BURN FOR YOU
Series: Slow Burn #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: J.T. Geissinger
Release Date: October 17, 2017
The marriage is fake. But for a sassy chef and an arrogant billionaire, the sparks are real…
Jackson “The Beast” Boudreaux is rich, gorgeous, and unbelievably rude to the staff at Chef Bianca Hardwick’s New Orleans restaurant. Bianca would sooner douse herself in hot sauce than cook for Jackson again, but when he asks her to cater his fund-raiser, Bianca can’t refuse, knowing the cash will help pay her mother’s medical bills. Then Jackson makes another outrageous request: Marry me. The unconventional offer includes an enormous sum—money Bianca desperately needs, even if it does come with a contract—and a stunning ring.
The heir to a family bourbon dynasty, Jackson knows the rumors swirling around him. The truth is even darker. Still, he needs a wife to secure his inheritance, and free-spirited, sassy Bianca would play the part beautifully. Soon, though, their simple business deal evolves into an emotional intimacy he’s built walls to avoid.
As the passion heats up between them, Bianca and Jackson struggle to define which feelings are real and which are for show. Is falling for your fake fiancé the best happy ending…or a recipe for disaster?
See the BURN FOR YOU trailer: https://youtu.be/hpKswDZve24
“Everything’s under control,” I said. “Claudia’s doing a great job.”
She smiled tightly and adjusted her glasses again. I felt her gratitude for my small show of support. It was obvious how intimidated she was by Jackson. She could barely look him in the eye, probably because he was wearing a scowl as black as his outfit.
But I was used to that by now. I didn’t let it alarm me.
I asked him, “Is that what you’re going to wear?”
Jackson looked down at himself, then looked up at me with his brows drawn down over his eyes.
Seeing his murderous expression, Claudia ran out of the kitchen like her pants were on fire. “Fifty minutes, Bianca!” she called over her shoulder, then disappeared through the French doors.
Jackson didn’t seem to notice she’d left. He demanded, “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”
I shrugged. “Nothing, if you want people to think you’ve been living under a bridge.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. I tried to ignore how that made the muscles in his biceps bulge.
He said, “You must be mistaking me for someone who cares what people think.” Propping my hands on my hips, I examined his untucked T-shirt, wrinkled jeans, and scuffed boots, his unshaven jaw, and his hair that appeared to have last seen a comb when he walked by one that had fallen out of someone’s pocket into the street.
I said, “Lord knows I’m no style maven, and I dress for comfort more than anything else, but your guests deserve the best version of you, Mr. Boudreaux. I’m sorry to say this isn’t it.”
His glower was so searing it could have melted a weaker woman. But after the past few days I’d had, I was in an ornery mood. An ornery truth-telling mood, because I’d recently decided life was too short to beat around the bush.
Plus, his check had already cleared the bank.
“Oh, really?” said Jackson, his voice acidic.
“Yes, really.” We stared at each other. It must have been my imagination, but it felt like the temperature in the room jumped several degrees.
He snapped, “So what would you recommend I wear, then?”
“Do you own a suit?”
His expression turned even darker. “I hate suits.”
“But do you have one?” When he didn’t answer and just stood there glaring at me like he hoped a stray asteroid would smash through the ceiling and land on my head, I said, “That’s what you should wear. With a tie.” I looked at his boots. “And dress shoes.”
He ran a hand over his face— probably deciding whether he was going to pick up the toaster from the counter and throw it at me— and I added, “Also, a shave wouldn’t kill you.” His looked at me with a strange new expression.
“You don’t like beards.” He said it flatly. It wasn’t a question.
“Beards are fine. But that thing carpeting your jaw? Honestly, I’ve seen tidier jungles.”
For a moment I thought he would let loose a string of expletives so loud it would deafen me. But then his lips twitched, and I realized he was trying not to smile.
He said, “You’re in fine form today, Bianca.”
It was the first time he’d used my given name. I nearly fainted in surprise but managed to control myself. “I’m sorry,” I said, looking down at the schedule I still held in my hands. “You’re right. It’s just . . .” I cleared my throat. “It’s just been a rough few weeks.”
There was silence for a moment, then he walked closer. “What’s wrong?” he demanded, gruff and growly as a bear.
I glanced up at him and was surprised again. I could’ve sworn he was looking at me with concern in his eyes.
Concern and something else a little hotter.
My heart decided it was time to run a sprint. It took off like a jackrabbit chased by a pack of hounds. I said, “Just some personal stuff. My mother . . .”
I trailed off, dazed for a moment by his eyes. I hadn’t noticed before, but they weren’t only blue. He had tiny flecks of green and gold around his irises, warming those steely-blue depths.
And by God, the man smelled delicious. If that was his natural scent, he could make a few more billion by bottling it and selling it to men with less scrumptious—
Wait. What am I doing? Why am I mooning at him? Am I out of my ever-loving mind?
“Your mother?” he prompted, but I quickly stepped away, smoothing a hand over my hair.
“It’s nothing. I’m so sorry, I’m being unprofessional. If you don’t mind, Mr. Boudreaux, I’ll just get back to work now—”
“Jackson,” he said. He gazed down at me, eyes burning. His voice dropped an octave. “I want you to call me Jackson, Bianca.”
My sprinting heart tripped all over itself and fell flat on its face inside my chest. Heat rose into my cheeks. I said haltingly, “Um . . . okay.”
