Liz Crowe - Gravity review

I've read the other Brewing Passion series books, but this one was deep and heavy.  It mainly focused on the addictions and the people dealing with them, Brock and Kayla. They seem like an unlikely duo, but they complemented each other well. They understood what the other was going through and was able to support them in a different way. Even though this was a sad topic, this book was well written and I felt like the reader understood and sees things through the addicts eyes. For me, it made me feel for the characters and I wanted to cheer them on! I enjoyed Brock and Kayla's interactions with each other and to their families. They are a support for their family as well as they are for them.  Their story felt realistic and was scary, sweet, sexy and full of emotions. I was captivated by their journey and highly recommend. I do also recommend reading the 3 other books in the series first, before reading this one. 

FROM AMAZON BEST-SELLING ROMANCE AUTHOR LIZ CROWE

Book four in the Brewing Passion series

Out of the ashes of ruined lives they finally find love.

When Brock Fitzgerald is welcomed back into his family thanks to the sympathy of his sister-in-law Evelyn and the tolerance of his twin brother Austin, he understands that this may be the best he’ll ever get for himself. Years spent partying, drinking and screwing his way through life have left him drained, exhausted and accepting of his many weaknesses. He’s grateful for the second chance he’s been offered, even as he continues to battle his demons, including one that leads him back into co-dependency with his oldest girlfriend.

Kayla Hettinger never imagined that once she declared herself clean after several near-overdoses of opiates she’d find herself tending bar for her brother’s fiancée Melody, and enjoying what life she’d managed to build. When she strikes up a friendship with Brock over shared experiences and ginger ale, she discovers something needier and more frightening inside herself—and in Brock—than either of them feels equipped to handle.

Breaking through the clutter of addiction and despair only to find your soulmate waiting on the other side seems like the stuff of fairy tales—until Brock and Kayla accept that being dependent on one another is the only way they’ll survive.

Liz Crowe - Conditioned review

A chance meeting. An improbable connection. An exquisite attraction.

CONDITIONED

The Brewing Passion Series #3

Liz Crowe

Releasing July 11, 2017

Totally Bound

Trent Hettinger’s turbulent formative years transformed him into a cynic—and into a man who realized he required something outside himself to control his temper. Something he finds as a Dom—at least for a while. But he allowed himself to trust a woman once and was slapped back into reality with a vengeance and now devotes all his energy into building his real estate empire, raising his teenaged daughter…and avoiding anything resembling authentic attachments.

Melody Rodriguez kept her head down for years—working hard, making her own money, trying to get ahead with every deck stacked against her.  She’s determined to move beyond the ugliness that haunts her without anyone’s help. When a mutual friend sets her up with Trent, she’s determined to have some fun with him and move on.

A man with nothing to left to lose. A woman hiding behind her past. When two lives spent in emotional denial collide, it’s a perfect match—at least on the surface. But neither Trent nor Melody are prepared for the full force of their true feelings, once fate intervenes and blows a cold breeze into their white-hot relationship.

My Review

Wow! This book blew me away. I think I loved it more than the previous two books in the series, Tapped and Lightstruck. While the other books don't have to be read before this one, I do recommend it. There's a backstory the reader will miss if they haven't read them.  

I was quickly sucked into Trent and Melody's world.  Melody has had serious trauma in her past and unfortunately for her, it prohibits her from living. She hasn't found a good way to cope other than just keeping one foot in front of the other and avoid being seen.  But unexpectedly, she's drawn toward Trent. Her best friend and boss dated him for a minute and Evelyn isn't shy in making it known Melody has captured his eye and should go for it. She's scared and still dealing with what happened to her and she has a hard time letting Trent in.  But he kinda bulldozes his way in. 

Trent is set in his ways and has certain needs he has found with other women.  However, Melody is like no one else he has ever met. He finds himself changing and craving her. He wants to protect her and cherish her.  This man is sooo SWOONY! Even though he struggles with how to make their relationship work and is often an ass, he realizes he wants her and can't live without her.  

I loved the way Trent wants to care for Melody.  Their interactions and relationship was realistic and often times sad.  Both had a past they weren't proud of and didn't want a repeat but they were VERY different situations.  The push/pull they had was delicious and I didn't want to miss a minute of their story. I was completely hooked and didn't want to put this book down.  And this one had ALL THE FEELS! Dontcha just love a good HEA?! Yeah, me too! This one is a great and definitely not one to be missed! 

