PreOrder Tour: Holiday House Swap by Sarah Madison (Reviews, Excerpt + Giveaway)
Title: Holiday House Swap
Author: Sarah Madison
Genre: M/M Romance
Release Date: December 21, 2016
Reclusive writer Noah Kinley is facing a dilemma: how to confess to the world he’s really the author of a best-selling romance series. For years, his friend Julie has been the face of his brand, but she wants her life back now. Fast running out of ideas for his popular series, Noah wants to break out into other genres. Not that he’s writing much of anything at the moment anyway, thanks to paralyzing writer’s block. With his publisher breathing down his neck for the next installment, he hopes a change of scene will get his writer’s juices flowing again. Desperate enough to try anything, during the holidays Noah swaps his isolated cabin in the woods for a gentrified horse farm.
To his delight, a wall switch within arm’s length turned out to be for a sound system. He fiddled with the dial until he found a radio station playing Christmas music. He sank down into the bubbling water until just his toes and head were sticking out. Bing Crosby sang a rousing rendition of “Mele Kalikimaka.” Obviously another indication the station was getting desperate for different Christmas songs already. Then the playlist segued into one of many versions of “Santa Baby,” all of which Noah hated. Still, the sheer bliss of soaking in a steaming tub without having to cross a snow-covered porch to get there had him humming along when “The Twelve Days of Christmas” came on.
Noah had just belted out “five go-old rings” when he opened his eyes to see the bathroom door slowly swinging toward him. His jaw dropped in horror when he saw a soldier dressed in desert camo standing in the entranceway. The man had a 9mm in his hand and had used the barrel to open the door.
Noah couldn’t help it. He shrieked and flung the Kindle aside, ducking down into the Jacuzzi. It didn’t take him long to realize this wasn’t a workable escape plan, and he burst up out of the water, gasping for air. Blinking soapy water out of his eyes, he grasped the wine bottle by the neck and swung it overhead with the intent of throwing it.
To his surprise, while he’d been underwater, the soldier had holstered his gun. The man had also taken off his cap to reveal a shock of short brown hair practically sticking up on end. He was leaning against the sink with his arms folded across his chest. The overhead light made his eyes gleam like a cat’s, almost amber in color. His two-day stubble made him look like an extra from Miami Vice. Although he no longer acted as though he planned to shoot Noah, he gave off a dangerous vibe just the same.
“Calm down.” He was unimpressed by Noah’s defensive posture. “I’m guessing you’re not a burglar after all. Unless you’re the kind of thief who enjoys breaking into other people’s houses to take bubble baths.”
“I’m not a thief!” Fear sharpened into anger. “Your first clue should have been the Ford Fiesta sitting in the driveway. A real thief would drive something more impressive, like a black Hummer or something. The second tip-off should have been the fact there’s no evidence of a break-in, and the third should’ve been, I don’t know, perhaps my luggage sitting in the guest room?” Rage made his blood pressure go up like a rocket. “Whereas you came busting in here with a gun in your hand, so tell me, Lieutenant Soldier Man, why the hell I shouldn’t call the police right now?”
Noah noted his hand holding the wine was trembling, and he hastily set the bottle down. Awareness of his naked state, damp and only thinly covered by soap, made him ooze back down into the bubbles. He swept some toward him to cover strategic areas, all while glaring at the soldier.
“Well, I don’t know,” the military man drawled in a lazy manner that sent a little chill down Noah’s spine, even though he was hunkered down in the steaming water. “Maybe because I’m between you and the phone. Maybe because I still have a gun and you don’t. Or maybe—” The man pushed himself off the sink and took a step closer to the tub, pressing his fists into his hips as he leaned over to speak with emphasis. “Maybe because I live here.”
Noah gasped. “You do not!”
Reclusive writer Noah has a big problem, not only is he suffering from writer's block and has his publisher breathing down his neck to hurry up with the next novel in his series, but he has reached a point in which he has to come clean and reveal to the world that he's the writer of said series and not his friend Julie, who's been the face of his brand since the beginning and now wants to resume her career as a singer. Trying to jumpstart his writing, he swaps his cabin in the woods of Maine for a horse farm, hopeful that the change of scenery will work. The only thing he didn't count on was on the real owner of the house getting back home for the holidays after he was forced to retire from the air force or how it will impact his life.