His gaze dropped to my lips.
Every muscle in my body tensed.
When he abruptly turned around and left, my knees shook so badly I had to lean against the counter for support.
What on earth just happened?
J.T. has that kind of writing style that I feel in my Romeo & Julep, and by that I mean my heart, but yes that could be an innuendo (Leave me alone! Yes, it can!). But seriously, her writing style is poetic and pulls all the feels out of my Cheesecake. Ugh, sorry. I couldn’t help it. Let me explain.
If you haven’t guessed yet, this book centers around food. The heroine is a chef and includes the Bourbon that Jackson’s family is famous for into her recipes. When Jackson enters her restaurant, she freaks out because the man of the hour is there, in her restaurant. But Jackson is the asshole that she does not tolerate. He may be a billionaire, but her sassy ass doesn’t care because he is being rude and arrogant and treating her staff with no respect.
Jackson. The Beast. Well, lasso me up and give me a Slap, Slap Kiss Cocktail. He is scarred on the inside and outside. He is SO MEAN to her. Like, reeeeeally mean, and I loved him for it. I just want someone to cuddle me in a big, comfy blanket and be an asshole to me. Is that too much to ask? He has been hurt, by his family and a previous love. He has many many scars, and he carries them on his sleeve and his face. He is perfection all trussed up in in his leather jacket and worn jeans and scruffy beard. It’s like J.T. created a man just for me.
Bianca. This chick. Serious girl crush. I love that she doesn’t give Jackson the time of day. It doesn’t even matter that he is THE Bourbon legacy. She has a business to run, and she is the mother hen to her employees. When Jackson is in a pinch, he has no choice but to ask Bianca to help him with a major charity event. This gives Bianca a glance into a side of Jackson that she has never seen before, even if it is a façade. One thing leads to another, and Bianca finally meets the family that Jackson does not want to see ever again.
This is a love-hate relationship, which should be the only relationship ever because it’s the best and gets my Jambalaya going every damn time. Ok, so I may have taken all of the recipes in the book and twisted them a little bit. Can you blame me when J.T. uses recipes like Dixie and Gumbo?! Ok, maybe you can blame me. I have a perverted little mind. But this mind loves all things J.T. Geissinger.
I love all of J.T.’s alpha heroes.
I love all of J.T.’s sassy heroines.
I love all of J.T.’s books.
Are you getting hungry yet?
A former headhunter, J.T. Geissinger is the author of more than a dozen novels in contemporary romance, paranormal romance, and romantic suspense.
She is the recipient of the Prism Award for Best First Book, the Golden Quill Award for Best Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, and is a two-time finalist for the RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America®. Her work has also finaled in the Booksellers’ Best, National Readers’ Choice, and Daphne du Maurier Awards.
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TELL ME
GAME ON
…tell me you want this. Take the shot.”
This book was not at all what I signed up for, in the best possible of ways. See, this totally one track reader saw the quote on the blurb and thought, “eeee!!! Another manwhore! GIMME!” And then what I got was an engrossing, unforgettable, and beautiful story that was full of depth and meaning.
With a wonderful cast of secondary characters, Game On was an unputdownable read from beginning to finish. It was full of meaning, emotion, and so much depth, it was impossible not to love. This just may be my favorite Victoria Denault book yet and I can’t recommend it enough.
SLEDGEHAMMER
ACT YOUR AGE
FROM THE RUINS
Layla. She is a single mother of three. These kids. Love ‘em. I’m super picky about kids in books, and these kids had so much character and were essential in pulling Pipe from the ruins. Layla is also just trying to get through each day. She has been through a not-so-great marriage which ended in divorce. Bitter against all men, she is not ready for Pipe….at all.
The only way to describe how Janine’s books make me feel is by sharing this memory. One of my favorite memories that will stay with me forever…I was on the back of my Dad’s Harley. We were riding in the dark on the way home from an outside concert at a winery, and we were listening to one of our favorite songs. At the time, we thought my dad had cancer. Little did we know a couple weeks later, we would find out that by a miracle, he did not have cancer. Anywho, the wind was in my hair. The rumble of the motorcycle beneath me. The stars above me. This memory is SO MUCH. And THAT feeling is Janine’s books.
Janine Infante Bosco lives in New York City, she has always loved reading and writing. When she was thirteen, she began to write her own stories and her passion for writing took off as the years went on. At eighteen, she even wrote a full screenplay with dreams of one day becoming a member of the Screen Actors Guild.
SCANDALOUS
L.J. Shen is an International #1 best-selling author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat.
SHOW ME THE WAY
Can someone please tell me why I’ve gone this long without reading another AL Jackson book? Because I’m seriously disappointed it myself. This book reminded me all the reasons that made me fall in love with this author’s words and made me fall in love all over again. Show Me The Way was a beautiful and highly emotional story of love and second chances. It was perfectly paced, with just the right amount of angst, and wonderfully multi-layered characters that you can’t help but fall for.
The romance is perfectly paced, with flashbacks to Ryan’s past that slowly unveils the reasons for her running. There’s an intriguing element of suspense that keep you turning the pages as urgently as the romance does. I was immediately captivated from the very first chapter and it didn’t let up until the last page.
UNCONTROLLABLE TEMPTATIONS
This is the most vulnerable review I’ve ever written.
A SEAL’S STRENGTH
A SEAL’s Strength is a wonderfully swoony second chance romance that I finished in one sitting.
