Title: Miss Guided
Author: Alexia Adams
Series: Guide to Love
Published by: Alexia Adams (Indie)
Date published: Sept. 12, 2014
Genres: Contemporary
Book Length: 96 pages
Steam Rating: Steamy
Main Characters: Marcus & Crescy
“Between Alexia Adams’ realistic and raw writing style to the addictive need her characters provoke Miss Guided is a 5 deep breath book without question!” ~Becca
Running out of time…
Mystery writer Marcus Sullivan is determined to find someone for his younger brother Liam to love. Playing matchmaker on vacation in St. Lucia, Marcus tries to interest Liam in beautiful, local tour guide Crescentia St. Ives. Unfortunately, things don’t go to plan. And when Marcus and Crescentia are stranded during a thunderstorm, the plot to match her with his brother incinerates in the flames of desire. No way can Liam have her when Marcus can’t keep his hands off. Too bad he can’t write a happier ending to their blossoming romance.
Running away…
Crescentia St. Ives’ career as a public defender in New York has taken a toll. Following an emotionally devastating case, she returns to her homeland, St. Lucia. While her uncle is recovering from a heart attack, she helps out with his floundering tour company. The product of a holiday affair, Crescy is determined not to follow in her mother’s footsteps. But her resolve is severely tested when she meets Marcus Sullivan. Can she convince him that they can have more than a fling? Or will his secret be too much to overcome?
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I adored this book! The chemistry is so very strong and real! The issues that they are forced to deal with and the obstacles the have to overcome in order for their love to survive are well balanced and kept me constantly on the edge of my seat clutching my Kindle and dying to know what happened next! I can say with 100% certainty that Marcus and Crescy are MFEO material!
Between Alexia Adams’ realistic and raw writing style to the addictive need her characters provoke Miss Guided is a 5 deep breath book without question!
Alexia once traveled the world, meeting new people, experiencing new sights and tastes. She’s lived in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, England, and France, as well as spent time in Panama and Russia. When life demanded that she stay rooted in one place, she took to vicarious voyages through the characters she created in her romance novels. Her stories reflect her love of travel and feature locations as diverse as the wind-swept prairies of Canada to hot and humid cities in Asia.
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Describe your book/series in 15 words or less:
Man tries to find a woman for his brother but falls in love himself.
We all need a hero! Tell us about your protagonist(s)? Was there a real life inspiration behind him or her?
Marcus is a mystery writer on a deadline. He wants to find someone to love his younger brother, Liam. Despite his own problems, Marcus is fun-loving and empathetic. Crescentia (Crescy) is a strong, independent woman who is a little lost following a career setback. Marcus is very loosely based on the TV character of Richard Castle. In fact Nathan Fillion would play Marcus wonderfully if it ever became a film. Crescy is very loosely based on my mother-in-law who was also strong and independent and a beautiful person, inside and out. By the way, my mother-in-law hated her first name and never used it. She’d smack me up the backside of the head for naming my heroine that if she were still alive.
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
I enjoyed writing the whole book because Marcus is so fun and Crescy a strong woman. I do have an absolute favorite line. It’s during the black moment when Marcus and Crescy have broken up and Liam (Marcus’s brother) is berating Marcus for letting Crescy go:
“How did you think it was going to end? With a handshake and a ‘so long and thanks for all the sex’ musical number?” Liam did a few dance moves and Marcus gritted his teeth.
This is my favorite line because it reminds me of Douglas Adams’ book Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the song the dolphins sing, “So Long and Thanks for All the Fish.”
Was there a music playlist for you while writing? If so, can you share a few songs from it?
I don’t really have a specific music playlist when I write. Just all my favorite songs on iTunes. However there is one song in particular that epitomizes Marcus and Liam’s relationship, it’s Permanent by David Cook. For Marcus and Crescy’s relationship, the song All of Me by John Legend is apropos.
What’s next for you?
I have another book, An Inconvenient Desire releasing on October 13 with Crimson Romance. And another story in the Guide to Love series will be coming out from Entangled this winter.
Is there anything else you’d like to say?
I’d like to thank all the readers who have bought my books. And if you enjoyed the read, please take two minutes and leave a review on Amazon. Reviews help authors get more exposure and promotional opportunities.
A few silly questions:
Are you the driver or a passenger in your books? (Are you in control of where the story goes or does it just happen?)
I am so definitely the passenger. I usually have an idea in my mind of where I want the story to go when I start to write, but it rarely ends up there. I once wrote a detailed synopsis for a book where the heroine told the hero she loved him in chapter 12. The foolish woman blurted it out in chapter 10. So I had her shot later in the story. Don’t mess with a writer!
You’re having a party. What character from your book do you hope attends? What character do you hope doesn’t attend? Why?
I think Marcus would be great at a party. He’s fun, up for anything, and has a mischievous nature. At the moment, Liam would be a dud as he’d just sneak off to an empty room somewhere and work. But Liam gets his awakening in Played by the Billionaire, so he turns out alright.
Characters often find themselves in situations they can’t get themselves out of. When was the last time you found yourself in a situation that was hard to get out of and what did you do?
