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Interview and Review: Author Amanda K. Byrne and her new release ONE NIGHT IN BUENOS AIRES

It’s an Entangled Select joint tour!
My interview with author Amanda K. Byrne and review of ONE NIGHT IN BUENOS AIRES is below; click here for my review of Audra North’s A LESSON IN TEMPTATION.

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Welcome, Amanda! Tell us more about your book—take us beyond the official “book blurb”.

One Night in Buenos Aires is a friends to lovers story (my favorite kind!) I think it’s entirely possible for men and women to be friends without a whiff of attraction to distract them, and that’s what happens here – until they’re forced to share a hotel room. When they wake up tangled together their first morning in Buenos Aires, they’re faced with a new, previously unrealized facet to their relationship. As their trip rolls on, they have to ask themselves if they’re really going to be able to go back to being friends, and only friends, or if what they’ve uncovered is worth risking their friendship for. Making the transition from friends to something more isn’t always easy, and Drea and Joe aren’t in for a smooth ride.

Of course not! It wouldn’t be any fun (for us, which is all that matters!) if it were too easy for them. 😉

 

Give us more info about your main characters—who are they?

Drea and Joe have been friends and coworkers for a while. Drea’s a sweetheart with a temper, and Joe’s been on the receiving end a few times. But even when she’s angry, she rarely says anything worse than the occasional “damn”. She’s cautious when it comes to relationships. Joe’s pretty easy going – except when he’s been crammed in coach class for hours on end. He’s not afraid of affection and tends to be pretty demonstrative when it comes to the woman he’s dating, holding hands, little touches, absent kisses in sweet, random places. Drea’s the one person he’s come to rely on the most over the past few years, and she on him. Their trust in each other is absolute.

Poor Joe, he is pretty upset in the first few pages. It all works out VERY well in the end, though!

 

What scene in your book was the most fun to write, and why?

The scene where Drea makes Joe go out to dinner with her – and sit through a drag show. I wanted something a little ridiculous and outrageous, and writing that gave me both.

LOL! That was a fun scene to read too! (Keep reading, because it’s later on in the post!)

 

How long have you been writing, and what (or who) inspired you to start?

I’ve been writing steadily for the past…four? I think it’s four. Four years. I read a story in Wired magazine about a guy who just dropped off the grid. Disappeared, no one knew where he went, or why he left the way he did, and I started wondering why anyone would do that. What was so bad about your previous life that you couldn’t even be bothered to say goodbye? A year and a half later, I had a completed story.

Awesome inspiration!

 

What do you like best about being a writer?

I love having my characters do the things they’re not supposed to do – kill people without remorse, blow things up, engage in friends with benefits relationships. Sometimes my heroines are pretty unlikeable, and I’ve been accused of writing heroes that are a little too perfect.  The only limit is my imagination.

“Too perfect” heroes. Pfft. 😉

 

What is the most challenging part of being a writer?

Writing sex scenes! I like writing them, but after a while, I start dreading them, because it has to be different from the last. I never want a reader to read one of those scenes and say, “I’ve read that before.”

I hear you—I’m having troubles with just plain kissing scenes right now! Especially when my seventeen-year-old is sitting six inches away from where I’m writing…(shudder)

 

What are you working on right now? What can readers look for from you in the next year?

I’m usually working on more than one project at a time, so I’m splitting time between a New Adult trilogy featuring a female assassin and a novella that takes place on New Year’s Eve. Next year I’ll be releasing two contemporary romances: Hidden Scars, which is the story of a young woman trying to date again after leaving an emotionally abusive relationship, and Fracture, about a woman trapped in a war zone and forced to rely on a man she despises.

Can’t wait!

 

What authors and/or books have inspired you?

I love love love Tana French. The way she twists the English language around is amazing. And I’ll read just about anything Nalini Singh puts out. Same with James Ellroy and Delphine Dryden.

All on my TBR pile…

 

What are you currently reading?

