Sultry with a Twist

Generally in every book you will find a word, phrase or sentence which sums the book up. For Sultry with a Twist it is, "Love isn't a feeling, it's a choice, an action, a show of goodwill. It's about serving our brother, listening to him and supporting him without benefit to ourselves. It's believing the best about someone who's wronged us. And love never quits, never abandons in a time of need..."

Sultry with a Twist is the debut novel from romance author Macy Beckett. When I think of this book, so many different thoughts come to mind. You have a little religion, you have some steamy love scenes, and some funny, "I can't believe that just happened" moments. Sultry with a Twist was not what I expected and for that I'm glad. I can't wait show more for the second book to come out. But wait, I don't wanna get ahead of myself.

I've seen the letters "HEA" going around a lot. I had no idea what they stood for. HEA means Happily Ever After. This book is definitely that and then some.

June (wait until you hear her whole name) Augustine and Luke Gallagher grew up together. Due to sad circumstances which happened in their young lives, both June and Luke were raised by Prudence Foster, June's maternal grandmother. Prudence a six-foot-tall pillar of fortitude is VERY religious and ruled her house with a wooden spoon. Because she was so strict, she ran them both off the day they graduated from high school, only to regret her actions and attempt to rectify them years later.

Some people say that you never forget your first love. In both June and Luke's case, this is true. June has loved Luke since they were kids. Luke has always felt unworthy of anyone's love. He's a good man who just doesn't see himself the way others do.

June is really sweet, loving and caring. She's also an accident waiting to happen, some funny and some not so funny. It's one of those accidents that forces Luke to realize his feelings for her. And it's June's unselfish act that finally makes Luke realize that she truly loves him and that he's wasted the last ten years of his life. I can't tell if Grammy "Pru" totally orchestrated the two getting together or not, but she definitely knew what was going on, and looked the other way several times. There's also Luke's best friend of almost nine years, the lovable Trey Lewis who never agrees with him.

The worst part about the Sultry Spring series is having to wait five months for Trey's story to be told in A Shot of Sultry. I really like this book and I can't wait to return to Sultry Springs, Texas to see what happens next.

I received this book from NetGalley, in exchanged for my un-biased review. show less

I enjoyed this contemporary romance about rekindling a high school romance nine years later. I liked how the characters matured during the relationship but I thought the hero carried out his stubbornness from feeling worthless for too long. June must serve a month community service in her hometown where she encounters old boyfriend Luke.

Sultry with a Twist
4 Stars

June Augustine returns to her home town of Sultry, Texas to sort out an arrest warrant from nine years ago. Forced to work side-by-side with Luke Gallagher, the man who broke her heart, June simply wants to complete her community service and get back to her life. Luke, on the other hand, wants nothing more than to start up where they left off, but can June’s heart handle another hit?

A surprisingly sweet and steamy story of second chances and true love.

Luke and June are an appealing and likable couple, and there is just the right amount of tension and angst in their relationship without crossing the line into irritating and annoying. June is an endearing klutz and it is amazing that she manages to survive the show more book in once piece. Nevertheless, the situations she gets herself into only add to her allure. Luke is an interesting mix of honorable and damaged. He has taken some hard knocks in life and finds it difficult to believe in love, but June isn’t willing to give up on him.

The small town setting and quirky secondary characters are entertaining. The contrast between the religious community and the sexy romance also contributes to the charm of the story.

All in all, a lovely contemporary romance recommended for readers who enjoy laugh-out loud dialogues and reading with a smile on their faces. show less

Macy Beckett's debut romance novel, Sultry with a Twist, is the perfect blend of heartache, drama, love and southern charm. Where fate has a funny way of bringing you back to where you belong... or to who you belong to.