Now Available for Pre-Order

ADJUNCT LOVERS

Brewing Passions Novella

Amazon best-selling author, mom of three, Realtor, beer blogger, brewery marketing expert, and soccer fan, Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville currently living in Ann Arbor. She has decades of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as a three-continent, ex-pat trailing spouse.

Her early forays into the publishing world led to a groundbreaking fiction subgenre, “Romance: Worth the Risk,” which has gained thousands of fans and followers interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”).

With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, in successful real estate offices and at times in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are unique and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, frustrate and linger in the imagination long after the book is finished.

Don’t ever ask her for anything “like a Budweiser” or risk bodily injury.

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Liz Crowe - Lightstruck review, excerpt and giveaway

Brewer Ross has given up on love…until he meets a 

woman who turns his life—and brewery—upside down.

LIGHTSTRUCK

The Brewing Passion Series #2

Liz Crowe

Releasing May 30, 2017

Totally Bound

Brewer Ross has given up on love…until he meets a woman who turns his life—and brewery—upside down.

Ross Hoffman held the potential for a perfect life in his hands—a life with Evelyn, the only woman he’d ever allowed himself to love, their baby and…her husband, Austin Fitzgerald, who also happened to be his best friend. But the challenge of trying to make a threesome into something acceptable—let alone the thought of actually sharing Evelyn with anyone—forces him to bolt. Determined to put all thoughts of their relationship behind him, Ross jumps headfirst into a new brewery job in Colorado, and back into the sort of sexual decadence that he hopes will distract him from his misery.

When he agrees to assist Austin through a spate of brewery mishaps, he lays eyes on his true fate—in the form of the petite, mysterious and exotic Elisa Nagel. Hired as assistant brewer, Elisa is absolutely everything he believes he doesn’t want in a woman. But he’s drawn to her in ways he can’t explain, and he can’t help but fall hard, fast and deep, which places him square in the middle of her horrific, until now secret backstory.

Ross is determined that his love will conquer and overcome the horrors of Elisa’s past, allowing her to trust him with the only thing he desires—her heart.

Reader Advisory: This book contains a scene with attempted rape and violence, as well as a brief scene alluding to person being drugged and raped.

My Review

I really enjoyed this read. We got to know Ross in Tapped, but I enjoyed finally getting his story.  He had given up on love and walked away from a relationship he thought mattered to him.  He was just getting by when his friends called him needing help.  Elisa was a woman who had a rough past. I enjoyed how Liz gave the readers pieces of her story, bit-by-bit.  It angered me for her, what she had been through. However, she had toughed up and cut herself off from everyone, which was no way to live. I enjoyed watching Ross break down her walls and watch their relationship develop. Their banter was fun and I kept cheering them on.  I didn't see everything coming in this story and I found myself on the edge of my seat, waiting for the other shoe to drop! I couldn't read this book fast enough and I didn't want it to be over.

Don't miss ANY of the Brewing Passions Series

Excerpt  (Rated R for language/implied sexual content)

The next morning, she slunk into the brewery, the dread at having to face him like a noxious smoke filling her chest. Perversely, she craved the sight of him, the sound of his country-Bavarian accent when he spoke to her in their native tongue. All the while knowing that he didn’t deserve to get caught up in her shit. Period.

But that kiss…Dear Lord, if anything were more wonderful in this world, she was hard pressed to know what it might be.

She sighed and hid behind a row of fermenters when she heard him barking orders at some hapless brewery assistant. Her scalp tingled and the tiny hairs on her arms rose as she listened to him. 

“Don’t do it, Elisa. Don’t trust him.”

She heard Austin holler for him from upstairs and breathed a sigh of relief when he replied that he’d be right up, leaving the main brewery floor free for her. Ears buzzing, she tried to make herself even smaller than she was—a trick she’d learned well during her time spent as a so-called submissive to The Monster.

A few hours of work calmed her jangling nerves. The smells and sounds of a brewery always did that for her. As she was checking the specific gravity of the IPA, pleased with how it had turned out, she sighed and allowed herself to relax. Whatever Austin had needed him for, Ross had stayed scarce for most of the day, thank the Lord in heaven. 

