The Spark Between Us, an all-new roommates to lovers, opposites attract standalone romance from author Stacy Travis is available now!

 

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Blurb

When I move to small town Carolwood, I don’t expect to run into a hot-as-sin firefighter with smoldering gray eyes and eight-pack abs. Literally. With my car. Doesn’t help matters that Braden Michaels is my brother’s best friend. And my new roommate.

He’s too busy putting out blazes and igniting them in the hearts of women to pay much attention to me. I’m just here for work—six months of nerding out at a world-renowned science lab, then going home to a nice promotion and the boring men in my comfort zone.

I’m not here for a rescue fantasy, a fire station pole dance, or a romantic walk in a vineyard. I’m certainly not here to fall in love.

Until one earth-shattering night when we collide in a ball of white-hot sparks, and everything changes. We’re no longer just roommates. I don’t know what we are. But edging open Braden’s complicated heart knocks something loose in mine. All my plans and scientific facts start to pale in comparison with feelings I can’t control.

My time here has an expiration date and neither one of us wants to get hurt. Rushing into a burning building seems less risky than chasing the spark between us. Maybe it’s smarter to walk away. Or maybe I’ve found the one reason to stay.

We’ll either fall in love or we’ll go down in flames.

The Spark Between Us is Sarah and Braden’s story in the Berkeley Hills series and is an opposites attract STANDALONE novel.

 

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Review

4.5 stars!

I love this book! A fun, funny, sweet and sexy opposites-attract/brother’s-best-friend-romance with fantastic characters and awesome chemistry, I felt every moment of this gorgeous love story!

This it the third book in the Berkeley Hills series, but can easily be read as a standalone.

Sarah is the third of five sisters to have their stories told in the series. She is studious and a self-declared science nerd who is living to a plan she set years ago, and with a 6 month contract at a world-renowned science lab, she is right on track. With the change in job comes a temporary move out of town, and her older brother arranges for her to stay with his best friend from high school, Braden, a man she hasn’t seen since she was a gangly 12 year old. And when she sets eyes on the gorgeous firefighter – moments after she’s run into the back of his fire truck in her car – she is gobsmacked.

Braden Michaels was a gorgeous, decadent dessert of a man who seemed to have zero control over his smolder. It emanated from his dark eyes, his lazy smile, and his sharp jawline softened by sexy stubble. I normally didn’t get worked up over attractive men, but it was impossible not to notice this one.

Braden is a genuinely nice guy whose heart was broken by his cheating fiancé two years previously. Since then, he has refused to put his heart at risk again, and has become a bit of a player, engaging in a series of meaningless hook-ups and not letting any women get too close. But he’s an absolute sweetheart, and when it turns out the intelligent, gorgeous woman who just smashed into his truck is the same woman about to share his home for six month as a favour to his best friend, he knows he’s in trouble.

The chemistry is there from the very beginning with these two, but they start off as friends. Sarah is friendly, open, and so funny, and Braden basks in it – so different from the plastic , self-absorbed women that usually throw themselves at him. They develop a quick and easy friendship, and find themselves easily settling into roommate life together. But there’s this undercurrent of attraction that sizzles in every encounter, and we know it’s just a matter of time before something happens.

“You don’t dictate what I deserve. Or what I want.” I spoke quietly and folded my arms.
His face reddened and he scrubbed a hand over his features again, exasperated. “Jesus, woman, do you really disagree with me or do you just like to argue?”
I licked my lips. “I do like to argue. But I don’t want to argue about this.”
His eyes heated, pupils dilating. I watched them lazily roam over me.
“What do you want, Sarah?” His voice was low and husky. It was a white flag surrender.

And wow, does it happen. It only takes one night for everything to change. One moment where they give in to their desires, leading to an encounter that rocks both of their worlds. It’s emotional, honest, and super steamy, with an element of playfulness that reflects the fun of their relationship, and I loved seeing them finally come together. They very quickly realise that once will never be enough, so they decide to continue their affair while Sarah is in town, promising to keep things simple and not fall in love. And we all know how that is going to go.

It’s a wonderful setup, and the story progresses beautifully through so many sexy and romantic moments. Sarah and Braden fall into a relationship that neither of them expected, and it’s one that neither of them shy away from. They quietly acknowledge that they’re falling, and they let it happen, and I enjoyed every moment of the time they spent together.

I’m usually all about the hero in romance novels, and while Braden is a worthy addition to the book boyfriend collection, Sarah absolutely shines in this book as an open and honest woman who knows what she wants, and who doesn’t hold back from getting it. She’s smart, funny, brave and bold, and she puts herself out there for her man, and I adored her.

