SYNOPSIS:
Beat
of the Heart (Runaway Train #2)
by Katie Ashley After years of bad relationships and a cheating ex-fiancé, twenty-eight-year-old Mia Martinelli prefers healing her patients’ hearts on the Cardiac Care floor rather than risking having her heart broken again. But that all comes to a screeching halt when caring for the head roadie for Runaway Train puts her into the orbit of drummer and Latin Lover, AJ Resendiz. After a scorching weekend of steamy passion, Mia’s intention of getting out with her heart unscathed is challenged by the stud with the wicked sense of humor, especially when he wants to continue seeing her. But when the harsh reality of AJ’s hoard of female admirers sends her insecurities into overdrive, Mia bails, leaving him handcuffed to his bathroom shower.
AJ never imagined that after two weeks of the best sex
and female companionship he’d ever experienced, he would need rescued by his
band mates from his shower prison. Although he tries to forget the sensual
brunette whose curves made his mouth water, AJ can’t get her out of his mind…or
his heart. Months later when he finally seeks Mia for answers as to why she
left, nothing could prepare him for their life-altering reunion.
Can AJ prove to Mia that regardless
of the women after his body, his heart belongs only to her?
GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17693329-beat-of-the-heart?from_search=true
REVIEW:
I have been waiting patiently for this book since Katie Ashley announced that Music of the Heart was not going to be a stand alone, that she was going to have it as a series, where each member of "Runaway Train" got their own book. I thought Jake was hot, but I have to say, AJ took the title away right out of the gate.
AJ is the drummer in the band, Runaway Train. He is a Latin lover who sure knows how to swoon the ladies. He can always charm the skirts right off of the ladies with his good looks, killer body and his flirting skills. That was until he met Mia. Mia gave AJ a run for his money.
Mia is a registered nurse at a hospital in Atlanta. She happens to stumble upon AJ, while he is visiting Frank, good friend in the hospital who recently had surgery. Mia has been hurt in her past relationships. Mia has built a wall around her heart and she will not allow anyone in. She has huge trust issues, and she has every right to considering what she has been through.
When AJ lays eyes on Mia, his heart skipped a beat, his pants began to get a little bit tighter. His body was reacting in a way that he had no control over. After an incident occurs in the hospital room, I knew I was in for it with AJ. He is hilarious.
"Carino, as much as it kills me to ask you to stop this rubdown, if you don't, you're going to make another mess to clean up. Inside my pants." ~ AJ
Mia never skips a beat. She is snarky and can surely handle Mr. Confidence and has no problem putting him in his place.
"How terribly embarrassing and inconvenient it must be for you to have such a sensitivity problem down there. I mean, chicks expect a night of passion with Mr. Latin Lover, and they get mere seconds." She made a tsking sound in the back of her throat. "Pity." ~ Mia
After Mia leaves the room, AJ turns and tells Rhy that he just laid eyes on the future Mrs. Resendiz. Was it love at first sight for AJ? Can AJ work his charm and break down the barrier that Mia has built around her heart? Can AJ convince Mia to go out with him, even if it is just for a cup of coffee?
Mia has been out of the dating game for quite sometime. She isn't quite ready to put herself out there. After AJ attempts to convince Mia out on a date, he comes up with an idea, a proposal that Mia is seriously contemplating and eventually agrees.
"You were totally shit-on by a major dickhead and need to get back in the game. The easiest way to do that is no-holds bar, uncomplicated sex. Don't you agree?" ~ AJ
As the two begin to spend time together, tempers flare, sparks fly and the connection between the two is fierce. Mia can only fight the connection for so long, before she gives in to her needs. Can Mia open her heart to AJ? Will Mia be able to let go of her past and give AJ a fair chance? Will Mia always have trust issues, when AJ has never given her a reason to doubt him.
Our hearts tell us to do one thing, but sometimes our head tells us to do another. Will Mia follow her heart? Can Mia handle AJ being in the spot lite and AJ's past? Can AJ promise MIA the life that she deserves?
"You can't worry about the future -- we're not even promised tomorrow. Just here and now ~ AJ
I absolutely LOVED "Beat of the Heart." AJ is HOT as HELL !!! He did not have one flaw. He had a great personality, he had a great sense of humor. Yes, he was vulgar at times, but he was never out to impress anyone. He is, who he is. He lives life to the beat of his own drum. I understood where Mia was coming from , but at times, I wanted to smack her in the head. I didn't want her to make AJ pay for the men in her past that have hurt her. AJ had never given a reason to doubt him, so she irritated me at times.
