Blog Tour - Reveiw + Excerpt: STOUT by Georgia Cates
Rating: 4/5 stars
Genre: New Adult/Adult Contemporary Romance
Series: STOUT is book 2 in the LoviBond series. It can be read as a standalone but has mild spoilers on the first book.
STOUT landed on my kindle the day before I was about to travel to Seattle for a book signing and to meet Georgia Cates. How cool is that? I quickly finished up my current read so that I could dive right into it. I was so excited for this book. Oliver Thorn aka Stout was a favorite side character in Tap (see my review of Tap here). I loved Stout’s loyalty and the fierce love that he has for his friends and family. I started reading and was immediately sucked in to the story. There wasn’t enough time in each day for me to read. I wanted MORE. I was up until my eyes refused to stay open, skipped lunches, meetings, plans with friends, and may have snuck a couple chapters in while watching TV with my husband (shhhh…).
Genre: New Adult/Adult Contemporary Romance
Series: STOUT is book 2 in the LoviBond series. It can be read as a standalone but has mild spoilers on the first book.
STOUT landed on my kindle the day before I was about to travel to Seattle for a book signing and to meet Georgia Cates. How cool is that? I quickly finished up my current read so that I could dive right into it. I was so excited for this book. Oliver Thorn aka Stout was a favorite side character in Tap (see my review of Tap here). I loved Stout’s loyalty and the fierce love that he has for his friends and family. I started reading and was immediately sucked in to the story. There wasn’t enough time in each day for me to read. I wanted MORE. I was up until my eyes refused to stay open, skipped lunches, meetings, plans with friends, and may have snuck a couple chapters in while watching TV with my husband (shhhh…).
“A house went on
the market, bringing Adelyn and I together as neighbors.
Two strangers. Except
we weren’t strangers at all.
Our paths were not crossing for the first time.”
The book begins with Oliver buying a new
house in a cute little family neighborhood. He meets his new neighbor Adelyn
Maxwell, a preacher’s daughter who seems like the quintessential girl next
door. But is Adelyn’s fiery red hair the only thing about
her that’s hot? Adelyn and Oliver bond over a tormented past that has left
cracks in both of their hearts. Can they overcome what’s happened to them and
learn to love and trust again?
“A seed of trust
has been planted. Now we wait to see if it takes root.
Will we nurture the
fruit or allow it to be choked by weeds.”
Stout was everything I wanted and more.
Parts of this book were very different from anything I had read before. At
first it made me pretty uncomfortable, but it also made one of the characters
uncomfortable. As they adjusted to this new adventure, so did I. There were
also a couple twists in this story line that hit me like a ton of bricks. I
honestly didn’t see them coming! Georgia Cates has done a superb job of making
me wish I could be part of the LoviBond family. I can’t wait for the next
installment of this series and to find out what Porter has been hiding from us.
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Craft beer and the sexy men who brew it.
A beautiful neighbor. A complete stranger. That’s all she was when I moved in next door.
Adelyn Maxwell is my neighbor but she’s no girl next door. The more I come to know her, the more I discover she’s a good girl with a lovely dark side. And maybe I don’t want her to stay on her side of the fence.
I want to disturb the rhythm of her pulse.
I want to see the way her hair spills on the bed when she lies beneath me.
I want her to teach me the dirty pretty things she desires behind closed doors. And she does.
But mostly I want to leave my mark on the most intimate, untouched part of her body. Her heart.
A seemingly insignificant intersection of our lives neither of us recalls suddenly becomes a pivotal moment in our future. We aren’t strangers at all. And our paths aren’t crossing for the first time.
These twists and turns of fate will become one of two things: a wrecking ball to tear us apart or the connection to bond us together forever.
Adelyn Maxwell’s POV
“Are you
all right?”
I see
what I think is concern in Oliver’s eyes. “Not at all.”
Oliver
comes to me, takes the dish towel from my hand and tosses it onto the counter.
“I want you to leave that nipping son of a bitch here and go for a ride with me
on my bike.”
“I don’t
know about that.”
“Have
you ever ridden on a motorcycle?”
“No.”
“Are you
afraid?”
“No.” Yes.
But not of metal and rubber or the speed in which the two will carry us.
“Then go
for a ride with me. We’ll cruise around the block and if you don’t like it,
I’ll bring you right back. Promise.”
I look
at Oliver’s attire and then mine. Shorts and tank top probably aren’t ideal for
riding. “Give me a minute to change.”