I absolutely loved Noah! The book is told from his POV, so we get to know him pretty well. He's supposed to be introverted and reclusive, but once he started talking, he absolutely had no filter and it was funny as hell. He is bisexual, very down-to-earth and sarcastic and an all-around good guy, with a bit of self-esteem issues (which really, were completely understandable once his sister and parents were introduced into the story. Ugh, I so wanted to slap his sister silly). Because it all is in Noah's point of view, we don't get to know Connor as well, and really, there were a few instances in which I wasn't too sure about him. Most of it was explained, but really, there were moments (like him getting jealous about the women in Noah's life without asking him about it, just because Noah was bisexual) when I wondered why Noah put up with him, Connor being hot wasn't enough of an excuse for me.
I have to say that the banter between Noah and Connor was one of my favorite parts of the story. The sexual tension between them was another, it was thick enough to cut with a knife and when they finally did something about it, wow, it was electric!
This is my second book by Sarah Madison and let me tell you, she did an outstanding job explaining the functioning of a horse farm and giving the reader a glimpse into the publishing/writing world and blending both into the story without letting them overtake it.
All in all, this was a fantastic book, the writing was exceptional, fun, witty, romantic with just a bit of angst thrown in for good measure. This one is going straight to my re-read shelf!
Rating: 4.5 Stars!!!
*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the author/publisher for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*
Noah Kinley is a best-selling romance author, except very few people know that. When trying to become a writer, he didn't get much interest as an average looking man, so he decided to write under his best friend's name and use her as his face to the public except now she wants out. Noah's peaceful, hermit life is no longer working for his muse so he finds a holiday house swap on the internet and decides it's exactly what he needs to get rid of his writer's block and to figure out how to make it known that he's the real author of the series, without losing all his fans. Once he gets to the grand house he's going to be staying in, he's thrilled with all the amenities; that is until he finds out that the house owner is not the one he swapped homes with. Connor Harrison comes home from his forced retirement from the Air Force to find a stranger in him home.
This story is told from Noah's POV, so I always feel like I don't know the other MC as well because we just get Noah's thoughts.
I'm not going to ruin any surprises for you, but the introduction of the two MC's was hilarious, awkward and not the norm! I loved it!! Both MC's had a full plate to deal with, and regardless of their plans could not leave the other one alone. Noah was a procrastinator and found many other things to do in trying to "fix" Connor's life to avoid fixing his own issues. He was nosy, but very insightful and able to offer different points of view to Connor for his family situations. Though this relationship happened quickly, it didn't feel like an instalove story.
This was a great holiday read with humor, love, a hot skinny dipping scene, interesting instructions on horseback riding, and a HEA with little angst. You definitely want to check this one!!
Rating: 4 stars
Sarah Madison is a writer with a little dog, a big dog, an even bigger horse, too many cats, and a very patient boyfriend. An amateur photographer and a former competitor in the horse sport known as eventing, when she's not out hiking with the dogs or down at the stables, she's at the laptop working on her next story. When she’s in the middle of a chapter, she relies on the smoke detector to tell her dinner is ready. She writes because it’s cheaper than therapy.
Sarah enjoys placing hot men in hot water to see how strong they are—like teabags, only sexier. This motto allows her to play in a wide variety of genres, from FBI guys to shifters, with some WW2 fighter pilots and space adventurers tossed in for good measure. Sarah Madison was a finalist in the 2013 and 2015 Rainbow Awards. The Boys of Summer won Best M/M Romance in the 2013 PRG Reviewer’s Choice Awards. The Sixth Sense series was voted 2nd place in the 2014 PRG Reviewer’s Choice Awards for Best M/M Mystery series, and 3rd place in the 2105 PGR Reviewer’s Choice Awards for Best M/M Paranormal/Urban Fantasy series. If you want to make her day, e-mail her and tell you how much you like her stories.
I'm not going to ruin any surprises for you, but the introduction of the two MC's was hilarious, awkward and not the norm! I loved it!! Both MC's had a full plate to deal with, and regardless of their plans could not leave the other one alone. Noah was a procrastinator and found many other things to do in trying to "fix" Connor's life to avoid fixing his own issues. He was nosy, but very insightful and able to offer different points of view to Connor for his family situations. Though this relationship happened quickly, it didn't feel like an instalove story.
This was a great holiday read with humor, love, a hot skinny dipping scene, interesting instructions on horseback riding, and a HEA with little angst. You definitely want to check this one!!
Rating: 4 stars
Sarah Madison is a writer with a little dog, a big dog, an even bigger horse, too many cats, and a very patient boyfriend. An amateur photographer and a former competitor in the horse sport known as eventing, when she's not out hiking with the dogs or down at the stables, she's at the laptop working on her next story. When she’s in the middle of a chapter, she relies on the smoke detector to tell her dinner is ready. She writes because it’s cheaper than therapy.
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Thank you for the review. I've enjoyed all the books I've read by Sarah.
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