Smitten by Books

Today I’m giving away 3 digital copies. Comment to enter to win.

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Her Best Worst Mistake
Author: Sarah Mayberry
Publisher: Small Cow Productions
Pub. Date: May 4, 2012
ASIN: B00807FKPA
Pages: 188
Digital Price: $2.99
Amazon ~ Smashwords

She thinks he’s stuffy. He thinks she’s spoilt.
Then the gloves come off and so do their clothes!

For six years Violet Sutcliffe has known that Martin St Clair is the wrong man for her best friend. He’s stuffy, old before his time, conservative. He drives Violet nuts – and the feeling is entirely mutual. Then, out of nowhere, her friend walks out just weeks before her wedding to Martin, flying to Australia on a mission of self-discovery. Back in London, Violet finds herself feeling sorry for suddenly-single Martin. At least, she tells herself it’s pity she feels. Then he comes calling one dark, stormy night and they discover that beneath their mutual dislike there lies a fiery sexual chemistry.

It’s crazy and all-consuming – and utterly wrong. Because not only are they chalk and cheese, oil and water, but Martin once belonged to her best friend. A friend Violet is terrified of losing. What future can there be for a relationship with so many strikes against it?

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There is nothing like a new Sarah Mayberry book. I actively anticipate the release of her books, which is why I was thrilled to learn she had a new “Blaze-type” book out called HER BEST WORST MISTAKE.

The hero and hero, Martin St. Clair and Violet Sutcliffe, were secondary characters in Sarah Mayberry’s Blaze, Hot Island Nights. And I remember when I was reading Hot Island Nights, I thought there had to be something simmering beneath the surface of the relationship between Violet and Martin. Their interactions were so volatile and fraught with so much disapproval and…tension. Well in HER BEST WORST MISTAKE readers discover all that tension was sexual in nature.

Violet never thought Martin was a good match for her best friend Elizabeth. Despite her misgivings, she intends to stand up with her when Elizabeth marries Martin, a man who has the blessing of Elizabeth’s wealthy grandfather—whom Martin works for.

Martin in turn, disapproves of Violet. He finds her too everything: too flamboyant, too flirtatious, too impetuous. He’s quite staid and has pulled himself up from extremely humble beginnings. Marrying Elizabeth is the icing on the top of his well-ordered world. Then she dumps him and jets off to Australia in search of her biological father. He’s stunned and not about to let the relationship go that easy but a trip to Australia finds Elizabeth already involved with another man and Martin finally realizes that they are over—and never meant to be.

Neither Violet nor Martin expects to see each other again. Elizabeth had been the person holding them together. But Violet realizes why Martin has always irritated her. It isn’t that she doesn’t like him—as she’d convinced herself—it’s because she likes him…at little too much. Her peace offering in the form of a bottle of schnapps really blows opening their “true” feelings for one another. Their relationship goes through several fits and starts before getting into a good rhythm.

I absolutely adored and loved this book. When I first met them in Hot Island Nights, I prayed Sarah would follow up with a story of their love affair. Thank goodness she did and HER BEST WORST MISTAKE exceeded my expectations. Far from this staid, stuck-in-the-mud man, Martin has a lot of passion buried inside of him. The tension between them is electric and when they finally get together, their lovemaking is hot with a capital H.

Violet has some unresolved issues that has to do with her family and Martin grows in such a way that he grows to understand what’s really important in life and what’s not—like being accepted by the country club elite. The one big sticking point is that Violet puts off telling Elizabeth that she’s now in relationship with her ex-fiancé. And let’s face it, she’s broken the unspoken rule of dating your best friend’s ex. It’s just not done. But alas, that all works out nicely bringing the book to a most satisfying ending.

I highly recommend HER BEST WORST MISTAKE, which is a steal at $2.99. It has it all: great conflict, taut sexual tension and two fabulous lead characters. And as far as sequel go, it’s a winner.

Rating: 4.5 (Excellent – Must Read)

Heat-Level: 4 (Hot)

Reviewed by Beverley