Monday Book Review: Lover's Leap, by Kimberly Keyes

Lover's Leap, by Kimberly Keyes
Published 2015 by The Wild Rose Press


About the Book:

After finding her fiancé in bed with another woman, Candace, a twenty-something, up-and-coming romance novelist with a deadline, takes off for a friend’s vacation home in Tahoe. The good news? She’ll share the place with fellow house guest, Logan, her best friend Eric’s latest lover. Except...Logan, the nearly-irresistible-to-women, burned out photographer, isn’t Eric’s lover. Not now, not ever. He’s hiding out licking personal wounds, and before he’s allowed anywhere near Candace, he’s sworn off her. No problem. Except...

There’s something about Candace. She’s not simply beautiful and enticingly off-limits. It’s in the way she doesn’t flirt with him. In the way she treats him like he isn’t a shallow pleasure-seeker. In the way, somehow, she brings peace to his world-weary soul.

Too bad she thinks he’s gay. But even if he can clear that hurdle, can he really entrust Candace’s heart to his own haphazard keeping?

My Take:

Lover's Leap is a wonderful tale of mistaken assumptions and second chances, with well developed characters, a beautiful Tahoe summer setting, and just enough mystery to keep the reader on their toes.

Candace Riley is a romance author running away from a failed engagement after finding her fiancé in bed with another woman. Her agent offers the use of his vacation home for her to finish the novel on deadline, but warns her that she will have to share it for the first week with a "special friend" of his, which Candace assumes means his boyfriend du jour. What she doesn't count on is being instantly and wildly attracted to her agent's lover, wanting him in an entirely inappropriate way given that he's taken, and, well, gay.

Except he isn't gay. Logan Shaw is all dark-haired, steamy hetero yumminess, but promised his friend Eric he wouldn't hit on Candace or bother her at all since she has a deadline to meet. Besides the fact that he's in Tahoe to avoid his own entanglements with a coworker turned stalker, and quickly realizes Candace is way out of his league and not someone who does one-night stands.

He plays along with Candace's assumptions, which theoretically make it easier for him to  hang out with her without worrying about romantic entanglements. Good in theory, not so good in practice. The building sexual tension between them is wonderful to read, as each struggles with their own reasons for not acting on their desires.

I love watching the close friendship grow between main characters who are fighting a serious undercurrent of sizzling attraction without ever sharing a first kiss. Each challenges the other to reexamine what they thought was true, and what they want from life. And from love. And when the mistaken assumptions are finally revealed, the steamy scenes between the two burn up the pages in a fabulous and satisfying way.

The little bits of mystery from each of their pasts add to the intrigue, and add depth to their feelings for each other. It also serves to ratchet up the tension as certain truths come to light and come back to bite them.

I totally recommend this book for a fast, fun read. It's actually a bit long (not that it feels long, but there are lots of pages to turn and enjoy!) for which I am so grateful... The author lets us explore every detail and doesn't skimp on the little things that make a romance novel so satisfying or try to fast forward through anything. This is my second novel by this author, the first being The Trouble with Tigers, a historical novel while this one has a contemporary setting.  The author also puts in a little nod to her other book, having Candace working on a manuscript where the main characters are Zeke and Kitty, the hero and heroine from Tigers. Loved the fact I "got" the little Easter egg, lol.

Have I gushed enough? Are you sold yet? Good. Go grab a copy of Lovers Leap and settle in for a satisfying romance that will leave you smiling. And Kimberly Keyes, I hope you are writing now and have a new book coming out soon. I'm eagerly waiting!

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