REVIEW: Lust. Mechanics. Mini Cooper Blog Tour! (+$15 Amazon GC giveaway!)

Title: Lust. Mechanics. Mini Cooper

Author: Elle Brooks

Series: Lesley Meryn #1

Pages: N/A

Date Published: June 15th 2014

Publisher: Smashwords

Format: ebook

Genre: Romance

Source: Goddess Fish Blog Tours 
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Synopsis:
Adventure-romance author, Lesley Meryn, has lived her own share of adventures. But the one thing she has never experienced is the "coupe de foudre", the Lightning-Bolt of Love. Connected by years of friendship to the sexy action-movie star, Jason Hambrey, Jax, the two really are "just friends" but the paparazzi are merciless, making their lives and their friendship almost impossible to sustain.

When Lesley's Aunt dies, leaving her a piece of property in North Yorkshire, Lesley is mystified. Her aunt kept it a secret. Lesley travels to London and learns her that her aunt leased the property twenty-five years before to an 'Historical Research Society'. The lease on the property is up for renewal. Before she makes her decision; Lesley travels to the farm to investigate. Nothing could prepare her for what she finds at the farm. Miles Sherwood is dark, devious, and desperate. He's the very last person one would consider the head of a stuffy British 'Historical Society'. Lesley finds him insufferable, yet irresistibly attractive. The two unknowingly share a deep connection. Whether they like it or not...it's Lightning-Time!

~My Thoughts~

Well, the title pretty much says it all when it comes to this fast paced, high-octane romance. 

I always like it when the main character of a novel is an author. It gives me the sense of a book in a book in a book, and I always wonder how closely the author's own experiences are mirrored by the author character in the book. Is that how the author wished she/he would have been published? Did they make that particular editing error when they were first starting out too? Is that their actual writing process the character employs to get  books written? Always fun to think about when reading this kind of story.

While I absolutely abhor love triangles, this is more of an implied love triangle than not. The paparazzi sort of make Lesley's friendship with movie star Jason into a thing (sort of like how the media "reveals" that Taylor Swift is dating anyone she happens to hug, smile at, or look at in any way. This makes Lesley and Miles' relationship and subsequent love affair that much deeper and more intimate when you compare all the glitz and glam surrounding the "fakish" relationship whith her and Jason, versus how serious and intense Miles is. 

Miles in himself was an okay hero. I agree with Lesley that he was pretty insufferable and I'm not sure, had I been in her situation, I could have overlooked some of his personality quirks...no matter how gorgeous he really was... He does seem very smart which I liked (Sherlock is hella attractive in my book). The plot was cool, and threw in a bit of a science fiction vibe which was cool and added a nice spice to the mystery/romance feel of the majority of the book. Overall a fun read, with an annoying cliffhanger, but sure to lead to more enjoyment in book two! 

~Try an Excerpt!~

So this was it. Auntie Sophia's secret, mysterious farm. Aside from the buildings, it didn't look much like a farm. There were no animals in the fields. No chickens pecking about. If not for the Range Rover and the Jag, she would have thought the place was deserted. She rubbed absently at the sore spot on her forehead.

Her boots crunched on the gravel driveway echoing in the flat silence, as Lesley walked slowly past the cars and around to the back of the largest cottage. She glanced into a window to see a blonde-haired woman bent over behind a computer monitor, the screen hiding her face. Lesley could see her hands, and silently watched as she seemed to be typing hesitantly with her two manicured index fingers, closely consulting a piece of paper set to the side of the monitor. She worked slowly and with intense concentration. At one point it looked as though she had made a mistake and Lesley could hear her faintly, cursing like a sailor. Lesley was so taken by surprise by this, she hesitated a few moments before she brought her hand up to tap on the window. It was in those few seconds of hesitation that she saw the woman pull a thumb drive out of the processor, slip it, and the piece of paper, into her purse, and dash out the door. Lesley's hand dropped and she stepped away from the window.

~Meet Elle!~ 

Elle Brookes grew up in Los Angeles, California, but lived in Jamaica for three years when she was a Peace Corps Volunteer. She moved to San Francisco and studied at the California Culinary Academy, and went on to become a private chef to a well-known L.A. based television production company.

From an early age Elle was a voracious reader of adventure stories and from elementary school through high school, she started writing her own stories of places foreign and exotic.  She studied Art History and continued writing in college, focusing on short stories. 

A dedicated and passionate traveler, Elle has explored river caves in Jamaica and Costa Rica, hiked glaciers in New Zealand and Iceland, and done dogsledding in Greenland and Iceland. She's danced a fa'a Samoan haka and slept in a fale on the island of Savai'i in Samoa, hiked in the northern mountains of Thailand along the border with Myanmar in the Golden Triangle, and in Haiti, she witnessed a white goat ceremonially sacrificed to Erzuli Freda by a powerful Houngan. For a time she did Performance Driving in Southern California, and has years of study and experience dedicated to fencing, theatrical combat, archery, and horsemanship.

Elle currently lives in the central highlands of Costa Rica with her dog Pixie, and her hedgehog, Quiller. Website: www.tymslyder.com
Elle Brookes will be awarding $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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