Like writing, I’m incapable of reading one book at time. I’m in the middle of Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink. It’s the story of one of New Orleans’ largest hospitals and what happened in the days following Hurricane Katrina. It’s thoroughly depressing; I can only handle so many pages of it at a time, so I usually read a couple chapters a night from something more entertaining. I’m working my way through Lorelei James’ Rough Riders series. Mmm, cowboys.

Reading one book at a time—who does that? 😉

 

Please share a favorite scene from your books with our readers.

Definitely when Joe and Drea wake up the first morning and don’t realize what they’re doing – and what they’re about to do.

Another awesome scene!

Thanks so much, Amanda—I’m so glad you could be with us today.
Keep reading to find out more about Amanda and her new book…

 

Amanda K. Byrne’s Bio:

When she’s not plotting ways to sneak her latest shoe purchase past her partner, Amanda writes sexy, snarky romance and urban fantasy. She likes her heroines smart and unafraid to make mistakes, and her heroes strong enough to take them on.

If she’s not writing, she’s reading, drinking hot chocolate, and trying not to destroy her house with her newest DIY project. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and no, it really doesn’t rain that much.

 

Website: Twitter:  Facebook:  Goodreads

 

One-Night-in-Buenos-Aires-500

One Night in Buenos Aires
by Amanda K Byrne

As a reward for a hard-won contract, best friends Drea and Joe head to Buenos Aires for sun, wine, and the tango. But their week of relaxation is off to an ominous start when a reservation mix-up leaves them with only one option: one room…and one bed.

Exhausted from travel, the two friends figure it won’t be a big deal to share a bed for one night—right up until they wake wrapped around each other and seconds away from, well, you know.

When the two decide to follow through on their impulse, they protect their friendship by agreeing that when the vacation’s over, the fling’s over. While Drea’s convinced it’s nothing more than a mutual itch, Joe discovers Drea might be everything he’s ever wanted. Now all he has to do is convince her that what happens in Buenos Aires doesn’t always have to stay in Buenos Aires.

 

Review:

A short and sweet friends/coworkers-to-lovers story, One Night in Buenos Aires is a nice debut for author Amanda K. Byrne. To make a novella’s HEA believable you really need to start with two people who already have a past; which makes the friends-to-lovers troupe perfect for this format.

There were some very cute moments (epilogue!) and some laugh out loud ones (dinner at a drag club) that made this an altogether pleasant way to spend a summer afternoon.

I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.

Rating: 4 stars / B+

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

Excerpt:

“There’s a show? Cool.” He studied the runway.

“Um, yeah,” she hedged.

Before she could say another word, the same small man she’d spent most of the afternoon chatting with over glasses of wine swooped in. “Baby, you came!” Two air kisses, one beside each cheek. “And this?” He stroked Joe’s arm suggestively. “You brought me this tasty piece of man meat? Yum!”

She burst out laughing at Joe’s expression. Comical horror slid into stoic as he allowed the man to fawn all over him. The fact her new friend had a face full of makeup made it even better.

Her giggles continued while Joe glared at her, mouth pinched as he fought off a smile. He leaned forward until their noses bumped. “Careful. Or you’re gonna get it.” He flicked his tongue out and swiped her chin, and she squealed.

She plucked up her napkin and wiped her chin. “How mature.” She relaxed a fraction more. Her body might be reacting in new and scary ways to his touch, but he was Joe. Still prone to moments of juvenilism. Still making her laugh.

He put his hand on her thigh, fingers playing with the hem of her dress while they skimmed the menus. Anxiety and desire took up swords in her stomach and started battling. Higher. Off. Don’t stop. Do. She placed a hand over his, curled her fingers around it, and shifted it higher, under her dress.

His long, slim fingers flexed hard on her thigh. He lowered his menu, the question clear in his eyes. It was a fine edge she was walking. One nudge and they’d tumble over into a swirling mass of lust and heat and frenetic energy. He’d promised her, though. Promised no matter what happened between them they’d hold on to their friendship. Above all, she trusted him.

So she nodded, and his hand slid up, stroking the sensitized flesh.

 

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