*~*Frenched by Melanie Harlow Blog Tour – Review & Giveaway*~*

Title:   Frenched

Author:   Melanie Harlow

Genre:   Adult Contemporary Romance

Release Date:   March 18, 2014

Mia Devine plans over-the-top weddings for a living. So when it comes to her own nuptials, she spares no expense—hand engraved invitations, Vera Wang gown, luxury honeymoon in France. And since her fiancé is Tucker Branch, playboy heir and notorious flirt, local media is obsessed with every little detail.

Which is why it really sucks when he jilts her a week before the wedding.

Mortified, Mia wants nothing more than to crawl under her newly monogrammed sheets and plan a funeral for her dignity, right after blabbing to the world how fitting it is that Tucker will inherit a bolt and screw company, because that’s all he wants to do—screw, and bolt. And he doesn’t do either with much finesse.

When her friends convince her that bitter tastes better when it’s drowned in Bordeaux, she grits her teeth and packs her bags, determined to make the best of a week in Paris alone.

She never planned on meeting Lucas Fournier.

The free-spirited musician’s scruffy good looks and less-than-sympathetic ear annoy her at first, but when she takes him up on his offer to show her around the city, she discovers that the romance of Paris isn’t just a myth.

Nor is the simultaneous O.

The last thing Mia needs is another doomed love affair, but since she only has a week, she figures she might as well enjoy La Vie en O with Lucas while she can. But each day—and night—with him is better than the last, and suddenly her heart is telling her this is more than a rebound fling.

Is it just the seduction of Paris…or could this be the real thing?

 

 

 

Frenched by Melanie Harlow

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

*ARC Given to Blog for Honest Review*

4 “lists” “princess” “I love Paris” Kisses

Holy cow…Melanie Harlow just knocked me on my ass. I absolutely loved Frenched. Like a lot…so much so that I don’t think I can stress it enough – I was sucked in from beginning to end. I mean…let’s be honest, I never crack open a book thinking I won’t like it but when I am this into a book…it excites me! I want the world to read it and love it as much as I did!

Mia Devine…how awesome a name is that by the way? I loved Mia…a lot. I found her completely relatable and I truly enjoyed being in her POV. She made me laugh constantly, I empathized with her and she’s just a fun, quirky, sassy chick. She’s in her late 20’s, great friends, loving family, awesome job working for herself – the girl has her shit together…which might have something to do with the fact that she plans everything. To a ‘T’. She loves lists…and I personally love her lists…oh how I loved her lists…like Things and People that Can Fuck Off…or 5 Awesome things About Lucas…and of course, my favorite one, To Do List For Turning Life Upside Down. But her lists have a purpose because she has dreams and aspirations and the only way she is going to get there is with the help of those wonderful lists. One aspect that she didn’t plan for was her fiancé cancelling their over-the-top wedding…the week before they were supposed to get married…and breaking her heart, or did he? It’s interesting because…I knew she was hurt and mad – rightfully so, but she never came off as heartbroken and I never really got the feeling that she was that upset over the loss of him. Maybe over what she had dreamed they could have or be together, but it sounded like she dodged a bullet to be honest. So what do you do when you’ve got a fully paid for honeymoon and no happily married bride and groom? You go by yourself…and meet the most amazing man ever.

‘I stretched a little and actually felt a flutter of excitement in my stomach, which was odd because I am not a person who can fly by the seat of her pants and enjoy it. I am a planner, a list-maker, a think-it-through-in-advance kind of girl. But for once, I was going to do something spontaneous.
Maybe I’d even enjoy it.’

Lucas Fournier…bartender…professor…musician…and my new current fixation. I love him so much…and in the spirit of Mia loving lists…I shall give him one of my top 10 lists as well 🙂

1.) His hair…curly and shaggy and I’m itching to run my fingers through it
2.) His musical talent – the guy can play a guitar, excuse me while I swoon
3.) Beautiful, soulful brown eyes
4.) He speaks French…fluently
5.) He’s a professor…brains are sexy
6.) He’s not fond of heights (neither am I…therefore we are perfect for each other)
7.) He’s funny and quick whited
8.) He gives great gifts
9.) He’s a bartender and knows good wine
10.) His mouth…the things he does with it, the stuff he says with it…just everything about his mouth equals awesome

Lucas is not your typical BBF…at all. He’s kind of a combination of all these wonderful things that I love in BBF’s, mixed together in a surprisingly untraditionally hot package and blessed with a fabulous personality and…this is going to sound strange…a hot brain. Lucas…is…SMART! Like sexy smart, not the overly confident, ‘oh look at me I know it all’ kind of smart – it’s just that understated intelligence that makes you want to learn more from him…and in turn, about him. It makes him more intriguing and sexy then you would think. He’s French and American…the best of both worlds because he can speak both languages fluently and perfectly. He’s almost like a renaissance man…a modern day, hot as hell renaissance man. He’s also Mia’s polar opposite…for all intents and purposes she should not even be attracted to him, but I tell you – he’s impossible to resist.

