Leave The Lights On by Karen Stivali - Book Tour, Book Review, Giveaway

“When love throws you a curve, swing for the fences. ”

Parker Wood’s dreams of becoming a professional baseball player are shattered when he’s injured in a devastating car crash. After two years in hospitals and physical rehab facilities, he’s ready to move back to his childhood home and take over the family landscaping company. The house and business are his, now that his father has passed.

Sophie Vaughn has suffered through a hellishly public divorce from a husband who couldn’t manage to stay faithful for two months of marriage. Determined not to let her personal drama impact her successful wedding and party planning business, she buys her parents’ old house, hoping the comfort of familiar surroundings will help her heal.

When Parker and Sophie discover they’re neighbors once again, it’s as if time has stood still. Their friendship is quickly rekindled, along with the decade-long crush neither of them ever admitted having. Then the heat between them exposes a long-held secret that threatens to tear them apart…unless they can detach from their painful pasts and move forward-together.

Warning: Contains sultry summer nights, steamy pool-side encounters, and you’ll never look at a jar of peanut butter the same way again.

 MY REVIEW -

Two old friends, scarred people, brought back home by issues from their past, destined to meet again and perhaps, brave enough to start something that was supposed to happened years ago…
  

Parker Wood had dreams of becoming a professional baseball player, but all his dreams went downhill when he was injured in a car crash. It didn’t help that his longtime girlfriend broke up with him to marry someone else prior to the accident. Spending two years in hospitals and rehab – he was more than ready to go home, and take over the family business now that his father is gone.
  

What he didn’t expect was the girl next door – Sophie Vaugn, his best friend, longtime crush also decided to go home and stay for good.
  

After the humiliating cheating stunt and divorce procedure just two months after they were married, Sophie Vaugn had decided to go home and manage her wedding and party planning business. She hoped that moving closer to home, buying her parent’s house, and being in a familiar place will bring her comfort and eventually allow healing to come.
  

 When both of them discovered that they were neighbors once again, friendship was rekindled, and it was like the distance, the time, and the past relationship didn’t happened. Their friendship was like the same as it was years ago, only that the sexual chemistry was more potent, and the tension is giving off its alarm signals. When the attraction and tension finally won, and both of them was heading off to their HEA, their painful pasts comes back, and threatens their future together. Would both of them allow themselves to finally let go and grab their future together, or will they allow their past to destroy what they have now?
  

I love Parker!!! And he gave me the biggest surprise today – I had not seen it coming, considering the circumstances… but then, the fact was totally refreshing, and yes, a little bit amusing. I was glad, when it finally happened, it was with Sophie.
  

Leave the Lights on is a nice, romantic, steamy and light read on my day off. It made my rest day worthwhile because I spent my time enjoying this book, falling in love, and pinning for our characters. I always have a soft spot for second chances, but despite the fact that these two weren’t old lovers, but rather friends – it doesn’t matter. Because ever since they were young, the two of them already harbored secret feelings for each other and is now given another chance. It was amazing to see the both of them grab it, maneuvered through the rough times caused by their past, and finally reaching their HEA. And there’s this thing about peanut-butters…

RATING:

★ARC Copy was given in exchange for an honest review.★

AUTHOR BIO -

Karen Stivali is a prolific writer, compulsive baker and chocoholic with a penchant for books, movies and fictional British men. When she’s not writing, she can be found cooking extravagant meals and serving them to family and friends, who never seem to mind the excessive quantities she tends to prepare. She attributes her ability to multitask to the fact that she rarely sleeps, which gives her more hours every day. Prior to deciding to write full time Karen worked as a hand drawn animator, a clinical therapist, and held various food-related jobs ranging from waitress to specialty cake maker. Planning elaborate parties and fundraisers takes up what’s left of her time and sanity.

Karen has always been fascinated by the way people relate to one another so she favors books and movies that feature richly detailed characters and their relationships. In her own writing she likes to explore the dynamics between characters and has a tendency to craft romantic tales filled with sarcasm and sexy details. Although she writes in three genres (erotic romance, contemporary romance and women’s fiction) all of her stories are love stories with happily ever after endings.

Karen has published several erotic romance novels with Ellora’s Cave including two award winning stories: Always You (published September 2011, First Place Winner of the RWA Passionate Plume Award – 2012)and Marry Me (published June 2012, First Place Winner in the NEC-RWA Bean Pot Reader’s Choice Award – 2013).

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GIVEAWAY - 

$25 Gift Card (Choice of Amazon or Barnes & Noble) Choice of ebook from author’s backlist  

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

BUY LINKS -

Barnes & Noble