“Hey,” he said from right behind her. She screeched in shock, flinching to violently the hydrometer went flying up into the air. After juggling it a few times, she held it to her chest and turned to face him. “Nice catch.” He smiled. Her heart wanted to melt. But she kept a tight grip on it, refusing to give in to that ever again.

“Persistent? Or perhaps just—”

He held up a hand. “I know, I know. Mouth-breathing idiot.” He leaned against the stainless-steel sinks. She tried not to let it, but her gaze was drawn to his shoulders, his arms, his chest…and lower. Gulping, she focused on the floor. When he cleared his throat, she met his deep blue gaze. “All right. I have a plan.” His tone was light and easy-going. 

“Oh?” She set the expensive piece of brewery equipment beside the sink and turned on the water so she could wash out some of the stacked-up containers. Ignoring him, or at least attempting to, at the same time. “Does this plan involve the two of us? Because if so, you can forget it.”

“It does. And I won’t. Because I am persistent.”

Fury nearly blinded her. She turned to face him, hands on her hips. “Do you want to fuck me?”

He blinked fast, and took a small step away from her. “I… I’m…”

“Because I can accommodate that. And then we can stop all this foolish…flirting or whatever. Let’s clear the air.” Her knees were shaking so hard she had to grip the edge of the sink for balance. “What do you say?” She jerked her chin up, trying to look brave. “A quick screw in the locker room, maybe? It’s what you wanted last night, I think.”

It’s also what she wanted, but that was beside the point. He would be the first man to touch her intimately in almost eleven years. Also beside the point, because she was not going to let it happen.

“Stop it,” he said, his brow furrowing into the familiar stubborn lines. “I am here to ask you out on a proper date. Like a nice guy. But if you want to fuck…” He lifted his chin. “I can accommodate that.” 

In a heartbeat, he’d pulled her close, his grip around her arms gentle, but firm. He slanted his lips over hers, grazing her cheeks with the roughness of his beard in a way that drove her half mad with lust. His tongue parted her lips and she let him, wrapped her arms around his neck and went way up on her tiptoes. She had never, ever felt this way about any man. Her need to have him, to be with him, to have him all over her, inside her, was so strong it took her breath away. 

“That’s right, little whore. That’s what you want to do. You fuck that big Viking and see what happens to you when I find you and get you back where you belong. Just wait.”

She gasped and struggled away from him, slapping hands over her ears. His gaze wasn’t angry, or reproachful. It was soft and sympathetic.

“Okay, now that we have that out of the way, how about that date?” He raised an eyebrow, making her drop her hands to her sides and sigh. 

“I am…how do you say…one hot mess. You don’t want any part of me.” She said this in English, something she always reverted to when she was trying like hell to reject him.

He thumped his chest with his fist and his grin widened, filling her with that ill-considered, yet oh-so comforting sensation of hope. “I am a big strong man. I like hot messes, especially yours.” He reached out and touched the corner of her lips with his fingertip. She closed her eyes, turned her face away and grappled with herself a few seconds. 

Amazon best-selling author, mom of three, Realtor, beer blogger, brewery marketing expert, and soccer fan, Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville currently living in Ann Arbor. She has decades of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as a three-continent, ex-pat trailing spouse.

Her early forays into the publishing world led to a groundbreaking fiction subgenre, “Romance: Worth the Risk,” which has gained thousands of fans and followers interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”).

With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, in successful real estate offices and at times in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are unique and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, frustrate and linger in the imagination long after the book is finished.

Don’t ever ask her for anything “like a Budweiser” or risk bodily injury.

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Liz Crowe - Tapped review and giveaway

A hot hookup in a cold beer cooler changes everything!

TAPPED

The Brewing Passion Series #1

Liz Crowe

Releasing Feb 14th, 2017

Totally Bound

When wealthy brewery owner Austin Fitzgerald meets sexy saleswoman Evelyn Benedict, angry sparks fly. They seem destined to clash, until a hot hookup in a cold beer cooler changes everything.

For Austin, it's a life-altering moment that sets him on a path away from his birthright, while Evelyn must face her fears about committing to a man considered the playboy of the micro-brewing world.

