Blue Collar Romance Series: MAKE ME by Evelyn Sola - REVIEW!

 

Falling in love is the last thing single mom Laci Hogan is looking for. Too bad her new neighbor didn’t get the memo. Cooper Stevens isn’t a stranger to hard work and when he wants something, he won’t stop until he gets it. Fall for this hard-working hottie in Make Me by Evelyn Sola, a Widow Romance, the next book in the Blue Collar Romance Series.

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Make Me

by

Evelyn Sola

About the book...

  Laci Hogan isn’t looking for love when she moves back to Oak Bend. Coming home is all about Laci gaining her independence she once lost. Besides, getting over a rocky past and losing her husband is more than enough for her to juggle while raising her two-year-old daughter but old acquaintance - Cooper Stevens can be persistent when it comes to getting what he wants. No stranger to hard work, he’s willing to do all it takes to prove to his new neighbor Laci that she doesn’t have to do life alone and that with the right person, a relationship makes life better - oh so much better. Will Cooper make her see that this could be all the happiness she never knew she was looking for?

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~~~  Excerpt  ~~~

Copyright 2021 Evelyn Sola

Just as I approach the corner, I’m hit on the shoulder by another body. I’m pushed to the wall, and the mountain of books in my hands crashes to the floor. The red folder holding my English term paper lands on top of the heap.

“Watch where you’re going!” the person who bumped says.

She doesn’t have the decency to stop, but by the sound of her giggles, I know who it is. And there’s no way the school’s most popular senior would give me the time of day. I sigh and drop to the floor to pick up my things. My heart starts to beat erratically because if there’s one thing I know—wherever Candace is, he’s never too far behind.

I’m proven right. A pair of black boots enters my line of vision. Cooper Stevens. Those are his boots. He was wearing them the very first time I saw him, and I remember wanting to be swallowed up by the ground. The only thing that saved me from total embarrassment was the fact that I know someone like him would never notice someone like me.

I hold my breath while he approaches and quickly turn to my books. Please leave. Please leave. Please leave. I busy myself arranging my books. I won’t stand up until he walks past me. Only he doesn’t. He drops down to my level and grabs my red folder. Instead of handing it to me, he opens it and starts to look through the pages.

I finally find the courage to look at him, and our eyes lock. For the first time ever, I notice the hazel flecks around his brown eyes. I look away and drop my head, and because this is the day from hell, my glasses slide off my face and land on the floor.

We reach for them at the same time, and his large hand ends up covering mine. I let out a small sound, and I say a silent prayer that he didn’t hear it. I note the contrast of our skin tones, his white hand covering my brown one before I pull mine away. He lifts my glasses and brings them to my face. I’m as still as a statue while I look down at the linoleum floor. He moves closer and slides the glasses back onto my face. I take a deep breath and bask in the smell of his leather jacket mixed with his fruity shampoo.

When he gets the glasses on my face, he moves his hands behind my ears to make sure they are secure.

“You okay?” he asks. He lifts my chin and forces me to look at him.

Like a deer in headlights, all I can do is stare.

“Be careful next time, Laces,” he whispers.

I lick my dry lips. “Um, my name is—” The words get locked in my throat. I grab my books and finally stand up. He stands right along with me. When we’re both upright, he takes a step closer.

“Your name is what?” he asks. He hands me my folder, and when I take it from him, his fingers touch mine.

“Um, my name is—” I clear my throat and try again. The entire time he stares at me with an expression I can’t interpret. “My name isn’t, um—” I never get a chance to finish my sentence.

“Cooper!” Candace yells in the hallway. She runs over to us and grabs the sleeve of his leather jacket. “Come on! What are you still doing here with her?” She points at me without bothering to look in my direction. “Let’s go. You did your good deed of the day. Maybe you should tell her to run a flat iron through that hair.” The entire time he was being dragged away, his head was turned in my direction, until they turned the corner and he disappeared.

Here we have the good, the bad, and the ugly.

