as well outside the bedroom as we did inside? “But thank you. You do impress.”
I shifted my weight to one hip and flitted my glance between JC, still standing on the other side of the threshold, and the flowers in my hand. “I should put these in water.” But I wasn’t sure I was ready to invite him in. Because in meant we’d be closer to my bed. And my couch. And my kitchen counter. All of which were locations that could be tempting.
Really, I just shouldn’t be anywhere alone with him.
Either JC felt the same way I did or he could read my mind. “You can do that later. The plastic containers on the stems should last until we get back. And we should get going.”
“Perfect.” I set them on the console table behind me, relieved and nervous all at once. I took a deep breath, grabbed my purse, and turned back to him. “Let’s go!”
In the hallway, he offered me his hand. I took it, then, there it was—the shock of his touch as his fingers weaved with mine. I let out an involuntary sigh, and with it bricks of tension fell from my body. Release. It shuddered through me as electricity sparked up my limb from where we were connected and spread throughout my body, and I wondered if this was what it felt like to melt. What it felt like to be frozen for so long and then, finally, to have the sun brush against cold ice, transforming it into something more fluid, something entirely different.
I glanced down to where we were joined, so overcome by how right it felt to be touching him in this simple way. When I looked back at him, I found his eyes pinned on me. His expression said he’d felt it too.
“You messed up, you know,” he said, as we started toward the elevator. “You were supposed to wear something that I didn’t want to rip off of you.”
My cheeks heated—actually, I wasn’t sure they’d ever cooled from the first blush he’d caused. “You said it would be impossible for me to wear anything that wouldn’t elicit that response. The only other choice was to go naked.”
“That would have been an excellent choice.”
“But not very practical.”
“I’ve never been a fan of practical.” He pushed the call button and the elevator doors opened immediately, the car likely still there from when he’d arrived.
We stepped inside, our hands still molded together. The doors closed, and I so badly wanted to turn and kiss him.
Instead I delivered the short speech I’d practiced since I’d woken up that afternoon. “I think I should tell you, I don’t have sex on first dates.”
“Wow. That’s…surprising. Considering we had sex before we’d ever even been on a date.” He squeezed my hand. “But, after you left me with blue balls this morning, I already figured out you’d turned into a prude.”
I laughed. “I’m not a prude. I’m cautious. And that’s nothing new. That’s always been me.”
“Yes, it has.” The short phrase was full of subtext, and I knew he was remembering how uptight I’d been when we’d first met. Icy. Frigid bitch.
“I’m better than I was,” I assured him.
He nodded. “I know. Otherwise you wouldn’t have given me even this much of you. And if you want to wait, then I can too.”
What I wanted was to push him against the wall and devour him.
But that was an in-the-moment want, and long-term, I wanted a relationship that was real and lasting. “Thank you. It means a lot.”
He leaned in close and, though we were alone, whispered in my ear. “I’m not going to say that I’m not dying to have you under me, Gwen. Because I am. But I’m dying to just be with you more.”
Despite the descent of the elevator, his words sent me floating. “You’re really good at that impressing thing.”
He gave me my favorite grin. “Who knew?”
FREE ME
(The Found Duet #1)
by Laurelin Paige
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic romance
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 2014
Her story started long before she started working at The Sky Launch…
Screw fairytales. The only reward Gwen Anders got from her rough childhood was a thick skin and hard heart. She’s content with her daily grind managing a top NYC nightclub—Eighty-Eighth Floor. So hers isn’t a happily ever after. She doesn’t believe in those anyway.
Then she meets J.C.
The rich, smooth talking playboy is the sexiest thing that Gwen has ever encountered, but she’s not interested in a night-in-shining latex. But when a family tragedy pushes her to the brink, it’s J.C. who’s there to teach her a new method of survival, one based on following primal urges and desires. His no-strings-attached lessons require her to abandon her constant need for control. Her carefully built walls are obliterated.
Gwen discovers there’s a beautiful world outside her prison. Freedom is exhilarating—and terrifying. When she starts to feel something for J.C., she fears for her heart. Especially as she realizes that he has secrets of his own. Secrets that don’t want to set him free.
•••••••••••••••••••
REVIEW: FREE ME is the first installment in Laurelin Paige’s adult, contemporary FOUND DUET- a spin off from her FIXED trilogy. This is nightclub manager Gwen Anders, and businessman JC’s storyline. You do not have to have read The Fixed Trilogy to follow the Found Duet.
Told from first person point of view (Gwen) FREE ME follows the building relationship between Gwen Anders and a man she knows only as JC. JC made Gwen an offer-a no strings attached sexual relationship wherein both would get what they want without the exchange of personal or private information; no history; and no emotional attachment. What ensues is a sexual relationship that will grow into a love match between two broken people whose lives are filled with heartbreak and pain.
The relationship between Gwen and JC is one of immediate attraction but Gwen’s life is a series of distant friendship because of the circumstances within her life. Her closest friend is her sister Norma, and a brother whose own life is spiraling out of control. The $ex scenes are aggressive, intimate and provocative. JC’s promise to make Gwen ‘feel’ finds our couple falling in love but not before everything in their personal lives begins to unravel.
The secondary and supporting characters include Hudson Pierce (The Fixed Trilogy) with a cameo by his significant other Alayna. We are also introduced to Gwen’s sister Norma and her brother Ben; as well as a number of nightclub employees, security personnel, and a server at the Eighty Eighth Floor Club Alyssa whose has eyes for the delectable JC.
The world building focuses on the unknown secrets; the hidden truth behind JC’s reluctance to reveal his personal information, and Gwen’s need to remain close to her family. Gwen’s back story is awash in a nightmare that will come full circle; JC’s full story is unraveling a little at a time.
Laurelin Paige pulls the reader into an emotional story about two people who meet each other at a time when their lives are going in opposite directions. The premise is intriguing and full of secrets; the romance is passionate and seductive; the cliff hanger finds Gwen wondering where everything all went wrong.
Reviewed by Sandy
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USA Today and New York Times Bestselling Author Laurelin Paige is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however. When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, or dreaming of Adam Levine. She is represented by Rebecca Friedman.
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Great reviews Sandy
Great reviews, Sandy. Looks like interesting reads.
Great review, Sandy. A new author for me. Thanks.
Terrific review, Sandy. Sounds like an emotional storyline.
Wonderful reviews Sandy, sounds like quite the series!!
Sounds like a great series. Thanks for the fantastic reviews. Congratulation to Laurelin Paige on the new release.
thanks everyone…it was a different kind of read-a different kind of romance storyline.
Wonderful reviews-looks like something I would like to read as well.
Thanks for the reviews Sandy. I read the original series but I haven’t had a chance to read the spin off.