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Business and Pleasure/The Best of Both Worlds Blog Tour - Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

Hi everyone! Today I have a stop on the Business and Pleasure & The Best of Both Worlds blog tour. I have a review of both books and a giveaway for you all.

Business and Pleasure & The Best of Both Worlds
Book One and Two: Rags to Riches Series
By: Emily Wood


Business and Pleasure, Book One
Can mixing business and pleasure ever result in a happy ending? 

When sexy, rich Lawrence Russo asks Mia to come and work for him in Italy for two weeks, she jumps at the chance. After all, it beats pole dancing, and the salary he offers her is practically obscene.

A relationship quickly begins to develop between the two, but Mia can't help but wonder if Lawrence's feelings for her are genuine or if he feels he's just paying for a service. 

Even if their relationship is strong enough to survive her insecurities, what will happen when somebody from her past shows up and threatens to reveal her deepest, darkest secret?

Content Warning: explicit sex

My Review
Mia is a pole dancer and when a long time visitor to the club offers her the chance to make great money with no funny business she jumps at the chance. It doesn't hurt that she has been attractive to him for a while. Lawrence is a rich man and knows Mia would make a good person to help him host at his house. He doesn't look down on her in any way. He won't deny he wants her but that isn't part of the job. Mia hopes their new relationship means he does care for her and not out to use her. Things seem to be going good until a ghost from the past shows up with secrets about Mia.

I enjoyed this short story as you get to great people who each have insecurities, but a drive to better their selves. Mia does have a bad past that she doesn't like to talk about or remember. She made mistakes in the past but tries to move on and grow from them. Lawrence really likes and cares for Mia and has trouble at times knowing for sure why she may want to be with him. They are amazing together in bed and the scenes are wonderful. This book reminded me of a movie and if you have read it I'm sure you will no what I am talking about. Lawrence does make a big mistake with Mia but I will say I liked how the author through in a loop I didn't see coming. Who Mia is now I wouldn't have guessed it. If you like a sexy short story give this one a try. I hope to see more of these characters.

4 out of 5 Stars

Excerpt
Lucy looked around nervously. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I…don't know," Mia admitted. Perhaps she was just being paranoid.

"Mia." She heard a familiar drawl coming from the shadows. Her heart raced in anticipation as she turned to see the speaker. He walked out of the shadows and toward them like a jaguar stalking his prey, but Mia didn't feel intimidated, only excited by his presence.

"You shouldn't go sneaking around in the darkness. You could give a girl a fright." Mia laughed.

"I could leave, if that would please you," he purred. She loved the way he emphasized please. He gave no indication that he was going to leave. Mia was glad.

"Er, maybe I'll just go wait around the corner," Lucy said awkwardly. Mia nodded to acknowledge her, feeling a little guilty, because she had actually forgotten Lucy was still there.

"So, what are you doing here?" Mia tried to seem nonchalant, despite the fact that her body was having some kind of chemical reaction to his presence.

As if from nowhere, the handsome man produced the bottle of champagne he had purchased earlier that night. "I do believe we have plans to share this." He took a step closer to her.

"Oh. I would, it's just we aren't supposed to socialize with the clients outside of the club," Mia said teasingly, although it was technically true.

"Tell me, Mia, do you always do what you're supposed to do?" It seemed as though he had expected her reaction.

"No, I guess not."

"I've been watching you, Mia."

"I've noticed." She took a step in his direction and looked challengingly into his dark eyes. "So, do you like what you see?"

They were close enough to touch, and Mia's every nerve was tingling, hoping to feel his fingers on her skin. He swayed forward and, for a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her, but he leaned toward her ear instead. "I have a business proposition for you," he breathed, sending a shiver through her body before he pulled away from her.

It took Mia a moment to compose herself, and his eyes sparkled with amusement, no doubt he was enjoying her confusion. "Business…a business proposition?" Mia attempted to sound as casual as she possibly could.

"I'm returning to my home in Tuscany tomorrow," he announced.

Mia felt her heart sink, but was determined not to let it show. "Oh, it must be beautiful in Italy this time of year. But what does that have to do with me?"

"I was hoping you would accompany me."



The Best of Both Worlds, Book Two
A choice between two men? If only it were that simple. 

