Blog Tour: Stripped by Tara Wyatt (teaser, excerpt, review)

The first in a sexy new series from Tara Wyatt!

Detective Sawyer Matthews isn’t just having a bad day—he’s having the worst day. His hunt for the criminal who killed his team member has stalled and now… he’s got to play nice with his new, totally unwanted partner. It’s not that she isn’t qualified, or that he doesn’t like her—it’s because he knows what she looks like naked. So very, very naked.

Brooke Simmons finally landed her dream job working for H.E.A.T, an elite undercover detective squad, and she’s not giving up simply because she had a one-night-stand with her sullen—but undeniably sexy—new partner. They’ll just have to keep it professional. Easier said than done, considering their first case requires Sawyer to infiltrate a drug cartel operating out of a male strip show. Watching him do his best Magic Mike impression every night isn’t just hot—it’s torture.

Sawyer doesn’t need any distractions, yet his attraction to Brooke is explosive and he can’t resist going for round two. Or three. Or four. But as their investigation progresses and danger mounts, they’ll have to put their jobs, hearts, and lives on the line to fight… for each other, for survival, and for justice.

About the Book

Strippedby Tara Wyatt
SeriesThe Blue HEAT Series
GenreAdult
Contemporary Romance
PublisherAvon Impulse
Publication DateMay 15, 2018
Get Your Copy Today!
Amazon | Avon Romance | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | iBooks

Review

Tara Wyatt’s writing style is great. The story and characters are all so engaging, and I found myself totally sucked in. I would totally want to hang out at The Speakeasy with Sawyer, Brooke, Jack and Amelia – and recently, wanting to be friends with the main characters has sort of become my litmus test for a great romance novel, haha.

Sawyer is dealing with the death of his partner, Ryan, and certainly doesn’t want a new partner – especially the bombshell he had a one-night stand with! Especially since there’s a department policy against fraternization with one’s partner… The sparks sure fly in this one! There’s an almost enemies to lovers vibe as they both try to resist their attraction, but a bit of a friends to lover vibe as well, and ahhh, I can’t even. Why do I even try to write reviews? Just go read it. This one’s a keeper, OK?

The best characters are fully-fleshed out, with wonderful qualities, failings, quirks… Wyatt really delivers on that with Sawyer and Brooke, and even with their partners Jack and Amelia (who are side characters, but I assume are the leads in the next two books in the series). We don’t get much of Sawyer’s brothers either, but from what we do get I’d really like to read their books as well, please. (Are you listening, Ms. Wyatt?)

In addition to an excellent romantic storyline and heaps of sexual tension (and really meltingly hot sex scenes, don’t forget those!) there is also the cop/detective aspect of this book. Sawyer goes undercover as a male stripper to infiltrate a drug ring that possibly involves the biker gang and/or cartel that murdered his partner, so there’s that who detective/spy element to the story as well. I don’t normally go much for mystery in my romance, but I DO enjoy action, and this really delivered in a way I enjoyed as being a detective/mystery/action type of deal while still mainly and unrepentantly being a romance.

This is the first book in the series, and you bet your ass I pre-ordered book #2, Schooled. This can be read as a stand-alone, though there are little teaser bits of minor-ish plotline left hanging… Enough to make it so I just HAVE TO KNOW!!

About Tara Wyatt

Tara Wyatt is an award-winning romantic suspense and contemporary romance author known for her fast-paced writing, humor, and sexy love scenes. She lives in Hamilton, Ontario with the cutest dog in the world and a husband who makes all of her heroes look like chumps.