In the good category, most definitely Laci, her little girl, and her aunt, as well as Cooper and his rescue dog.  Laci was trying so hard to provide the type of life her daughter deserved.  Despite how she came into this world and to whom, she wanted her to have all the love, all the opportunities, all the freedoms and support that she could offer...all the things she never received herself, growing up.  I couldn't help but root for her, all the way through the story, and the ending, both the explosive scene and the epilogue, were spot on for the tale.  Moving forward, Laci's aunt was an absolute gem.  Despite have a horrendous mother, more on that in another category, she had an ally, a friend, and a stand in mother in her.  She wouldn't take crap from anyone, and she gave love like it had no boundaries.  Same can be said for Sam's rescue dog...and even Sam, himself.  The pupper is a sweetheart, and I love that the breed chosen is one that some can be frightened of, but the gentle side if shown here.  As for Sam, he's a sight for sore eyes, and a potential salve for a wounded heart, but if he wants to win the prize, he's gonna have to move slow, and let Laces lead the way.

In the bad category, Laci's deceased husband, and all those people that looked over her in high school...but mostly Brian.  Yeah, it's best to let the dead rest, but I can't help but hope this guy would have eternity restless.  The harm he caused emotionally and spiritually to Laci was obnoxious.  The things he said it her, blamed her for, and how he treated her...well, it may not have been physical abuse, but it was the next worst thing.  Stuff like that can really get under your skin, and for Laci, it does...it takes her unexpectedly getting out from under him, and some really strong, and patient people to help her heart heal, and give herself permission to love again.

In the ugly category, we've got Laci's enemy since school days...Laci...and her very own mother, if you can believe it.  The former was a pretty girl on the outside that turned into a head turning woman, but what was on the inside was dark as tar, and three times as nasty.  She was overly concerned with her looks, and her weight, so much so that she couldn't accept others as they were simply because she couldn't accept herself.  Her lashing out when she wasn't getting her way was childlike and pretty easy to spot.  Her inability to walk away when she's been practically pushed, just made her immaturity shine brighter.  As for the latter, Laci's mom, you won't be able to believe the nerve of this woman.  She basically used her daughter for whatever was convenient at the time, just so she could hook her next man.  She didn't have enough self esteem to be on her own, and gave her self worth away to whatever Tom, George, or Harry happened into her life.  THEN, when things are starting to look up, she has a nasty habit of turning up...and you can imagine the fireworks that would ensue.  

All in all, memorable for many reasons with a story that will echo the "mean girl" tales many have from their own lives...but if you take a page from Laci, you'll know that the best way to win, the best way to come out on top of the naysayers, is to keep doing you, and don't let anyone steal your light.  Note for readers, there is a fair mention of Laci's weight being a bit over that of your standard twigs, and a good amount of spicy talk and/or scenes.  Sometimes those can be tipping points of interest, but if not, at the very least, it's good to know going in.

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About Evelyn Sola

A Boston native, wife, mother, and wine enthusiast. If she’s not writing, thinking about writing, you will find Evelyn with a book in her hands. While a new publisher, she’s been writing for years, and she will continue to write for many years to come. Evelyn is obsessed with assertive and confident men who will stop at nothing to get their woman. Her stories are filled with love, passion and humor. She currently lives in Chicago, IL with her husband and two daughters. 

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About The Blue Collar Romance Series

Escape to Oak Bend where blue-collar hotties work hard and love even harder. From broody carpenters to sexy electricians, these eight standalones are packed with small town feels, heat, and heartwarming happily ever afters. Enjoy your favorite tropes written by an amazing group of authors: Jaymee Jacobs, Alexa Rivers, Evelyn Sola, Kate Carley, Tracy Broemmer, Mila Nicks, Claire Wilder, and Moni Boyce. Fall head over heels for swoon-worthy book boyfriends who aren’t afraid of a little hard work for that happily ever after.

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Blue Collar Romance Series: A PLACE TO BELONG by Alexa Rivers - REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!

 

  

When Felicity Bell walks into her new rental, the last thing she expected was to find Wyatt Dawson, her hot new neighbor, half-naked in her kitchen. Despite their misunderstanding and rough start, things heat up quickly for this unlikely pair. Fall for this hard-working hottie in A Place to Belong by Alexa Rivers, an Opposites Attract Romance, the next book in the Blue Collar Romance Series!