My life is no longer as exciting as it once was. I spend most of my days at my computer, getting other people in trouble. Recently, however, my sister-in-law was visiting from the UK and we went to tour some of the show homes in our area. After visiting one display house, I couldn’t get the key to turn in the ignition of my van. I was with my four children and my s-i-l, it was a very hot day, and we were miles from home. So I called my husband. Thankfully, he was nearby and it took him less than 15 seconds to get the van started. It made him feel good for rescuing me and I was happy to get home and have an adult drink.
Who is your favorite “Book Boyfriend”? What series is it from and who wrote it?
I have a real hero in my life. So although I enjoy spending time with the fictional heroes in my, or other writers’ books, it’s the man who rubs my back every night until he falls asleep who holds my heart.
Marcus sipped a tropical fruit concoction through a straw, considering the addition of rum to the drink. What good was a Caribbean vacation if you couldn’t sample the island’s best product? He needed to keep his alcohol consumption to a minimum as it counteracted his medication. So he usually saved it for special occasions. Like when how unfair his life started to get to him.
“How ’bout her?” He pointed his drink at a buxom blonde woman wearing a tiny white bikini and high heels.
Liam glanced up from his laptop. “Nah, never liked blondes, they’re too pale. You lose them in the bed if it’s got white sheets.”
Marcus laughed at the comment, knowing his brother wasn’t serious. However, Liam’s apathy toward relationships did slow things down. Marcus had managed to cross most of his life’s goals off his bucket list, but finding a life partner for Liam was the most important, and proving the hardest. And there wasn’t a lot of time left. Marcus was already living beyond the doctors’ expectations, and he needed to make sure his little brother was loved before he went.
“Hey, I thought we agreed no working on this vacation,” Marcus said.
With a reluctant sigh, Liam closed his laptop. “You can’t tell me you’re not working. I can all but see the cogs in that big head of yours turning. You’re thinking plot lines and characterization and who would be murdered first. There’s a book formulating in your brain. Any minute now you’re going to excuse yourself and race upstairs for your own computer.”
Liam was right of course. Marcus saw stories everywhere. It was what had made him a prolific and best-selling mystery author by twenty-five. And the blonde would be the first to die. The question was whether the hero in his book would do her first. He shook his head; she wasn’t his type, and therefore not suitable to play a heroine. Marcus preferred a real woman without chemical and saline enhancements. Liam was usually drawn to the plastic versions, probably because he’d never known the love of a real woman. Marcus was going to do his damnedest to make sure he did.
A sudden flood of people wandered past the bar, disgorged, undoubtedly, from a returning tour bus. They all clutched cameras, hats, and bottles of water. He caught snippets of conversation about their day—the majesty of the Pitons and the wonder of the drive-in volcano.
Liam swiveled around on his bar stool. “You know, if you really wanted to relax, we could have rented a private villa. Hell, we could have rented a private island.”
“And miss this human sideshow? Besides, I hate to break it to you, brother, but you’re boring. All you do is play on your computer day and night. I need some stimulation in my life.”
Liam sat up taller on his stool and put his drink on the bar. “I don’t play…”
Marcus tuned out his brother’s monologue on the latest Trojan horse, or worm, or virus, or something destined to destroy all computers, everywhere. And how it was guys like Liam who made it safer for regular people to download cute cat videos or porn, depending on their preference.
Mercifully, his brother’s voice was drowned out by another, this one richer, sultrier, and with a hint of island charm. “Mrs. Winthrop, Mrs. Winthrop, you left your glasses on the bus.” A gorgeous local woman raced down the steps next to the poolside bar and stopped an older lady who was wearing Bermuda shorts, socks up to her knees, and sandals.
“Oh, thank you, dear,” Mrs. Winthrop replied. “I’d probably leave my head behind if it weren’t attached.”
The local woman gave a polite laugh, which had the effect of sending a thrill, not at all polite, through his body. She then turned to run back up the stairs, her long brown legs in sharp contrast to her white shorts. Her T-shirt, stretched tight across full breasts that bounced like real ones, read St. Ives Island Tours and Travel on the back. A mass of dark curls was piled impossibly on the top of her head. But it was her face that had Marcus taking a long drink of his mocktail. It had been a good long while since he’d seen anyone as naturally beautiful as her. There was no way she’d get lost in bed. Or up against a wall. Or in the shower. Or on the beach.
Dragging his mind back from inappropriate thoughts, he glanced again at Liam who was watching the news on the TV above the bar. “How about tomorrow we take a tour of the island?”
Liam stared at him with undisguised horror. “Marcus, if you want to see the island, we can hire a private car and driver. I’m loaded, remember, recently signed a billion dollar deal with the-software-company-that-shall-remain-nameless? I’m not getting on a smelly old bus with a bunch of smelly old people and visiting places I have no interest in going.”
Marcus put his drink down and played his trump card. “My vacation, my rules, remember? You promised. Tomorrow we are going on a bus tour, and you will not complain for one second.”
Liam opened his mouth then closed it again, trying to hide the flicker of pain in his eyes. A curt nod was his only response.
“That’s settled then. I’ll go make the arrangements.” Marcus abandoned his drink and headed up to reception. If he were lucky he’d be able to catch the tour guide woman and find out exactly which tour she would be leading tomorrow. His brain was already plotting ways to get her and Liam together.
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What would you do if you thought you only had a short time left to live?
Oooh I have this on my tbr. I’ll be moving it up the list
You definitely should!
aaaah I love this! What a fun review! Definitely adding this one to TBR
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