Review- Showcase Snowbound by Deborah Cooke Secret Heart Ink #1

Those who know me know that my all time favorite author is Deborah Cooke who also writes under the pseudonym of Claire Delacroix. I have been loving her Flat Iron Five series a contemporary series with sass and heat and now she's started a spin-off/companion series to it called Secret Heart Ink. The premise of the series is this; Secret Heart Ink is a tattoo salon run by the enigmatic woman called Chynna and to celebrate the opening she is giving away one tattoo on each full moon hoping to bring two hearts together forever.
Snowbound is the first in the series and I'm pleased to bring you my review and an excerpt.
Enjoy!

ISBN-13: 9781988479682
Publisher: Deborah Cooke
Release Date: 3-20-2018
Length: 178pp
Secret Heart Ink #1
Source: Author for review
Buy It: Amazon/B&N/Kobo/IndieBound

ADD TO: GOODREADS

Overview:

Flatiron Five has a new tattoo shop—run by the enigmatic and legendary tattoo artist Chynna. When the moon is full, Chynna creates one tattoo to set two hearts afire and gives it away, with the goal of making romantic dreams come true. Who will be next?
Olivia trusts in here-and-now...
Olivia doesn’t believe in magic or everlasting love—she’s a scientist, after all—but winning a tattoo from Chynna convinces her to take a chance. She’s always admired her best friend Lexi’s big brother Spencer, maybe because opposites attract. What would it be like to seduce him? Would it end her fascination with him? With a little help from her friends and a blindfold, Liv decides to find out. The bonus is that Spencer will never know his secret lover was her…
Spencer believes in forever.
But Spencer guesses the truth almost right away. He’s good with having Olivia want him—having her alone in his cabin is the perfect chance to teach her to trust sensation and him. A blizzard interferes with Olivia’s plan, giving Spencer more time to work his own persuasive magic. He knows a night or two will only be the beginning of what he wants to last forever. Can he convince Olivia to give love a try, or will she leave him forever as soon as the snow melts?

Read an excerpt:

An excerpt from Snowbound:

The plan was nuts.

It was also Lexi’s idea, which pretty much explained everything. Liv would never have concocted such a scheme, but that also meant she would never have done anything about seducing Spencer. The plan should ensure that he never knew it was her.

That was the important thing.

Would he play along?

Liv had major jitters but she wasn’t going to back down now. She really didn’t want to see Spencer be surprised by the news of her attraction to him. She wanted her fantasy but not any awkwardness. Now that her tattoo was healed and the plan was in motion, the only thing left to do was hope for success.

Blindfold. Sex. Getaway.

She had this.

It was new and different, but she’d think of it as an experiment. A test of her verve. A means of getting the desire for one gorgeous man out of her system.

Liv gripped the steering wheel. Would Spencer figure it out?

She was leaving for the UK the next night. She wouldn’t be back until the fall. If this went badly, she didn’t have to go back to the town of Honey Hill, Maine at all. Ever. Her mom was good with visiting her wherever she ended up.

But the plan was good. It would work.

Liv lowered the window and got a ticket for the parking garage.

There were clouds gathering overhead when she parked at the airport and headed for the terminal. The wind was up and she wondered whether it would rain or snow. Whatever kind of precipitation fell, she’d be back here in twenty-four hours, waiting for her flight to Heathrow.

Liv called Lexi. “I’m not sure I can do it,” she said when her oldest friend answered.

“Of course you can,” Lexi replied with her usual confidence. “It’ll be easy. We’ll take care of the tough bit.”

“He’ll think he’s been tricked.”

“He’ll think he’s in heaven.”

“I’m going to puke,” Liv confessed.

“Don’t!” Lexi replied. “It’ll ruin everything. Trust me: it’s hard to seduce a guy when you’ve got yack on your coat.”

Liv heard Gabriel chuckle in the background. “And you know this because you’ve tried it?”

“I’m going out on a limb,” Lexi admitted. “I’m guessing.”

Gabriel murmured something and Lexi laughed. “Okay. There was that incident at a Christmas party a few years back, but I didn’t really want him anyway.”

“I thought you wanted all the guys at least once,” Liv heard Gabriel tease.

“Everyone but you,” Lexi retorted. “You’re too much of a bad boy even for me.”

Liv rolled her eyes, doubting that was even possible.

There was a hoot, indicating that Gabriel had taken exception, and Liv would have bet good money that Lexi had taken Gabriel home at least once. She entered the terminal and checked the arrivals board. “You didn’t tell me what you had to do to convince Gabriel to go along with this.”

“And I’m not going to. Just trust me.”

Liv smiled. Got it in one. “Okay, I’m walking to the gate.”

“Good. You remember everything?”

“Yes, diabolical one.”

“And everything’s ready here. Look out, Spencer! The new moon has your name and number!”

“Does your brother know you should come with a warning label?”

“Probably.” Lexi was dismissive.

“Besides,” Reyna contributed suddenly. Liv hadn’t realized she was there, then wondered where else she would have been. “There will be cupcakes.”

Liv didn’t share Reyna’s conviction that cupcakes fixed everything, but she knew that kind of commentary would be unwelcome. “Thanks,” she said, because Reyna’s cupcakes were awesome. She wasn’t sure there’d be time for food. “I hope Lexi has a story to explain Reyna’s cupcakes in Spencer’s house.”