A Place to Belong

by

Alexa Rivers

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From Alexa Rivers comes an opposites attract romance packed with humor, emotion and a sizzling happily ever after. 

  Horror author Felicity Bell moves to the charming town of Oak Bend after being shunned from the last place she called home. When she walks in the door of her new rental, she doesn’t expect to find a half-naked man standing in her kitchen. There’s just one problem: Wyatt Dawson seems to think it’s his kitchen. Misunderstandings aside, her new neighbor is lumberjack hot, and his grumpiness only makes her more determined to bring a little joy to his life, even if he’d rather be left alone. Burned by his past, Wyatt isn’t about to let the cheerful free spirit next door into his heart only for her to crush him when she flits out of town again. But with his well-meaning, matchmaking, mother on the case, these two end up spending far too much time together and things between the unlikely pair quickly heat up. It may be true what they say—opposites do attract, but only if their relationship can survive Wyatt’s interfering ex-girlfriend and Felicity's fear of history repeating itself. Welcome to Oak Bend, where blue-collar hotties work hard and love even harder, especially when it comes to landing their happily ever after.

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Excerpt

Copyright 2021 Alexa Rivers

I should have known the moment I saw her that this was no coincidence. A hot crazy lady randomly appears in my house? Not f*cking likely. This has Mom's fingerprints all over it, and the keys clutched in the blonde’s hand are the nail in her coffin. I sigh. The woman is eyeing me like I'm a rabid dog about to strike. Or at least, that’s how she’s looking at me now. I caught the flash of heat in her gaze when my towel dropped a moment ago.

Groaning again, I lean against the doorframe and wonder what I did to deserve this. I've spent a long day completing work on a brick fence. My back aches, and all I want is to crack open a beer and watch hockey.

"So?" The blonde clasps her hands together, fidgeting. She's pretty, if a bit skittish. Her moss-green eyes dart around the kitchen, returning to me every few seconds as though she's wary of taking her attention off me for too long. "What's going on?"

I nod toward the keys in her hand. "Those belong to my mother. She owns the house next door, which is the one you actually rented."

"Oh." Her slim shoulders slump in relief, and her curls bounce. "Thank goodness for that. It's all a big misunderstanding."

I laugh dryly. "It’s no such thing."

A furrow forms between her brows. "What do you mean? Surely she just gave me the wrong set of keys."

"If only."

She seems baffled by my cryptic comment, and I sigh, already able to tell that she's the type who's curious enough to stick around until I explain everything.

"Mom intentionally sent you here," I say, figuring I may as well get the awkwardness out of the way. I'm sure it's not the only time she'll be subject to Mom's match-making machinations if she plans to live next door. She has a wholesome, sweet vibe that Mom will just eat up.

Yeah, I'm going to be dodging this woman for the foreseeable future.

"She hoped we'd run into each other, and that I'd be smitten with you. She set us up."

"Oh." This time, there's a whole other level of meaning to the word. But then she cocks her head, and the furrow deepens. "I wouldn't have thought you needed to be set up." Her gaze rakes over me once again, and I can't help but puff out my chest. It's been a long time since anyone looked at me with such blatant appreciation, and I can tell she doesn't even realize she's doing it, or else she'd be mortified.

"I don't," I reply firmly, and her eyes snap up to mine. A delicate, pink flush journeys down her neck. Damn, I need to get rid of her before I actually do start to find her charming. "Here. I'll get you my key for the place next door, and you can give me that one." I nod at the key in her hand. She drops it on the counter.

"I'm so sorry about this." She wrings her hands, looking awkward as f*ck. "I didn't mean to just walk into your house and make myself at home."

"I know you didn't," I assure her. "I'm going to come closer now, is that okay?"