If you have not started this series, I suggest you do. Music of the Heart is Book #1 in the series. You will fall in love with this group of guys. They are easy to love.
This review was prepared by Heather.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
EXCERPT:
AJ and Mia’s First Meeting
As Frank went to work devouring a chili dog, Rhys
jumped up on the ledge in front of the window, swinging his legs back and
forth, while I plopped down into the heinously uncomfortable chair next to
Frank’s bed. We were just shooting the shit on all that had happened
while he had been gone when the door swung open. Immediately, I got a swift
kick in the pants of the most delicious kind. A tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed
goddess of a nurse strode into the room. Through her standard blue scrubs, I
detected she possessed every attribute that gave me instant wood—wide, curvy
hips, thick thighs, a voluptuous ass, and a full, natural rack.
“Oh shit!” Frank exclaimed. His panicked gaze swept
right and then left as if he were trying to think of a speedy getaway. I
couldn’t imagine from the way his Angel of Mercy nurse looked, not to mention
her genuinely caring expression, that she could possibly be worthy of such
fear. He was acting like she was Nurse Ratched out of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s
Nest or something.
She only smiled at his reaction. “Now Mr.
Patterson, that’s not your usual greeting. You’re always so happy to see me.”
“I can see why,” Rhys muttered under his breath.
“No shit,” I replied.
“Er, uh…I’m sorry, Mia.” Frank gave her a
reassuring smile. “I promise I’m very grateful for the care you have been
giving me.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Her gaze flicked over to Rhys and me. “You must be Frank’s grandsons. He said you were coming in from out of town.”
Frank chuckled. “Actually, those knuckleheads are my bosses.”
Mia’s dark brows popped up at his summation.
“Really?”
With a nod, Frank said, “Yep, that’s AJ Resendiz
and Rhys McGowan.” He gazed over at us. “Boys, this is the most amazing nurse
any man could ever hope for, Mia Martinelli.”
“You’re such a flatterer, Mr. Patterson,” Mia
replied, before giving Rhys and me a wave. “Oh wait, now I remember. You’re the
guys my nursing partner was telling me about. The ones in the band.”
Pursing my lips into my signature smirk, I replied, “Well, we’re not just in any band. We’re in Runaway Train. We were nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy’s last year.”
Ouch. That statement was a different kick in the pants. I couldn’t remember the last time a chick hadn’t instantly recognized us or at least been utterly star-struck by being in our presence. I leaned forward in my chair. “Maybe you’ll give us a listen?”
She smiled. “Of course I will. It’s not every day I
come into contact with a Grammy nominated band.”
“Thank you,” Rhys replied, giving Mia his own
seductive smile. I fought the urge to knock it off his face.
"Maybe you could sign something for me?” she
suggested.
My gaze honed in on her breasts, and I knew exactly
where I wanted to sign. “Sure, I’d love to.”
Mia cleared her throat, and I snapped my gaze to
hers. The expression on her face told me she knew exactly where my one track
mind had gone. “Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of you bringing
me a signed CD or—” Mia sniffed the air suspiciously. Her dark eyes bulged at
the sight of the opened Varsity containers in front of Frank. “Mr. Patterson,
please tell me that just three days after you underwent triple bypass that I am
hallucinating the artery clogging food in front of you?”
Frank’s face turned the color of an overripe tomato
at her admonishment. “Maybe,” he replied weakly.
Crossing her arms over her ample cleavage, Mia
shook her head back and forth so fast I figured she would get whiplash. “How
many times have we been over your diet since you were discharged from ICU?”
Cowering a little, Frank replied, “Several.”
“I’m so disappointed in you,” Mia admonished. Her
wrathful gaze turned on Rhys and me. “Since this food didn’t materialize out of
thin air, I suppose you two are to blame?”
“Whatever,” Mia snapped. She grabbed Frank’s box of
chili dogs and fries and slammed them into the trash. “I suppose you would
think it was a good idea to take a bottle of champagne to someone just
discharged from rehab, huh?” She started to swipe the drink off as well, but it
bounced off the trash can lid and landed straight into my lap. Busting on
impact, the ice cold orange soda coated my crotch, stinging like tiny daggers
over my skin. “Fuck!” I shouted, leaping to my feet.
