New Release ARC Review + Giveaway: Sneaking Candy by Lisa Burstein

Today is the release day for Sneaking Candy by Lisa Burstein and I am so excited to have the launch on my blog today. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for you to check out my review below and enter the giveaway!

Sneaking Candy

Author: Lisa Burstein

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Publication Date: December 9, 2013

Genre: New Adult/Contemporary

Source: eARC from publisher via Inkslinger PR

~Synopsis~

All I ever wanted was to make a name for myself as Candice Salinas, creative writing grad student at the University of Miami. Of course, secretly I already have made a name for myself: as Candy Sloane, self-published erotic romance writer. Though thrilled that my books are selling and I have actual fans, if anyone at UM found out, I could lose my scholarship…and the respect of my faculty advisor, grade-A-asshole Professor Dylan.

Enter James Walker, super-hot local barista and—surprise!—my student. Even though I know a relationship is totally off-limits, I can’t stop myself from sneaking around with James, taking a few cues from my own erotic writing…if you catch my drift. Candy’s showing her stripes for the first time in my real life, and I’ve never had so much fun. But when the sugar high fades, can my secrets stay under wraps?

~Review~

When I read the synopsis of Sneaking Candy, I was immediately intrigued by it. I loved the concept behind the plot and the fact that she is hiding this secret identity as an erotic romance author. I was pleasantly surprised to find this book to be a fun, sexy romance and I was seriously laughing out loud at every turn.

Candice is a grad student at the University of Miami and she is working on a literature fellowship with the famous Professor Dylan. He is a young, sexy, renowned author and she has the opportunity to be his TA and learn from him. He is also a pretentious asshole but I’ll get to that later. Candice loves to write but when she decided to forego medical school to become a writer her parents cut her off. Her fellowship pays for her school but she needs money to cover her living costs so she starts writing erotic novels under the pen name Candy Sloane. She is afraid that if Professor Dylan finds out, she’ll lose everything.

I loved Candice and found myself cracking up at her inner dialogue so many times. She is funny, smart and snarky but also a little unsure of herself. She has been abandoned by her parents and her heart was badly broken by her ex, Keith, when she left. Along with breaking her heart, he also decimated her self-confidence when it comes to men.  However, when she’s writing as Candy, she’s able to dream up these incredibly strong and sexy female characters with the help of her good friend and roommate. Meeting and getting to know James definitely helps her come out of her shell.

“Forrest Gump had said life was like a box of chocolates. Now, as an erotic-romance author, I suppose I couldn’t help but wish it was sometimes like a box of sex toys.”

Professor Dylan is a grade-A asshole. He is definitely cocky and self-absorbed. He has a serious issue with authors like Candy because of their success and he feels threatened by it. He makes this very known to her and this definitely has an effect on her. She loves writing as Candy and it makes her feel so free but she is so afraid of what people will think of her if they find out. James is a hot barista who Candice is totally lusting after and I was so proud of her when she actually got up the nerve to slip him her number. He is gorgeous, smart, talented and totally into her. Unfortunately, he is an undergrad in one of her TA classes which technically makes him a student. Watching Candice try to maintain a professional line with James was hilarious because he was giving her all his best moves and James Walker is one sexy dude.

I absolutely loved the interactions between Candice and James. He really knows how to make Candice squirm with lust and want to throw all her inhibitions out the window. I loved seeing her open up with him and let him in. When she told him her secret, he was so supportive and he showed her that she had nothing to be ashamed of. This was huge for Candice because it made her realize that it doesn’t matter what kind of writing she’s doing, as long as she’s doing what she loves and making people happy. She wouldn’t give up being Candy for anything and she definitely proved that.

“Keith vs. James was like comparing a rock and Channing Tatum.”

Overall, this was a really cute and fun read. It had a sweet romance, a lot of humor and some very sexy, steamy scenes. I also loved the underlying message about not being ashamed of who you are and doing what you love, no matter what other people want you to do. Candice wanted to be a writer and she went after it, even if it meant losing her parents. Candice loved being Candy too and she wouldn’t give it up, even if it meant trouble with the university.

~IPOD Picks~

“Stay the Night” by Paramore & Zedd

“Brave” by Sara Bareilles

PURCHASE LINKS:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | KOBO

Lisa Burstein Bio:

Lisa Burstein is a tea seller by day and a writer by night. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University. She is the author of the YA Novels: Pretty Amy and Dear Cassie and the NA Novella: The Next Forever. Sneaking Candy is her first full-length new adult novel.

Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Author Goodreads 

a Rafflecopter giveaway