“I’ll think of something,” Lexi said. “Better yet, smear them around, eat them, and destroy the evidence before he can see it.”

Something else to do. Liv nodded, forgetting that Lexi couldn’t see her. “Okay.”

“Gabriel’s going to call him now,” Lexi said. “Get ready.”

Liv reached the gate where Spencer’s flight was arriving. The glass doors were tinted, but the sign displayed his flight number.

He was probably just on the other side, waiting for his bag, maybe fifty feet away.

And just in a couple of hours, he’d be at her mercy. She gripped her phone tighter.

“I am going to puke,” she said.

“Use it,” Lexi said, showing her typical lack of mercy. “If he thinks you’ve been inconvenienced, too, you’ll start with something in common.”

“Got it.” Liv ended the call and dropped her phone into her purse. She jammed her hands into her pockets and balled them into fists, reminding herself to stay calm. She was the queen of composure. She was impassive. She could do this. Her heart was skipping and her stomach was jittery, but Spencer didn’t need to know that. It seemed like her new tattoo was heating up, like she could feel Chynna’s tattoo gun burning its outline all over again.

But that was irrational.

As irrational as moon magic.

And true love lasting forevermore.

The doors slid open and three passengers emerged. Strangers.

Liv took a steadying breath.

The doors slid open again, and half a dozen passengers stepped into the terminal. Some were clearly expecting to be met, because they surveyed the crowd. Others trudged away to taxis or to the parking garage.

Six more.

Eight more.

What if Spencer had missed the flight? What if he’d guessed his sister’s plan or somehow sensed trouble and canceled his flight? What if he didn’t turn up at all? Liv wasn’t one to worry but her imagination was churning out possibilities when the doors opened and Spencer strode into the terminal.

He was on his phone, so she had a chance to ogle him.

She hadn’t seen him for a while, but he was still as gorgeous as ever. Dark hair, a little long, and little tousled. He was wearing a leather jacket and jeans, a hoodie under the jacket. He frowned as he talked into his phone. His lips tightened before he said something curt, then he glanced up, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

Their gazes locked.

Her tattoo exploded in fire and Liv almost fell over at the sudden burst of heat. Was she going crazy? Or was this just stress? The sensation faded as abruptly as it had come on and she could dismiss it. She waved at Spencer and tried to look cool and composed.

It had to be better than looking like she was going to hurl.

She knew Spencer’s eyes were a sapphire blue with long dark lashes. She knew they had to be snapping with annoyance. She knew which tattoos he had where, that he worked out daily, that he was an amazing chef, that he was part owner of a successful restaurant and bar, that he seldom drank alcohol, that he had a wicked left hook and a killer smile. She could hear the rumble of his voice as he told Gabriel off, but could only stare back at him, her heart thumping as he strode directly toward her.

Perfection made flesh.

The only man she’d ever wanted.

It was just raw biology. He was the best male specimen she’d ever seen. That was all. Natural selection. Survival of the species. May the best genes win. Plain old biology getting things done.

It was too late to back out. This was going down. She was going to do it.

And as Liv watched Spencer approach her, she had to admit that she was really, really excited.

Excerpt from Snowbound Copyright ©2018 Deborah A. Cooke

My Review:

Snowbound
Deborah Cooke

Cooke’s Snowbound is the debut in her Secret Heart Ink series, a companion/spin-off of Flatiron Five. A short and sweet with plenty of heat friends to lovers tale featuring a heroine who doesn’t believe in Happy Ever Afters and a hero who’s willing to take one, two or several for the team to prove her wrong. The couple are genuine, Spenser a farm to table chef and Olivia is an entomologist who studies the diminishing bee population and readers will get to know them intimately through some fabulous pillow talk during an epic snowstorm. The concept of both the series and this story is intriguing and fresh, the love scenes are smokin hot with tons of emotion and the way Spenser won Olivia’s heart through passion and food was delectable! Get ready for a repast good for body and soul!

SUMMARY:
To celebrate the opening of Flatiron Five’s new Tattoo shop, Secret Heart Ink run by the mysterious, enigmatic Chynna a tattoo will be given away on each full moon with hopes of bringing together two deserving hearts.
Olivia doesn’t believe in happy ever afters or magic but when she wins the tattoo she realizes it's the perfect way of getting one gorgeous out of her league man, her best friend’s brother out of her system.
Spenser Wolfe is ready to settle down, picket fence whole nine yards but the woman who’s been ruling his dreams only thinks of him as a big brother.
Then one night both their fantasies come true and due to a snowstorm extend one night into several days of bliss. But what happens when the skies clear is the big question.

The Series

Available Now                     Available in September

     

The Flat Iron Five Series

Available now

Out Soon

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Meet Deb:

Bestselling and award-winning author Deborah Cooke has published over seventy novels and novellas, including historical romances, fantasy romances, fantasy novels with romantic elements, paranormal romances, contemporary romances, urban fantasy romances, time travel romances and paranormal young adult novels. She writes as herself, Deborah Cooke, as Claire Delacroix, and has written as Claire Cross. She is nationally bestselling, #1 Kindle Bestselling, KOBO Bestselling, as well as a USA Today and New York Times’ Bestselling Author. Her Claire Delacroix medieval romance, The Beauty, was her first book to land on the New York Times List of Bestselling Books.
Visit Claire Delacroix’s website.