Time to get your Wanderlust on!
Wanderlust By Roni Loren
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Released: July 19, 2016
Publisher: InterMix
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Loving on the Edge series and Off the Clock, a story of sex, love, rock & roll, and a reporter who’s about to learn a new meaning for staying on top of her assignment…Restaurant critic Aubrey Bordelon is never at a loss for words to describe her meals in the fancy restaurants of New Orleans. But after her magazine’s high-profile music reporter falls ill, she finds herself out of her element and in a sea of screaming fans awaiting Wanderlust’s lead singer, Lex Logan. The sound of his voice gives her goosebumps, and the stage presence of the hard-bodied rock star takes her breath away. So when he pulls her onstage for a sexy stunt, she knows she’s in real trouble.
Lex doesn’t want to pretend that the sparks on stage between him and Aubrey never happened, but it certainly makes the fact that she’s writing a story on his band all the more dangerous. The last thing he needs is some nosy reporter revealing their problems to the world. But the sexy Southern belle doesn’t give up easily, and soon, he’s wondering if the best way to chase her off the story is to coax her into his bed…
Reviewed by Jean
Time to get your Wanderlust on!
I started reading Roni Loren’s Loving on the Edge series a few years back. The author’s writing captured me and has taken me on many an enjoyable and emotional ride from the beginning. Par for the course, I was hooked by Wanderlust from the opening lines.
Southern gentility be damned. Nice was getting her nowhere. Aubrey Bordelon put her hands on her hips and attempted an I-mean-business face. “Look, I’m not here to get laid.”
Considering just how erotic Ms. Loren’s books tend to be, this opening line ensnared me hook, line and sinker. By the end of the first chapter, I was truly netted.
Aubrey Bordelon is a food critic working her way up the ladder as a reporter. You might ask how the heck writing about restaurants and food lands her an assignment writing an exclusive on an up and coming rock band. But when the entertainment writer lands in the hospital and your number is up as the pinch hitter I suppose there’s not much for it… it’s time to sidle up to the plate. Unfortunately for Aubrey, it’s been years since she’s been to a concert. She’s rather rusty on the whole who’s who in the music industry and her boss neglected to notify the security crew of the change up in reporters. Needless to say, her night isn’t starting off on the best foot. You have to hand it to her, though, she’s one tenacious reporter willing to put herself through more than a little bit of discomfort and unwanted desire as she wrestles her way through a trying week with the band and it’s sexy as all get out lead singer, Lex Logan. Keeping things professional has never been so much of a challenge. Then there are the landmines of her tragic past and her political family to deal with as well. Ms. Loren does a superb job in showing Aubrey’s growth and independence when she finally puts her family’s unsavory blame game and demands in their proper place.
Lex Logan is living it big and loving it… well most of the time. That is when his band isn’t bickering and fighting. When his manager and record label aren’t demanding new songs. When he’s just plain downright not tired of being used. It may appear that he has his choice of women nightly… but damn if they aren’t all hanging on his shirt tails for their own selfish reasons. Having been raised in a family where his mom forced his dad to give up his music career when she became pregnant, Lex spent his younger years being resented by his father. Then how the tides changed when he made it. Is it any wonder Lex wants nothing to do with being tied down? Doing this exclusive was all fine and dandy when it was one of his best friends writing the article. Lex knew he could tell him to keep certain things to himself and those stories would never see the light of day. Then he’s presented with Aubrey. She’s a thorn in his side when she isn’t enticing him and things are just too precarious to have her learning all their secrets. But this thorn isn’t letting go anytime soon, no matter what he does to try and shake her… including just a bit of tempting her wild side.
While Aubrey and Lex are total opposites, they both struggle with their inner demons from the past. Their unshakeable desire for each other starts them on a path of discovery of each other and themselves. What starts as a fling clearly develops into something much deeper. I think the most memorable thing about this story for me is the fact that neither relied on the other to fix their life issues. Aubrey put on her big girl panties and worked through the demons of her past all on her own. Lex may have been a little late to the party when it came to realizing that love and a career didn’t have to be mutually exclusive but he made it. The chemistry between the two is downright scorching and as always Ms. Loren certainly knows how to fan the flames. If you’re looking for a fairly fast rock star read that singes the senses and rocks the emotions then Wanderlust is just perfect.
♥♥♥♥♥
O Factor: Scorcher
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Setup: Aubrey is at a strip club with the band. She’s a reporter and is following them around, but Lex is being difficult. So he made her a bet that he assumed he’d win. If Aubrey won, she’d get interview time with him. But the other band members tagged on another part of the bet—loser has to do a striptease for the other.
Lex narrowed his eyes at Aubrey, still stunned that she had won. He could accept that maybe she knew Van Halen—who didn’t? But, there was no way this chick listened to old-school Nine Inch Nails or eighties hair metal. He’d bet all his money on that.
