Blog Tour & Giveaway: The Valentine Challenge by Marisa Cleveland

Today Waves of Fiction is excited to be part of the Blog Tour for The Valentine Challenge by Marisa Cleveland sponsored by Entangled Publishing. For a full list of participating blogs click here.

 

 

 

 

The Valentine Challenge by Marisa Cleveland

Published: February 12th 2013 by Entangled Publishing-Flirt

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the Book: Stacey Bradford believes in love, but when her hot boss, Marshall Royce, decides to close her best friend's flower shop - days before Valentine's Day! - Stacey declares war.

Intrigued by Stacey's devotion to her friend, the hearts and flowers holiday, and belief in true love, Marsh issues a challenge - prove love exists or deliver the closing documents to her friend herself.

Stacey never could resist a challenge, but when Marsh makes Valentine's Day the deadline for their deal, Stacey must decide how far she's willing to go for love.
 

Rachel's Thoughts:
The Valentine Challenge is exactly what you want from a romance novella and I have to say it’s one of the best ones I’ve read in a while. 

Stacey is in a temporary position trying to make things permanent, but her would-be boss is fighting her filling the position.  Marshall doesn’t want an assistant that will distract him and Stacey is gorgeous.  Marshall expects that she’ll be throwing herself at him but instead finds her indignant and insulted that he would think that.  Plus, Stacey has just found out Marshall intends to put her best friend’s floral store out of business and she’s thoroughly ticked!  She makes it her goal to save her friend’s business, but Marshall gives Stacey a challenge that could jeopardize her heart.  

I love romances that start out antagonistic.  The push and pull is so much fun and creates delicious sexual tension.  It’s so much more rewarding when they finally give in to the desires they’ve had all along!  This story had just the right amount of spice to bring up the heat but not too much that it overwhelmed the story.  Here’s an example of some of that tension:

“In your note to me, you said you don’t date your staff.”
He swallowed. “I don’t.”
“This is a date.”
He shook his head. “This is a…”
She wrinkled her nose at him and waited while he paused.
He grinned. “Okay.”
“Okay? That’s your answer?” She stepped into his personal space. “I want you to say it.”
She couldn’t read his expression as he regarded her for a long moment. When his hand wrapped around her upper arm, she let him tug her toward him. His words brushed over her cheek. “Date. This is a date.”

Romance novellas are very tricky because the author has such a short time to grab your attention, make you swoon, and make it believable.  Marisa Cleveland did an excellent job on all counts and I’ll be looking for her work in the future!

A copy of this was provided by Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Suns

 

 

  

 



About the Author:

Marisa Cleveland loves to laugh, hates to cry, and does both often. As a writer, she writes. Every day. If she couldn't express herself through writing, music, and dance, she would die. Perhaps because she married her best friend, her adult romance novels focus on playful relationships developed through friendship and family-oriented values. She believes romance novels are the perfect "how to" books, because no matter the obstacles, the characters keep working toward their happily ever after.

She loves to connect with readers through her website.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

As part of the Blog Tour Entangled is giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card. Just fill out the rafflecopter below for a chance to win.  Good luck! 







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