BLOG TOUR: ARC REVIEW + EXCERPT + GIVEAWAY - Blue Dahlia by Vivian Winslow

Blue Dahlia
Vivian Winslow
Genre: Erotic Romance
Release Date: October 16, 2014

Purchase: Amazon US 

Blue Dahlia is the first book in the second trilogy of Vivian Winslow's Gilded Flower series, featuring Lily Baron's free-spirited twin sister, Dahlia.

New York socialite Dahlia Baron is falling for her Latin lover, Rodrigo Cruz, the scion of the Mama Linda Latin foods empire, and hopes to take the relationship to the next level. But there's is a dark secret that she must deal with first in order to truly give her heart to him. When Dahlia visits the man from her past, will the undercurrents of her emotions let her go to Rodrigo or will they pull her back to the one person who stands between them?

Mature readers only. 18+

Review

I found this book way hotter than the Gilded Flower Trilogy. Though it is hotter it still fell a little short for me. Maybe I’m just expecting too much from the story, I’m not sure but for an erotica story, I want more sexy steamy sex, lol.

I had mixed feelings about Dahlia from the previous trilogy because of what she did to her sister. So, I really wasn’t a fan of hers until she met Rodrigo and started to fall in love. We got to see another side to her with the hint that there is something deeper with her. I’m glad that we get her story now. This was a good start to her journey. Vivian gives us the background story and where Dahlia’s hurt stems from. Which, I was glad that it wasn’t going to be dragged out.

I was shocked at how she dealt with the whole Rodrigo/Shane scenario. I mean I get it. But I was still shocked because Rodrigo was such a sweet guy. I like Shane’s character and the fact that he is so forthcoming with his feelings towards Dahlia.

I’m interested in reading the rest of Dahlia’s story. This book ends on a cliffhanger that leaves me feeling a bit weary, like something bad is going to happen and I really don’t want that. Dahlia has already suffered a great loss and I'm keeping my fingers crossed all goes well.  I’m starting to warm to Dahlia and really like her especially now that she has finally faced some of her past.

Overall, it’s a good start to this trilogy, Vivian Winslow’s writing improves with each book and I can’t wait to read more.

**ARC received in exchange for an honest review

Excerpt

Dahlia leads Rodrigo up a wide flight of stairs and through a small photography exhibition with a sleepy guard standing by the entryway. They cross the empty room to an unmarked door. She produces a key card and swipes it.

“How?” Rodrigo begins to ask.

She replies with a wink and closes the door behind them. “This is where they keep the pieces waiting to be sent to the storage facility,” Dahlia whispers as they walk past rows of cloth covered paintings and wooden crates. As they reach the end of the corridor, Dahlia pulls Rodrigo into the last row.

Without hesitating, he draws her mouth to his, their kiss all-consuming. His hot tongue finds hers and takes the kiss so deep it sends electricity through her body. He always knows what she needs in the moment. Today, she wants all of him. She needs his reassurance.

He cups her face with his hands and gently tugs on her lower lip with his teeth. The desire in his eyes leaves her core throbbing for him. She moans as she feels his generous erection press up against her.

Rodrigo’s hand moves under her skirt, grabbing and kneading her ass before hitching her leg around his waist. Without missing a beat, she leans back against the wall to allow him better access to her snatch.

He smiles seductively, licking his bottom lip as his hand goes exploring, palming her clit. He presses his lips hard against hers, and she relishes in the heady feeling his kisses give her. Her hips begin to move to the rhythm of his fingers, as he glides them in and out of her wet, hot love tunnel.

Dahlia gasps as he begins to move faster. “I want you inside me,” she whispers, her breathing strained by the excitement of the moment. She can’t get enough of him. “Love me now.”

Dahlia playfully bites and licks his neck as she runs her hands through his thick dark hair. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else, baby.”

Rodrigo brusquely lifts her by her ass, and she wraps her legs around him. He moans as he sinks his hard cock into her.

He moves slowly at first, enjoying the tightness of her cunt. Dahlia closes her eyes as he plunges deeper into her core. She likes that he takes it slow with her, his fullness becoming all that she can feel, overwhelming her senses.

