Stuck With You

With: Christina Mandelski

Congratulations to "Kitty's Book Spot", the winner in Christina's giveaway. Please contact JUST CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE to claim your prize!

If you’re like me, you like to go places when you read. Of course, you want a compelling story and two main characters whose ignited passion practically crackles off the page—but all this is made even better when a good setting is involved. I love to travel, many of us do, but how many can do it as often as we like? And I don’t know about you, but I have not traveled as extensively as I want (yet!). How awesome that a good book can take you places you may never get to see.

One book that really “took me there” setting-wise was Outlander. How many of us dreamed of visiting Scotland after reading it? The lochs, the hills, the valleys, the glens, cottages and castles—Diana Galbadon did such a good job of plopping her readers right there next to Claire and Jamie. You could practically smell the heather. Of course, I would definitely have preferred the Scotland with indoor plumbing, but could possibly be talked into forgoing that if a certain kilted redhead showed up at the doorstep of my castle.

Another author I love is Jenny Colgan. Her books, many of which are set in Scotland (I may be obsessed), are irresistible to me. One of my favorites is The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris. I mean, even the title is delicious. While reading, I actually felt like I was in Paris, exploring with heroine Anna, and living a chocolate dream. Not only that, but I love a book that includes recipes, which many of Colgan’s books do. Make sure to check out her Little Beach Street Bakery books, for sweet romance, charming locales, and honestly, how many books feature an adorable pet puffin??

An author I’ve just recently discovered (though she’s not new) is Sarah Morgan, especially her From Manhattan With Love series, which I loved! Having only been to the Big Apple a few times (which is NOT enough!) I had to say it was wonderful exploring the city with the lead characters in these fun and (just the right amount of steam-y) novels.

Since I’m such a sucker for setting, I tend to try and place my books in settings that I have visited and would love to return to. Like, for example, I love the beach—it’s sort of my dream to have a house on the water one day—so the sand/sea/surf show up a lot in my books. In Stuck With You, my latest YA from Entangled, the whole novel takes place during a week at a beach house. It happens to be a beach house on Bolivar Peninsula, near Galveston, Texas, which is close to my home in Houston.

Why the beach? Let’s face it, there’s something so romantic about a place where you can watch the sun rise over the water in the morning and watch the sunset turn the Gulf into a sparkling rainbow paradise in the evening. It’s also a place where people spend most of the time wearing very little clothing, which tends to heat things up a bit, too, lol.

So what about you? What’s your favorite place to go in a book? Where have you visited that you’d love to find as a setting in a book? Let me know, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Giveaway:
Christina is giving away a signed copy of STUCK WITH YOU to one lucky person leaving a comment or email entry. (US residents only).

Thanks so much for having me on the blog today!

STUCK WITH YOU

When Caleb Gray heads to the Texas coast to mentally prepare for a future he isn’t sure he wants, the last person he expects to see is Catie Dixon. Yeah, their mothers have been planning their wedding since they were born, but he and Catie are most definitely not friends. He can’t see her as anything but the annoying kid who followed him everywhere. Except, it’s really bothering him that everyone is staring at her in that bikini…

Catie got over her crush on Caleb ages ago. So why can’t she see past his ripped body or how unsettled he seems? She’s got her own problems, though. Her future has been set for years and now she’s dreaming of pulling the plug. A week at their families’ beach house is just what she needs to pull herself together, and she has no intention of letting Caleb back into her heart...which would be a whole lot easier if he’d put on a shirt.

But a forced week of togetherness full of beach parties,
waterslide mishaps, bonfires, and roller coasters sparks more than an understanding. What do you do when the person standing in the way of your future is the one person you grew up hating...but now don’t?

Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains summer thunderstorms on the beach, an, er...awkward waterslide incident, and an infuriatingly hot boy who you'll no longer be able to ignore.

Each book in the First Kiss Hypothesis series is STANDALONE:
* The First Kiss Hypothesis
* Love and Other Secrets
* Stuck With You

AMAZON

Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST September 18th. Due to GDPR regulations you no longer need to submit your email address in the comments. If you have been selected as a winner your name will be posted at the top of the post. You may then contact maureen@JustContemporaryRomance.com to claim your prize. Your email address will be shared with the author/publicist providing the giveaway.