It’s a blog tour day, y’all!! Today I’ve got Jane Grave’s latest contemporary romance, Baby, It’s You!
About Jane Graves:
New York Times bestselling author Jane Graves is a nine-time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award, the industry’s highest honor, and is the recipient of two National Readers’ Choice Awards, the Booksellers’ Best Award, and the Golden Quill, among others. Jane lives in the Dallas area with her husband and a very sweet kitty who kindly keeps her lap warm while she writes. You can write to her at jane@janegraves.com. She’d love to hear from you!
Find Jane online at her website www.janegraves.com, on facebook, and twitter.
About Baby, It’s You:
With only the wedding dress on her back and her honeymoon luggage in the car, Kari Worthington is running away. Determined to put her controlling father, her rigidly structured life, and the uptight groom she left at the altar in her rearview mirror, she escapes to the Texas Hill country… and lands on a tall, dark, and gorgeous winery owner’s doorstep. All she needs is a job and a place to live until she can get back on her feet. So why is she fantasizing about losing herself in his powerful arms?
For Marc Cordero, freedom is so close he can taste it. He’s devoted his life to managing the family business and being a single dad. Now with his daughter away at college and his brother taking over the winery, Marc is ready to hop on his Harley for parts unknown-until a runaway bride bursts onto the scene. Free-spirited and tantalizingly sexy, Kari excites him like no other woman has before. But when irresistible passion turns into something more, will Marc give up his future to take a chance on love?
Title: Baby, It’s You (Rainbow Valley #2)
Author: Jane Graves
ISBN-13: 9781455515172
e-ARC: 240 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2014
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Hachette Book Group
Excerpt:
Marc sat at the table glaring at the rag mop, and the rag mop stared back. Then slowly the dog turned to look at Kari’s plate. He’d already grabbed one French fry when Marc wasn’t looking. No way was that happening again.
“Don’t you even think about it,” Marc said.
He inched closer.
“Hey.”
Closer still.
“Hey!”
The dog recoiled, retreating to the corner of the booth, where he turned to look back at Marc. Marc sighed. Of course Kari would have a dog as undisciplined as she was.
“Hey, Marc. I didn’t know you were coming here for lunch.”
He turned around to see Nina approaching the table. Oh, crap.
She slid into the booth across from Marc, only to stop short when she saw the rag mop. “Oops…what’s this?”
“A dog.”
“I wasn’t asking for species identification. Whose dog is it?”
Marc didn’t want to go there. He just didn’t. “Kari’s.”
“Kari? Who’s Kari?”
“I’m Kari.”
Marc winced at the sound of her voice. He gave her a quick glance, then turned back to Nina, who already had a calculating look on her face. Oh, this was going to be just great.
“Ah,” Nina said. “You wouldn’t happen to be the woman who had an accident last night while you were wearing a bridal gown, would you?”
Kari smiled. “Yeah. That’s me.”
Nina held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Nina. Marc’s sister.”
Kari shook her hand. “Kari Worthington.”
“And who’s this?” Nina said, scratching Boo behind the ears.
“His name’s Boo.”
“Well, hello there, Boo. Aren’t you a sweet puppy?” Then Nina turned to Marc. “Hey!”
“What?”
“Will you shove over and let Kari sit down?”
“She was sitting over there.”
“I can sit over here now,” Kari said. “I’m finished with lunch.”
Marc let out a breath and moved over. Kari squeezed into the booth beside him. Even in a place filled with the scents of Texas home cooking, he could smell her. He didn’t know if it was soap or shampoo or perfume, but it was as if somebody had stuck a bouquet of flowers in the seat next to him. He wasn’t a flowery kind of guy, but that girly smell got his attention every time, especially when it was radiating from a body like Kari’s.
And she’s nothing but drama, drama, drama, he reminded himself. You don’t need that.
“Nina? Who’s at the shop?”
“Rupert got there early. He scheduled a special wine tasting with one of the tour groups coming through today. Did you see the buses?”
“Yeah. I saw the buses.”
“So…” Nina said, “you two are having lunch?”
She put a great big question mark on the end of her sentence, asking for more information, but no information was ever enough for his sister, so why even go there?
“We were just leaving,” Marc said. “Kari has a bus to catch.”
“No bus,” Kari said, smiling brightly. “Change of plan.”
“What change of plan?” Marc asked.
“I’m not going back to Houston. I have a job now.”
Marc stared at her dumbly. “You what?”
“I have a job. I’m working here. Rosie hired me.”
“When did that happen?”
“In the ladies’ room.”
“Let me get this straight. You went into the ladies’ room and came out with a job?”
“That’s right.”
“Have you ever waited tables before?”
“No, but I’ve eaten in a lot of restaurants.”
“Rosie!” Marc called out.
Rosie turned at the sound of his voice, then came to their booth.
“Did you just give her a job?” Marc asked.
“Yeah.”
“Just like that?”
“I need a waitress, and nobody else is beating down my door for the job.”
“Did you check her references?”
“References don’t mean squat. People fake them. And even if they’re real, all an employer will give you are the dates of employment, and that’s about it. I’d rather just try somebody out on the job. Besides, I figured if she was with you, then she’s okay.”
Great. Just for once, Marc wished he had a crappy reputation.
drey’s thoughts:
I had so much fun reading Baby, It’s You! Kari is a fun, free-spirited young woman who doesn’t want to marry her fiancé, though she doesn’t figure it out until her wedding day. She runs off in her wedding dress, drives through a thunderstorm, crashes her car, and winds up at Marc Cordero’s front door looking like a drowned rat.
Marc’s ready to hand responsibility over to someone else. He’s had to keep the vineyards going, take care of his siblings, and then his daughter. Now that she’s headed off to college, he’s going to take some time to live the life he should’ve had the chance to. Then Kari knocks on his door…
The sparks zing along every encounter, and I loved how Kari and Marc’s interactions go from frosty (because he wants to get out of there, darn it!) to friendly (who can resist Kari’s personality?), to warm, to phew-is-it-hot-in-here. These two have chemistry, and it shows.
The story flows quickly and effortlessly, and before you know it they’ve found their happily-ever-after. Then you’ll want to re-read it again just to make sure you didn’t miss anything. Those who enjoy contemporary romance will love Baby, It’s You!
drey’s rating: Excellent!
Have you read Baby, It’s You? What did you think? And if you haven’t, read on to win your own copy!
Giveaways
There are TWO giveaways for Baby, It’s You! The first is from the publisher, with lots of winners! Check out the form below:
* If you can’t see the form, please refresh your page, make sure Javascript is enabled, or try another browser.
Next, thanks to the publisher, I have one copy of Baby, It’s You for you. This one’s open to US residents only – no PO Boxes, please. To enter, comment below – it’ll count for the big giveaway and this one! Do it before June 13th. Good luck!
The post Blog Tour: 56. Baby, It’s You by Jane Graves… appeared first on drey's library.