The power of preconceived notions nearly tears them apart—until they meet up with brew master Ross, who opens their eyes to a deeper, even more erotic connection.

But three strong personalities don’t always make for the best emotional mix and when a simple misunderstanding causes chaos, it’s up to Ross to somehow repair the tattered shreds of their relationship.

Review

This is my first Liz Crowe book, but it won't be my last! I was sucked into Austin and Evelyn's world.  Evelyn is a go-getter, an independent, strong woman working in a man's world; beer.  When we first meet Austin, he's been assigned to be her shadow and she's not looking forward to meeting/having him tag along with her.  Their chemistry is off the charts hot and their banter is their foreplay.  Soon, things heat up very quickly and they can't get enough of each other. Austin is sweet to her and is comfortable with who he is.  His mom made me soooo mad though.  Ugh.  I can't even! But I'm glad Austin didn't let his mom keep him from loving Evelyn.  I liked them together.

Austin had told Evelyn a little about his past and when they least expect it, his past comes face-to-face with them.  I enjoyed the fact that Austin and Evelyn's relationship was pretty solid when they run into Ross. Evelyn had wondered how the three of them would work, and soon she doesn't have to wonder anymore.  Their experience felt realistic and of course it wasn't cut and dry.  Feelings got involved and things got complicated. I enjoyed this read and look forward to more books from Liz! 

Excerpt

Sensing the heat of Evelyn’s fury as he finalized another large order, he excused himself and made his way toward the restroom. The tuning-fork sensation had morphed into a dull ache centered in his gut, which steadily made its way down to his balls.

When he emerged—after splashing water on his face enough times to calm the hardening in his jeans—he almost plowed straight into her. He gripped her arms to keep her from falling and the impulses that had bounced around in his brain since the morning nearly brought him to his knees. He dropped his hands and looked away, swallowing back the urge to say something, anything, to convince her he wasn’t such a bad guy.

“Sorry.”

Her voice was flat. He took a step back, stopped only when his butt hit the wall. The space between them filled with near-visible silence, but he didn’t move.

“I don’t know how I’m doing it, but the longer we work together, the more sales I make, and the more you hate me. Clue me in here, Benedict. I thought sales were the goal of the day.” He crossed his arms, holding them close to his chest so she couldn’t gauge how shaky his hands had gotten.

She swallowed, and he watched the exquisite warm peach hue of her skin redden. Admiring the line of her neck, her jaw, the plump fullness of her lower lip as she bit it, a nervous tic he’d love to come to love, if she’d let him, Austin sensed himself falling deeper into a very scary hole. Her ongoing silence took on a life of its own.

“Well? I left my secret-sales-goal decoder ring at home. You obviously have a different agenda for today. I get it. ‘Prove to the rich boy he doesn’t have what it takes’ is fine, but we could have saved some time if you’d just told me first.”

She opened her lips, then pressed them together and shouldered past him. He watched, fascinated, as his hand reached out of its own accord and snagged her arm. She stopped, stared at it, then up at him. When he realized the blue of her eyes was brighter because of tears, he hesitated. Female tears always unnerved him, but his chest tightened in a thoroughly alarming way at the thought of having caused her unhappiness.

He let go. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

In a split second, her beautiful face was within inches of his. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m just pissed off. You’ve had that effect on me since I first laid eyes on you, so yeah, I guess I set you up. But apparently, all your country-club, private-school time has been worth it. Bullshitting comes naturally to you. And that’s all this job is. A whole barrel of bullshit.”

She stomped away before he could speak or, even better, grab her and kiss her. The space she vacated quivered with anger. But her crisp perfume stayed in his nose and he had to clench his hands into fists to keep from shoving her up against the wall and kissing her until she saw it his way.

Amazon best-selling author, mom of three, Realtor, beer blogger, brewery marketing expert, and soccer fan, Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville currently living in Ann Arbor. She has decades of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as a three-continent, ex-pat trailing spouse.

Her early forays into the publishing world led to a groundbreaking fiction subgenre, “Romance: Worth the Risk,” which has gained thousands of fans and followers interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”).

With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, in successful real estate offices and at times in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are unique and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, frustrate and linger in the imagination long after the book is finished.

Don’t ever ask her for anything “like a Budweiser” or risk bodily injury.

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