Spotlight & Giveaway: The Love Rematch 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 Rematch!

 
Hi! Thank you so much for having me!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

THE LOVE REMATCH is a second chance romance inspired by The Bachelorette! It follows Emily Peters, the new female lead of a hit reality TV dating show, and her ex-boyfriend Jake, who is one of the field producers of the show. He ghosted her seven years before the book begins, completely breaking her heart. So she’s out for revenge, dating thirty men right before his eyes. But as they face-off behind the scenes, old sparks fly anew.
 

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

Ooh, there are too many! It’s a dual POV, so I’ll pick one for each character.

Emily: “She’s the dirty little secret, the body in the closet, the past he wants to keep hidden.
Well, fuck that.”

Jake: “Jake doesn’t even care that there’s not an ounce of love in those eyes, just fury. He’d rather have her rage than have nothing at all.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I am a proud member of Bachelor Nation and have been a huge fan of the entire franchise ever since it began (and yes…I’m aging myself LOL). If you are too, you’ll love the Easter eggs I’ve peppered throughout the novel.
• One of the dates I used for Emily was pulled directly from the show because I still find it hilarious—naked bungee jumping. Shout out to Hannah Brown for pulling that off in real life! Ironically, my ARC readers have commented that this was the most unrealistic scene in the novel even though it is the only one that actually happened. Ha!
• I had a lot of fun giving a “behind-the-scenes” look at production, and exploring how the truth is twisted not only by the people working on the show but by the stars themselves. We have an escape on the back of a horse, a faked sex scene, fights, walk-offs, and all the best “Bachelor” drama from a whole new perspective.

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

Emily and Jake are high school sweethearts in the novel. They meet their senior year after Emily moves to town.

When Jake first sees her walking down the hall next to her boisterous twin sister, he’s immediately intrigued by her quiet confidence. He wants to know what’s going on inside her head, why she’s smiling, and what secrets she won’t share with anyone else.

When Emily sees him, she can’t help but notice that his eyes are securely latched on her, not her more outgoing sibling. She feels seen in a way she hasn’t before. And when they start talking, he encourages her to follow her dream of designing jewelry. She loves how much he believes in her, and how special he makes her feel.

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

Well, all my books eventually fade-to-black but THE LOVE REMATCH is definitely my smuttiest book yet! It’s a bit of a slow burn, but that pays off, I promise—and the pay off definitely left me blushing while I was writing it. Here’s a snippet:

“You’re everything, Em. Every. Fucking. Thing. I mean it.”
“Then touch me, Jake.”
She lowers his hand to her breast and holds it there as her heart races. His eyes roll into the back of his head before he closes them with a groan, overwhelmed with pleasure.
She wants to meet him there.
She needs to meet him there.
“Touch me until I believe you.”

And that’s only the beginning! As far as laughing and crying, there are a few of those scenes as well, but you’ll have to read the book to figure them out 🙂

Readers should read this book….

If they love second chance romances, forced proximity, reality TV shows, revenge, working with an ex, surprises, and emotional backstories.

Basically, if you wish LOVE AND OTHER WORDS had a baby with THE HATING GAME on the set of The Bachelor, 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 second book in this series, THE LOVE LIE! It follows two fan favorites from book one, a city girl and a country boy, who end up fake engaged. I don’t want to give too much away, but so far, my ARC readers are all eager to read it which is all I can hope for!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: One signed (US option) or personalized (international option) paperback copy of The Love Rematch! If the winner lives in the US, I will also include some swag like an art post card.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: If you could go on any reality show, which would it be?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from The Love Rematch:

Emily jerks awake.
“It’s me.”
His voice sends a shiver down her spine, cooling and stoking her panic at the same time. The pounding of her heart intensifies as he steps closer, silhouette barely visible against the moonlit sky. His hand finds hers in the dark, warm and large and solid. She jerks away. Her fingers burn where they touched.
“What the hell, Jake?”
“Shh,” he urges and retakes her hand.
This time, she lets him drag her to her feet, her curiosity getting the best of her. As they enter the bathroom, her foot catches on the frame and she stumbles forward. His arm comes around her waist. Suddenly, she’s flush against his chest, a spot she’s been a thousand times before but never quite like this. It’s like hearing an old favorite song on the radio and only just realizing what every dirty lyric actually means. Familiar, yet alarmingly new. He smells the same, like an ocean breeze with the hint of cedar musk. Everything else is different—the ripples across his abdomen, the breadth of his chest, the muscles flexed beneath her hands. Sturdy fingers grip her hips, no longer awkward but assured. He takes a sharp inhale, pushing his hard body that much farther into hers. Warm breath washes over her forehead and she glances up. She can’t see his mouth, but she can sense it there, hovering out of reach. In the dark, he feels more like a dream than anything real.
They stay like that for a breath.
Two.
His arm shifts. She doesn’t know where his hand is going, if she should move away, if she should stop him, if she should—
Click.
The light blinks on and the spell should break, but it doesn’t. He’s got stubble where there never was before. His hair is perfectly coiffed, not in the shaggy disarray she remembers. But his eyes are exactly the same, deep blue and stormy, the ocean right before a hurricane, dangerous and powerful, a force strong enough to bowl her over, yet she doesn’t move.
She can’t.
“Jake.”
It comes out breathier than she meant, not at all reprimanding. He presses a finger to her lips. His gaze follows, as if involuntarily. A beat passes while he stares, transfixed. Then he bends his finger, tugging gently on her bottom lip until her mouth parts. A puff of warm air escapes as all the breath leaves her lungs. It brushes over his skin and a feral gleam lights his gaze. Before she can make sense of it, he tears himself away. She’s left by the door, struggling to breathe as he turns on the faucet, then the shower. The spray thunders, finally drowning out the frantic beating of her heart. By the time he spins back around, she’s recovered enough to cross her arms and scowl.
He, on the other hand, looks as if he got sucker punched. He rakes his gaze down her body with a strangled groan and stumbles back, half falling into the glass shower door as he shields his eyes. His voice is pained when he finally blurts, “Jesus Christ, Em.”
“What?” She shrugs and glances down. It takes the sight of her bare legs to remember she’s wearing nothing but an old The Breakfast Club T-shirt and a thong.
Oh, right.
Offense is the best defense. She juts out her hip, trying not to care that it makes her left butt cheek all the more visible. “You snuck into my bedroom, remember? What did you think I’d be wearing?”
“Not…that,” he sputters, staring to one side, then the other, then up at the ceiling. Basically, anywhere and everywhere except her left butt cheek. “What happened to your flannels? Those—” He waves his hand through the air, as if trying to catch up with his own brain. “You know, those pink ones with the rainbows on them?”
Yes. She knows exactly what flannels he’s talking about. They’re in the other room, still packed in her suitcase, not that she’ll give him the satisfaction. “I’m not seventeen anymore, Jake.”
“Yeah,” he says gruffly, finally looking at her. “I know.”
“And you lost the right to come traipsing through my bedroom window a long time ago.”
“I know. I—” He pauses, frowns. “Wait. Is that my shirt?”
Shit. Her shoulders writhe. She was really hoping he wouldn’t notice that. Shit. Shit. Shit. Sam’s voice filters through her brain. Revenge. Stay on the offensive. Revenge.
“What if it is?” she retorts, gripping the hem and lifting it a few inches higher. She’s not entirely sure who is in control of her body right now but not exactly mad either. “You want it back?”
“Jesus, Emily. No.” He covers his eyes and whacks his head on the wall in his haste to turn away. “Ow.” Then he slams his elbow into the glass door so hard it rings. “Fuck.” Finally, he snatches a towel off the wall and throws it in her general direction. “Would you cover yourself up? I can’t think with you standing there like that.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

She’s the new lead of a hit dating show.
He’s the producer.
And seven years ago, they were in love.

Let the games begin…

Emily Peters spends her days working at her mother’s flower shop and her nights working on her startup jewelry business. She has no time for romance, and she’s happy that way. Until one morning she wakes up to find her mother on national television practically begging America to find her a boyfriend.

When the clip goes viral, Emily is swept away in a Hollywood dream, set to become the new lead of the hit dating show, The Love Match. But it all turns to a nightmare when she arrives on set and comes face-to-face with Jake, the man who broke her heart seven years ago—and her new producer.

She’s hellbent on revenge. He’s determined to secure a promotion. But the more they face-off behind the scenes, the harder it becomes to deny their attraction and ignore the secrets of their past. Jake will soon realize the only thing worse than abandoning the love of his life is finding her a new fiancé.

Love and Other Words meets The Hating Game in this Bachelor-inspired romantic comedy perfect for fans of forced proximity, second chance romance, reality television, revenge, working with an ex, emotional scars, 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.”
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |