She might have made it to Hollywood, but he’s about to show her what she’s missed …
I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Kissing Games by Evie Alexander Series: Kinloch #3
Published by Emlin Press on September 22, 2022
Genres: Adult Romantic Comedy
Pages: 332
Source: the author
Format: E-galley
My Rating:
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Blurb:
When actress Valentina Valverde arrives in Scotland to film Braveheart 2, she’s at breaking point. Driven by demons, she’s worked tirelessly since she was a teen. But she can’t stop now: everyone she loves depends on her. Yet despite all the glitz and glamor, Valentina can’t shake the feeling that she isn’t really living.
Bodyguard Charlie Hamilton’s lived too much. With looks and charm, he should have it all. But he’s broken. Estranged from his family, sacked from his job and with nothing left to lose, he flies to the Scottish Highlands to help his best friend protect Kinloch castle from a crazy Hollywood film crew.
But falling hard for a movie star isn’t in Charlie’s contract…
Thrown together on set, chemistry crackles between them. When Charlie suggests she take a holiday from life, Valentina is tempted to let down her guard and live a little. But as fun crosses the line into love, disaster bursts their bubble.
Can they let go of the past and find a future together? Or is this just a Highland fling?
Kissing Games is a steamy, dual POV, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, with no cheating, no cliff-hanger, and a guaranteed happy ever after (HEA)
My Review
I was excited for these two characters’ stories. And I was hooked from the start! Both had their own issues. Where in some ways it seemed like they didn’t necessarily affect the other one, the author made them perfectly woven into the plot so that it all made sense. The connection between these two was perfection as well. You could tell from their banter, the way they reacted to each other, as well as how they behaved. Both of them did the thing where they tried to pretend it was just a fling. But you could tell both were also thinking of how things could be afterward.
One fun aspect of this is that it took place during the same time period as the last book, Hollywood Games, so it was neat to see those those events from different points of view, with different amounts of importance based on the characters who were the stars of this story. Of course I also adored getting to spend time with Rory and Zoe again, and in a similar way, seeing the two of them from other characters’ perspectives.
Charlie was one I couldn’t help but fall in love with, and I hated that at first Valentina didn’t see he wasn’t a playboy just because he was such a handsome charming guy. I also hated how she got upset about something that played out for a tiny bit in the story with his ex. And while I am nowhere near a prude, from what the film she was getting ready to do that was an “art film” was described as, yeah, not sure that was really going to do anything for her career or changing how people saw her. I loved the way the author made things that happen turn into the catalyst for making her career change and grow in a way that was healthy and perfect for her.
Since we got an epilogue for this one, and the next book is supposed to be another couple, I look forward to seeing both of the couples from the books so far and how they play into the next couple’s story.
About the Author
Evie Alexander is an award-winning author of sexy romantic comedies with a very British sense of humour. A self-confessed ‘method writer’, Evie has taken it upon herself to live a full and messy life, from which romantic and personal failures become fodder for her laugh-out-loud plotlines.
Imaginative, passionate and frequently called ‘bonkers’ by her friends, Evie’s interests include reading, eating, saving the world, and fantasising about people who only exist between the pages of her books.
Her novel Highland Games won Best in Category in the The CHATELAINE Book Awards for Romantic Fiction and Women’s Fiction 2021.
Evie lives in the West country with her family, where she pens her steamy stories from the Smut Hut.
Follow her blog for musings about the writing process, book reviews, and details about her stories, and follow her across social media for even more.
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Wonderful review, Lisa. I know I would enjoy this series and book, it just sounds wonderful.
I hope you get a chance to read it some day!