“Oh my God, I’m sorry,” Mia apologized.
What happened next could only be expressed as something
out of a warped fantasy. With a wad of napkins in hand, Mia dropped to her
knees before me—my dick eye-level with her gorgeous face. She began furiously
toweling off the front of my jeans. It took all of two seconds for the visual,
along with her ministrations, to have me at half-mast.
“Umm,” I began.
“Sorry, but this will stain if we don’t get it
off.”
When I dared glancing over at Rhys, his hand covered mouth, smothering the laughter that caused his whole body to shake. Frank wore an expression of amused horror. Okay, so Florence Nightingale couldn’t take a hint. I guess I was going to have to make it as plain as I could. Leaning over, I whispered into Mia’s ear. “Carino, if you don’t stop with the rubdown, you’re going to make another mess to clean up. Inside my pants.”
She jerked her head up and stared into my eyes. I
watched as the realization of my words, along with what she had been doing,
washed over her. My breath hitched as waited for the usual signs of extreme
mortification to follow—reddened cheeks, stammering speech, avoiding making eye
contact. All the things that would make it easy for me to move in for the kill
and have her in my bed by midnight.
But I got none of those.
Instead, Mia rose up and smacked the soggy napkins
against my chest. As I fumbled to grasp them, she replied, “I’m so terribly
sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” She then proceeded to give me a
sickeningly, sweet smile—one that reminded me of Abby right before she gave one
us a verbal smack-down. When she edged closer to me, I knew I was in for it and
then some. She cocked one brown brow. “How terribly embarrassing and
inconvenient it must be for you to have such a sensitivity problem down there.
I mean, chicks expect a night of passion with Mr. Latin Lover, and they get
mere seconds.” She made a tisking sound in the back of her throat. “Pity.”
My mouth gaped open, and instead of a witty, maybe
even scathing, come-back, I could only open and close it like a dying fish out
of water. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been rendered completely
speechless by a female outside of my mother and abuela.
Mia eyed me one final time before turning to Frank.
“Mr. Patterson, I’ll be back to check on you on the hour,” she replied before
quickly side-stepping me and stomping out the room.
When the door closed behind her, Rhys and Frank
howled with laughter. “Holy shit, dude! I can’t believe what she just said to
you!” Rhys exclaimed, wiping the tears from his eyes.
I stared momentarily at the closed door before a smile spread across my cheeks. “Now that, gentlemen, is the future Mrs. Resendiz, right there.”
AUTHOR PROFILE:
Katie
Ashley is the New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Best-Selling author of The
Proposition. She lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her two very spoiled
dogs and one outnumbered cat. She has a slight obsession with Pinterest, The
Golden Girls, Harry Potter, Shakespeare, Supernatural, Designing Women, and
Scooby-Doo.
She spent 11 1/2 years educating the Youth of America aka teaching MS and HS English until she left to write full time in December 2012.
She also writes Young Adult fiction under the name Krista Ashe.
She spent 11 1/2 years educating the Youth of America aka teaching MS and HS English until she left to write full time in December 2012.
She also writes Young Adult fiction under the name Krista Ashe.
AUTHOR
LINKS:
FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/katieashleybooks
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6546441.Katie_Ashley
SYNOPSIS:
Music of the Heart (Runaway Train #1)
For Abby Renard, the plan was supposed to be simple—join her brothers’ band on the last leg of their summer tour and decide if she’s finally ready for the limelight by becoming its fourth member. Of course, she never imagined stumbling onto the wrong tour bus at Rock Nation would accidentally land her in the bed of Jake Slater, the notorious womanizing lead singer of Runaway Train. When he mistakes her for one of his groupie’s, Abby quickly lets him know she sure as hell isn't in his bed on purpose.
Jake Slater never imagined the angel who fell into his bed would resist his charms by promptly kneeing him in the balls. Of course, the fact she seems like a prissy choir girl makes her anything but his type. So he is more than surprised when after betting Abby she wouldn’t last a week on their tour bus, she is more than willing to prove him wrong. But as Jake’s personal life begins to implode around him, he finds an unlikely ally in Abby. He’s never met a woman he can talk to, joke with, or most importantly make music with.
As the week starts comes to a close, neither Abby nor Jake is ready to let go. Can a sweetheart Country songstress and a bad boy of Rock N Roll actually have a future together?
GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16062210-music-of-the-heart
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