Spotlight & Giveaway: Head Over Heels In Love by Mariah Ankenman

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Mariah Ankenman to HJ!

Hi Mariah and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Head Over Heels In Love!

 
Hello readers!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Millie, a Jill of all Trades, need a side gig to help her raise the funds for her very own aerial studio and she’s found the perfect gig at the local bar/distiller Jacks. Unfortunately one of her bosses just happens to be the grumpy adonis whose car she accidentally tried to break into. Ace is a grouch with a capital G, but when she discovered someone is stealing from Jacks he hires her to spy for him and suss out the thief. She needs the money and he needs someone he can trust (since the theft started before she was hired he knows it can’t be her). As the two get closer they realize all their bickering is a cover for the volcanic attraction simmering beneath the surface, waiting to explode!
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

No thinking about touching her hot, grumpy boss. That road led to disaster.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• One of my unique hobbies is bottle-walking and aerials. I wanted to give those fun circus art skills to a character so Millie is an aerialist who bottle-walks!
• Millie has Dyslexia and Audio Processing Disorder (own voice rep as I have these conditions too).
• Millie has a pet gecko named Franklin.
• There’s an easter egg at the end of the book for anyone who’s read my aerial novella: Love In The Air

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

The fact that Millie and Ace are complete opposites is what starts their unwanted attraction to each other. Her bright blue hair shocks and fascinates him. His grumpy demeanor makes her want to find out what it will take to bring a smile out of him.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

Well there is a spicy aerial straps scene…

She grinned, tilting her head up to brush her mouth against his. Heaven, pure heaving kissing this woman. He didn’t think he’d ever get enough of it. He gripped her hips, deepening this kiss and moving to haul her up against him when an idea popped into his head. Pulling away he stepped back. Millie let out a disappointed whimper.
He planned to turn that whimper into a scream of pleasure soon.
“Can you do that roll up thing again?” he asked, a plan forming in his mind. One he never would have thought of before her. What was she doing to him?
She arched one eyebrow but complied. Putting her arms into a T shape, she piked her legs and started to roll, the nylon going up her arms like a barber pole stripe. Once her feet were off the ground, he held up a hand.
“Perfect, stay there.”
“Ace, what are you…”
Her words died out as he got on his knees before her, understanding heating their stormy depths.
“You can’t be serious.”
He grinned. “I’m always serious. To a fault some have said.”
She laughed, her laughter turning into a soft moan when he placed his hand over her core, stroking her through the thin yoga leggings.
“Ace, yes.”
Encouraged by her moan he grasped the fabric and her underwear, pulling it down her legs, grateful she wasn’t wearing any shoes to hamper taking them off completely. She hung in the air like an offering. An offering he couldn’t wait to devour.

Readers should read this book….

If you love Grumpy/Sunshine romance filled with humor and heat then Head Over Heels In Love is the book for you!

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m currently working on my next release Accidentally Dating The Enemy coming from Harlequin Romance in July 2025
 
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: $10 amazon gift e-card

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Would you ever try aerials or bottle-walking?

 
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Excerpt from Head Over Heels In Love:

“Ride me like a pony, Millie?” he roared as he finally turned to face her. “Really?”
One shoulder lifted in a small shrug, her face a mask of innocence. “What? It was just coworker talk. We were bonding.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and glared. “That is a completely inappropriate way to talk about your boss.”
She mirrored his stance. “I wasn’t saying it to you.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
Her arms dropped to her side. Letting out a heavy sigh, Millie shook her head. “You’re right, I’m sorry.”
A mischievous gleam lit her eyes as she slowly moved across the small room until she was inches in front of him. Reaching out she placed a fingertip on his chest. He swore the tiny touch shot through him like a bolt of lightning, waking up every sensual nerve in his body.
“But I have to ask, are you so cranky about it because you’re mad or because you’re turned on.”
Ace swallowed. His throat uncomfortably dry as those soft grey eyes stared up at him. He took in her round face, those full lips, more tempting than anything he’d ever faced in his life. He could see the tiny blonde roots of her hair where the blue was growing out. How did this woman have such an effect on him? And why?
“I’m not cranky, I’m pissed,” he said, finally finding his voice and purposely avoiding her question. Because what the hell was he going to say? Not the truth, that was for fucking sure.
Her smile dimmed, hand falling away as she took a step back. “You’re always pissed.”
“Am not.”
“Like ninety percent of the time, or is it just me? You hate me so much I bring out the worst in you?”
He frowned. She thought he hated her? The thought didn’t sit right. He didn’t hate anyone, except people who hurt his family, but Millie adored his family, and they liked her too.
“I don’t hate you,” he muttered. “You…frustrate me. But that’s got a lot to do with me and my shit.”
She blinked, as if shocked to hear him admit that out loud. Hell, he was shocked. Normally, he wasn’t a big sharer, especially with his feelings, but something about this woman made him open up without even meaning to.
“Oh,” she said softly.
A thought ran across his mind, the words rushing out before he had time to think them through. “Wait, do you hate me?”
“I’m sorry about what I said to Kelley and Trisha,” she said, avoiding his question. “It was inappropriate. I was trying to get info on everyone to see if I could figure out who’s stealing.”
Right. The thing he was paying her a shit ton of money to do. He leaned against his desk, affecting a casual pose, trying to hide the fact that it bothered him she didn’t answer his question.
“Did you find anything out?”
She nodded. “There’re a few possibilities. Trisha seems to know everyone’s business.”
That was because the woman spent a lot of time listening to the conversations around her. Over the years he’d learned there were two types of service industry workers; those who talked a lot and those who gathered all that talk. Trisha did both. Maybe he should have gone to her to spy instead of Millie.
Ha! Not like he had a choice. He hadn’t asked Millie, she’d snooped, and their fate had been sealed.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Catching a woman breaking into his car was not the way Ace Jackson wanted to start his day. Finding out she’s the new hire at his family’s distillery is even worse. Sure, she said she mistook his car for her’s, but there’s something about Millie he doesn’t trust. Too bad all his siblings vetoed his vote. What’s the point of being the oldest if you don’t get to be in charge?

Millie Danes told the grumpy Adonis she wasn’t breaking into his car, but did he believe her? No! The guy has a stick up his butt bigger than the pine trees gracing the Rocky Mountains. Unfortunately, he’s her new boss or she’d try and see if she could melt that icy exterior. But she has more on the line than a job, she needs funds to start her dream. Her very own aerial studio.

When a theft is discovered at work, Ace enlists Millie’s help as a spy in exchange for the money to build her dream. Their tentative truce becomes complicated when desires fan the flames of temptation. In the battle of love, who will fall first?
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Meet the Author:

Bestselling author Mariah Ankenman lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her two rambunctious children and loving spouse who is her own personal spell checker when her dyslexia gets the best of her.

Mariah loves to lose herself in a world of words. Her favorite thing about writing is when she can make someone’s day a little brighter with one of her books. To learn more about Mariah and her books follow her on social media or sign up for her newsletter.
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