Review & Guest Post With Giveaway - Test Shot by Cari Quinn

Welcome to my 2nd stop on Cari Quinn's Blog Tour for Test Shot, the 1st book in her Hot Shots series. Please be sure to leave a comment below and fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter her giveaway.

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Guest Post

Thank you for having me here today!

Music is a huge part of my life and it has been since I was a child. A lot of people don’t know that my original dream was to be a singer. My happiest moments were on stage, losing myself in a song. Now I lose myself in books—often others’s stories, sometimes my own. And one thing that helps facilitate that for me is putting together just the right accompaniment of songs for my story.

TEST SHOT was one of the most difficult books I’ve ever written, as well as one of the easiest. Sawyer came to me with no trouble. I “got” him and he was easy to write about. Layla, I could understand as well. Aidan was harder for me, because his closed-off nature on the page extended to when I was trying to peel back his layers and figure out what had shaped him into the man he’s become.

There were a lot of separate threads running through the book: Layla’s desire to grow as a person and face her fears, Sawyer’s need to remain honest despite the consequences, and Aidan’s fight to maintain the status quo, And then there were the relationship conflicts and connections…and man, you can see where I needed music to assist me with my persnickety characters!

There are two songs in particular that I associate with TEST SHOT. The first, A THOUSAND YEARS by Christina Perri, I had on repeat continuously during a big scene between Layla and Sawyer near the climax of the book and it literally brought me to tears because it so perfectly echoed their emotions. Even now, months after I wrote that scene, that song makes me teary. I know, I know, author sap in the house.

The second song is WANTED by Hunter Hayes. In TEST SHOT, Sawyer is on a one-man mission to show Layla all the amazing things he sees in her. This song is pretty much Sawyer’s theme.

If it seems like I’m leaving out Aidan, not to worry, he’ll be getting his own book. He needs a full novel to explore what’s going on with him—and for the really hot sex he’ll be having, lucky guy. Which TEST SHOT also has plenty of, in case I neglected to mention that!

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Title: Test Shot

Author: Cari Quinn

Publisher: Loose Id

Publication Date: August 28, 2012

Length: 267 Pages

ISBN: 978-1-611189-42-1

Heat Level: Scorching Hot  

Blurb:


Layla Palmer is starting over in New York City with a new job at Hot Shots, an agency that specializes in hiring talent for jobs with an erotic bent. Happily engaged, she writes off the changes in her relationship with her fiancee, Aidan, as growing pains. But that all comes into question when her beloved fiancee comes up with a startling suggestion: he wants to watch her have sex with another man.

Aidan's a man on the edge, fighting demons he won't name for fear of losing the woman he loves forever. But the game he's playing can only continue for so long, especially when the man they decide to invite into their bed turns out to be Layla’s newest prospective model, Sawyer Blake.

Passion explodes between them, threatening to spill over and burn them all. Soon Aidan and Layla's already incendiary relationship hits the boiling point. Now she's fighting her own battles, including the conflicted feelings of lust and love she harbors for both men. But how can she figure out who to trust when everything she ever knew is changing, including herself?


Note:This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable: anal play/intercourse; menage (m/f/m, no m/m interaction); voyeurism.

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Author Bio : 

USA Today bestselling author Cari Quinn saves the world one Photoshop file at a time in her job as a graphic designer. At night, she writes sexy romance, drinks a lot of coffee, and plays her music way too loud. When she’s not scribbling furiously, she’s watching men’s college basketball, reading excellent books, and causing trouble. Sometimes simultaneously.

Stay in touch with Cari: 

Website: http://www.cariquinn.com/index.php
Passbook: https://www.facebook.com/CariQuinnAuthor

Twitter: @cariquinn
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3372702.Cari_Quinn

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My Review:

Cari Quinn has done it again! Test Shot, the first book in her Hot Shots series, grabbed me from the first page and never let go.  With wonderfully developed characters, sharp dialogue, a couple of dark secrets and plenty of scorching hot sex, Test Shot is an emotional roller coaster ride.  The romance, between all three of the main characters, is at times tender, hot and bittersweet; it's kind of like eating a gooey chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven - you can't just stop chewing, no matter how much your mouth might burn.  

Layla Palmer left the life she knew in Nebraska for New York City and her fiance, Aidan McMurray.  A talent agent by trade, she recently started a new job at Hot Shots, an agency specializing in hiring upscale, sexy talent for clients with an erotic taste.  While everything seems to be going fine, Layla knows something is wrong with her fiance, their relationship just doesn't feel the same.  Thinking it's only stress from the move and their new jobs; she's surprised when Aidan suggests they bring a third into their bed.

Aidan McMurray is a man caught between a rock and hard place; a medical doctor, he talked his fiance into leaving the life they knew in Nebraska to come to New York City, where he would teach medical students.  Aidan is a dominant man who likes to be in control, both in his life and in his bed.  While he's talked Layla into sexual experimentation, he's held a part of himself back from her.  The dark secrets from his past and the desires of his heart.  One thing he has decided to share with her is his desire to watch her with another man.  

Sawyer Blake is a young male model on the rise.  New in New York City, Sawyer wants to make enough money to be able to help those out at home - he too is from a small town out west.  Attracted to Layla, the agent scouting him, he knows she's off limits because of her engagement ring.  He's more than surprised when she and her fiancee invite him to their home to be more than just a dinner guest.  Knowing he's taking a risk with his heart, Sawyer agrees to join Layla and Aidan in their bed.

The scenes with Layla, Sawyer and Aidan are full of emotional angst and hot sex.  As Layla and Sawyer become closer, Aidan tries to both dominate them and push them away.  He alternatively blows hot and cold.  As Layla becomes more confused by her fiance's behavior; Sawyer finds himself falling more for a woman he knows he'll have to let go at some point.  As the situation becomes more and more complicated, Aidan fears his secret will be exposed.

Will Layla finally learn what's driving her fiancee away?  And will she be able to handle the realities of what their threesome will mean for all of their futures?  You'll have to read Test Shot to find out.  Believe me it's more than I expected and a lot more than meets the eye.

My Rating:  5 out of 5 Stars 

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Cari's Blog Tour Schedule:


September 17: Queen of the Night Reviews - Kickoff
September 18: Guilty Pleasures
September 19: Queen of the Night Reviews - Guest Post & Review
September 20: Amber Skyze
September 20: Taryn Elliott
September 21: Welcome To My World
September 21: Confessions from Romaholics
September 22: Day Dreaming
September 22: The Smutty Kitty
September 23: Harlie's Books
September 24: Romance Book Craze

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Please don't forget to leave a comment or question for Cari below, and enter the Rafflecopter form to enter her contest.  The more often you comment, the better your odds of winning.

   

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