New York Times bestselling author Kim Karr turns up the heat in a smoking hot, emotionally compelling romance that takes you into the world of Manhattan's elite. Meet Jeremy McQueen, a sexy, intense, brooding entrepreneur who goes after what he wants, and Phoebe St. Claire, a socialite-turned-CEO who's been drifting through life searching for something she thought she'd never find again--the right man to share her future.
Blurb
Phoebe
St. Claire has devoted herself to saving her family's hotel empire--but her
best efforts have not been good enough. With her whole world in turmoil, the
tenacious go-getter turns to the once love of her life. Far from innocent,
Jeremy McQueen was the guy from the wrong side of the tracks who her parents
would never have approved of. Their years apart have only made the sexy bad boy
more irresistible than ever--and their reunion is explosive.
When she asks
Jeremy to help her salvage her family business, he agrees immediately, with
only one condition--he wants her in his bed.
But soon surprising circumstances leave Phoebe reeling.
Was this fairy tale romance just too good to be true? Will Jeremy's secrets
pull them apart all over again?
THIS IS A STANDALONE SECOND-CHANCE ROMANCE WITH NO
CLIFFHANGER ENDING.
Will they
or won’t they? #ToxicLove
Meet
Phoebe & Jeremy in this second chance romance!
NOW AVAILABLE
RELEASE DATE: July 7th, 2015
Excerpt
© 2015 by Kim Karr
Published by the Penguin Group
Phoebe St. Claire
Feeling a bit drunk and overwhelmed with so many and so
few choices at the same time, I needed some time alone and snuck off toward the
beach path.
I ran toward the ocean and twirled in the sand as the wind
blew around me. Once I started to feel dizzy from twirling, I still wasn’t
ready to head back to the party, so I took the path that would lead me to the
large Olympic-sized pool. I tugged my sandals off with thoughts of putting my
feet in the water to rinse the mud and sand away. As I approached the pool, I
noticed how it glowed like it was lit by small pale fires. Lost in the
enchantment of it, the sudden movement beneath the surface startled me.
A fair-haired boy emerged from the water. He pulled
himself up and out so quickly that I was momentarily stunned. And then when he
drank me in with his eyes, I shuddered.
I couldn’t help it, the way he looked at me just made me
shiver. No one had ever looked at me like that before and I found myself gazing
back into his intense eyes.
He was utterly beautiful. His bare chest was sculpted but
not overly bulky like Danny or Jamie. They worked out every day pumping
obnoxious amounts of iron to look the way they did. In contrast, the boy
standing before me had a swimmer’s build.
He stood stoic and a cautious look crossed his face. He
was long and lean in a pair of bright green neon swim trunks.
Right away I could tell he didn’t care what anyone thought
about him.
I loved the idea of that.
So I smiled at him.
He shook his head and his hair fell into his eyes.
I wanted to reach out and push it away. It wasn’t long,
but it wasn’t short. It was perfect.
“Hey,” he said, grabbing a towel off the ground.
It didn’t belong to the club. It was small, beige, and a
bit worn—not the large hunter-green fluffy ones monogrammed in white I’d always
gotten when I used to come here to swim as a kid.
“Hey,” I said back, swinging my sandals nervously.
He grabbed a pair of jeans that lay next to where the
towel had been and walked right by me.
I turned to watch him as he strode into one of the cabanas
and dropped his trunks. I froze and squeezed my eyes shut, thinking I shouldn’t
be watching him but then opened them quickly when I couldn’t resist maybe
catching a glimpse.
“Didn’t your parents ever tell you it isn’t polite to
stare?” His voice was low and sexy, and it tugged me out of my own head.
I put my hands on my hips. “Didn’t your parents ever teach
you not to undress in mixed company?”
He pulled his jeans on and laughed. “My mother might have
mentioned that once or twice but I’ve never been good at following the rules.”
And it didn’t escape my notice that he didn’t put any
underwear on first.
Hot. Totally and completely hot.
I didn’t see anything I shouldn’t have seen, it was too
dark, but something inside me electrified at the thought of seeing him naked
and I stepped closer. That’s when I noticed the scuffed-up black work boots on
one of the lounges with a T-shirt thrown next to them.
