November 15, 2016

BLOG TOUR REVIEW: Sweet Cheeks



I want to give all the stars everywhere to SWEET CHEEKS by K. Bromberg. It's hard to put into words how much I loved it (but, of course, I will). If you can handle my fangirl flailing, read on for my review and then, for the love of cupcakes everywhere, please go buy it and experience it for yourself.


Sweet Cheeks, by K. Bromberg
Publish Date: November 14, 2016
Publisher: JKB Publishing, LLC
Format: e-ARC, provided by the publisher via Netgalley
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 5 STARS

(Synopsis) It all started with the invitation. To my ex-fiance’s new wedding.
I should have ignored it.Thrown it away. Set it afire. But I didn’t. I replied.

With a plus one.

And then my assistant accidentally mailed it.
Enter Hayes Whitley. Mega-movie star. The man who has captured the hearts of millions. But I gave him mine years ago. He was my first love. He was my everything. Right until he up and left to chase his dreams without so much as a simple goodbye.
When he showed up out of the blue ten years later, I should have known to steer clear. I should have rejected his offer to take me to my ex’s wedding. I should have never let him kiss me.
But I didn’t.

And now we’re left wondering if the pieces of the life we once shared still fit together somehow. First loves are hard to forget. The question is, do we want to forget? Or do we risk the chance and see what happens next?

For those of you who know K. Bromberg from her Driven series, let me say this. This is not Driven. 

It's better. 

Now, before you cry blasphemy too loudly, hear me out. I gave the entire Driven series 5 stars. It introduced me to this incredible author. And Colton Donovan is so incredible. But Hayes Whitley absolutely destroyed me in all the best ways. Sweet Cheeks was sheer perfection. 

Sweet Cheeks is the best second-chance romance I've ever read. Ten years earlier, Hayes and Saylor were so in love. Then Hayes left her without a single word for the bright lights of LA. Saylor, although devastated, moved on and eventually opened her own cupcake shop and got engaged, only to break things off with her fiancé right before the wedding. Months later, her business is in trouble due to her fiance's powerful family blackballing it. And then, she gets invited to her own wedding. Except, she's been replaced by a different bride. 

Saylor does what we all would want to do - she accepts and says she's bringing a date. I mean, who wouldn't want to do that to the guy who's made your life difficult just because you were trying to be honest with yourself? Problem is, she doesn't have a date. Enter her meddling older brother who still happens to talk to Hayes all these years later, even though he's now an A-list Hollywood movie star. Hayes shows up and takes Saylor to the destination wedding, and those feelings she thought were gone fly to the surface with one look. One touch. But his job is still a barrier, as is an ex of his. And just when Saylor thought her life couldn't get more complicated - enter the paparazzi.

I ran the gamut of emotions while reading Sweet Cheeks. Reading about how Saylor's ex-fiance and his family have treated her and caused her business to stall, and then later in the book when they say awful things about her to her face and to the media, made me want to rage at them on her behalf. Saylor's and Hayes' thoughts on the demise of their relationship when they were teens brought tears to my eyes. Their antics and playful moments now as adults made me smile and laugh. and Hayes' efforts to win Saylor over for good at the end - I swear to you, I've never, EVER swooned harder before in my life. 

This is one of those books that I wish I could go back and read it again for the first time. I loved every second of Hayes' and Saylor's efforts to find their way back to each other again after all this time. I loved watching each of them realize in their own time that they never stopped loving the other. I loved every drop of sexual tension and every moment of uncertainty when they reflected on whether they could risk their hearts again.

I'm such a wreck. I'm over here turning a playful twirl in the moonlight into a kiss I don't want to want, to fantasizing how it would lead to my happily ever after.

The end is one of the best book endings ever for a romantic girl like me. It makes every moment of angst, every angry word, and every past deed disappear with the smash of a cupcake and a well-worded Tweet. This book makes you believe that true love really does conquer all, including time, distance and mean girls. 

Sweet Cheeks is written in dual POV, which was wonderful. I loved getting both Hayes' and Saylor's side of the story, especially regarding the past. This book also is not lacking in the hot, steamy sex department. Hayes and Saylor have an incredible connection borne out of time and experience, and that translates into a powerful physical presence together. K. Bromberg captured all of this so perfectly and more than delivered on her desire to deliver an outstanding story outside of the Driven world.

"You've always been there, Hayes. In my dreams. On my mind. In my hopes. Tattooed permanently on my heart." 
 

New York Times Bestselling author K. Bromberg writes contemporary novels that contain a mixture of sweet, emotional, a whole lot of sexy, and a little bit of real. She likes to write strong heroines, and damaged heroes who we love to hate and hate to love. 

She’s a mixture of most of her female characters: sassy, intelligent, stubborn, reserved, outgoing, driven, emotional, strong, and wears her heart on her sleeve. All of which she displays daily with her husband and three children where they live in Southern California. 

On a whim, K. Bromberg decided to try her hand at this writing thing. Since then she has written The Driven Series (Driven, Fueled, Crashed, Raced, Aced), the standalone Driven Novels (Slow Burn, Sweet Ache, Hard Beat, and Down Shift), and a novella (UnRaveled). She is currently finishing up Sweet Cheeks a standalone novel out November 14th. 

Her plans for 2017 include a sports romance duet (2 books: The Player, The Catch) and the Everyday Heroes series (3 books: Cuffed, Combust, and Cockpit). She’s also writing a novella for the 1,001 Dark Night series that will be out in February 2017. 

She loves to hear from her readers so make sure you check her out on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKBromberg
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