*~*Price of a Kiss by Linda Kage Blog Tour – Review & Giveaway*~*

Title:   Price of a Kiss

Author:   Linda Kage

Release date:   September 4, 2013

Age Group:   Mature New Adult

Genre:   Contemporary Romance

I don’t care what my cousin says; I am not the queen of impossible relationships. I mean, just because my last boyfriend tried to kill me and left a bit of a scar on my neck, then forced me to move across the country and legally change my name to Reese Randall to escape him, does not mean—

Oh, who am I kidding? For a freshman in college, I have to have the worst dating track record ever.

It’s no wonder love is the last thing on my mind when Mason Lowe enters my life. But the chemistry between us is like bam! Our connection defies logic. And he’s just so freaking hot. Being around him makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt before. I even like bickering with him. He could be my soul mate…except for one glitch.

He’s a gigolo.

 I have no shame – I am a straight up cover whore and I am IN LOVE with this cover.  Let’s just take a moment to bask in the glory…

Alright…now it’s time to get to business – would you like to read my review???  I really loved this book!  😀

Price of a Kiss by Linda Kage

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*ARC Given to Blog for Honest Review*

5 “Hotness” “Sweet Pea” ‘nose-wrinkling’ ‘Make Me’ Kisses!

So I can’t believe these words are about to come out of my mouth but…I am in love with a gigolo. Is there a support group for this? This book…blew me out of the water. The writing style was new and refreshing and practically flawless…the characters were brilliant…the story line was fresh and different….the emotions held me every step of the way…I couldn’t put it down. I read it in less than 24 hours and then it broke my heart when it was over, cause I’m so not ready to let go of Mason Lowe.

Reese Alison Randall or is it Teresa Margaret Nolan? First of all…she is my newest addition to the ‘heroines I want to make my bff’ list and she makes the very short list of ‘heroines that I fell in love with before the hero’s’ list. I. Love. Her. Every part of her, even the quirky things that maybe could get on other peoples neves…nope, I love those things too. Why? Because she is just like me! Which makes her awesome! (in my opinion). So…what do I specifically love about Reese? Her personality is out of this world – she has had some shit happened to her and instead of letting that change who she is, she turns it around and doesn’t let it get her down. She’s changed her name and moved half way across the US, away from her family and everything she has ever known…but that will not stop living. She’s spunky, she’s hilarious, she squee’s!, she’s sarcastic, she’s smart, she doesn’t judge, she’s witty, she’s kind, she’s adventurous, she’s optimistic….and I could literally go on for ever and ever. And there’s another thing about Reese…she loves hard and fierce…especially the boy she shouldn’t.

‘I didn’t respond – couldn’t if I’d wanted to. I was too busy being electrocuted from the inside out. My fingertips sizzled and toes curled as if an invisible, kinetically charged bolt tethered me to the hunk fifty yards away, who seemed to bind us together with his stare alone.’

Mason Lowe…yeah, I was worried about Mason in the beginning, I didn’t know if I was going to like him. I mean come on…even Reese was calling him an ‘ungrateful bastard jerk face’, I’m allowed to have mixed feelings. So, yes, I was sketchy at first…and then he warmed up to me…and it got better and then he just melted my heart and there was no turning back. Even when he kinda broke it a little…and not in the way you might be thinking. Mason is extremely misunderstood, he’s judged daily, the town outcast, the one everyone gossips about and just by association, he can taint someone. And for many reasons, he doesn’t want his past to affect Reese. I’m not trying to justify or rationalize what Mason does for money…but I’m pretty sure he’s the most noble male prostitute in the world, which breaks my heart just a little bit more. Could it be really easy to sit back and judge him and not get over the fact of what he does for many reasons? Absolutely. But all of those just somehow melt away and disappear once you see him with Reese. Every single bad feeling or questioning thought went Poof from my brain the second I experienced the way he felt about her…

“Every woman treats me that way, Reese. I’m not a person to them. I’m just…a good time or something vile to be avoided at all costs. And then you came along and you…you hugged me. You are the first person who sees me, Mason, not sex for sale. And that kind of compassion is not a sign of a selfish person. At all.”

