Sophia Karlson

Simone Levin is a pilot for the East African branch of Carlevaro Air and usually transports tourists to various Carlevaro lodges and resorts in Tanzania. Though she deals with some sexual harassment, she enjoys her job for the most part but doesn’t like flying overnight trips due to her three-year-old daughter at home. Life is going pretty well for Simone until her manager has a heart attack and the big bosses from headquarters fly in and start changing things.
Carlo Carlevaro is the CEO of Carlevaro Air and flies to Tanzania to inspect the company’s lodges and deal with a poaching problem. He didn’t expect to find Simone on his payroll, the woman he’d love and lost four years earlier. Though he knows nothing about her life and responsibilities, he assigns her to be his personal pilot for the lodge inspections and doesn’t understand her animosity. She’s obviously keeping secrets, and he’s determined to uncover them no matter what.
Simone and Carlo are wonderfully complex characters. They’ve both been through some trying times, and their bad experiences have shaped them into strong, mature, career-minded people. As a single mother, Simone lives her life around her daughter, but work often gets in the way. Carlo never meant to abandon Simone, but family and business problems took precedence over his love life. I totally loved how they grew to trust one another again and finally opened up enough to communicate their feelings and misconceptions. The sex scenes were hot and explicit, but fueled by friendship and love.
This story has a great mixture of romance and intrigue. The author wrote about poaching in graphic detail but did so tastefully, and I found the honesty refreshing and realistic. The descriptions of the Serengeti and the animals were breathtaking. The realities of third world city life and healthcare were also detailed.
Carlo’s family plays a big role in the story, and I’m anxious to learn more about Angelo and Julia, his brother and sister respectively, in future books. (I hope they’ll get their own HEAs!)
The story is told in third person, in duel H/h POV, but seemed to focus more on Simone than on Carlo. Most of the loose ends are tied up. I really enjoyed the book and the author’s writing style, and I would love to read more of her work!
5 Stars

Disclaimer – I volunteered to read and review this book. Thank you, Sophia Karlson, for sending me an ebook copy. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape, or form for this review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.
… (meer)

Just My Type follows Mark "Stings" Hastings, a pro rugby player in South Africa, and Hayley Brooke who is a wedding photographer. The two first met when they were supposed to be each other's blind date to a party and Mark shows up with another woman leaving Hayley the odd girl out. She writes him off and it is quite some time later when they actually connect again and this time in a good way. Mark is all in from the start and Hayley is hesitant to believe Mark is as good as he seems. Is he her type or not?

I liked this book, but had hoped for more. I liked the South African setting and the rugby/sports aspect. Mark especially had an interesting storyline dealing with the pressures and anxiety caused by his career. What I wished for was more relationship building. This is a slow burn, which I like, but it doesn't seem like much is happening. We get a lot of thinking about the other person and physical attraction and longing. We learn that they are communicating across the miles through phone conversations but we don't really get included in those moments. We are told that they are growing closer, but I just didn't feel it. Lastly, there is misunderstanding/non-communication stuff toward the end of the book. I'm not a fan of that trope even though I did like how it was resolved. I truly enjoyed epilogue at the end. All in all, it was a good romance and even though it wasn't all I hoped it would be, I will still tell others who I think would enjoy it to check it out.

My sincere thanks to Backlit PR and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion of it.… (meer)

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Mila is the modest, virginal best friend of a wild party girl. Desperate to shape her own future, and get out from under her oppressive family, Mila agrees to go on a two week Paris vacation. The trip promises to revive her love of painting and, at the hopes of her best friend, bring plenty of men to woo her. Arriving at James' apartment, the older, handsome brother of her best friend, she finds herself alone, inspired, and seriously considering the opportunity to give away her innocence. She doesn't plan on James arriving home in the middle of the night and she definitely doesn't plan on waking up beside him the following morning. He lights a fire in her and together they rush into a passionate affair, one that leaves no room for the secrets the wealthy trader holds close.

The Paris Apartment came as a surprise for me, with a story-line that delved into the character's personal backgrounds and gave explanation to the connection they shared, it felt like it had more to it than other similar stories I have read in the past. While it is an erotica, a very steamy one at that, it also is a complex story of love, forgiveness, and human connection. Mila and James have known each other since they're youth, but meeting each other once again as adults and in such close quarters progresses their relationship forward quickly. They set out to complete Mila's Parisian bucket list, but the romantic city and the opportunity to be their true selves fuels the lust between them.

Of course, it wouldn't be such a good book without the drama and there is certainly plenty of that. James has a complex relationship with love, something he'd rather not deal with, but finds himself facing as he falls for Mila. He knows his past relationship will soon affect the one he is beginning to his sister's best friend and the secrets he holds back might just change her view of him entirely. Mila had a complicated religious upbringing, one that leaves her questioning the truth of love, romance, and sexuality. James, though a ladies man, has a heart of gold and helps her experience the world with little judgement. The location, especially the close confines of the apartment, bring the two together and there's extensive character development mixed in with the erotic moments the two share. I really felt like both James and Mila gained so much perspective and awareness from the short time they had together and it made their affair so realistic. The chemistry between them is palpable the entire read and I too fell in love with them just as they fall for one another.

The Paris Apartment by Sophia Karlson is book one in the Love Nests series. It read as a standalone in my opinion and should be picked up by anyone who loves well-written contemporary romance and just the right amount of smut. It's a complex erotica, one I enjoyed reading from the very first page. I'll definitely be reading this one again.

ARC provided.… (meer)