Monday, February 11, 2013

Blog Tour: Caught Up in Us by Lauren Blakely

Blurb
Five years ago, Kat Harper fell into a dizzying summer romance with her brother’s best friend Bryan. It was a mad, crazy love full of kisses all through the night — but he broke her heart and she had to move on.

Five years later, Kat is finishing her graduate degree and building her business as a jewelry designer, when Bryan, head of his own successful company, walks back into her life. Bryan has been assigned to Kat as her new business mentor and the rules are clear. No hanky panky permitted. That works for both of them. Kat needs to grow her business to help her parents; Bryan needs to run a clean operation after his former business partner’s romantic scandal that rocked his firm.

Kat can handle that because she's totally over him... right? Except, he still makes her laugh. And he remembers all the things she likes. And he's more handsome now than he was then. Then there’s the spark between them — the simply undeniable chemistry.

Can they resist each other? Or are they willing to risk everything for a second chance at first love?


Our 3.5 star review:

“I had a theory that you could tell a lot about a guy by his coffee drink. Any guy who ordered soy chai or more foam was going to be high maintenance. If a fellow asked for the water to be extra hot, he was destined to be cold and emotionless because the water at any coffee shop is already scalding; if you needed it hotter, you had no feeling.”
 

Kat Harper is a grad student who designs and makes jewelry for her own business, My Favorite Mistakes. She has an older brother, Nate, and her parents own a small gift shop which is struggling to turn a profit. Her last assignment before she graduates from NYU, is an internship under the direction of a mentor. Part of the reason she is so driven with her jewelry business, besides the income it provides for her needs, is the desire to lighten the burden weighing on her parents. Their shop is their primary source of income and out of necessity have strapped themselves with a large loan. Kat desperately wants to pay off their loan and give them some relief.

She had a relationship while an undergrad with an actor, who enjoyed his dramatic moments, on and off the stage. He became a bit of a stalker and she ended that affair. No one compares to the love of her life; her brother’s best friend, Bryan Leighton. When she was seventeen she and Bryan met the summer after she graduated high school, fell in love and dreamed of their happily ever after. Bryan was five
years older, had just graduated college and had accepted a position with a prestigious company that would require extensive travelling. They knew the obstacles, but had decided that they could make it work. Neither wanted Kat’s brother to know about them just yet. But then something changed...and Bryan was distant and told Kat that it wasn’t a good idea for them to see each other anymore.  That rejection launched My Favorite Mistake and Kat created her first charm to remind her of the one who broke her heart.


Its five years later and Kat meets the mentor who will be guiding her for her last semester. When she realizes she is paired with Bryan, she wills herself to act as if the sight of him isn’t bringing back a rush of hurtful memories.  Bryan is friendly and flirtatious and seems to be interested in Kat. Though she finds herself still attracted to him, she is overly cautious and doesn’t want to risk her heart again. Bryan is now the owner of his own business, Made Here, an accessory manufacturer, of high end cuff links and such. His company recycles and reuses existing materials such as bike chains. His company has a conservative board, and his original partner’s employment was terminated due to an indiscretion.

How can Kat trust Bryan again, and how will his position as her mentor affect their relationship? Kat is
offered career opportunities which may further complicate the situation. Bryan has legal problems requiring the utmost discretion in both his professional and personal life. A relationship with a student he is mentoring
certainly comes under the classification of being indiscreet. Having been hurt by his rejection years ago,
how can Kat allow Bryan to distance himself again?

Lauren Blakely has written a sweet story of second chances.  Kat is a strong, independent woman with a blossoming career with a good sense of her strengths and weaknesses. She is no wall flower; content to have life pass her by. She recognizes her past mistakes with her relationships. She is no drama queen-she prefers to live out her fantasies in her obsession with movies. A love of movies and coffee were the glue that bound Kat and Bryan when they were young, their first kiss took place in a movie theater. Both still have those same loves.

“Of course I love romantic comedies.” But I didn’t just love them. I wanted to live within them. I wanted a love like in the movies.

Bryan makes attempts to gain Kat’s trust back, having realized his mistake in letting her go once; he is
determined not to lose her again. As a reader, I wanted to know why Bryan made no endeavor to follow Kat after she had experienced a few years of college. They both lived in the same city, a fact I’m sure Nate would have relayed to Bryan. It was a hole in their story, one that should have been explained. I found myself wondering if Bryan had not met Kat by coincidence through the mentoring program, would he ever have made contact with her again?

With the exception of Bryan’s lack of motivation in pursuing Kat on his own, Blakeley’s novel is an easy,
enjoyable read. Her style of writing is simplistic and to the point. Her characters are well developed and the
storyline flows naturally. Enjoy. 



About the Author:

Lauren Blakely is an unabashed fan of clever jokes, toast, and good guys in novels. Like the heroine in CAUGHT UP IN US, she thinks life should be filled with movie kisses and coffee drinks. Lauren lives in California with her husband and children, and spends her days writing both true stories and make-believe ones. 
You can find Lauren and contact her here-
 

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10 comments:

  1. Hi Lauren! I'm really excited to read Caught Up In Us. It's definitely on my TBR and can't wait to get to it.

    Thanks for a great giveaway!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Added to Goodreads!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Added to my Goodreads!

    tess_halim(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the giveaway! I added Caught Up In Us to my Goodreads!
    http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/13785547-danielle-hoover?shelf=to-read

    ReplyDelete

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