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New Release Review and Giveaway! TEMPTING TRISTAN by Melissa Foster (Harborside Nights #3)

Title: Tempting Tristan 
Series: Harborside Nights
Author: Melissa Foster
Genre: A sexy standalone M/M Romance
Release Date: October 19, 2016

Blurb:

Tempting Tristan is a stand-alone M/M romance featuring two sexy, hot alphas.

Fresh off the heels of yet another bad relationship, Tristan Brewer is taking a break from men to try and figure out where he keeps going wrong. He knows his biggest fault–he leads with his heart, not his head–and that’s never going to change. But after several introspective weeks, he’s beginning to get a handle on things. That is, until badass heartthrob Alex Wells walks into his bar…

Alex has spent eight years in the Army, months in a hospital bed, and far too long hiding his sexual identity. He’s guilt-ridden, damaged, pissed off, and up for a Silver Star–for the incident that nearly cost him his life, and kept him from his grandmother’s funeral. But all he wants to do is forget his stint with the institution that allows but doesn’t necessarily accept, and live the life he’s always dreamed of.

The chemistry between Tristan and Alex ignites from the moment they meet, and the more time they spend together the hotter the flames become. But the closer Tristan gets, the more Alex’s walls go up, and when the two walk onto a military base, Tristan finds out Alex’s physical scars aren’t the ones that run the deepest.

***

“Melissa Foster is synonymous with sexy, swoony, heartfelt romance!” New York Times Bestseller Lauren Blakely

“With her wonderful characters and resonating emotions, Melissa Foster is a must-read author!” New York Times Bestseller J. Kenner

“Catching Cassidy is laugh out loud funny, heartwarming, sexy, and hands down one of my favorite reads so far this year!” #1 NYT Bestselling Author of The Bet, Rachel Van Dyken

HARBORSIDE NIGHTS is a sexy, hot, and evocatively real series of stand-alone romances that follows a group of friends who have known one another for years as “summer” friends, and now come together after college to build their lives. They’re tough, edgy, and accepting–most of the time. This series is written in the same loving, raw, and emotional voice readers have come to love by New York Times & USA Today bestselling, award-winning author Melissa Foster with LGBT themes.

 

 

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Excerpt from Tempting Tristan (A sexy standalone M/M romance)
© Melissa Foster 2016
She rolls her pretty green eyes. “No, Tristan. Because the hottest man on the planet just parked his motorcycle and he’s heading in here. All of my female customers are drooling, and I’m sure you’ll see a flock of them coming in any minute now. Meanwhile, I’m stuck outside and soon I’ll have a pier full of empty tables.” She grabs a handful of napkins and waves them at me with a smirk. “Drool rags.”“Dibs,” Charley says as she whips up a cocktail.

I laugh and hold my hands up. “I’m on a hiatus from all things male, so be my guest.” My ex, Ian, is a self-absorbed ass, and I was an idiot for letting him treat me like shit. Which is why I’m taking a break from men—even if it kills me. It’s been weeks since we broke up and I moved into my buddy Wyatt’s house. Wyatt and his twin sister, Delilah, own the Taproom. They inherited it when their parents were killed in a car accident a little more than a year ago.

“I’m sure he’s straight anyway,” Livi says. “The guy swaggers like a stud.”

“Hey, gay guys can swagger like studs,” I tease.

“I know that.” Livi peers out the pass-through window to the outside seating area and tosses her blond hair over her shoulder. “You’ll see what I mean. He’s a total badass.”

I tend to my customers as the girls discuss the badass hot guy, and when the front door opens, I can’t help but let my eyes drift over. Livi and Charley fall silent, ogling what truly might be the hottest guy on the planet. Linebacker shoulders fill the doorframe. The godlike creature is carrying a shiny black motorcycle helmet in one very large hand. His white T-shirt is stretched so tight across his chest I can see every ripple of his shredded abs, and his deliciously defined biceps are seriously struggling to be set free from his short sleeves.Tear, baby, tear.

He steps inside and runs a hand through his dirty-blond hair. Deep-set, brooding eyes slide over the customers sitting at the bar, sweep over Charley and Livi, and finally land on me. Charley whimpers, and Livi makes a sound in the back of her throat, both mimicking what I’m feeling, though my mouth is too dry to make a sound.

Review:

Sweet and sexy!

Tristan and Alex are an adorable couple, even if they do fall in love awfully quickly (total insta-love alert…) The main conflicts in the story come from Alex–the difficulties he’s having dealing with the lasting implications of the life-changing injuries he suffered as a solider and the mindset of “lock down, shut up, act straight” that he felt he had to personify during his eight years in the Army. I thought Ms. Foster did a nice job of getting us into his head and showing us the effect these things had on him (OMG, when he visits the pediatric clinic? Tears. So many tears over here), though here too, things got a bit fast-tracked at the end. The healing power of love worked really, really quickly for him…

Tristan, other than having had horrible taste in men up until this point, is basically the perfect partner. I kind of wanted him to reveal a flaw or two along the way, but other than getting a little testy about Alex hiding their relationship when they were back on a military base at one point (which again, he got over pretty fast–“fast” being an ongoing theme here), he was essentially Mr. Perfect Boyfriend from start to finish. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing–they are a great couple and I did enjoy reading the book from start to finish–but the angst factor definitely could have been upped a degree…or five.

Tempting Tristan is the third in the Harborside Nights series, and fifty-seventh(!) in the Love in Bloom one, but it still worked fine as a standalone. As in every other Melissa Foster book I’ve read so far, characters from past books do play a part, making you aware that there’s definitely other stories going on/recently happened out there, but you’ll do perfectly fine not knowing all the details.

Yet. 😉

Though I’ve gotta say, Tempting Tristan does have me pretty anxious to get to Charley and Brandon’s stories (Chasing Charley and Breaking Brandon –out soon, but not nearly soon enough!)

Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.


Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance, new adult romance (M/F, M/M, F/F), romantic suspense, thrillers, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Melissa’s emotional journeys are lovingly erotic and always family oriented. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the World Literary Café. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success.

Melissa has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Her interests include her family, reading, writing, painting, friends, helping others see the positive side of life, and visiting Cape Cod.

Melissa is available to chat with book clubs and welcomes comments and emails from her readers. Visit Melissa on Facebook or her personal website.

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