Sandra's Book Club: Blog Tour: BACKUP OFFER by Liz Crowe

Backup Offer

by Liz Crowe

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GENRE: Contemporary Romance

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BLURB:

Short teaser: A second chance means never giving up on love.

Longer teaser: An ex-boyfriend, his massive dog, her small apartment and no hotel rooms in sight. What could go wrong?

When Blair ended things for good with her long-time boyfriend, she knew she’d have to get away--and stay away--from him. Which meant leaving family, friends, and the only life she knew in Michigan in her rear view mirror and opening a farm-to-table restaurant in a new city. Being owner/head chef keeps her plenty busy, especially since “Blair’s Kitchen” has become the talk of the restaurant scene thanks to its fresh approach to food, drinks, and paying her staff a living wage. She’s managed to avoid traveling home for almost a decade, but when her best friend needs her help, she drops everything and heads back, figuring she’s had enough time away to resist Brandis’ pull.

After years spent fighting addiction and the fall-out from personal tragedy, including losing Blair thanks to his own bad behavior, Brandis has spent the last ten putting his life in order. As the third generation president of his family’s successful construction company, he’s added several new services, including a program that hires at-risk teens and pays them to learn construction skills. He’s also reconstructed his relationships with his family, and is his older sister’s go-to kid wrangler. He’s even adopted a dog, thanks to some donated renovation time spent at the local animal shelter. He’s got everything he needs—except a girlfriend.

When the contractor she’d already paid to build her restaurant’s expansion takes her check and vanishes , leaving her with a giant mess and little money, Blair only hesitates a moment before calling Brandis. She’d managed fine when she’d seen him in Michigan, after all. What could go wrong? Famous last words, she figures, when she realizes that the weekend he comes to evaluate her crisis is so busy there isn’t a hotel room to be found in a ten mile radius. So they settle in to a routine—her, her one-time boyfriend, and his giant, slobbering dog in her small house. It doesn’t take long for the temptation of close proximity to give way, and while Blair is determined to make it nothing more than physical, Brandis has other ideas.

The end of the Stewart Realty series saga brings the second generation full-circle in ways many never expected, but no one regrets.

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Excerpt Two:

“Let’s not dirty any more dishes,” he said. “And I hope you get Disney because I’m in a retro Star Wars mood.”

“Of course I do,” she said.

They passed the carton back and forth, keeping some distance between them on the couch while the dog chewed her bone, then stretched out on the rug and cut a loud fart. “Wow,” Blair said, waving a hand in front of her face.”

“Oh, that’s nothing,” Brandis said. “It’s one of the reasons I don’t give her processed dog food. Her digestion is…delicate.”

“I don’t know if delicate would be the word I’d use.”

He shrugged and ate the last bite, then took their spoons and the empty container back to the kitchen. When he returned, he sat, and pulled her feet onto his lap. She tensed, but he started rubbing her feet, which made her forget pretty much anything else. She must have dozed a little because she opened her eyes, the dog was on her eye level, looking at her curiously. “You snore,” Brandis said. “Freaked her out a little.”

“Ugh,” she said, rolling onto her side. Brandis kept his hand on her leg, resting it on her hip while the movie ended. The next thing she knew, she was being carried, tucked into bed, a finger tracing her cheek and lips. Half asleep, she opened one eye. “This is weird, and I’m sorry I’m being so…”

“Horny? I’m not sorry.” He brushed her hair off her face, his touch gentle.

“So needy,” she said. “But also…unavailable at the same time.”

He shrugged, leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I know how you feel. And I’m okay with this, for now.” He pressed his lips to her neck, just below her ear. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close a few seconds, then let go and rolled away from him, exhausted, sore, happy, and sad all at once.

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My review: Brandis and Blaire are two lonely souls with painful pasts. The plot can get a little tangled and complex, but I always like it when two people find strength in each other.

The writing is pretty good with its simple and captivating narrative, and the characters are quite endearing.

Overall, a nice read.

My rating: 3 stars

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville living in Central Illinois. She's spent her time as a three-continent expat trailing spouse, mom of three, real estate agent, brewery owner and bar manager, and is currently a social media consultant and humane society development director, in addition to being an award-winning author. With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, inside fictional television stations and successful real estate offices, and even in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are compelling and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, at times frustrate, and always linger in the imagination long after the book is finished.

Follow along with Liz online:

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/LizCroweAuthor

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/lizcroweauthor

FACEBOOK CHAT ROOM: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Lizcrowefans

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/lizcroweauthor/

TIKTOK: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeQoUHjD/

BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/liz-crowe

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: https://www.amazon.com/Liz-Crowe/e/B00573TC7M

GOODREADS PAGE: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4350864.Liz_Crowe

WEBSITE: http://www.lizcrowe.com

INTERESTING HUMANS PODCAST INTERVIEW; https://interestinghumanspodcast.buzzsprout.com/639664/6917804-liz-crowe-romancing-the-romance-novel

BOOKS ON THE MIC PODCAST INTERVIEW: https://www.audible.com/pd/Books-on-the-Mic-Ep-16-Liz-Crowe-Desiree-Holt-Podcast/B092QRW2HP