In Bed With a Romance Author: Broken lights and reading recs
Hey there! What have you been reading or dreaming about lately? Here's what this romance author has been up to: I've been thinking of running away with an electrician.
Last week …
Me: Babe, we got to get the outdoor light fixed.
Him: Hmmm?
Me: The light! The motion-sensitive one that keeps turning on with the slightest blow of the wind … it's like a strip club in here with a flashing strobe light. I can't sleep.
Him: What?
Me: The light! It keeps shining through the bathroom window and is keeping me up all night.
Him: I thought the TV was keeping you up.
Me: That too, but the light is driving me up a wall, babe …
Him: We can just keep the bathroom door closed, or you can read one of your books and fall back asleep.
*Cue eye roll.*
Me: Until I run into the door in my sleep or the dog opens it with his nose. That's not a solution.
Him: Well, I can't fix it myself, so it will have to do until I find someone.
Me: I should have married a contractor.
I guess it's easy to imagine the grass always being greener on the other side, but the last few weeks have been about finding myself lost in different, possibly improbable, yet stellar love affairs. Hey, a girl can pretend.
I started by curling up with the latest installment in the Hitman Series by Jen Frederick and Jessica Clare. Last Kiss is the story of power-hungry hitman, Vasily, and Aspie computer genius, Naomi. We first met Naomi in Last Breath, when her brother Daniel extracted her from being held hostage by an extravagant crime lord. Known as the "emperor," Naomi had been quite busy moving millions of dollars into secret accounts — thanks to her hacking capabilities. In this book, Naomi ends up in the hands and at the mercy of Vasily, who is convinced she's the one and only person who can uncover and find the Caravaggio — a piece of art he needs to climb the ranks of the Russian Mafia, Bratva, and secure the leadership role he so desperately wants.
Both a little quirky in their ways, Vasily and Naomi feel an undefined attraction while finding a beautiful kinship to one another as they escape the wrath of fellow crime family members and traipse into the underground sex societies of Europe looking for the Caravaggio. She doesn't like germs, he doesn't like to be touched, but they quickly realize this doesn't apply to one another. Their stilted conversations on sex and life in general are humorous and touching at the same time, all the while their growing love weaves its way through the suspenseful story.
Not your standard perfect Barbie-meets-Ken romance, I adore the way Vasily cherishes and tries to understand Naomi's eccentricities and the endearing way Naomi accepts Vasily and his odd criminal mind. Their adventure is heart quickening and nail-biting, but the end makes it all worth it. Trust me.
When I finished, I wanted my very own hitman to love me exactly for who I am and all my germophobe-ness.
By the way, the light is still not fixed, and I'm also waiting for someone to help me rip a few dead bushes out of the yard. "It's not the right season for that," the mister reminds me. "When is the right season?" I asked.
"Fall."
That doesn't make sense!
Thinking on fall and waiting for my dreaded bushes to come out of the earth, I thought no better time than to grab a football novel.
With All Played Out, the third book in the Rusk Series by Cora Carmack, recently released, I hunkered down quickly. Carmack brings to life brainiac Antonella DeLuca and stud Mateo Torres in this one. Another feel-good story of a young woman who doesn't quite fit the mold everyone has come to expect for the jock, Nell and Torres are an unexpected pair. Strong and independent Nell teaches us about finding the right balance between achieving our goals and living life while brazen, party animal Torres gives a lesson in having a good time while finding our heart.
Complete with the requisite parties, football games and creative collegiate makeout sessions, the readers experience these two growing up, learning about one another's pasts while beginning to care for each other beyond their wildest dreams. Torres gets a dose of biomechanical engineering and Nell learns football and the dangers of playing. Nothing better than two crazy different worlds colliding and sparks flying.
I wanted to head back to college for four years when I was done with this installment.
But I just curled up next to my hubby and appreciated what we have … and made sure the bathroom door was closed so the light didn't shine in.
Rachel Blaufeld is a social worker/entrepreneur/blogger-turned-romance author. Her obsessions include running, coffee, icing-filled doughnuts, antiheroes and mighty fine epilogues. She is the author of the Electric Tunnel Series and Redemption Lane, and can be found at rachelblaufeld.com or on Twitter (@rachelblaufeld).