About the Author

Vivian Winslow was born and raised in Southern California. Before becoming a writer, she made a career out of moving around the world every couple of years thanks to her husband’s job. She currently lives in New York City with her husband and two elementary school age children, and is grateful to finally have a place to call home for more than two years. New York is the perfect city to indulge her love of shopping, the arts and especially food.

If she’s not at home writing or running around the city with her kids, you’ll most likely find her indulging in pizza on the Lower East Side or having a cocktail at her favorite bar in Alphabet City. That said, she’s still a California girl at heart and would gladly trade in her heels for a pair of flip-flops to catch a sunset on the beach. .

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Q&A with Vivian:

1. If you were a dessert, what would you be?

         Oooh. Definitely something salty and sweet. There’s a dessert at Big Gay Ice Cream down on the Lower East Side called the Salty Pimp. It’s a soft serve vanilla cone with drops of Dulce de Leche and covered in chocolate. I love anything you eat with your tongue.

        

2. What 3 things are essential in your bedroom for a sexy/romantic night in?

         Music is a must.  I change it up quite a bit depending on my mood. Also, the right man (I’m married so that’s a given : )). And, depending on our mood, a toy, prop or just us. Sorry, that’s 2-2 ½ things. Oh, I guess sleeping children. There’s nothing romantic going on when they’re awake.   

3. What do you like about writing erotic romance?

I like that I can take my characters to the edge of and beyond their limits.  I also get to define what those limits are. The beauty of digital publishing is that there are no set parameters for a particular genre. So it’s been a lot of fun incorporating various elements from other genres (women’s fiction, suspense, etc.) and creating really hot sex scenes to go with them. It’s pure freedom, which for a writer is extremely difficult to find and balance.

4. If you could sleep with any of your characters who would it be?

            Ahem. No disrespect to the hot man in my life or to those I write about. I’ve had sex with them all (in my head, except for my husband), and the one I think I’d come back to time and again is Alejandro. He’s a true alpha. Not overly dominating in the way that readers have come to expect because of books like 50 Shades. Rather, he’s confident and secure in his masculinity and is completely self-possessed. To me, that’s what makes a true alpha male. They’re not necessarily assholes or dominants. I think those qualities can often confuse what makes a man a sexy alpha versus a crazy, stalker with low self-esteem masked as an alpha. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that when I picture him, I see William Levy. So hot.

            And confession. Gustavo is a close second. Just once though. I’d have to get it out of my system. Lol.

5. Spanking, yes or no.

            Abso-fuckin’lutely. Caveat. Can’t be overdone or done every time. Then it’s just abuse, which is so not hot.

6. Do you like to be tied up. If so, why and with what?

            Same answer as above. I have an adventurous spirit, and I’m usually game for anything. Whatever is around can work, like a t-shirt. I’m usually a fly-by-the seat-of- her-pants kind of person so sometimes you have to just work with what you have.

7. What do you for inspiration for your love scenes?

            Personal experiences aside, I have quite an imagination. : ) I’ve been writing love scenes since I was a young girl. If I’m feeling a need for a kick-start, I’ll listen to sexy music, which varies depending on the scene, if it’s animalistic or sensual.  I might also read a scene from a sexy book. It doesn’t hurt to look at some hot guys on the Internet. But that’s a last resort. It’s important to connect with the character and figure out what kind of lover he is, for example, rough, gentle, confident, or dominating, and then go from there. While the books are centered on the female characters, their sexual experiences are defined just as much by the men they are with as it is by them. It’s a mutual scene, so it does take two to make it work. 

8. Which character has surprised you the most and why?

            Gustavo, without a doubt. He’s played so many roles in my mind throughout The Gilded Flower series. I never conceived him to be a villain. Originally, I wanted him to be an open and intense lover for Lily, one who would challenge her and force her to grow and face her fears. As the series progressed, he kept appearing, and thus his role had to change. I secretly hoped he would be her HEA until mid-way through Calla Lily when I realized that wasn’t going to happen. So then he needed to assume a new role. As the series continues, his story deepens and becomes more nefarious. I love it, and I appreciate how his character is so malleable like that. Makes him even more appealing. Amoral characters don’t lose their sex appeal (most of the time).

            A close second is Dahlia. I expected a lot out of her, but now that I’ve written the end of her Trilogy, I just want to hug her for how far her character has come.

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