She nods, but her eyes remain on me as I enter the kitchen and head for the key hook by the fridge. I remove the one for the rental and replace it with the key she left on the counter, then offer her the one she actually needs. Our fingers brush as she takes it, and something jolts in my chest. Shaking it off, I snatch my hand away and check that the towel is still secure. The last thing I need is to give her another peep show.

"That key will open the front door of the house next door. Hold onto it for now, and I'll get Mom to drop by with the proper key tomorrow."

"I can do that." She smiles, and I resist the urge to fall back a step, because it lights up her entire face, elevating her from pretty to gut-wrenchingly beautiful. "I don't want to put you out any more than you already are."

"Don't worry about it." Despite my frustration, I find my lips curving. "It's not you I'm angry at."

Her expression softens. "Please don't be too mad with Nadine. She seems like such a nice person, and I'm sure she only wants to make you happy."

Damn, she has a point. But whether her intentions are good or not, it’s going to stop me from giving Mom a piece of my mind. She needs to know it's not all right to hand out my house key to total strangers just because she wants grandbabies.

 

Every book lover, enjoys reading a story where the main character is a bookworm themselves, and in this case, a writer too!  There's something great about identifying with them, and sharing an interest, that makes you step into their world that much more.

Felicity is the bookworm/writer, and Wyatt is the unexpected, but certainly not unwanted, love interest.  He's the broody town guy that's had his heart smashed to smithereens, and pretty much given up on love...with good reason too, considering the back story, but that's for him to share in time.  All we have from the start is our gal Felicity trying to make nice with the neighbor after that charged meet-cute scene you read a moment ago.  The groundwork for sparks is there, but they've both been hurt and are harboring bad tendencies that neither wish to own up to, making any sort of future, whether short or long term, seem out of reach...almost.  Good thing meddling family members know just how to rig the odds in the potential couples favor so as to keep pushing them together...and making it seem like it just happened that way.  Sneaky, but in a good way, and trust me, they're SO going to need it with their own self-doubt hanging around, past hurts refusing to budge, and former flames unaccepting of their chosen fate thanks to the choices they made.  Yes, I'm talking about YOU, Dawn.

By book's end, you'll be in love with the town, and hoping against hope that these two can pull it together before it's too late.  You'll be on the edge of your seat straight til the end, and I must say, it didn't end exactly as I imagined, but it made sense for these two souls.  

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About Alexa Rivers

 

  Alexa Rivers is the author of steamy and heartfelt small town romances. She lives in a small town herself, complete with nosy neighbors and quirky traditions. She shares a house with a neurotic dog and a husband who thinks he’s hilarious. When she’s not writing, she enjoys traveling, baking and decorating cakes, eating those cakes, cuddling fluffy animals, drinking excessive amounts of tea, and absorbing herself in fictional worlds.

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About The Blue Collar Romance Series

 

Escape to Oak Bend where blue-collar hotties work hard and love even harder. From broody carpenters to sexy electricians, these eight standalones are packed with small town feels, heat, and heartwarming happily ever afters. Enjoy your favorite tropes written by an amazing group of authors: Jaymee Jacobs, Alexa Rivers, Evelyn Sola, Kate Carley, Tracy Broemmer, Mila Nicks, Claire Wilder, and Moni Boyce. Fall head over heels for swoon-worthy book boyfriends who aren’t afraid of a little hard work for that happily ever after.

This promotional event is brought to you by Indie Pen PR

Blue Collar Romance Series: CHASING DOWN THE DREAM by Jaymee Jacobs - REVIEW!

HI there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

So, today we've got a blog tour stop featuring a title we helped reveal the cover of not so long ago, and now that it's made its publishing debut, we're ready to dive between the epages.  Are YOU ready?  Because what's waiting for you is a perfect Contemporary Romance reading escape for your holiday weekend that will have you turning pages as fast as a hockey player follows a puck...or something like that; I never was good at sports analogies (LOL).  Anywho, if you're ready to check out your next potential must read, KEEP READING as we check out a title from the Blue Collar Romance series.  Oh, wait, you probably want to know more about that before we get started; am I right?  TADA!

Escape to Oak Bend where blue-collar hotties work hard and love even harder.

