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Some Like It In Handcuffs – Christine Warner – Review/Guest Post

I’m so late to the party on Christine’s debut.  Yes, I just NOW got to read it and OMG.  Review is at the bottom of the post.  🙂

Some Like It In Handcuffs by Christine Warner
Genre: Light-hearted romantic suspense with humor

About Some Like It In Handcuffs

Blurb:

Sunny Kennedy, the only female in a family of blue blood male detectives, is determined to prove testosterone isn’t the only qualification required to solve a cold case. Handcuffed while undercover then taken to the precinct by an attractive detective, her domineering family demands she work with Detective Judson Blackwolf, or she’s off the case.

 

Judson Blackwolf thinks women in law enforcement should work behind the scenes. The prospect of working with his Captain’s sexy daughter doesn’t thrill him. He only agrees in hopes of solving the murder of his one time mentor’s daughter. Once the case is over, he’s moving to Montana to heal his wounds from the loss of his last partner.

 

Excerpt

 

“This isn’t how I wanted it between us.” Judson grabbed the neckline of her sweater, dragging her body to meet his with a solid thump. Sunny licked her lips in answer to the question in his eyes. He lowered his head to move his mouth over hers.

 

Sunny closed her eyes, a small whimper escaping her lips. She didn’t want it like this either, but that wasn’t possible. Unable to resist her attraction she accepted it wasn’t an affair, or a long distance romance she craved, but for him to love her back. It was all or nothing for her. Her heart sank. She accepted this as their goodbye kiss.

 

With no thought to what was happening upstairs, Sunny rose up on her toes demanding more. Her lips pulsated against Judson’s. When his hand trembled against her cheek in a soft caress she lost touch with reality.

 

“Judson.” Sunny’s weakened body drifted farther into Judson’s as his fingers glided down her arms, pulling them to her sides where their fingers intertwined. He forced them behind her before his tongue thrust into her mouth.

 

Their bodies molded together, she heard her own heartbeat and his as well when he curved his fingers around her rear and squeezed.

 

That’s when the click of the handcuffs against her wrist connected her to the handle of the locked cupboard.

“What the hell…Judson?” She looked up at him, her knees shook, her body still inflamed with fever.

 

“Like I was saying, you wait here and I’ll go upstairs to check it out. Backup’s already been called, so you’re safe until your brothers arrive.” Judson winked before walking toward the steps to the third level. Once he reached them he turned toward her and smiled. “Gotcha,” he whispered with his notorious grin.

Guest Blog:  Where to Begin?

 

Life is full of beginnings.

 

The beginning of summer.  The beginning of school.  The beginning of a new friendship.  The beginning of marriage, parenthood, car payments, mortgages, career…the list is endless.  But one of the best beginnings is the beginning of a book.  There is nothing more relaxing than sitting down to enjoy a good read.

 

Now, depending on where you’re coming from the beginning of a book can go two ways.  There is the beginning for the reader and the beginning for the writer.  Let’s talk about the writer, because in essence what happens at the writer’s level determines what happens at the reader’s level.

 

For a writer the beginning of their much-anticipated story—the one that has been swirling around in their brain for days, weeks, months or longer—is a time of worry and painstaking thought.  From experience I can tell you that I sit down, an anxious—excited—knot in my belly, a blank computer screen in front of me.  Those first few lines have to suck the reader into the story and keep them turning page after page until they reach the end.  And if they read my book in one sitting—because they couldn’t put it down—then I’ve succeeded in working a little bit of writerly magic.

 

The best advice I received when I started writing my debut novel, Some Like it in Handcuffs, was to begin the story and each chapter with action.  Don’t begin with background or tell about the scenery or the characters past.  The reader isn’t invested enough in the characters to care—not yet.  Begin with a bang and fill in the details as you go.

 

Grab them with action!  Snappy dialogue, a car chase, an accident, something threatening…the possibilities are endless.

 

The reader will learn everything to do with background as the story unfolds…as they are spoon feed tidbits along the way through the character’s internal thoughts or revealing dialogue.  This way the reader is learning about your characters and your characters are becoming their main focus, their friend, someone they will champion.  Someone they care about.  Which, as a writer, is what you want.

