From New York Times Bestselling author Tessa Bailey comes the first novel in her hot, new Romancing the Clarksons Series.
When Rita Clarkson’s Suburban takes its last breath on a New Mexico roadside, rescue roars up on a Harley in the form of smooth-talking honkey tonk owner, Jasper Ellis, a man as mysterious as he is charming. Rita’s cross-country journey to New York City–with her three estranged siblings in tow–is only beginning, but now that Jasper has found Rita, his plans do not include her leaving.
Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo ** GooglePlay
When rescue looks like a whole lot of trouble . . .
The road trip was definitely a bad idea. Having already flambéed her culinary career beyond recognition, Rita Clarkson is now stranded in God-Knows-Where, New Mexico, with a busted-ass car and her three temperamental siblings, who she hasn’t seen in years. When rescue shows up—six-feet-plus of hot, charming sex on a motorcycle—Rita’s pretty certain she’s gone from the frying pan right into the fire . . .
Jasper Ellis has a bad boy reputation in this town, and he loathes it. The moment he sees Rita, though, Jasper knows he’s about to be sorely tempted. There’s something real between them. Something raw. And Jasper has only a few days to show Rita that he isn’t just for tonight—he’s forever.
About Tessa Bailey:
Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.
Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.
She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of eight years and four-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.
Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Goodreads
REVIEW:
Tessa Bailey is one of my favorite contemporary romance writers so I know that pretty much anything she writes, I am going to love. No one writes a steamy sex scene quite like Ms. Bailey. So I loved what she did with the story of Rita Clarkson, who has just accidentally burned down her mother’s award-winning restaurant. On top of that, it was her mother’s dying wish that Rita and her siblings – who aren’t exactly close – travel to the East Coast to swim in the ocean on New Year’s Day.
The Clarkson bunch is headed off on their road trip when their truck breaks down in the middle of New Mexico. The oh-so-hot Jasper enters enters the picture and offers them a ride into town and help with the local mechanic. So now the Clarkson family is stranded in the middle of nowhere. Yes, Jasper and Rita have instant chemistry BUT once again, Tessa Bailey surprises with Jasper: he’s trying to make something of his life and live down his bad-boy reputation, and low expectations that everyone has of him.
What if— to Rita—he could be Jasper, the decent soul and sparkling conversationalist? Standing right in front of Jasper was a woman without any preconceived— or hell, conceived— notions about him, and he couldn’t recall the last time that had happened.
Rita and Jasper were amazing!! But Rita is worried about her future and can’t stop thinking about life without Jasper. She thinks he is just a temporary diversion but Jasper is so much more than that! He is shocked that he actually wants to spend time with Rita and can’t stop think about her. Tessa Bailey always creates such terrific characters and Rita and Jasper were no exception. I LOVED their scenes together – Jasper is TOTALLY Alpha – and adored the alternating POV’s. You know you will always get an incredibly hot and sexy story with Ms. Bailey and add to that the wonderfully unique Clarkson family, then you have a great recipe for a funny, sexy and heartwarming story.
Here’s the thing. I swore off women. But then you came pedaling into town with this mouth, those eyes and the way they see everything… and fuck yes, I want to kiss you. I want to do all manner of things to you.”
Too Hot to Handle is a very enjoyable start to the new series involving the Clarkson family!!
4 Stars
(ARC provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.)
EXCERPT:
“Believe this, Rita. I think you’re gorgeous as sin and I need your mouth on mine.”
Rita nodded, meshing their wet lips together in the process. “I want to believe that. You might have to help me.”
“Thank Christ.”
Their mouths slanted and somehow—somehow—that feast of lips and tongue and teeth was even more potent than the night before. His knee rammed into the bike—almost as if his leg had tried to buckle—shooting pain up his right thigh, but it vanished under the pleasure. Vanished into vapor. The stroking, hot, abandon of Rita. They were both breathing through their noses so as not to break the voracious mouth-fucking they were engaging in, and that shouldn’t have been so all-out sexy. But it sure as shit was. They were attacking each other with seeking tongues and open lips, playing chicken to see who would give in first.
When her hands slipped under his shirt and pulled down on his belt buckle, putting pressure on Jasper’s cock, he cursed into her mouth, securing his fist in her hair like a goddamn barbarian. And she liked it, too. Why else would she be tugging on his belt, encouraging him to rock into the notch of her pussy? Too far. This was going too far. Any farther and they’d end up somewhere naked.
She’d leave the encounter with no doubt of his experience, because, hell, Jasper knew every button to press, when to change rhythm, when to be forceful or pull back. Knew it all. But Rita wouldn’t look at him the same way afterward. She’d see the local tramp, like everyone else.
She’d leave. And he’d have failed in his one attempt to be more to someone.
Jasper tore his mouth free, releasing a gruff exhale into her neck. “You have me ready to bust in my jeans, beautiful. I was smoother than this in high school.”
“That’s a scary thought,” she breathed out in a rush, her fists still curling in his shirt. “Was that the other half of your apology for last night? B-because I have to say, it was pretty effective.”