“Fun,” he scoffed, nudging me with his shoulder. “Lists are not fun.”
I giggled and went to shove him back but he dodged it and threw his arms around me from behind, pinning my arms to my sides so I couldn’t move. “Behave, princess.” His breath tickled my neck through my hair, sending a weightless joy rushing up inside me.
“What if I don’t want to behave?”

Alright I am an equal opportunity proponent for insta-love. If I can feel that connection, then I’m totally good with it. And I more than felt it with Mia and Lucas…I got butterflies with them…I ached for them to be together and I was on cloud 9 from the moment it finally happened. It’s funny because even Mia says it, multiple times, that she shouldn’t be feeling like this – and I agreed with her – but sometimes emotions trump logic and if the author can write it in a believable way for me, well I have to let my feelings make the call…who am I to fight what my heart feels. Their connection is fast but it’s also passionate, electric and hot and it 100% worked for me. Now, it’s not solely based on attraction and sex, while that is just one amazing aspect of their relationship, in fact – in the very beginning, Mia doesn’t even think Lucas is attractive (but she was confused…she gets over it!). They do get to know each other…it’s just in a faster span of time. But you have to take into account, they’re practically attached at the hip almost from the moment they meet. I loved their conversations…they’re so natural and fun…once again, all plays a part in the ‘time’ aspect because they were never stiff and awkward with each other…they just worked well together.

‘It felt so different, so good to have someone willing to take his time. Someone to care about fulfilling my needs, someone who wanted to please me.
Someone who whispered my name in awe as he held himself deep within me.
Actually I think I did die. Because this feels like heaven.’

There was so much to love about seeing them together…there was a progress of their relationship – especially given that when Mia first saw Lucas she wasn’t even attracted to him! He is so not the kind guy she normally likes – and I don’t think I could love that more if I tried. I love that he got her to break out of her ‘list making mode’ and showed her things in Paris she may have never been able to see – like the Heloise and Abelard graves – and I loved that he gave her the ‘unromantic’ side of Paris, and yet they were able to find their own romance. I can’t even tell you the moment it happened…when I fell in love with them but it just all of a sudden got to this point when I couldn’t stop turning the pages. I was addicted to everything that made them up…they were cute and sweet and at the same time hot-n-sexy. I had so many laugh out loud moments and moments that just flat out made me smile. Then I would turn the page and have my butt swooned off…or even better, in a puddle of complete lust. I am a dirty book lover and the luciousness that coated those pages fed my soul. Mia and Lucas have great sexual chemistry and it was just another aspect for me to love. There was an unexpected level of kink thrown in too…it completely worked for me as well as the characters and it added a layer to their relationship that I enjoyed.

‘I’m going to miss him because I’m in love with him. It’s crazy and stupid and not practical and totally too fast and bound to end badly – but it’s real.
It didn’t matter what I called it – friends-with-benefits, fuck fling, rebound thing… What mattered was the way I felt when I was with him. The way he made me feel like I could do anything, say anything in my head, have anything I wanted. He was teaching me thing about my body and desires I’d never known. He was teaching me about the beauty of living for the moment. He was teaching me not to worry so much about what things looked like, what other people thought, what I thought I should be.
I loved who I was when I was with him. And I loved him.’

Now with all those wonderful things…my emotions were on high, wrapped up in all the fabulousness that is Mia and Lucas…so when the sad stuff came – it hit me hard. I won’t lie…I cried! It took me off guard because…I’m reading about Mia crying and the next thing I know – I am crying. I was right there with here, feeling her pain…because I loved them that much and I understood why they were making their choices but…it sucked! Then when I could tell that Lucas was upset…gah, there was just no recovery. It hurt my heart that they were hurting. If you can’t already tell, I love Melanie’s writing…everything about it. It’s light and has a great flow, her tone is spot on for me and has this fantastic blend of happy, fun and flirty with emotional, powerful and sexy. I believe this is her first venture into contemporary romance but I really hope it’s not her last because I am hooked.

‘I knew how a person should feel, because I was head over heels in love with Lucas.
“Like what?” Tucker asked.
“Like you can’t breathe when that person’s in the room. Like you can’t get close enough to them, no matter how hard you try. Like you’re going to burst if you can’t show that person how much you feel for them, and then you do burst – together.”’

So the ending is…good. It’s HEA, which always makes me happy and don’t get me wrong, I really liked it…but it’s very open ended. I’m a clinger and as much as I loved this book, I’m not ready to say good bye but…I don’t think Mia and Lucas are over. Their ending isn’t solid…they’re in an great place, but I want better than great for them…I want out of this world and I think Melanie can deliver that. Plus…I’m addicted enough to want a lot more!

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Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her lipstick red, and her history with the naughty bits left in. I write New Adult historical and contemporary stories.  You can always find the latest info on Melanie on her website.