Jen's Reading O: A Midsummer Night's Fling (Stage Kiss Series #1) by Beth Matthews

A Midsummer Night’s Fling by Beth Matthews
(Stage Kiss Series #1)
Publication date: June 2014
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

After dating her childhood sweetheart Max on and off for years, aspiring actress Nicola Charles is finally ready to move on. It’s time for her to focus on her stage career and stay away from Max–before he can break her heart again.

Max regrets hurting Nicola, but he wants another chance. So when his play loses its leading lady, giving Nicola the part seems like the perfect opportunity to win back his old flame.

But the course of true love—and a theater production—never do run smooth. As Max fights to reignite Nicola’s love, the onstage antics can’t rival the bedlam backstage: a neurotic cast, a prickly crew, and an evil diva of a director who’s got designs on Max.

As Nicola and Max battle to keep the drama onstage, Max can’t help wondering if their romance will end with the last performance. Or have the two of them finally captured what they’ve dreamed of all their lives? True Love.

A contemporary romance that should appeal to fans of the wry humor and playful sexiness in the works of Julie James and Victoria Dahl.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22590949-a-midsummer-night-s-fling

Purchase:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LHDTHF8
BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-midsummer-nights-fling-beth-matthews/1119924812
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id898654610
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/a-midsummer-night-s-fling
ARE: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-amidsummernight039sfling-1562514-149.html

Excerpt

As soon as her lips touched his, Nicola knew she'd made a terrible mistake.

But, wow, did she not give a shit.

This kiss was an inevitability, the climax of the sexual tension that had been kindling inside her since they began the scene. Since I opened the door this afternoon and saw him. She sighed into his mouth, her eyes prickling.

Five years. Five years and it might as well have been a second. Or a lifetime. I don't know him anymore. Didn't know what he'd done for the last few years, didn't know how he'd changed, who he was.

And yet.

Skin remembered skin. And her mouth opened against his with the ease of tender familiarity. She didn't really know him anymore, but her body remembered every inch of his, every touch, every breath they breathed together, every feeling.

His mouth was soft and warm as his tongue swept into her mouth. Heat pooled between her thighs, a greedy, selfish want for all he could give her.

Don't start this again. But she wanted to give in, to let go, to lose herself to him. I don't care. I don't care. With a small sigh, she deepened the kiss, her tongue clashing with his. Delicious friction. Primal need. Yes.

Max groaned into her mouth and pushed his body close to hers, backing her against the doorframe. Backing her up hard enough her head knocked into the doorframe.

He broke away. "Shit. I'm sorry."

"Ow?" Nicola rubbed her sore spot and shot him a laughing glance. "Boy, this really is like old times."

"Ah, intermissions." He grinned. "The one time I could kiss you as much as I wanted."

"Until you inevitably knocked me into a wall."

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I never meant to bang you into that wall backstage."

"Old habits. Ha. Is this a kiss or a concussion?"

"Both?" He leaned toward her, so warm, so familiar.

He'll never be what you need him to be. The thought seared into her mind, sucking all the sweetness out of her surrender. She drew away, her body tingling in anticipation of the delights which would never come now.

"Nicola?"

She ducked, dodging his hands when he tried to stop her retreat. "I have to go."

Top Ten

Top 5 Reunited Lovers

Since my book A Midsummer Night's Fling is about a pair of reunited lovers (they were sweethearts in high school and college), I thought it would be fun to talk about my Top 5 Reunited Lovers of All Time.

5. Fred and Lily from Kiss Me Kate

"Deceive me, desert me, I'm yours 'til I die…so in love with you am I."

My favorite musical and my favorite feuding lovers. I grew up watching the 1950s version with Howard Keel. These two are immature, tempestuous, spoiled, and perfect for each other. You certainly wouldn't wish them on anyone else.

4. Navarre and Isabeau from Ladyhawke

"Do you know that hawks and wolves mate for life? The Bishop didn't even leave us that... not even that."

One of my favorite movies as a teenager. The curse on these two is so poignant: "always together, eternally apart." She's cursed to be a hawk during the day; he's cursed to be a wolf during the night. When they're finally together again as humans in the end it makes me cry. Every. Time.

3. Captain Wentworth & Anne Elliot from Persuasion by Jane Austen

"You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone forever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago."

The classic example of lovers reunited. The yardstick, perhaps, by which we measure all other reunion stories? I know it's pretty darn hard to top Wentworth's love letter to Anne quoted above.

2. Logan and Veronica (LoVe) from the Veronica Mars TV show and movie

"I thought our story was epic, you know, you and me…Spanning years and continents. Lives ruined, bloodshed. EPIC."

These guys are probably so near the top because I love them so much together, and I ended up waiting for their reunion in real time. Seven years! When the TV show was cancelled they were still broken up. I gnashed my teeth at that injustice but, luckily, **SPOILER ALERT** earlier this year LoVe got the reunion they deserved in a super romantic scene from the Veronica Mars movie. Yay! No more waiting!

1. Westley & Buttercup from The Princess Bride

"Death cannot stop True Love; all it can do is delay it for a little while."

Can anything top this line? Really? Westley braves pirates, kidnappers, evil princes, and all the dangers of the Fire Swamp to reunite with his true love. And, once they finally are back together, their kiss is certified as the Best Kiss Ever. And that's one of many reasons why this is my favorite reunited lovers story of all time.

Honorable Mentions:

*Allie and Noah from The Notebook (the kissing in the rain scene!)

*Charming and Snow from Once Upon a Time TV show ("I will find you. I will always find you.")

Well, I listed mine, your turn now. Who are some of your favorite reunited lovers? Who do you think should have made the list? :)

Beth Matthews is a California girl, born and raised. She’s a total geek, a movie buff, and a mediocre swing dancer. She lives in sunny SoCal with her boyfriend and two of the neediest housecats on the planet.

Website: http://bethmatthewsbooks.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beth-Matthews/244314945645273
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IAmBethMatthews

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Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22667014-a-midsummer-night-s-fling