Spotlight & Giveaway: The Love Lie by Kay Marie

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Kay Marie to HJ!

Hi Kay and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Love Lie!

Thanks so much for having me!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

THE LOVE LIE is a fake engagement romance with a reality tv show twist! It follows Samantha Peters, an investment banker from NYC, who accidentally accepts a proposal from a cocky cowboy, Cooper Kelley, after she swaps places with her twin sister on the final day of filming. With ten million viewers watching, the pair have no choice but to pretend to be in love until they can devise an escape plan. But the more these opposites face-off behind the cameras, the more that pesky spark between them grows.
 

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

I had SO MUCH FUN writing the banter between Sam and Cooper. She’s a boss lady who will never back down, and he’s a confident cowboy used to getting his way–talk about tension! The opposites attract, enemies-to-lovers vibes made their verbal spars a dream to compose. Here’s one of my favorites:

“The next time I kiss you, Sam, it won’t be because of someone else. It won’t be because you’re upset. It won’t be out of fear. It’ll be because you want it. It’ll be because you’re begging for it. It won’t be for anyone’s benefit but our own.”
“And if that never happens?” Her lips caress the pad of his thumb.
“It’ll happen, Cuj.”
“What makes you so sure, cowboy?”
“We’re inevitable, darlin’.” He laughs softly at the thick twang in his voice, completely beyond his control, and at the flash of desire completely beyond hers. “I’m just waiting for you to realize it too.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• As a proud member of Bachelor Nation, I’ve had so much fun with this series! The first book, THE LOVE REMATCH, was about going behind the scenes during the making of a season of a Bachelorette-type show, and all the drama that goes with it. BUT as most fans of the show know, the drama doesn’t stop when the cameras go down. Every finale/”After the Final Rose” show always has some sort of dramatic reveal, so this book was sort of a love story to that moment. Sometimes, especially in the world of reality TV, the “happily ever after” is only the beginning.
• The first half of the book takes place in the Maldives and I was 100% living vicariously through these characters because it is one of my bucket list destinations! I spent way too much time “researching” aka daydreaming about the over-ocean bungalows. One day!
• I wanted Cooper to be an authentic cowboy, and as a girl who grew up in the suburbs of NYC, I’m about as far from that as they come. But I now know more than I ever thought possible about the mating rituals of cows. Some rabbit holes don’t ever need to be traversed, ha!

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

Cooper is immediately drawn to Sam’s confidence. She’s a banker used to working in a man’s world who will never back down if she knows she’s right, and is even more stubborn when she’s wrong. He loves provoking that fire, and finds her strength incredibly sexy.

Sam is drawn to Cooper’s unabashed joy. She’s the type of person to keep her cards close, and she finds his vigor for life exhilarating. She’s carrying a lot of baggage, so his ability to be happy and in the moment is intoxicating.

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

Oh my gosh — too many! I really leaned into the comedy with this romance because the vibes between Cooper and Sam are just so fun and that feeling really leaked onto the page. With their constant sparring and thirst-trap wars, there’s a lot of material to choose from. However, one scene that made me cackle into my keyboard is when Sam strikes a deal with Cooper to get him to confess a truly embarrassing secret, and, well, it’s a doozy. Here’s a little peek:

“I’m taking a break.” She shrugs and settles down on a lounger with her dinner plate. “So, Cooper. Tell me. What’s the most unattractive thing about you?”
“Unattractive?” He sits across from her with a sly smile and grabs his own plate. “Why? Need a deterrent?”
She forks a cherry tomato and lobs it at his face. He catches it smoothly and pops it into his mouth with a wink. She rolls her eyes.
“Come on, just give me something. You pick your nose and eat it. You had an STD. You have explosive diarrhea every time you drunk order a three-bean burrito from the bodega down the block, but they taste so good and the alcohol strips away every ounce of your self-preservation that you keep doing it anyway.”
He arches a brow. “No to all of the above, though that last one sounded oddly specific, Cuj.”
“I’m talking hypothetically.”
Hypothetical my ass. “Sure you are.”

Readers should read this book….

If they love fake relationships, enemies-to-lovers, cowboys, opposites attract, only one bungalow, and tropical destinations!

Basically, if you wish THE UNHONEYMOONERS had a baby with FLAWLESS on the set of The Bachelorette, you’ll love it!

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

I’m currently working on the third book in this series titled, THE LOVE DARE. It’s a hockey romance (woot woot – my first!) about a book cover designer who signs up as a suitor on The Love Match in an attempt to woo the only man she’s ever loved–her brother’s best friend. And that’s all I can say right now 🙂
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: One signed (US option) or personalized (international option) paperback copy of The Love Lie!

