VBT: Giveaway and Review ~ High Stakes by Cheryl Douglas

BLURB:

Former party girl, Alisa Turner, made a deal with her daddy, Trey. He’ll provide the seed money for her new business venture as long as she promises to stay out of trouble. Too bad her good intentions tumble 30,000 feet when she meets a sexy stranger on a flight to sin city.

Hotel mogul, Liam Bryson, has never believed in love at first sight, but when a sexy little siren twenty years his junior tempts him into a night of high stakes Blackjack, he’s suddenly playing for keeps.

Alisa wakes up in Liam’s bed the next morning, cursing Tequila and the five carat diamond on her left hand. She demands an annulment before her over-protective father finds out she reneged on their agreement, but her new hubby isn’t prepared to let her go without a fight.

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Excerpt:

“Good afternoon,” he said, beginning a lazy perusal that started with her bare, bronzed legs and ended where it had started, fixed on her eyes.

Alisa was too shocked by her physical reaction to his scrutiny to respond to the casual greeting. She was used to male admiration, but when a man was this obvious, she usually felt irritated, not warm and tingly all over.

His eyes zeroed in on her bare left hand, and he smiled, revealing a flash of white teeth and disarming grin so sexy it should have come with a warning label. No man had a right to be this handsome. It simply wasn’t fair to the poor unsuspecting girl seated next to him with no hope of defending herself when endless hours filled with nothingness stretched out before them.

“Your boyfriend must be crazy to let you travel to Sin City all by your lonesome.” His voice was low and raspy, filled with sexual innuendo and promise.

“I, uh…” Spit it out, damn it. “Don’t have a boyfriend.”

He licked his full lips as his intense eyes outlined her face. “Husband, fiancé… lover?” His voice deepened even more as he uttered the last word, sending thrill bumps skittering across her bare skin.

“No, no, and…” She drew a shallow gulp of air into her lungs, but the word still sounded breathless. “No.”

“Damn, I really need to fly commercial more often. I had no idea what I was missing out on.” He smiled again as he extended his hand. “Liam.”

She hadn’t expected his hands to be calloused or rough, and they weren’t. He was obviously accustomed to sitting behind a desk, and that suited her just fine. She loved elegant, refined men, and he more than filled the bill. “Alisa.”


Author Bio: 

Cheryl began her professional career as a nutritionist, but her love of books started at an early age. She studied writing for many years before she decided to pursue her passion as a full-time career. After receiving constructive criticism from several well-known authors, Cheryl finally had the confidence to write her first romance novel.

The first book in the Nashville Nights series, Shameless, was a book that had been dwelling in Cheryl’s subconscious for years. For her, the surprise came when the manuscript began taking on a life of its own. Characters came to life, secondary characters became more prominent, outlines were forgotten, and a single title evolved into an eight book series, and another eight book spin-off series entitled Nashville Nights, Next Generation.

One word would aptly describe Cheryl: workaholic. She lives and breathes her writing, when she’s sleeping, watching TV, driving, reading… it’s always in the periphery of her mind. Her imagination rarely takes a holiday, even when she escapes to a sandy beach with her husband and son, she’s planning, plotting, outlining, and daydreaming.

Cheryl feels blessed to be able to get up every day and do something she loves. The thousands of fans who have embraced the Nashville Nights have made that possible. She writes for the readers who ask for more, she writes to satisfy the muse residing inside of her, but most of all, she writes because she couldn’t imagine doing anything else with her life. It took her thirty-seven years to decide what she wanted to be when she grew up, but now that she knows, she’s convinced she’s found her purpose.


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Cheryl will be awarding the following prizes to randomly drawn commenters during the tour:

* two $20 Amazon Gift Cards

* ten trading card/cover flat packs (US/Canada)

* ten eBooks from the Nashville Nights series (winner's choice)

* two sterling silver necklaces (US/Canada)


As always the more posts you comment on during the tour, the more chances you have to win!

Here is the Tour Schedule.



My Thoughts:

High Stakes is a gamble that I would recommend taking. This book was a pretty quick read.

I liked the characters and the story. This book had romance that was more mature in nature. ;-)

Alisa met Liam on an airplane and they agree to spend the day together. He decides he will not let her go and the rest as they say, is history.

Alisa is not quite over her broken heart. She had found her fiance cheating on her. She tries to get over it by being obnoxious and partying too much. Her Dad says she needs to get it together or she's cut off.

Liam is twenty years older than Alisa and raising a 14 year old daughter but he knows that he wants Alisa on a much more permanent basis.

This story is a little far fetched but well written and very enjoyable.  I rolled my eyes a few times but continued on with the story. I liked it and will be reading the next book as well. :D

I would probably recommend this one to romance readers, provided that they aren't looking for something really deep and realistically meaningful.

I received a copy of High Stakes from Goddess Fish in exchange for my honest opinion. I honestly enjoyed it and I will read the next book in the series as well! 


Have you ever hit it off with someone on an airplane?






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