“You shouldn’t change your plans for me. For this. You’re a nice person, Sarah. You deserve a good guy who wants a relationship, not a player like me.”
Braden had no way of knowing it, but he’d just poked the bear. Being called nice was a slap in the face. I wasn’t just a nice girl who studied hard and baked brownies. I was a multifaceted woman who could make plans and change them when she felt like it. I wasn’t the workaholic, responsible drone my family expected me to be. I had cravings and desires, and one of them was standing in front of me, acting like he knew everything. I wanted to punch him. Then kiss him for a long, long time.

But what will happen when their time comes to an end? Can they find a way to make it work, and what will they have to give up to make it happen? There is a bit of drama with this one, but it’s shortlived and mostly angst-free, and I was happy to watch it all play out to the ending that left me happy and absolutely satisfied.

“You’ve got me. And I’m not letting you go.”

Fans of the series will love seeing Sarah’s family again. Family dinner is another highlight, and I especially loved seeing the bond between Sarah and her brother Finn, and the relationship between the two boys – again, so sensible and no drama, which was very welcome.

I loved this one. A fun, sexy and swoony standalone, but also a great addition to the series!

4.5 stars

An Advanced Reader Copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

Berkeley Hills

 

Excerpt

“Is there something you want if I decide your brownies do live up to the hype?” He winked. The damn fireman was flirting.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s your game, mister? You’re the one who’s in charge here. You get to lay down a verdict once you taste these things,” I said, pointing to the squares in front of us. “You want me to wager something, just so you can find a tiny bit of fault with my recipe and assure I don’t get it?”

He took a step closer to me, and I could feel the heat radiating from his large, muscular body. Maybe that was his intention, to throw me off. It was working. My heart started beating so fast I could feel it in my throat.

Two could play at that game. I took a step closer to him so we were almost touching. I had to tilt my head back to look him in the eye, which emphasized how tall
he was, easily over six feet.

“I’d never do something so underhanded.” His eyes met mine and moved briefly to my lips before returning to stare me down. His closeness made my body ache with desire, a warm flush spreading under his gaze.

Maybe that’s why I blurted out the first thing that came into my head. “Fine. If the brownies are as good as I say, you have to kiss me.”

I saw the surprise register in his eyes for a split second before he recovered. His shock was nothing compared to my own.

Where the hell had that come from? I swallowed hard and steadied my gaze at him, unwilling to back down.

His smirk returned, and he nodded at me, taking one step back.

“Fine. Deal.”

We shook on it.

“Actually . . .” I started to backpedal, but Braden held up a hand. He picked up the paper towels with the brownies and handed one to me. He even went so far as to
clink brownies in a chocolate toast.

“Best of luck to you.” He paused to take a whiff of the brownie, blinking hard. Then he took a generous bite. I was so fixated on watching his straight teeth bite
through the chocolate and his lips wrap around the bite he’d just taken that I forgot I held one of my favorite desserts in my hand.

The planet may have stopped spinning in real time and begun moving in slow motion, just so I could see the muscle in Braden’s jaw pop as he chewed the bite, and
his stormy gray eyes fix on mine until he finally closed them.

When he swallowed and licked his bottom lip, it was almost like he’d licked me. I went limp. “Oh my God,” he moaned, eyes rolling back.

I barely heard his words amid the whole-body orgasm I was having. But something about the heated look gave me told me I’d succeeded in wooing his tastebuds. “Verdict?”

He took another bite and threw up his hands. “I concede,” he said around a mouthful of brownie. “You win. These are amazing.”

That thought made me happy because I felt pretty stolid in my brownie-making skills, and I liked the affirmation. But then . . . oh shit. I didn’t want him to feel obligated to kiss me. It was like something out of a high-school spin the bottle party. I felt ridiculous.

I started waving my hands. “But forget about the whole wager thing. That was just a joke. You don’t have to—”

“Yes, I do.” His eyes clouded with heat, the barest smile on his lips replaced with serious intention. “A bet’s a bet.”

His hands cupped my face as he leaned in closer, and I felt the air leave my lungs in a whoosh. I inhaled roughly, taking in the scent of woodsy aftershave and fresh
soap, watching the fire in his eyes until they blurred in my vision.

The heat from his hands and the way he brushed the pad of his thumb over my cheek caused my eyes to drift closed. His lips brushed softly against mine, like a
whisper. My breath hitched, his fingertips licking my skin like flames from a torch.

 

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About Stacy Travis

It’s a rough world out there, and we all sometimes need a good, romantic beach read, even if we can’t make it to the beach. I’ve spent many lazy days walking the streets of Paris and other gorgeous European cities, and if I’m doing it right, I’m bringing you a dash of romance and a vacay fantasy.

I can’t sit still, so when I’m not hiking, biking or running, I’m playing a very average game of tennis. Background music for writing undoubtedly features some U2, Lizzo, Billy Joel, Pink, Taylor Swift, and Led Zeppelin. Not necessarily in that order. And if I could only eat one food group, it would be cheese. Or wine. Or bread. Are those food groups? Whatever.

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Website: https://stacytravis.com