She lifted her hair off her neck and piled it on top of her head to fan herself before letting it fall back around her in a dark flood. Lex flexed his fingers, wondering what it’d be like to run his fingers through it—or wrap it around his hand when he . . . He shook the image from his head before his blood flowed too far south.
“No, you can’t let him out of the bet,” Jared complained.
“Really, I don’t need that,” Aubrey said quickly.
Her posture shifted, her edge of nerves almost a taste in the air, and Lex’s lips curled into a grin. “Oh, no need to let me off the hook. I don’t punk out on a bet. You’ll get your show.”
A fleeting expression of panic skittered across her face, but she quickly covered it and grabbed for her drink. She was probably wishing she had alcohol in it now. Lex knew that Jared had intended for the bet to humiliate him, but this was going to embarrass Aubrey much more. He was used to being the center of attention. Performing on stage in front of people was his lifeblood. Aubrey, on the other hand, lived in a safe, neat world. She was probably used to men who observed the personal space rule, men who waited until the third date for a chaste kiss. Men who would never dare push her boundaries. Lex rose and swilled his beer.
Aubrey lifted her palms. “Seriously, Lex, I don’t want you to do this. We need to keep things professional.”
Her tongue darted out and swiped at her lip. Her knuckles were white against her drink. His gaze traveled to the flush creeping up her neck, and a slow smile spread across his mouth. Well, would you look at that. Little Miss Reporter was lying through her pretty white teeth.
She wasn’t protesting because of professionalism. He may not know her well yet, but he was an expert at recognizing the signs she was inadvertently throwing his way. Ms. Bordelon was terrified for the best possible reason—she feared her physical reaction to him. He remembered distinctly how she had quivered beneath him when he had touched her onstage, the look in her eyes when he’d brushed his lips against hers.
Oh, this was going to be fun. “Don’t worry, I’ll still respect you in the morning. Your professional status will be intact. Just remember, you can’t touch the stripper. It’s against the rules.”
She pulled her expression into one of utter boredom. “I’ll try to restrain myself.”
He laughed and then gripped the sides of her chair to pivot her away from the table to face him. He let his gaze slide over her from her head to her feet, taking his time, wishing he’d won the bet so he could watch her dance for him. She crossed her legs and folded her arms over her chest, pinning him with her glare.
Damn, she was cute when she was pissed.
A new song pounded through the club, and he began to sing the lyrics to her as he circled her chair and placed his hands on her shoulders. Her muscles stiffened under his touch. He bent his head next to her ear, the honey citrus scent of her hair cutting through the smoke and alcohol of the bar. “You’re going to have to relax a little or you’re not going to be able to enjoy this.”
He grabbed the collar of her black blazer and slipped it off her shoulders, forcing her to unfurl her arms. She allowed him to take off the jacket, revealing her fitted green tank top underneath. He let his eyes linger a moment on her neckline.
“That’s better,” he said. “I don’t want you getting too hot.”
“I thought you were the one who was supposed to take clothes off, not me.”
He stepped in front of her and unfastened the top button on his shirt. “As you wish.”
Her gaze fell to his chest, and she bit her lip as the flush on her throat crept up to her cheeks. He raised an eyebrow. Well, well, Ms. Bordelon. A wave of satisfaction moved through him. Maybe Jared’s plan wasn’t so ridiculous after all. Lex hadn’t believed that Aubrey would jump into bed with any of them. She had scruples, thank you very much. But the look on her face now was unmistakable. He’d been around enough women to recognize it. Desire, pure and simple. She may think he’s a jerk, she may hate him personally, but on some level, she wanted him.
The corners of his mouth tipped into a wicked smile. Maybe he could solve two problems at once. If he could get her in bed, not only could he force her to drop the story, but he could exorcise the ridiculous obsession to touch her that had been plaguing him since the body shot. Plus, God knew if any girl was in need of a wild, no strings romp in the sack, it was this one. He pulled open another button.
For a sneak peak at the first chapter: http://roniloren.com/wanderlust
$25 Gift Card (Choice of Amazon or B&N)
Roni wrote her first romance novel at age fifteen when she discovered writing about boys was way easier than actually talking to them. Since then, her flirting skills haven’t improved, but she likes to think her storytelling ability has. Though she’ll forever be a New Orleans girl at heart, she now lives in Dallas with her husband and son.If she’s not working on her latest sexy story, you can find her reading, watching reality television, or indulging in her unhealthy addiction to rockstars, er, rock concerts. Yeah, that’s it. She is the National Bestselling Author of The Loving on the Edge series from Berkley Heat.
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Great review, Jean!
Thank you! As always Roni’s books are an absolute pleasure to read.
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