I raised a brow. “Is this your changing room?”
He laughed again but this time added a smile and put his
hands up. “Okay you caught me. I better get out of here before anyone else
does.”
He was adorable and charming and my heart skipped a beat
or two.
Then I stepped even closer and entered the cabana
entrance, effectively blocking his way. “Why? You’re not doing anything wrong.”
He shrugged but he didn’t try to move around me. “I
usually swim in the ocean but when the water is too rough, like tonight, I come
here.”
I bit my lip in contemplation before speaking. “Does it
really matter if you get caught?”
He crossed his arms over his bare chest. “Let’s just say
it’s not just the swimming. It’s more that I’ve been caught doing a few too
many things that I shouldn’t have been doing in the past.”
A bad boy.
The thought made my pulse thunder. “So you’re not a member
at this club?”
He cleared his throat and shifted from foot to foot. “No,”
he laughed but his laugh was anything but genuine. “Are you?”
I hesitated as I considered my answer. “No, I was just
walking the beach and wanted to rinse my feet. I’m Phoebe,” I said extending my
hand. Technically, I wasn’t lying. I wasn’t a member, my parents were. I hadn’t
even been here in years. And I was out for a walk.
Amusement danced in his blue eyes. “Jeremy,” he said back.
When I chewed on my lower lip, I noticed how his eyes
focused on it.
Mine focused on the entirety of his mouth—his strong, firm
jaw, his sensuous lips, and his tongue that had snuck out to lick his lips.
That mouth.
It was almost too much.
Almost.
Review
“I
should have been more confident in us. This was my chance to make it right.
Through everything, all the heartache, the loneliness, the sadness and sorrow,
the one thing I never regretted was meeting him. Him. Jeremy McQueen. He wasn’t
just any boy—he was “the boy.” The one I never should have met, and the one I’d
never trade meeting for the world.”
Phoebe St.
Clair, child born of privilege, and one who hated every second of who she was
because it never felt as if she was accepted just for being her. Until she met Jeremy…
One
fateful summer, a walk away from her own party at the country club led her to
the boy of her dreams with a giant chip on his shoulder. She couldn’t very well
tell him she was part of the family he hated most…so, she lied, and she had the
best and worst summer of her life.
“With
his disappearance, the flame he had lit within me extinguished and my need for
freedom and social independence went with it. I tried to remain wild and free.
I tried so hard to hold on to that one thing Jeremy had taught me. But I just
couldn’t.”
Broken.
Five years
pass and Phoebe has long accepted Jeremy was just a teenage love affair,
nothing more…no matter what the hole in her heart told her.
One night
though, things change. The start of something unfinished long ago was brought
back to the surface of her mind and heart.
Can she
survive Jeremy this time? Or are they just too toxic together?
“I
blanched at the ugly truth—it wasn’t jealousy that tore us apart; it was lack
of faith when the heart mattered most. Mistrust was just so toxic.”
What can I
say, I loved it. I felt like I was part of some elite society, one where each
family brings a different luxury to share with friends. Elaborate galas,
hotels, concerts, limos, clubs, clothes…a girl could get used to a lifestyle
like that. Except, for Phoebe, who fought for social independence; she wanted
to more than just a namesake. Her fight though, was futile. When she finally
embraced her upbringing she found a strength she never knew she possessed, and
it was glorious.
Finding
love in the midst of turmoil was a root within this story, I loved the back and
forth between Phoebe, Jeremy, and Dawson. The other parts of their group: Lily,
Jamie, and even Phoebe’s mom, Poppy made this story complex and intriguing; one
with many layers that add up to one amazing outcome. I hope to see more stories
about Manhattan’s Elite from Karr, she has a way of storytelling that is unlike
any other.
**5 All’s Fair in
Love & Revenge, Stars**
About the Author
I live in
Florida with my husband and four kids. I've always had a love for reading books
and writing. Being an English major in college, I wanted to teach at the
college level but that was not to be. I went on to receive an MBA and became a
project manager until quitting to raise my family. I currently work part-time
with my husband and full-time embracing one of my biggest passions—writing.
THANK YOU!
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