Tuesday, November 29, 2022

A LITTLE BIT OF LUST by Author Shirley Goldberg **Review Tour** **Goddess Fish Promotions**

Notes from a Romantic's Heart is pleased to welcome back author Shirley Goldberg. Today we'll be taking a look at Shirley's new romantic comedy, A Little Bit of Lust, book 3 of her Starting Over series. You can find all the stops on Shirley's tour at Goddess Fish Promotions. Also, don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win a $30 gift card. The entry form is at the bottom of this post.

GENRE: Romantic Women's Fiction
Love-cynical Lucy Bernard delights in her independence. Baking, all things Instagram, the occasional fling, and most of all hanging out with best friends Deon Goldbloom and Phoebe Karis. But when Deon kisses Lucy at the beach on a chilly afternoon, the two friends jump into a lust-filled romantic weekend. So what’s with slotting her into "ignore" status afterward? Too embarrassed to confide in Phoebe, she silently buries the humiliation.

Deon Goldbloom is a widower who can’t move on after his wife's death. Is he a little crazy spending a sexy few days with Lucy and calling it the best time he’s had in four years? Yeah. Except blue Monday comes calling, and Deon isn’t ready for the guilt.

Lucy wonders how a smoochy weekend turns into a friends-with-benefits disaster. And Deon wonders if he’s made the biggest mistake of his life. Using all his nerdy charms, he launches a campaign to bring Lucy around. Maybe they can chart a course back to one another if Lucy will only forgive him.

Pre-Order on Amazon for December 7th delivery.
Also available on Apple and B&N


Deon and Lucy wandered through the store to the missy department, jammed with displays and sale racks. What to wear on her Marcus date? A dress or jeans? She could use Deon’s advice, but something told her he was in no mood for anything Marcus.

He stopped at a rounder of sleeveless, scoop neck tops in jewel colors. “Pink.” He chose a top from the rack. “This is you.”

She held it against her chest. “Good color for me?”

“That guy Steve was totally flirting.”

“You think? Should I go for it?” Casual tone with an ah-hah on the inside. Her spine tingled realizing Deon noticed their flirtation. And he was irked. He had no right. She’s the one who should be irked.

“Depends.” He frowned. “He’s an actor. How long’s he in town for?” His hand scraped his cheek. “I know you’re pissed at me. Ever since that weekend––”

“Me?” She flipped the price tag on the pink top and her eyebrows shot up in exaggerated surprise. Pissed at Deon? Sure, but she wouldn’t admit it, not to him. “You have good taste.”

“I’m sorry about––”

“Expensive good taste.” Whatever Deon felt he needed to say, she wasn’t revisiting old wounds.

“Lucy, don’t make me come over there.” An attempt at humor, followed by a hangdog look of regret. “Look, I want to talk to you about…can we talk later? At dinner?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t we? We always talk at dinner.”

“You maintain price is no object,” Deon teased, deftly dropping the subject. “A good fit is everything, right?” He moved closer and cupped her chin. “I’m dead serious. About talking.”

She twisted away. So this is how he wants to play it. Seriously, a talk? After the Ignore thing, what more could he possibly say? She wasn’t sure she wanted dinner with Deon after all. “Did I say price is no object?” She pulled out a short black dress and danced it on the hanger. “This is cute.”

“Nice. You don’t wear much black. Try it on,” he urged. “Try them both on.”

In the dressing room, Lucy smiled in the mirror. Deon was acting ultra nice, like he had an agenda. Weird. Close dancing at O’Donahue’s and those long looks she’d caught him giving her in her kitchen a week ago. Mixed messages, definitely.

The pink top showed off her shoulders. At $118.00, it was no bargain, but why did everything have to be on sale? She wasn’t her mother, the ultimate bargain shopper. She wanted this sexy little top so Deon could picture her in it later. With Marcus.

The pink top has punctum.

The word came back to her, a surprise. Punctum, the word Deon used a while ago on the beach while they were taking photos. When he’d kissed her for the first time.

☆☆4 Stars☆☆

As with all the Shirley Goldberg books I've read, A Little Bit of Lust, had me laughing out loud. A wonderfully written story of friendship, discovery, and reinvention. I loved the relationship between Lucy, Deon, and Phoebe. It was fun, open, and (eventually) once Deon fessed up to his true feelings, honest.

I'm a sucker for friends-to-lovers romances, and this one definitely didn't disappoint. The banter between the main characters is witty and believeable, as is both their reluctance to take their friendship to the next level. All in all, a fun story that will please any fan of romantic women's fiction.


Shirley Goldberg is a writer, novelist, and former ESL and French teacher who’s lived in Paris, Crete, and Casablanca. She writes about men and women of a certain age starting over. Her website offers a humorous look into dating in mid-life, and her friends like to guess which stories are true. A Little Bit of Lust is her third book in the series Starting Over, although all her books are standalone. Her character believes you should never leave home without your sense of humor and Shirley agrees.



Shirley Goldberg will be awarding a $30 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.


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Thank you for stopping by!

Nancy

5 comments:

  1. Hi, Nancy, thanks so much for hosting Lucy and Phoebe and Deon. They're thrilled to be here!
    I love your blog.

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  2. Sounds interesting! I'll defiantly be adding it to my to read list!

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  3. Great excerpt, A Little Bit of Lust sounds like an excellent book for me to read! Thanks for sharing it with me!

    Thanks, Notes From a Romantic's Heart, for sharing your review!

    Have a magical holiday season!

    ReplyDelete