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Excerpt from The Love Lie:

“Instead of focusing on what happened, why don’t we figure out what to do about it?” He sharpens his focus on her. “You have a plan. I know you do.”
“Obviously, I have a plan.”
A beat of silence passes.
“Which is…”
Sam sighs. The plan sounded a lot better back on the beach, when it was sunny out and they were in the open air and he wasn’t so close. Here in the shadows of a rapidly shrinking private bungalow, with her finger still on his chest, she isn’t so sure.
Wait—why is my finger still on his chest?
She tries to order her arm to drop, but instead her rebellious palm flattens against him, feeling the defined curve of his pec. She swallows. He arches a brow. She yanks her arm away as if burned.
Focus, dammit.
“My plan,” she starts, but has to pause to wet her annoyingly dry throat. She crosses her arms and stuffs her treacherous fingers under her armpits to keep them in place, then proudly straightens her spine to get back a semblance of the upper hand. “My plan is to pretend we’re engaged for the next five days while we’re stuck on this island and in this resort with the crew. I’ll fill Em in on everything when I get home, and the two of you can then announce your breakup at the live finale. The distance was too much. Outside of the show you realized how different your lives are. She didn’t want to move to your ranch and you couldn’t leave. Yada yada. All understandable reasons for a split. She’ll walk away with her business and reputation untainted. And if you inform Nina of the split with some time to prepare, I have no doubt the showrunners will offer you the lead next season. They definitely aren’t going to offer it to that tool I sent home yesterday. It’s a win-win, exactly like you both wanted, just a few weeks later than planned.”
He purses his lips as he thinks over what she said. But it’s a good plan—the only fix, and they both know it. Still, he cocks his head to the side.
“There’s only one problem as I see it,” he murmurs, tone serious. “We have to spend five days together. Five days sharing this bungalow. Five days playing engaged…” He trails off with a deep exhale. Just as a concerned line forms between her brows, he breaks the tension with a sudden twist of his lips. “Think you can keep your hands off me for that long?”
His gaze drops to where her wayward palm has landed back on his chest and he snickers.
What the hell?
When did that happen?
She snaps her hand back—This is getting ridiculous—and sneers. “You know, my sister told me you were the nice one. A complete and total gentleman, I believe were her exact words. But I see you, Cooper Kelley. I. See. You.”
“And what exactly do you see, darlin’?” he murmurs, laying his accent on thick and leaning closer.
Sam doesn’t shy away. She’s no shrinking violet. Instead, she follows suit, not stopping until their noses are a hair’s breadth from touching. “A wolf in sheep’s clothing, but don’t worry, buddy. It takes one to know one, and my teeth are bared.”
“Aww. That’s cute. But I’m not a wolf, Cuj,” he whispers. The touch of his warm breath sends a ripple down her spine. Her every nerve stands alert, buzzing underneath the surface of her skin. A sudden gleam enters his eyes, laced with promise, with innuendo, with challenge. The dimple in his cheek deepens. “I’m a cowboy. Think you can handle it?”
“Oh, I can handle it,” she promises as she slides her hand up his chest, deliberately this time, letting her fingers drift over hard muscles and hot skin, all the way up to the back of his neck. Desire flashes in his eyes. She smirks and snatches that hat off his head, before taking a step back. Then she plops it right down on hers, holding his gaze as she says, “The real question is, can you?”
Not giving him time to answer, Sam spins on her heels and marches toward the bedroom door. Halfway there, fully aware of his eyes still on her, she reaches back to unzip her dress.
You want to play, cowboy?
Let’s play.
The sequins have been scratching her all day, and it’s nothing but a relief as she wriggles the straps from her shoulders. The material drops straight to the floor without even a hitch in her step. Cool air brushes over her exposed skin, sending a wave of goose bumps across her flesh. She’s in nothing but a thong, high heels, and his hat.
Cooper sucks in a sharp breath.
Sam grins.
“I’m taking the bedroom,” she calls over her shoulder, not bothering to glance back as she slams the door in his face.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

A city girl.
A country boy.
A fake engagement in front of 10 million viewers.
What could possibly go wrong?

To some people, a proposal in the Maldives would be an absolute dream. To Samantha Peters, it’s a certifiable nightmare. Because she’s pretending to be her identical twin sister on the set of a massively popular reality TV show and her potential fiancé is an annoying (and annoyingly sexy) cowboy who refuses to let her win a single argument. When a moment of temporary insanity leaves them accidentally engaged, they have no choice but to figure it out together.

Their plan is simple. Spend a week in paradise sharing the same bungalow so the producers don’t catch wind of the truth. Break up as soon as the cameras go down. And live happily never after.

There’s only one problem. Between jet skis, yacht tours, romantic dinners, and sunset parasails, these two opposites constantly at one another’s throats start to see each other in a new light. Maybe Sam is more than a workaholic with an iron heart. Maybe Cooper isn’t just a cocky cowboy with a restless spirit. But no matter how big the attraction between them grows, the rules are set. They absolutely cannot fall in love. Right?

The Unhoneymooners meets Flawless in this standalone second installment of The Love Match series, perfect for fans of fake engagements, enemies to lovers, cowboy romances, forced proximity, opposites attract, only one bungalow, reality television, tropical locations, and dual POV!
Book Links:  Amazon |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Kay Marie writes sweet romantic comedies with a touch of spice. Her books are full of humor and heartache with lots of swoony moments and, of course, a HEA! Under the name Kaitlyn Davis, she also publishes YA fantasy. Publishers Weekly has said, “Davis writes with confidence and poise,” while USA Today has recommended her work as “must-read romance.”
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