#BlogTour ~ Rusty Nailed (Wallbanger #2) by Alice Clayton

In this sequel to Wallbanger, the second book in the Cocktail series, fan favorites Caroline and Simon negotiate the rollercoaster of their new relationship while house-sitting in San Francisco.

Playing house was never so much fun—or so confusing. With her boss on her honeymoon, Caroline’s working crazy long hours to keep the interior design company running—especially since she’s also the lead designer for the renovation of a gorgeous old hotel on Sausalito. So with her hotshot photographer boyfriend gallivanting all over the world for his job, she and Simon are heavy-duty into “absence makes the heart grow fonder” mode. Neither has any complaints about the great reunion sex, though! Then Simon decides he’s tired of so much travelling, and he’s suddenly home more. A lot more. And wanting Caroline home more, too. Though their friends’ romantic lives provide plenty of welcome distraction, eventually Caroline and Simon have to sort their relationship out. Neither wants “out of sight, out of mind,” but can they create their own happy mid-ground cliché?

USA TODAY bestselling author Alice Clayton delivers another delicious, frothy cocktail of a book, shaking up her characters, stirring in laugh-out-loud humor, and serving sizzling romance straight up!

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks

3.5 Stars

“It’s not always about that. It can still be amazing, you know? Some nights, being here, being close with you, is all I need.”

I love Alice Clayton; I really do. Ever since her Redhead Series, which I hold in the HIGHEST regard, she’s had my number. I love her smart and witty heroines and her drop dead sexy Heroes. With that said, I think my expectations of her stories are very high. I really liked the first book in the series, Wallbanger, but I didn’t love it; and the same can be said about this one, although this one…not so much.

Simon and Caroline are in love, but no matter how blissful their relationship might be, they lead pretty separate lives. He’s traveling a lot, while Caroline is busy with her career, but they do make it work. Simon is adorable and just simply adores Caroline. However, there were parts of the book where I wanted to smack Caroline for making drama where there really was no need for any of it. Know what I mean?

Overall, I love the dynamic between the two, but I wanted a little more from them. It seemed like some of the focus shifted onto the other characters of the book, which was okay, but I wanted more from our Hero and heroine. Don’t get me wrong, most of you will probably love this book since it’s still Alice being Alice, but for me, it was a far cry from her Redhead Series.

*Complimentary Advanced Review Copy provided by Netgalley & Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review*

Blog Tour - The Redhead Plays Her Hand (Redhead #3) by Alice Clayton

The third sexy novel in USA TODAY bestselling author Alice Clayton’s playful and erotic Redhead series continues the sizzling romance between actress Grace Sheridan and Hollywood’s hottest leading man Jack Hamilton. 

Grace has landed the lead in a new TV series—but when the director asks her to lose fifteen pounds, she goes public with her weight struggles and suddenly develops a huge fan club who support her right to have curves. But between that and the public’s continuing fascination with her “are they or aren’t they” relationship with Jack, Grace begins to wonder if anyone’s really interested in her because of her upcoming TV series, or if it’s all speculation about the size of her ass and her bedroom partner.

Meanwhile, Jack is voted the Sexiest Man Alive and becomes a little too enamored with the party-hard lifestyle. Grace vows to give him the space he needs to find himself, but then he begins to spiral down from lovable Brit to Hollywood brat. People are talking, but are Jack and Grace? Her career is on the rise, and his continues into the stratosphere, but will she be able to catch him if he falls? Will they ever be able to just be a couple who can hold hands when they walk down the street?

Four Stars

Schmaltz

I am such a HUGE fan of this series. LIKE. HUGE! I’ve read the first two books, like, a million times. You don’t know how much this couple means to me; how much this series means to me. Jack is my all-time favorite Brit Book Boyfriend. He was my first non Mr. Darcy, non-PNR and completely Adult contemporary Brit Boyfriend. Jack means the world to me. And as for Grace, well she’s just fucking fantastic. I love that she was older, curvier, whip-smart and flat out fun as hell.

This is so bittersweet for me. I can’t believe it’s finally over. OMG, I think I’m starting to freak out now. I mean, there will be no more George & Gracie.

No more Sweet Nuts & Nuts Girl.

No more sexy British accent.

No more hitting the J-spot.

No more happy trails or sparkling boobies.

No more Golden Girls.

No more scratching of Jack’s head.

No more super sexy Scientist Guy.

No more sexy lip biting.

No more schmaltz.

Sigh

No more Jack & Grace.

Yup, it’s official: I’m tearing up.

