Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: Romancing the Bookworm – Kate Evangelista

Sometimes, even the best-laid plans can unravel.

It’s spring break, and Tamara Winters would rather stay on campus and read romance novels than flaunt her size-fourteen body on a beach. But her best friend, Rony, has other ideas. Against her wishes, Tamara is whisked away to picturesque Maverick Bay, where she’s wrangled into waiting tables with Rony at the Shore Shack for its busy week leading to Maverick’s Surf Invitational. There she meets fellow schoolmate Xavier Solomon, the Invitational’s organizer and campus womanizer by reputation. From the moment Tamara sees him emerging from the waves like a hero in of one of her romance novels, all she wants to do is run away from the feelings he inspires in her.

Little does she know Xavier has been watching her for weeks now. In fact, after failed attempts at asking her out on campus, he’s concocted a crazy plan: fabricating romantic situations straight out of her favorite books. Xavier quickly realizes that if Tamara gets a whiff of his designs, he might as well spell CREEPER across his forehead. Yet as they grow closer, he’s convinced it’s a risk worth taking. What he hasn’t planned on, of course, is his drug-addicted, alcoholic stepbrother, who decides to join the fun and put a wrench in Xavier’s scheme.

Spring break is proving hotter than Tamara expected. Will her romance novels be able to compete?

Title: Romancing the Bookworm
Author: Kate Evangelista
Release date: July 9, 2013
Publisher: Omnific Publishing
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary romance
Reviewer:  Shannon
Rating:

Tour organized by: AToMR Tours
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17668573-maverick
Buy Links:  Amazon |  Barnes and Noble

Reviewer’s Thoughts

I was intrigued by the premise of this book, a college co-ed more interested in her romance novels than socializing with anyone and the length a man would go through in order to get her attention.  Kate Evangelista managed to create a group of characters and the perfect setting for romance to either swell with the waves or crash and burn.  While they managed to do a little bit of both, to storyline kept me engaged and had me hoping to the very end that our hero finally managed to win the heart of the heroine he tried so hard to get.

Xavier Soloman came up with a plan.  He enlisted the help of his best friend and his sister to help him lure Tamara Winters, the girl who wouldn’t give him the time of day, to their sleepy little beach town during Spring Break.  He didn’t count on Tamara not seeing him at his best or falling at his feet.  But Xavier discovers that what you want most is worth fighting for and he’s willing to fight anyone and anything to make sure Tamara ends up with him.

From the very moment we meet Xavier, you can’t help but like him.  And when his very James Bondish first meeting with Tamara happens, you can’t help but pull for Xavier to win Tamara’s heart.  He might be a hot, sexy surf God with a ton of cash to the girls in Maverick Bay, but doesn’t want the girls who only see what he looks like or how fat his wallet might be.  He wants the girl who has the same taste in book as his mother.  Tamara doesn’t fall for his charm and I think the fact that Xavier actually has to work to get Tamara’s attention makes him like her more.  Then there is his relationship with his step-brother, Zander.  Despite the open hostility, you can see that he truly does care for his brother he’s just not sure how to go about helping him.  It’s all those things that make you love Xavier, even when we know he’s going to get busted for his deception, you can’t fault him for trying whatever he needed to try to get the girl.

With Tamara, I think she’s a piece of every one of us.  There are many times when I’d rather sit down with a good book than have to deal with the reality of work, kids and life in general.  Tamara took that to the extreme, by not really socializing with anyone at all, but she was using the books to escape the reality of missing her parents.  She may have counted Ronni as one of her close friends, Tamara realized (once she was threatened with losing her books) that she really didn’t know anything about her friend and wasn’t a particular good friend because she neglected everyone for her fictional characters.  It was nice to see Tamara re-learn to socialize and to stop hiding behind her “tent” and learn to like not only herself but others as well.

This was a surprisingly fun beach read.  The awkward attempts from both Xavier and Tamara were endearing and made this the perfect afternoon read.

There is a tour-wide giveaway of the following:

(1) Print copy of Romancing the Bookworm – international – value $18.99 USD

(1) Book inspired necklace that says “Surf” (picture attached) – international – value $15.00 USD

(8) eBooks of Romancing the Bookworm – International – value $3.99/copy USD

To enter, complete the Rafflecopter form below (if the form doesn’t appear, click the link to be taken to it).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To see other stops on the tour for reviews, guest posts, and excerpt click here or the tour button below.

 Book Trailer

When Kate Evangelista was told she had a knack for writing stories, she did the next best thing: entered medical school. After realizing she wasn’t going to be the next Doogie Howser, M.D., Kate wandered into the Literature department of her university and never looked back. Today, she is in possession of a piece of paper that says to the world she owns a Literature degree. To make matters worse, she took Master’s courses in creative writing. Ms. Evangelista lives in the Philippenes.

Author Social Media Links:

@KateEvangelista