Mae-June July Augustine couldn't wait to get out of Sultry Springs, TX and put all her memories behind her to start a fresh and control-free life. Away from her overbearing grandmother, the memories of her hippie parents and long-lost love, June is just moments away from finally owning her own business and living the life she's always wanted. Six weeks away from opening day, a surprise puts a wrench in her plans - before she can get the rest of her licenses and permits she has to go settle a warrant for her arrest in her show more hometown, Sultry Springs. As much as she didn't ever want to back there, she is so confident that this will be a one day trip and will be taken care of in two-shakes, considering that the judge has always been like an uncle to her...
Well, imagine her surprise while waiting to see the judge she bumps into her childhood best friend and secret love, Lucas. And seeing Lucas, not only brings back all those good old memories, the boy has definitely gotten yummier with time. She feels things that she hasn't felt since the last time she's seen him. But that was then, and everyone's moved on. And she's determined to not stay in town for another minute longer... at least, that is until the judge orders her to stay in town for 30 days to complete community service. And more specifically, stay and make amends with her grandmother.
And little does June know, Grandma Pru has things up her sleeve too.

Lucas, his story is such a tragic and sad one. I couldn't help falling for him too. He is overly caring and protective of everyone he loves - but he won't use that l-o-v-e word. He never did and is determine to never use it too. Sounds harsh, but once I learned his story, my heart melted and all I wanted to do was hug him and make things all better - it does help that he rarely wears a shirt while working on his charity houses.

Will June be able to show Lucas that he deserves love?
Will Lucas finally let his guard down and live the life he's always dreamed of?
Is Grandma Pru ever wrong? (Of course not!)

So many laugh-out-loud moments - especially with Lucas' work crew and best friend Trey. June is spirited and full of trouble keeping everyone on their toes!
Definitely a fun-filled romantic read! I highly recommend it! show less

Loved this one. I had actually read the second book in the series first, so I had a sense of the characters involved, but it was really wonderful to get to know Luke and June much better. In fact, now I want to go back and read book two again just to see them again.

There were a couple of times that I felt as though a jump had happened that wasn't entirely supported -- possibly something that got edited out from one draft to another -- thus the 4.5 rating rather than the 5. But all in all, it was one of those books that I had a hard time putting down. (Really hard, as in I stayed up until 3:30 a.m. one night finishing it.) I would definitely recommend it.

This book was entertaining, but also somewhat irritating. I thought all the crazy situations that June managed to find herself in were fun. I also liked Pru and the small town setting. The three legged cat made me smile!

My irritation mostly centers around Luke. I just wanted to slap him and tell him to get over all his drama. The way he treated June at times didn't sit well with me. It made him seem like a selfish jerk.

I enjoyed most of the book (although not the hero so much) so this one gets three stars. I'm not sure yet whether I'll read the next book in the series.

Our heroine in this delightful story is June Augustine. Her full name is Mae-June July Augustine; is it any wonder she prefers to be called June? She is a young woman, about to start on her dream career. She has given up everything she owns to start a high class martini bar, in Austin Texas with her friend and fellow backer Esteban. The only thing left is to arrange for her liquor license, and Luquos will be on its way. But, she finds out there is a bench warrant on record for her from nine years ago in her home town, Sultry, Texas. The only way to clear up this mess is to appear before the judge in Sultry.
Luke Gallagher, our hero, is divorced, ex- military, and a contractor in Sultry. He runs a non-profit company called Helping Hands, show more to repair and rebuild homes for people who can't afford the work. He grew up in the home of Pudence Foster, June’s grandmother. His Mom left with his little sister when he was twelve, and he was taken in by Pru. June was also raised by her grandmother, June’s parents died when she was seven. She and Luke were best friends, even more so after he started living with them. She worshiped him from afar, he tolerated her tagging along.
Prudence loves the children, has a strong Christian Fundamental background, and rules with an iron hand. Nine years ago, they broke her heart, and she sent them away. She has since learned to regret this hasty decision.
Luke has quite an eclectic crew working for him. One man is Trey, his foreman, and his best friend, from his military days. Trey enjoys a reputation with women. Luke describes his talent,” Trey flashes his dimples-the ones that make panties drop like lead". June is in town, doing community service for 30 days. Her options are Helping Hands, or church. Luke prays she picks the church.
This novel has a lot of laughter, scary mishaps, stubbornness and an abundance of love.
I enjoyed every page, and would highly recommend it.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the author for an honest review. show less