From New York Times Bestselling author Tessa Bailey comes the first novel in her hot, new Romancing the Clarksons Series.

When Rita Clarkson’s Suburban takes its last breath on a New Mexico roadside, rescue roars up on a Harley in the form of smooth-talking honkey tonk owner, Jasper Ellis, a man as mysterious as he is charming. Rita’s cross-country journey to New York City–with her three estranged siblings in tow–is only beginning, but now that Jasper has found Rita, his plans do not include her leaving.

 

 

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When rescue looks like a whole lot of trouble . . .

The road trip was definitely a bad idea. Having already flambéed her culinary career beyond recognition, Rita Clarkson is now stranded in God-Knows-Where, New Mexico, with a busted-ass car and her three temperamental siblings, who she hasn’t seen in years. When rescue shows up—six-feet-plus of hot, charming sex on a motorcycle—Rita’s pretty certain she’s gone from the frying pan right into the fire . . .

Jasper Ellis has a bad boy reputation in this town, and he loathes it. The moment he sees Rita, though, Jasper knows he’s about to be sorely tempted. There’s something real between them. Something raw. And Jasper has only a few days to show Rita that he isn’t just for tonight—he’s forever.

 

 

 

Excerpt:

 

“It’s just a quick ride.”

She sauntered toward him, thighs flexing in her jeans, and Jasper swallowed a growl. Something told him this ride would be anything but quick, but he shoved the thought aside and distracted himself by removing his helmet and transferring it to her head. And hell if he didn’t have a hard time mobilizing himself under her scrutiny. Like she wanted to see past whatever was visible. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been dissected by a woman—and it was welcome.

Damn, she smelled like the forest, cut with cooking spices. He tried not to be obvious about sucking in a good lungful. His reaction to this girl was goddamn strange, to say the least, but he had no choice but to go with it since she was about to mount his bike.

It had thrown her off a little, his gesture of passing over the helmet, but she recovered to grant him a speculative look. Mumbling under her breath, she threw a leg over his bike and gripped the back bar. “You might not recognize me, but I’m famous for what I can do with a knife.”

Jasper joined her on the bike in one smooth movement, groaning inwardly when her thighs gripped his waist. Had her breath caught? “I hate to disappoint you, but this isn’t the first time a woman’s threatened me with a knife.”

“Yeah, but it would be the last.”

His laughter was lost in the roar of the bike’s ignition, the Suburban growing smaller and smaller in his rearview mirror.

Thoughts:

This book of insta-love, family-journey, and self-discovery was a fantastic read! I loved the H&h but there was a special something about the siblings interactions and backstory that spoke to me too!  This one made my fave of 2016 list!!

Too Hot to Handle might not be quite as steamy as some of Tessa’s other work but the chemistry between Rita and Jasper comes through in her writing. This story really touched a cord and I’m really looking forward to the next book on this series about the stuffy politician Aaron!

 

About Tessa Bailey:

Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.

Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.

She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of eight years and four-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.

 

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