**Possible spoilers below**

Hamiltoned

For those looking for same funny moments similar to those in the previous books, you will be a little disappointed to know that this didn’t really contain a lot of those laugh out loud moments. This one had a little more drama and little more emotion to it.

It wasn’t perfect and I have to admit that I was a little nervous when I first started. I loved where book two ended, but a huge part of me craved for more. When I first read the synopsis to this, my first thought was, “oh, fuck! Nothing better happen my Jack and Grace.” I was so freaking nervous. But let me ease your minds a bit by saying it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Yes, Jack was a bit of a knob in this story, but rest assured, he does prevail.

Speaking of my favorite Brit, I felt so much emotion for Jack. He was spiraling out of control and as much as Grace wanted to help him, he just kept pushing her away. I didn’t like to see my perfect Brit behave this way. Plus it didn’t help that they couldn’t be together publicly. I had such a hard time believing the reasons why and as much as it frustrated me, I eventually, yet albeit reluctantly, understood. But still. I wanted everyone in the world to know that they were together. When that finally happened, I literally had a huge, goofy, stupid smile on my face. I must’ve read that part at least another three times because all I could think about was FINALLY! **Fist pump**

Grand gesture

Le Sigh…

I really don’t know what else to say, except to say once again that I will so miss this series. When I finished it, I was happy, yes, but it was so bittersweet. What are the chances Ms. Clayton will give us an extended epilogue or something? I would DIE of happiness for one more little snippet of my favorite couple. But alas, I can only hope. At least I will always have these books to turn to if I’m ever in a book funk. Jack and Grace have forever imprinted themselves in my heart and in my soul. I just love this couple to pieces. Thank you Ms. Clayton for giving us this series. Seriously. This series is one of my all-time favorites and I’m glad you gave us proper closure to this fantastic series. Just bloody brilliant.

LINKS

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To celebrate this awesome milestone & to say a huge THANK YOU, we're doing a massive GIVEAWAY!!

Enter to win one of three fantastic prizes featuring three of our favorite authors

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Wallbanger by Alice Clayton

Caroline Reynolds has a fantastic new apartment in San Francisco, a KitchenAid mixer, and no O (and we’re not talking Oprah here, folks). She has a flourishing design career, an office overlooking the bay, a killer zucchini bread recipe, and no O. She has Clive (the best cat ever), great friends, a great rack, and no O.

Adding insult to O-less, since her move, she has an oversexed neighbor with the loudest late-night wallbanging she’s ever heard. Each moan, spank, and–was that a meow?–punctuates the fact that not only is she losing sleep, she still has, yep, you guessed it, no O.

Enter Simon Parker. (No, really, Simon, please enter.) When the wallbanging threatens to literally bounce her out of bed, Caroline, clad in sexual frustration and a pink baby-doll nightie, confronts her heard-but-never-seen neighbor. Their late-night hallway encounter has, well, mixed results. Ahem. With walls this thin, the tension’s gonna be thick…

In her third novel, Alice Clayton returns to dish her trademark mix of silly and steamy. Banter, barbs, and strutting pussycats, plus the sexiest apple pie ever made, are dunked in a hot tub and set against the gorgeous San Francisco skyline in this hot and hilarious tale of exasperation at first sight.

Four Stars

Tis a sad, sad day when a girl doesn’t even know her own orgasm. 

Oh Alice, how I’ve missed your humor. I was so freaking excited to get this book as an ARC. Alice is one of those can’t miss authors and to have an opportunity to read this ahead of time…**happy dance**

This book started off in classic Alice style with lots and lots of humor. The sexual innuendoes and smart ass whit was back in full force. Even after the first chapter, she had me smirking and giggling like a school girl. I knew I was in for quite a ride and she did not disappoint me. 

Bad, rapid-fire sex and an ill-timed one-night stand had robbed me of my orgasm. She’d been on vacation for six month now. Six long months. 

Poor, poor, Caroline. Can you just imagine? SIX MONTHS! And to top it all off, she has a very noisy neighbor. She just moved into a new apartment in San Francisco and her very first night in that apartment, she was greeted with ”oh, Gods” and “Mmmm…Yeah, baby. Right there. Just like that…Don’t stop, don’t stop!”which was preceded in some serious spanking and wallbanging that resulted in painting to drop on her head. Oi vey! This was just the beginning too. In addition to “Spanx”, her nickname to one of three of her neighbor’s harem of woman, she also gets to listen to “Purina’s” purring and “Giggler’s” giggling. I love these nicknames, by the way... LMAO! So who is her mysterious neighbor?