Melissa Morgan seems to have it all…her modeling career is taking off and she's engaged to one of the most eligible bachelors in London. But when she finds Jonathan cheating on her again, Melissa finds solace in the arms of Riley, a sexy bar owner trying to recover from the heartbreak of his last relationship. Melissa shouldn't even want Riley, but she can't seem to stay away, especially when she finds in him everything that's missing in her relationship with Jonathan.

Melissa knows she has to make a hard choice, and when it comes to choosing between the life she's always wanted and the man she's falling in love with, she might find out that she can't have the best of both worlds.

Content Warning: explicit sex and strong language

My Review
Melissa should be one of the happiest woman around. She is engaged to a rich man her modeling is starting to take off and life should be great. It's not great by far. Her fiance is a cheater and stays drunk. One night out she meets Riley and soon a relationship develops. While Melissa tries to stay away she finds she can't Riley gives her everything she needs. Riley is nursing a broken heart and had no desire to get involved with anyone. He can't stop thinking about Melissa. Melissa has to figure out if she wants the life of luxury with a man she no longer loves or the man who has her heart.

This is the second book in the series and even better than the first. Melissa while at times I din't like her was a great character. I didn't like some of the things she did but in all honesty it made her more realistic. Riley is someone I love. Straight off the bat he is against being involved with someone who is a relationship. He earned big points for that. He is sweet, sexy and caring. These two go through so much in a short time and Melissa at times strings Riley along. I love the sex scenes and at times I wondered if Melissa would stay or go. I think this will be a great series and look forward to the next book. Love a sexy short story with a great plot pick this one up.

4 out of 5 Stars

Excerpt
"Hold on," Riley shouted through the door as he undid the bolts. He opened the door wide. Oh! It was her. He blinked, wondering if his eyes were deceiving him. Nope, she was still there. What could she want?

"Hi." Melissa smiled nervously. She was truly breathtaking. Her red curls were scooped back into a messy bun. Dark skinny jeans and heels accentuated her long, long legs and he could see a hint of her bra underneath her tight t-shirt.

Damn! How did she do it? He could feel himself becoming aroused right then and there.

"What can I do for you?" he asked, wondering why she was back at the bar. He tried not to get excited, in both senses of the word. She might have just forgotten something last night.

"Can I come in? Or are we going to do this on the doorstep?" Melissa laughed nervously.

Do what? he wondered, but he stepped aside to let her in without question. He couldn't help but glance down at her behind as she walked past him. It was mighty fine, but he felt so guilty for checking her out. She was engaged for God's sake! To one of the richest bachelors in London, no less. She wasn't for him. He took a deep breath and followed her into the bar.

"I wanted to thank you for last night," Melissa said as she turned to him. He could smell her sweet perfume. It was like heaven.

"Oh, okay." That sounded like something she could easily have done on the doorstep.

"I, um…also wanted to apologize for…you know." Melissa was blushing. It was an endearing sight. Riley remembered her trying to kiss him and his reaction.

"It's all right. I won't be telling anybody about it, if that's what you're worried about." Riley understood now, she was there covering her tracks, worried that the story about the hot, young model coming on to the barman would get out. Like he was thinking earlier, these girls were too full of their own self-importance.

"I wasn't worried about anything." Melissa folded her arms and scowled at him. "I wanted to apologize to you. I thought I might have offended you."

"I wasn't offended. I just don't have any time for a drunk, rich girl who's after a naughty little fling to entertain herself." Riley knew he needed to get rid of her, he couldn't think straight when she was around. Despite what he was telling her, a naughty little fling with her sounded pretty good to him right now.

"What if I want more than a naughty little fling?"



Author Info
I have always believed that the best stories are the ones that you can't put down, the ones that transport you to a different place and make you believe in the characters. This is exactly why I write… I have always loved the escapism that reading and writing provides, and there is nothing more exciting than imagining your own set of characters, and then letting them practically write the story for you. Writing has always been a dream of mine, and I'm lucky to have the kind of people around me that have always nurtured and encouraged my passion. 

I live a cozy little life in Wales, and when I'm not writing I'm taking care of my young family, studying for a degree in Classical Studies, and training to become a nail technician. I love traveling to new places, meeting new people, and experiencing new things…it's all great inspiration for my books!

I also love to hear from my readers or other writers, so contact me at: emilywood.author@gmail.com or check out my blog at: http://emilywoodauthor.blogspot.co.uk/


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