From broody carpenters to sexy electricians, these eight standalones are packed with small town feels, heat, and heartwarming happily ever afters.

Enjoy your favorite tropes written by an amazing group of authors: Jaymee Jacobs, Alexa Rivers, Evelyn Sola, Kate Carley, Tracy Broemmer, Mila Nicks, Claire Wilder, and Moni Boyce.

Fall head over heels for swoon-worthy book boyfriends who aren’t afraid of a little hard work for that happily ever after.

This promotional event is brought to you by Indie Pen PR

...and now ladies and gents, the main event....

Chasing Down the Dream

by

Jaymee Jacobs

Release Date: 09/03/21

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About the book...

When Kasey Ruggieri returns to her hometown after her fashion design business implodes, she barely recognizes the handsome guy with a smokin’ body who comes to fix the HVAC as her brother's best friend. The skinny teenager she once knew is gone, and when Asher strips off his shirt to work in the boiling heat, Kasey can't take her eyes off his glistening, muscular chest. Now she needs more than air conditioning to cool her desires.

Asher Wallace has had a crush on Kasey ever since he realized girls don’t have cooties. She’s beautiful, talented, and fun. But as his best friend’s older sister, she’s completely out of his league. Once Kasey left Oak Bend to pursue a fashion career in New York City, Asher shelved his boyhood crush and moved on from his college hockey days and into the family's heating and cooling business.

When Kasey and Asher finally connect, there’s enough heat to melt a Michigan winter. But when Kasey stumbles onto a new, profitable fashion venture, will she leave Asher behind for the bright lights of the big city once more? Or can Asher prove to Kasey that love and success can be found close to home?

Welcome to Oak Bend, where blue-collar hotties work hard and love even harder, especially when it comes to landing their happily ever after.

AMAZON

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It's a classic boy met best friend's older sister, harbored a HUGE crush for years while she barely new he existed...at least, until ten plus years later when BOTH their worlds are going through some changes, and the chance they never thought they would have, just might come to pass.  Unless history repeats itself and dreams get in the way.  But just like life changes, SO CAN DREAMS...it all depends on the dreamer, and sometimes those changes can be remarkably sweeter.

I liked the faster pace of this novel, as it never really let you sit and ponder just what was going to happen while keeping you in suspense through pages and pages of filler.  Yes, there is story.  Yes, there are complications.  Yes, there are a million what-ifs to consider, maybes to contend with, and potential heartaches just waiting in the wings, but it all comes together fairly seamlessly, allowing us to enjoy the ride as it unfolds.  Kasey was a lost soul, down on her luck, and with more than a bruised ego.  She needed someone to listen, someone to show her kindness, someone to remind her that failure isn't when you don't succeed at something you've tried, but rather never having the guts to give it a go in the first place.  Asher was that someone.  Asher was also that someone that needed to hear that same message, which of course prompts him to reconsider his own life path, and makes more unexpected waves, but in the end, the biggest waves he surfs with ease, as he takes his life from standstill to the starting line.

In the end, it was a great Contemporary Romance with a believable storyline, great messages...and a little spice.  If you're a fan of the author, you won't be disappointed.  If this is your first time hearing about her work, you'll enjoy the introduction!

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About the author...

Jaymee Jacobs is a USA Today best-selling author and author of the Dallas Comets series. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh with a BA in English literature and a psychology minor.

Her books have the same two themes: hockey and the "millennial" experience. The first is because she's a die-hard fan (particularly of the Pittsburgh Penguins). The second is because she felt that there weren't any books to which she could personally relate. So she began to write the stories she wanted to read. Her books spotlight those in the up-and-coming generation as they navigate this new era of ubiquitous technology, online dating etiquette, and what it means to "adult."

When she's not writing, you'll find Jaymee curating her cats' Instagram account, listening to true crime podcasts, scrolling through Pinterest for fructose-free recipes, or yelling at the TV during Penguins games.

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Special thanks to Amy at The Indie Pen PR, LLC for the chance to bring this tour to you as well as the ecopy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on the title above, feel free to click through the links provided, or check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!