BOOK REVIEW + $30 Gift Card GIVE AWAY - A Little Bit of Lust by Shirley Goldberg

A Little Bit of Lust

by Shirley Goldberg 

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.

Excerpt:

“You know,” said Steve, “you and your friends are like The Three Musketeers. Always together.”

Together indeed. Lucy loved their routine. Arrive early while the band set up, grab seats, and make the rounds among their dancing friends. The band quit at eight, and they went home and got up early the next day to wrestle with classrooms full of middle school kids.

Steve leaned an elbow on the bar. “I’ve been here half a dozen times––”

He jerked back as Lucy’s best friend, Phoebe, trotted up and plonked her bag on the bar, startling them both. “Deon’s late. I don’t see him,” she barked.

Lucy sniffed and cleared her throat in a loud ah hem. “Mrs. Interruptus why don’t you?” she growled. “And hello to you, too. This is Steve. Where’s my hug?”

“Sorry, darling.” Phoebe bobbed her head in Steve’s direction, said a quick “hi,” and wrapped both arms around Lucy. “Better? By the way, interruptus sounds sexual.

“I was trying to be snotty.” 

Steve stood and gave Phoebe his seat. “Thank you, very thoughtful.” She shot Steve a quick smile and reached for her bag. “I’m stealing this dating idea from an ad for eight-minute dating. Some restaurant in Stamford.” She opened her bag and peered into its depths. “Can’t remember where I put that ad.”

“Dibs on Deon for ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo.’” Lucy raised a hand to signal the bartender. “I think Travis is impressed by my vast knowledge of Glenn Miller tunes. 

“I’m certain he is.” Phoebe, riffling through her handbag, gave Lucy a doubtful look. “You’d better alert Deon. He just came in. There’ll be a ton of good dancers here today with this band. Competition.”

Lucy glanced over at the stage where Deon stood talking to Travis, in Buddy Holly glasses and a porkpie hat.

“Got it.” Phoebe brandished her phone and scrolled. “I forgot it was in my photos. Look.” She thrust her phone at Lucy.

“Can’t read it; the print’s too tiny.” Lucy flung her arm in the air and waved in Deon’s direction, eventually catching his eye. He wandered over wearing his customary smirk, and Lucy handed him Phoebe’s phone. “Read this, would you?”

Deon cleared his throat and launched into his favorite accent. Elvis. “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen––”

“Hah, it doesn’t say that,” Phoebe protested.

“Meet your dream gal or guy. Only eight minutes to your SoulMate IRL! Here’s your chance. Ages forty-two to fifty-five. Follow the link for more information and your choice of evening.’”

“That sounds like torture,” Deon said, dropping the Elvis. “IRL? What’s IRL?” He cocked his head. “Code for I’m really likable?” 


I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you Shirley Goldberg and Goddess Fish Promotions. I'm excited to be a part of this tour.

What a fun Rom Com. I’m a huge fan of the friends to lovers’ troupe and this book did not disappoint. This is the third in the starting over series by Shirley Goldberg and my first. Despite this being the third in the series it can be read as a standalone. This book is laugh out loud funny and filled antics I didn’t see coming.

This book is one part lust, another part moving one, and what it means to move on. The characters are well written with an eclectic cast of supporting characters that truly make the story. This book follows a trio of good friends as they move from one phase to another. Best friends for the past 4 years, their relationship begins to shift as Lucy and Deon realize they have feelings for one another. I really enjoyed the chemistry between the friends and especially between Lucy and Deon as they move from friends to lovers.

Each character is likeable, and I found myself rooting for all of them. The writing style is brilliant, and the descriptions are so well written I could picture the scenery in my mind’s eye. Overall, I recommend this book to all loves of Rom Coms. I’ll be circling back to books one and two while awaiting the next book. 

Overall Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

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 http://midagedating.com 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.

https://midagedating.com/

BOOK BUB  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/3531427862

https://www.facebook.com/midagedating

https://twitter.com/mylifeasadate

https://www.instagram.com/shirleygoldbergauthor/

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54758920-middle-ageish

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION:

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Comments

  1. I do enjoy a quick-read RomCom!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks so much for hosting Lucy and Deon! Much appreciate your fun review!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for sharing A little Bit of Lust with me Shirley, I enjoyed the excerpt and I enjoyed following the tour and learning about your book, which sounds like an excellent book for me to read! Good luck with your book and I hope the tour was a success!

    Thanks, Paws.Read.Repeat, for sharing your thoughts!

    Have a magical holiday season!

    ReplyDelete

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