“Why are you such a manwhoring asshole?” I asked, my face inches from his.

“Why are you such a cockblocking priss?” he asked, and when I opened my mouth to tell him exactly what I thought, the fucker kissed me.

Kissed me. 

Meet Simon Parker, a.k.a. Wallbanger. This is Caroline’s very sexy and very sexually charged neighbor. He’s quite a looker and charmer. No wonder he has a harem of women. Simon and relationships are hard for a photographer like him. He travels a lot and knows the emotional toll it can take on a potential girlfriend. So why bother, right? So Simon is all about having his fill with willing and knowing women when he’s home from an assignment. Hence his “harem,” though he really hates that term. When they first met, it didn’t really count since Caroline chickened out. So it wasn’t until the second time when they were forced to really acknowledge each other. Sparks flew and the tension between the two was palpable. 

Wallbanger v.s. Pink Nightie Girl

They form a truce of sorts, which leads them to become very good friends. The more they hang out, the more they seem to want more. Both have their reasons to keep things on a friendship level, but eventually they do form a relationship. Will Simon finally help Caroline bring back her O? God, let’s hope so for both her and our sakes. 

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the H/h, their quirky friends and I just adored Clive, Caroline’s personality filled cat. You can definitely call Clive, the story’s main comic relief. Loved the humor and loved the chemistry. However, the one thing that really prevented me from giving it more stars is the huge amount of sexual frustration I felt. If I had balls, I would’ve been in blue ball hell. LOL. I was getting way too antsy; waiting for Simon to give Caroline her long lost O. Just when you think it might happen, you feel your heart racing and you’re almost there. Just a little more and oh, my God this could be it…then…nothing.Yea. Blue balls. I can laugh about it now, but man it sucked. LOL. Anyway, you just can’t go wrong with reading this. Alice Clayton’s humor and witty writing is always welcome in my book. Love this author and I will continue to support her work. I can’t wait to see what she has next.

The Unidentified Redhead (Redhead #1) by Alice Clayton

(The above cover was the original cover when I read first read this)

When Grace Sheridan returns to Los Angeles to become a working actor, it's a second shot at a life-long dream. With some help from her best friend and agent, that dream could become a reality, but at thirty-three, has Grace missed her chance at the big time? Will an enexpected sizzling romance with the entertainment industry's newest 'it' boy shine an uncomfortable spotlight on her life?

Alice Clayton spins a playful and erotic May to December romance in this, her debut novel. Clayton's funny, borderline neurotic heroine is perfect in her imperfections, and the off the charts sexual chemistry between her and her charming, yet blissfully unaware leading man are the true heart of The Unidentified Redhead. With laugh out loud dialogue and a super steamy romance that will get your heart racing, sneaking around in L.A. and dodging the Paparazzi has never been so fun.

FIVE+++ STARS!!

::Warning, there are some spoilers in this review::

Sweet Nuts and Nuts Girl. God how I love this book. The writing was fresh, funny and wonderful. Our heroine, Grace, is whip-smart funny and completely lovable. I can completely relate to her sense of humor and I spent many pages reading and laughing out loud. I never laughed so hard at some of the things she says to her Brit. There were so many countless times I had to place my head in my hands and say to myself, "she just did not say that out loud, she just did not say that". OMG this girl is CRAZY nuts! Love her. 

As for our hero, Jack, my goodness, who couldn't fall in love with this young, yummy, handsome British tall drink of hotness? British accents were flying all over my head as I read his dialog and that alone made me swoon like a teenage girl. (Sorry I have a thing for all things British, especially British men and their accents ;) Jack was simply adorable in this book and I love how she calls him George. He falls in love with her, along with all her craziness. LOL. Sooooooo CUTE!! 

Additionally, I love the BFF relationship between Gracie and Holly. I LOVE how they call each other dillweed or asshead. lol. And the part where Holly and their friend Nick barge into Gracie's room after her and Jack have their first tryst, PRICELESS! "The British are coming! The British are coming!" OMG I almost DIED laughing!! 

Don't get me wrong, there are PLENTY of hot, steamy, romantic scenes with Grace and Jack that tugged at the hopeless romantic in me. However, the humor in this book is what made this novel stand out. Take for example their first kiss. They were rolling around in the sand, just because Grace is crazy enough to do so, they have their first earth shattering kiss. Afterwards, she gets pooped on by a bird. POOPED ON for crying out loud. Such a romantic scene and I ended up laughing so hard at this weird, funny encounter. I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK. PERIOD. If I could, I would give it tons more stars :) Can't wait to start reading the sequel :)