“Okay.”
He grabs a biscuit. “Saving these for anyone?”
“No.
Have as many as you like. Jam is in the fridge.”
I return
wearing faded skinny jeans, a fitted black V-neck T-shirt, black combat boots.
I have no intention of brushing my hair for an hour to remove a bazillion knots
so I go with a fishtail braid. “Ready.”
“Wow.
You look like one badass chick.” I hold out my foot to better display the
lace-up boots Maurice calls shit-kickers. “But you don’t just look the part.
You are a real badass.” Oliver’s words are a reminder of last night’s blunder.
“Yeah,
about that.” Do I own it and roll with the badass perception he has of me? Or do
I apologize for going there? Was it TMI?
I can’t
decide so the words don’t come.
“I
understand more about what influenced your decision than you might think. Don’t
be sorry you told me. And don’t be freaking out about it.”
“I’m not
freaking out about it.” Lie. Lie. Lie.
He
points at the spread of baked goods that says otherwise. “You are totally
freaking out about telling me. But don’t. If there’s anyone who gets it, it’s
me.”
If
there’s anyone who gets it, it’s me. Something has happened to this man. He knows
pain. “Tell me about it.”
I don’t
have to flesh it out. He knows what I’m asking for.
Hook,
line, and sinker. I’m sucked into the storm spinning out of control behind the
dilated blackness of his blue eyes.
What I
see there confirms I’m right. Something bad has happened to Oliver Thorn.
“I’ll
tell you. But first, we ride.”
“Deal.”
Dark
stealth. Glossy black rims. Polished to perfection. I’ve seen Oliver’s bike
from next door but it’s a much more impressive-looking piece of machinery
up-close. “It’s lovely.”
He stops
and stares at me. “It’s a custom Ducati Monster 821 Dark. It’s not lovely. It’s
badass.” I giggle. Boys and their toys.
“It’s a lovely
badass.”
“Maybe you’re
the lovely badass.” Damn. There’s that smile again. I bet he can use it
to get anything he wants from women.
Lovely. I’m
accustomed to compliments from men. I’m often told I’m sexy. Pretty. Beautiful.
I once took pleasure in hearing those things from men, especially Martin, but
now I receive those words with a grain of salt. And I will this time as well
since I’m unsure if Oliver makes a habit of using flattery on women.
However,
badass strikes a different chord in me; it’s a reminder of the things I
told Oliver last night. All my wrongdoings.
He holds
up a black leather jacket. “It’ll get a little cool even though it’s May.
Especially if we’re still out after dark.”
I turn
and slip my arms into the sleeves. I spin around and he surprises me by closing
the zipper teeth and pulling the clasp upward until it stops at my breasts. “A
little snug.”
I suck
in but it makes my chest rise bigger. No way the zipper is going any further
like that.
It’s
obvious the jacket belongs to a woman smaller than me. “Guess my boobs are
bigger than your ex-girlfriend’s.”
“Breathe
out and relax your shoulders.” He pulls the leather together and then yanks the
zipper clasp up and over my D-cups. “Your boobs are bigger than my sister’s.
This is her jacket.”
“Oh.” I
smile on the inside, not daring to let him see me delight in him noticing my
boobs. Or my relief in knowing he hasn’t put me in something belonging to an
old girlfriend.
“Next.”
I take the all-black helmet he offers and slip it over my head. I study the
outline of his facial hair as he works on adjusting my chinstrap.
“I feel
like a little girl being dressed by her daddy.”
He grins
but avoids my eyes. “There’s so much I could say to that.”
“I
suppose there is.”
“Feel
okay?”
“Despite
being squeezed like I’m wearing a corset, yeah.”
He grins
and grabs the end of my braid, twirling the end around his finger. “I love red
hair. It’s my favorite.”
Oliver
Thorn is touching my hair, twirling my hair. My red hair, which
he says is his favorite. Do not pant so he can hear you, Adelyn.
I
wondered if he intended for lovely badass to be flirtatious. But there’s
no questioning this.
He’s
insinuated he has demons in his past, which give him the ability to understand
my actions, but he must see I’m a little unhinged emotionally. It isn’t
possible to miss.
“I once
despised it. I used to bleach it blonde with drugstore hair color.”
“Never.
Do. That. Again.” There’s an alpha-like tone in his voice. Almost growly. And
it sends a sharp tingle down my body. I haven’t felt that in years, and I
welcome it.
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