So Reese doesn’t want to be in a relationship after her past and that’s not a problem for Mason because…clearly…his profession prevents him from having any relationships. So where does that leave them? Friends of course. Their friendship is…unique. I don’t think Reese has ever had the freedom to have a friendship with someone she lusts after and Mason, to be honest, I don’t think he’s ever had a female friend. But their friendship is unique…okay, so Mason is hot, we get it – but Reese doesn’t let that affect her to the point that she doesn’t want to get to know him as a person. Heck they talk about eye boogers and zits! And she is so carefree with him, they joke and watching Mason slowly let her in and actually experience that connection…*sigh* I loved it.

‘A look of utter wonder and sadness crossed his face.
Then he shook his head and gritted his teeth. “This sucks. He can ask you out and take you to dinner and try to steal a goodnight kiss. He can go as far into it as you’ll let him take you. And I can’t even compete.” He grinned, though his eyes were still full of agony. “I think I fell for you the moment I heard you laugh across the campus courtyard. When I looked over and saw you, I knew. You were something different. Something incredible. I knew from that first glance that nothing was ever going to be the same again. You were…a complete game changer. Even when I realized you were sitting with Eva and might be like her, I didn’t care. I wanted to know everything about you.”’

Okay…so maybe I was too swept up in loving Reese or questioning Mason, but I really didn’t expect the…circumstance that eventually brought them together. I shouldn’t say circumstance, it’s really a person. It’s Mason’s sister…Sara…and o…m…g…I fell in love with her too! The relationship that she and Reese have is…there are no words. Sara has CP and while she may have a disability, that does not keep the teenage girl hidden from beneath the surface! Sara is Reese’s ’little buddy’…she allows Sara to feel normal, they have dance parties and do make up and mani-pedi’s…and Sara gets attached almost instantly. Reese is amazing with her and that is the key thing that draws Mason out from behind his elusive walls to want to get to know her more. I have to applaud Ms. Kage for doing an amazing job creating very well rounded characters across the board – even the evil ones (specifically one douche-tastic wench of a landlady that deserves to be cunt-punted off the fact of the planet)…she was still an excellent villain! I can truly say I’ve never wanted to throw up on and slap a bitch both at the same time.

“Hey, Sweet Pea,” he rasped.
If I wasn’t turned on before, I certainly was now. His morning voice put his regular voice to shame, all sleep-clogged and sexy with the perfect amount of huskiness to it.
“Hey, Hotness,” I returned, my fingers itching to reach out and just…pet him. Giving in to temptation, I asked, “Can I touch you?”
His lashes closed, resting against the tops of his tanned, sculpted cheeks as his smile grew broad. “You don’t have to ask.”

GOD there was so much I loved about this book…of course, it’s clear I loved the characters, the story line, like I said…it really wasn’t predictable for me and there were plenty of chances for it to go there. The emotions…oh my goodness the emotions! I was taken all over the board – laughing out loud to crying and screaming ‘No’! The writing style is uniquely awesome. The whole thing is very conversational…I felt like the entire book was Reese talking to me…telling me the story of her and Mason. I can’t even do it justice or properly describe it, just every now and then there were these little comments and things she would say that I couldn’t help but smile at…her squee’s…all of it just felt very natural. The words just flowed off the page for me, it was more than just the style, it was the tone and the language, and so much more – the combination was just perfect for me, I couldn’t get enough. Except for the prologue, the entire book is from Reese’s POV and it was brilliant but I am so glad that we did get that brief glimpse into Mason, even if it did make me crave more. Understanding why he did it beforehand did help a little bit when it comes time to see past his ‘flaws’.

‘“I know it has to be damn near impossible for any woman to deal with a boyfriend who has a history like mine,” he admitted, “especially being that it’s a very recent history for me. And it isn’t fair to ask you to. But I need you to. If anyone can get over what I was, you can. You are so strong. You are so amazing. You are…everything.”
See, was it any wonder I was so obsessed with this guy?’

Alright, so here I go…knowing this is technically the end of Mason and Reese…secretly crossing my fingers that it’s not. I got my HEA…they’re happy, but seriously Linda had to go and drop a line in there at the end that has me squeee’ing and hoping and praying that there will be a book 2. A girl can hope…and/or beg, plead, bribe…whatever it takes. Mason and Reese’s unique tale of love and friendship and finding your soul mate in the most unlikely way touched my heart…they’re truly unforgettable.

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The youngest of eight children, Linda Kage grew up on a dairy farm in the Midwest. She now lives in Kansas with her husband, daughter, and nine cuckoo clocks. Linda is a member of Romance Writers of America and its local chapter, Midwest Romance Writers.