{Blog Tour} ARC Review: Burn For You by Marquita Valentine

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Title: Burn For You (Boys of the South #5)
Author: Marquita Valentine
Publication date: April 21st 2014
Source: Received eARC from tour host (Thanks, Wordsmith Publicity and Marquita!)
Pre-order the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iBooks



Beau Montgomery is *not* the typical single dad for three reasons:

1. He's rich and famous.
2. He needs a nanny, like yesterday.
3. He has no idea if eight month old, Mia, is actually his daughter.

Only, number three doesn't matter to him, because he's determined to give up everything to be a standup dad, including racing, partying, and his favorite vice-women. Until that is, he's invited to race in Monaco--a dream he's always had. Now, all those things he'd sworn to give up are at his fingertips, including the very inconveniently hot nanny, Landry Basnight, who's traveling with him.

Landry Basnight *is* the typical college graduate for three reasons:

1. She's broke and in debt up to her eyeballs.
2. She needs a job, like yesterday.
3. Nothing exciting ever happens in her life.

Only, number three is about to change, because she's been hired by Beau Montgomery, son of Racing Royalty. Landry's parents are big fans of the Montgomerys, while she couldn't care less--all she wants is to make a dent in her student loans. However, that doesn't stop her from falling in love with her little charge, nor does it make it easier to resist Beau's charms.

Lines are crossed, and then forgotten as Beau and Landry grow closer, but when Beau's ex-girlfriend, who is also Mia's mother, shows up, everything starts to fall apart for the new couple.

Will their love weather the storm, or will Beau abandon Landry for the family he's always wanted?

(Image and summary taken from Goodreads.)

Review:

Okay, I have been waiting for this book since... forever. As soon as I read Live For You (book #1) I instantly knew that Beau needed his own book. Call it intuition or just plain attraction, I knew there was something more to Beau Montgomery than his tattoos and overall sex appeal... and I was right.

Beau Montgomery never had it easy, being the illegitimate child of a car racing legend and a woman who passed away in a very unfortunate and saddening way, it was hard growing up "normal." Having to learn to adapt and find his way was difficult, reading about his journey to becoming who he is now was very enlightening and very slap in the face-like. Ever since that faithful day that Beau met his now ex-girlfriend, Paisley, his life has never been the same. Seeing him get all torn up about her and how much he hurt, made me hurt. Beau gave her his all and she took, took and took until she found someone else. And now, Beau is taking care of his daughter (who he isn't even sure is his daughter because of Paisley's extracurricular activities) without complaint and anger, he just loves Mia. Being able to read about Beau's past and how he came to be made me sympathize and understand him. Seeing him grow into a person capable of loving unconditionally even after going through what he did made me believe that there really is hope for everyone, and that Beau is seriously one of the best men out there.

Right off the bat, I felt the sexual tension between Landry and Beau, I could almost feel how thick it was. I generally liked Landry as a character, she was sweet, kind and also genuinely cared for both Beau and Mia. I liked Landry's spunk and her need to be independent; and her being responsible made me see how mature of a character she was. Every time I would read a scene between Landry and Beau, I could not help but giggle, they were great together but we all know that love is never a smooth road...

The huge thorn on both Beau and Landry's side is Paisley, Mia's mother and Beau first true love. It's not because she's deliberately antagonistic but with the way she was raised and everything she went through, it became a sort of defense mechanism for her to be spiteful and cruel, especially to Beau. There were moments when you would catch a glimpse of a kind mother who genuinely loved her daughter, and those moments gave me hope that she wasn't a complete witch. What Marquita Valentine did was that she makes you dislike Paisley but also makes you sympathize with her, it was nice to be able to understand the "mean girl" in a book since we're hardly ever given the opportunity to really get to know them. Paisley definitely has a lot of layers and as chapters go by, you'll see them get peeled off one by one till all you have is her core. By the end of the book, I actually liked Paisley. *sniffles*

Marquita Valentine could not have made me any more proud. I absolutely loved this book and how she handled Beau's story. Everything was so unexpected and felt very much like car racing, speedy with turns and swerves that will leave you breathless with excitement. I am so happy that Marquita Valentine wrote this book the way she did, she did Beau, Landry and Paisley justice. I cannot wait to see what else is coming from the Boys of the South series! Very excited.

Rating:

.5

About the author:

New York Times Bestselling Author, MARQUITA VALENTINE, writes small town romances that are anything but small. She met her husband aka Hot Builder at Sonic when they were in high school. She suggests this location to all of her single friends in search of a good man -- and if that doesn't work, they can console themselves with cheesy tatertots. She lives in North Carolina in a very, very small town with Hot Builder and their two children. 

You can find her here: 

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