Mar
Today I’m excited to participate in the Blog Tour of ‘Beefcakes’ by Katana Collins this is a romantic comedy and out now!
Although ‘Beefcakes’ is the fourth book in the Maple Grove series, it can be read as a standalone. And this is my first Katana Collins read. When I first read the book description, I knew this was going to be a book I wanted to read. The cover doesn’t really work for me, but it definitely does grab your attention.
Neil has come back to the town he grew up in, to help his moms bakery survive. After being away for ten years, he doesn’t expect to feel so at home so fast. But he does. And being busy with the bakery makes him realize how much he loves baking, and spending time with his beautiful ex Elaina makes him feel everything he felt all those years ago. When Neil left town ten years ago, he left Elaina without any goodbyes. And as a result Elaina doesn’t trust him. Not even a little bit. Especially now Neil is surrounded by woman coming to the new bakery’s hit service Beefcakes.
To be completely honest, it took me a very long time to real get into this story. The two main characters Neil and Elaina, definitely took me some time to like. At one point I was even afraid I wouldn’t like them at all. Neil just seemed a little simple and shallow. I think it was almost half way into the book when I started to get used to these characters and could say that I liked reading about them.
Perhaps Neil seemed a little bit shallow, but there’s much more to him than meets the eye. Literally! He is more than just a handsome guy. And Elaina is this hardworking, scared woman, who doesn’t trust easy. But after everything she went through.. You can’t blame her.
The romance definitely grew on me, and I liked the whole small town vibe throughout this book. But I didn’t really get the whole reality show, the characters agreed on participating in. I felt like it didn’t really fitted the story, and I could have easily enjoyed this book just as much, maybe even more, without it.
Overall, I enjoyed this book but I didn’t love it as much as I hoped. It really took me a very long time to really get into the story. But ‘Beefcakes’ definitely made me curious about other books in the series.
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She laughed. “I, uh…I might have some anger management issues.”
I took the bag from her and peeked in. There were knuckle marks against the outside of the croissant. Literal knuckle marks. I barked a laugh. “Elaina Dyker. Did you punch the croissant?”
She laughed, pressing her lips together as though this would hide the fact that I saw her adorable little giggle. She brought her thumb and forefinger up beside her temple. “Maybe a little.”“Did you even try a bite?”
She shook her head no. “I like my routine. I like my daily lunch of yogurt and almonds.”
I made a face. Because she had to be exaggerating. Sure…she liked them. But having that same thing every day? Even chocolate cake every day would get tedious. “You can like yogurt and almonds but still indulge every now and then, you know.” I reached in and pinched off a piece of the smashed croissant, holding it out toward her lips. “C’mon. Live a little. I promise you, it is actually healthy, if that’s your concern.” Not that she needed to be concerned about that. “Almond flour. Gluten free. Grain free. Only two net carbs. The only sugar is the honey in the honey roasted almonds and the natural sugar in dates.” Her eyes grew wide at that and I knew I had hooked her.
She reached out her hand to take the piece of croissant from me, but I pulled back. “Nuh-uh,” I teased. “We can’t have your fingers getting sticky. Might ruin that fancy suit you’re wearing.”
She rolled her eyes, but parted her wet lips, her tongue peeking out just enough for me to place the croissant on top of. She moaned as soon as it hit her mouth, and her eyes fell closed as she slowly chewed and swallowed. “That’s…that’s healthy?”
I nodded. “See? I’m not just a pile of muscles. I’ve got some talent, too.”
Her head fell to the side. “I never said you weren’t talented. I just wish you wouldn’t show off quite so much of your other assets.”
I grinned. “I thought you liked my assets?”
“I do,” she answered absentmindedly, then immediately shook her head, realizing what she’d said. “I mean, I did.”
This Blog Tour was organized by Social Butterfly PR.
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Maureen is a mom, wife, nurse, and Ravenclaw living in the Netherlands. She spends her days juggling mom-life, reading, blogging, planning date nights with her husband and working as a nurse. Maureen also is a big Anglophile, loves cooking, Gilmore Girls, Bridgerton and Harry Potter.. Always! Facebook | Instagram
I’m sorry you didn’t love this one as much as you wanted to! It’s always a bummer when that happens. I do love the cover though… 😉
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬
It’s definitely a fun cover. And I’m glad I did enjoy myself. 😉
Thanks for stopping by!