Review: Piece by Piece (Evergreen Grove Series #4) by Elisabeth Staab

Book info:
Title:  Piece by Piece
Author:  Elisabeth Staab
Series:  Evergreen Grove #4
Genre:  New Adult Romance
Published: September 20th, 2016
Source:  HCBS Productions Book Tours e-book for review
My rating:  4 stars

I participated in a Promo tour for this book, and while at the time I wasn't able to do a review in time, the tour group was nice enough to still let me have a copy of the book to review when I could fit it in.  I actually read a lot of this while I was at the NOLA StoryCon.  It was a quick read, very cute and sexy.  

There are two main characters that tell us the story, Ethan and Leeanne.  Ethan is a kind of nerdy college student.  When we first meet him, he's walked in on his dad having sex with the girl that Ethan thought was his own girlfriend.  So now Ethan feels like he hast to get out of the house where he lives with his dad.  He finds a new friend to move in with, until he can find a better place.  He also goes out for his birthday and gets drunk, everything going on, his best friends not making it to celebrate his birthday with him.  At the bar is a waitress that he's always kind of flirted with.  And this night, he decides to take the flirting a little further with Leeanne.

Leeanne is working at a bar after getting out of an unhealthy relationship.  She got the job from a friend, and she does her best to do what she can so that some day she can move on.  She doesn't want to give in to Ethan's flirting, but after saving her from a meeting with a friend of her ex that could turn violent, he makes his case in a very physical way.  Part of the reason she fights the attraction is that she doesn't feel good enough for a college student since she is just a waitress instead of going to school like Ethan.  

The two both have their own issues to work through, and while a lot of the book is predictable, there are still some new aspects to this story that totally make it worthwhile.  I did enjoy it, and now look forward to reading other books in the series, to see more about what happens to the other characters in the story.

Also, I'm not a huge fan of the cover.  The glasses are way too dorky for the guy, making him a little too dorky to be attractive in a nerdy way.
 

Promo Post and Giveaway: Piece by Piece by Elisabeth Staab

 

Book Blurb:

ETHAN’S HIT A ROUGH SPOT

So I caught my dad in bed with my ex-girlfriend.

My best friend cancelled our plans to celebrate my birthday.

Decided to drink away the betrayal.

Made out with a cardboard cutout of a celebrity in front of my new roommates.

Got in a bar fight.

Hooked up with that pretty bartender whose sad smile I’ve secretly been painting pictures of since forever, but she shoved me out the door without a word.

Did I mention the tattoo I don’t exactly remember getting?

And that’s only Saturday.

Now I need to pick up the pieces of my messed-up life.

LEEANNE’S HAD A TOUGH LIFE

What do you do when you’ve lived in the same small town your whole life and you feel as if you’ll always be stuck in the same rut, like a piece of busted wagon wheel? Well, maybe you start by hooking up with the first decent guy who walks into your bar.

Maybe once you do, it’s hard to get him out of your head even though you try. And maybe, just maybe, you find out he makes you laugh even more than he makes you want to shout his name.

If you’re me, you don’t even know what to do with a guy like him. A little piece of happiness…that feels downright dangerous.

Book Links:

Barnes and Noble -  http://tinyurl.com/gqcjd3z
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LWLDUAZ
iBooks - http://tiny.cc/PBPi
Kobo - http://tinyurl.com/j6fffhk
GooglePlay - http://tinyurl.com/h6gjqnx
All Romance - http://tinyurl.com/zczoja6
Goodreads - http://tinyurl.com/jfxha59

Excerpt:

(LeeAnn’s POV):

So, whatcha thinking? Time to go?” He rises up on his knees. The way he’s poised, he could either move away or get closer just as easily.

“Oh, I don’t know. I'm not dizzy yet.” Not that I honestly want to get dizzy, but we’ve gotten a little too serious. After Ethan brought me here to have fun, I want to lighten the mood.

With his hands deep in the pockets of his leather jacket, Ethan leans in toward me again. “I thought you didn't want me to make you dizzy.”

I didn't think so. Yet here we are, hot breath puffing in the cold air between us. My lips tingle as he leans close. It’s impossible to forget the way his hands explored me so carefully before. The way his tongue tasted me like he wanted to keep on tasting me forever.

“You remember that first time you kissed me?”

His cheeks turn a deep merlot. “Damn right I do. I remember thinking it was the best kiss I'd ever had.”

Well now. I'm pretty sure if I wasn't sitting on something cold and metal, I'd have just melted right into the playground gravel.

“It was the first time I’d kissed someone because I wanted to, and not because I thought I should.” My chest feels strange when I confess this to him. Like it’s full of butterflies or bees. Lighter but nervous. And oh God, my heart is just bouncing every which way.

As his hair brushes my forehead, his dimple deepens and his eyes get darker. “I’m glad you wanted to kiss me, LeeAnne. I’ve been dying to do it again.”

Maybe…maybe I don’t have to lean on him. Maybe I could just lean in again. Meet those wind-chapped lips halfway. That’d be okay, right?

I wrap my arms around my knees and smile. “I think I've decided I wouldn't mind getting a little dizzy.”

His lips brush mine so fast, I’m left breathless when he jumps from the merry-go-round to give it a spin.

“Hang on tight,” he says.

So I do.

About the Author:

Elisabeth Staab started hunting mutant hedgehogs back in 1842… Oops, wrong bio… Elisabeth Staab digs coffee, saucy stories, and sexy things that go bump in the night. Once, she ate dinner in a jail and liked it. She lives in the Washington DC area with her incredible family and does her best to juggle life while ignoring the laundry.

Website: http://elisabethstaab.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElisabethStaabRomance

Twitter: https://twitter.com/elisabethstaab

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/elisabethstaab/

Newsletter: http://elisabethstaab.com/newsletter-signup/

 Giveaway:

• Elisabeth is giving away a cute makeup kit she made (US only) or an ecopy of Piece by Piece (INT). Follow the Tour!

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