Review: Starfish and Coffee by Kele Moon

Welcome to A Little Bit of Naughty and today I have the pleasure of having the talented Kele Moon on my site, promoting her newest book, Starfish and Coffee.  And let me tell you it's a doozy - and I mean that in the best of ways.  So check out the blurb, the naughty excerpt and my review at the end of it all to be entered at a chance to win a $25 Gift Certificate to Amazon.  It's easy. Just comment and make sure to leave your email address and Kele will be picking a random winner from all the blogs participating in this book tour. 

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Blurb: On the island where they first met, two lovers from opposite sides of the tracks are reunited. Now jaded and broken, Alex and Matt still can’t deny their sizzling connection or the memories of one perfect, uninhibited year together. 

At twenty-two, Matt Tarrington is rich, good-looking and destined to be powerful, but behind that confident exterior lurks a man who resents the life his family thrust upon him. Wanting an escape, Matt heads to Mirabella Island off the coast of Florida for a year of relaxation and a few wild nights with vacationing party-girls. 

Matt never expected to find real passion in the arms of Alex Hunter, a handsome, laid-back local. Alex is gay, but closeted. Knowing Matt should be off limits, Alex finds the deeply-in-denial rich boy too tempting to ignore. Especially when a bet has them working together, fighting the heat in the rundown, beachside cafe where Alex sweats for every dollar. 

Their love felt inevitable until youth left them vulnerable to hatred and greed. After six years of hating the lies they live to make others happy, they will have to risk it all for the second chance they both desperately need.

Excerpt:

“So if we hook up”—Alex walked up to the king-size bed in the master bedroom—“do I get mistress benefits?” 

“What are mistress benefits?” 

“A car, a bank account, shopping sprees, and trips to the French Rivera.” Alex fell back against the neatly made bed, leaning on his elbows as he put himself on display. “It’s a small price to pay for all the forbidden things I can give you that a wife can’t.” 

Matt stood there staring at Alex, spread out on the bed, that black shirt showing off his beautiful body, those tight jeans clinging to all the right places. More frustrated as the seconds ticked by, Matt was almost inclined to agree. 

Instead he smiled back. “You think I can’t find some other guy free of charge to give me what you’re offering?”
 

“That’s the truth.” Alex got up and looked Matt over for one hot moment. “Baby, they’d be paying you.” 

The compliment caught him off guard, as did the endearment. Matt’s cheeks heated to the point he turned away to save his dignity. He wasn’t sure why Alex could do that to him when he’d never been shy or reserved when it came to sex. 

This whole situation was throwing him off, and half of him couldn’t understand why he’d invited Alex over to begin with when he’d been resolved to his straight, conservative upper-crust lifestyle that would probably end with him marrying a woman like his mother and hating life like any good Tarrington man should. The other half of him—the bottom half—had been hard since Alex arrived. 

“You blush too easily, Matty.” Alex went back to exploring the house. “You gotta stop that.” 

Matt winced, hating that he was being so obvious with his nervousness, still he asked, “Why?” 

“’Cause it gets my dick hard,” Alex said from the master bathroom and then added, “Very nice. Italian marble. Dual showerheads. This shower has hot sex written all over it.” 

Matt needed more to drink—lots more.

Author Bio: 

A freckle faced, redhead born and raised in Hawaii, Kele Moon has always been a bit of a sore thumb and has come to enjoy the novelty of it. She thrives off pushing the envelope and finding ways to make the impossible work in her story telling. With a mad passion for romance, she adores the art of falling in love. The only rules she believes in is that, in love there are no rules and true love knows no bounds. 

So obsessed is she with the beauty of romance and the novelty of creating it she’s lost in her own wonder world most of the time. Thankfully she married her own dark, handsome, brooding hero who had infinite patience for her airy ways and attempts to keep her grounded. When she leaves her keys in the refrigerator or her cell phone in the oven he’s usually there to save her from herself. The two of them now reside in Florida with their three beautiful children who make their lives both fun and challenging in equal parts–They wouldn’t have it any other way.

Where to find Kele:

Website      Facebook        Twitter

Break out the handcuffs, I'm feeling frisky....

Dakota's Review:  What to say about this book?  Well first of all make sure you not only have your significant other nearby, but also make sure you have a box of tissue on the bedside table.  This book not only steams with the chemistry between Matty and Alex, it will also tug on your heartstrings - HARD!  Ms. Moon, not only crafted an emotional masterpiece, I swear it nearly set my reader on fire - twice.  I loved the amount of emotional depth she put into both characters. I found myself rooting for Matty to figure out a way to stay with Alex when they had so many obstacles from their economical classes to their sexual orientation. This is the first book I've read by Ms. Moon but I can guarantee I'll be reading more from her in the future.  It takes a talented author to create a book like Starfish and Coffee, and I give the author kudos for accomplishing it. 

And don't forget to comment to enter to wind a $25 gift certificate from Kele!  

©Dakota Trace All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.