“At the risk of sounding arrogant, Rita, I haven’t even moved my hips yet. You’ve barely gotten a preview of how thoroughly I can…apologize.”
“Don’t leave me in suspense,” she whispered, those golden-brown eyes going as big as salad plates.
Don’t do it. You’ll have a hard-on for a decade. “If you agree to go out with me tonight, I’ll rub that wet, aching seam of yours with my own ache.”
Rita’s head fell back on a whimper. “Fine. Yes.”
Tessa Bailey’s TOO HOT TO HANDLE – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:
May 19th
A Literary Perusal – Review & Excerpt
Book Angel Booktopia – Review & Excerpt
Bookaholics Reading Haven – Review & Excerpt
Booklovers For Life – Guest Post
CherryRed’s Reads – Review & Excerpt
Krista’s Dust Jacket – Review & Excerpt
Lit. 4 Ladies – Excerpt
Reads All the Books – Review & Excerpt
Romance Playlist – Review & Excerpt
SBB Reviews – Review & Excerpt
Shayna Renee’s Spicy Reads – Review & Excerpt
Sultry, Steamy Reading – Review & Excerpt
Take Me Away To A Great Read – Excerpt
The Book Cellar – Review & Excerpt
The Book Disciple – Review & Excerpt
The BookWhisperer – Review & Excerpt
The Bookworms Obsession Blog – Review & Excerpt
The Lusty Literate – Review & Excerpt
The Reading Cafe – Review & Excerpt
Total Book Geek – Review & Excerpt
Vi3tbabe – Review & Excerpt
May 20th
Alphas Do It Better Book Blog – Excerpt
Book Lovin’ Mamas – Review & Excerpt
Chelles Life in Books – Excerpt
Ellesea Loves Reading – Excerpt
Hot Pressed Books – Review & Excerpt
Jack of All Trades, Master of None – Excerpt
JOJO THE BOOKAHOLIC – Review & Excerpt
Pink Lace & Silver Buckles Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
She Hearts Books – Review & Excerpt
Socially Awkward Book Nerd – Excerpt
The Book Bellas – Review & Excerpt
The Literary Gossip – Review
May 21st
A Brit and a Yank – Excerpt
A Fortress of Books – Guest Post
Becky on Books – Review & Excerpt
Beneath The Covers Blog – Excerpt
Book Lit Love – Review & Excerpt
Bookaholics Not-So-Anonymous – Review & Excerpt
Hart’s Romance Pulse – Excerpt
I Love Romance – Review & Excerpt
Kick Back & Review – Review & Excerpt
Kris & Vik Book Therapy Cafe – Review & Excerpt
Liz’s Reading Life – Excerpt
Shannon’s Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
The Book Sirens – Review & Excerpt
Wicked Babes Blog Reviews – Review & Excerpt
May 22nd
Aly’s Miscellany – Guest Post
Evermore Books – Excerpt
Kimmy Loves to Read – Review & Excerpt
Nose Stuck in a Book – Excerpt
Renee Entress’s Blog – Review & Excerpt
SnoopyDoo’s Book Reviews – Excerpt
The Fairest of All Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt
May 23rd
Best Book Boyfriends – Review & Excerpt
Book Reader Chronicles – Review & Excerpt
Books 2 Blog – Excerpt
Books by Migs – Review & Excerpt
Bridget’s Book Bungalow – Review & Excerpt
Four Chicks Flipping Pages – Review & Excerpt
My Book Filled Life – Review & Excerpt
my midnight fantasies – Excerpt
Nice Ladies, Naughty Books – Review & Excerpt
Novel Addiction – Review & Excerpt
Obsessive Reading Disorder – Review & Excerpt
Oh My Growing TBR – Review & Excerpt
Romanticamente Fantasy Sito – Review & Excerpt
Smut Book Junkie Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt
Southern Belle Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
Stephanie’s Sexy Reads – Review & Excerpt
May 24th
Alpha Book Club – Excerpt
bi n i b i n i – Review & Excerpt
Books Over Sleep – Excerpt
BooksPieAndCoffee – Review & Excerpt
G & T’s Indie Café – Excerpt
Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt
Jax’s Book Magic – Review & Excerpt
KatyaRath – Review & Excerpt
kimberlyfaye reads – Review & Excerpt
Miss Riki – Review & Excerpt
My Girlfriends Couch – Review & Excerpt
My YA NA Book Obsession – Review & Excerpt
Okie Dreams Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt
Once Upon a Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
Ramblings From This Chick – Guest Post
Romantic Reads and Such – Excerpt
Short and Sassy Book Blurbs – Review & Excerpt
Talking Books Blog – Review & Excerpt
The Eater of Books! – Excerpt
The Phantom Paragrapher – Review & Excerpt
The Readdicts – Review & Excerpt
Toot’s Book Reviews – Excerpt
True Story Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
WickedGoodReads – 2 Reviews & Excerpt
Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.