 

So, the next time you pick up a book and open those first crucial pages—pay attention to how the book starts. Are the first few paragraphs filled with action? Does it propel you into the story?

Review:

 

What the heck took me sooooo long to read Ms. Warner’s debut?  *Embarrassed* Its only been out a year and Harlie’s just now reading it.  I’m a bad blogger/reviewer.  Oh and the cover does not even do the book justice.

It’s a running gag throughout the book about the handcuffs and its cute.  🙂  Much of this book is cute and I HATE that word.  The dialogue is spot on, the sexual tension between Sunny and Judson is palpable and relatable.  Yes, relatable.  I felt it the moment I met my husband and it took us 4 years to date and marry.  I resisted his charms.  😉

What set this book apart from your run of the mill romantic suspense is the humor.  It’s light-hearted and you really feel for the secondary characters and villain(s) in the book.  By the end of the book, I understood why the villain(s) did what they did and the why, too.  It wasn’t that far-fetched but it also wasn’t an easy way for the author to wrap it up either.  They had their reasons for their actions and while I understood them, it made for great tension in the last climatic scene.  Oh…but we get handcuffs again, too.  Trust me, the handcuff “joke” is throughout the book and its funny. 

I appreciate the fact that Judson and Sunny didn’t jump into bed either.  I’m really beginning to hate that in a book.  Ms. Warner built their tension to a fever pitch and the elevator scene was all kinds of awesomeness.  🙂   Just saying…

The only thing that really got on my nerves where the Kennedy brothers.  I realize that the were necessary but over bearing brothers like these get on my nerves a bit.  Jeez…Sunny was a grown woman, living on her own and paying her own way.  Let her live her life the way SHE wanted to. 

As a writer, I’m completely envious of Ms. Warner’s debut.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be going back for more of her work.  After reading the book, I fully understood why reviewers fell in love with her and the book.  It’s a book to re-read again and realize that not every romantic suspense book has to be creepy, bloody, or deal with some deranged psycho killer with designs on the hero or heroine.  Plus, letting the characters get to know each other before popping into bed was refreshing.  The scene at Sunny’s apartment with Judson and Derek was great. 

I can not highly recommend Some Like It in Handcuffs from Ms. Warner.  It’s a keeper for anyone lover of romance and romantic suspense.

 

About Christine Warner

Christine Warner is living her dream in Michigan along with her husband, three children, one laptop and a much-loved assortment of furry friends. Besides laughing and a good round of humor, she enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading, writing but no arithmetic. A confessed people watcher, she finds inspiration for her stories in everyday activities. She loves to read and write about strong heroes and determined, sometimes sassy, heroines. A girl gone wild, at least where social media is concerned, she enjoys meeting other avid readers and writers on Facebook, Twitter and her Website.

Some Like it in Handcuffs is available in print and digital format at:

http://thewildrosepress.com/

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

http://www.amazon.com/

And you can find me at:

My blog/website:  http://christine-warner.com/

Twitter under ChristinesWords: https://twitter.com/#!/ChristinesWords

My Facebook page…stop by and give it a LIKE to keep up on what I have coming up: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Warner/143430882396013

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5763713.Christine_Warner

I love to hear from readers and other authors J

 

 

13 thoughts on “Some Like It In Handcuffs – Christine Warner – Review/Guest Post

  1. Thank you so much for coming by Maria and Amanda. I hope you enjoy Some Like it in Handcuffs when you get the chance to read it.

    And Nikki…I love that you loved Some Like it in Handcuffs 🙂

  2. Good guest post and review! I haven’t read this book either but it sounds really good and like something I would definitely enjoy

  3. Yeah Christine!! Not that I’m surprised….You have a winner with this book and has forever got me hooked! 🙂 Great review, Harlie, and congratulations Christine!

      1. Well, I love that you love that I love Some Like it in Handcuffs. LOL!! Seriously, it’s one of those stories that sticks with me. 🙂

  4. Thank you so much for having me on your blog. And an ever BIGGER THANK YOU for taking the time to read Some Like it in Handcuffs. Your review made my day. I’m so happy you enjoyed Sunny and Judson’s story 🙂

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